The Mysterious Case of the Mayflower Dame

Chapter 2: Playing with Fire (Part VII)

“Use whatever information that you could find in her room… I may have lied about something important though.”

We both looked at him in confusion. He approached one of the polished brown drawers near Eleanor’s bed. He opened one and pulled out a neatly folded letter, placing it on the table in front of us.

Lucio sighed and spoke, “Apparently, I have no clue as to where she is exactly. However, she left this letter to not make me worry. I’m as confused as you folks are which is why it’s up to you to decide what to do with it.”

His sudden shift of tone tells me that there’s more to it than meets the eye. I know that this man is decisive, but it’s beyond questionable to wipe all doubt with a simple letter. How can he be so sure that the letter is legitimate, or have no signs of force involved?

I grabbed the letter and immediately opened it with Cecil peaking from my side, curious of the contents. I quickly scanned the entirety of the paper to see if there are cues of violence. Sadly, the letter itself is clean… No crumples, the strokes are well made and the pacing is well thought of. The contents of the letter are as follows:

Good morning father,

I apologize for not saying anything about my plans in advance. It feels heavy and at the same time dreadful, that I have to do this in order to know my worth, apart from the title given to me by the world. These past few days, I’ve never felt happier seeing him doing well with his life. How long has it been since I’ve even caught a glimpse of his shadow? I wanted to spend more time with him but I have personal matters to deal with. 

I tried some medicine to alleviate my anxiety but it only works for such a short time. All this glamour, prestige and kindness, yet I feel empty as the time went by. For those who wish to know where I am, I left everything in my room to help you figure it out. I personally do not wish to be bothered but if someone is willing to do the extra mile, you may join me. I pray that all shall be over soon. I miss seeing my home after all.

Sincerely yours, Eleanor

This has become enigmatic for each moment that goes by. My eyes immediately pointed at Lucio, glaring at him in annoyance.

I placed the letter on the table and asked him right away, “So you just allowed your daughter to venture towards something, even if she might be in danger along the way?”

He cleared his throat, with the weight of his own disbelief starting to creep up onto him. “I know that is true… However, when she talked to me about certain hints way before she left the letter, her face was calm and straightforward. I didn’t take it as a problem even up to this point.”

His response is either a ruse or the absolute truth, “Is it safe to assume that Eleanor is in a safe place? Yes or No?” I asked right away due to the fact that he is literally throwing us into a loop.

“I’m not sure… Even if she’s my daughter I feel uneasy about it…”

Cecil looked at me, trying to affirm the conclusion that something is going on. It was at that moment that Lucio began to wobble from his position. He placed his right hand on the table as he almost lost his balance. Cecil immediately called the lady as both of us helped Lucio sit down on a nearby chair. His pale face speaks for itself, he has a condition from which stress might as well be a trigger.

A few moments have passed, the woman arrived carrying a glass of water and a small glass bottle, with button like pills inside. She helped him take the pill and with the assistance of Cecil, ushered him straight to his room. I wasn’t able to ask nor probe the specifics of what just happened. However, this is the perfect opportunity for me to fix my thoughts while rummaging through what was left here inside Eleanor’s room.

I began to open drawer after drawer, tossing the most eye-catching item on the table for further analysis. From papers, travel brochures, personal effects and trinkets, I based all of my choices according to the contents of the letter. The entire process took me at least fifteen minutes, leaving quite a mess on her bed.

Closing the door, I sat down and immersed myself. I placed the letter on my right side, picking up the documents and items that I filtered earlier, then scanned everything from top to bottom. This is extremely important considering that one of these could give hints on what triggered these bloody series of events.

I picked the most recent ones related to her travels. I’m not entirely sure if this is where she keeps her documents or if Cecil is still the person holding most of her records. What’s genuinely obvious at this point is that Eleanor left some interesting stuff here. Fan letters, post cards and all sorts of objects can be found here.

Suddenly, a small receipt fell down as I was folding most of the papers I’ve read. The contents without a doubt is a prescription of some sort of drug.  Handwriting-wise, the letters are in cursive yet in a readable state. Written at the bottom are the initials “N.N.”, with the tail end of each letter, having a singular round stroke.

I began to look for similar pieces of paper but this appears to be the only one of its kind. Keeping it inside my pockets, I saw a notebook with Eleanor’s name on it. I opened to see its contents, and to my surprise, it happens to be her diary. Though it felt wrong at first, my curiosity pulled me closer in knowing her secrets.

On the very first page itself, she made a short intro on the words she would place here including her signature. Everything here wasn’t written on a day-to-day basis. Instead, important events are placed along with the date and time it happened. Our meeting on Almond lane was also written down, including the accident. But what caught my interest wasn’t the last log prior to her disappearance, but rather, the notes she made before we even met at the London theatre.

According to her, she had multiple suitors in the past few years since her ascension to stardom. It was only last year when she met a man named Nagant, who happens to be a famous doctor in the field of psychology. Even though he is at least seventeen years older than Eleanor, the way she describes his appearance is quite dreamy. Given Nagant’s background and influence, Lucio could’ve arranged something in between them right off the bat. What’s intriguing here is that he seems to have made some advances towards Eleanor… From holding hands up to her very first kiss, their relationship has progressed quite well. To be fair, I find reading this unfathomably uncomfortable.

The notes continued with her personal problems with criticism and rumors about various relationships. It was there and then that she sought medical advice and was given medicine to alleviate her anxiety. It suddenly hit me, the man himself might as well be the same bloody person who gave her this prescription.

Just in time, Cecil entered the room and leaned her back against the door. She looked at me, wondering with what I was up to. My concentration was cut in the blink of an eye as I closed the diary.

“Eleanor would be angry if she saw you reading her diary,” Cecil said along with a very mischievous grin. 

Without any second thoughts, I had to ask, “Do you know who Nagant is?”

Cecil paused for a bit, trying to recall some things then finally spoke, “Yes, he is a famous doctor in the U.S. before doing business here in Britain. The man is quite a gentlemen when I first met him. If a normal woman would be in front of such a man, she might as well be head over heels for him.”

I showed her the receipt, “So do you think this is somewhat related to him?”

She raised an eyebrow the moment her eyes laid upon the piece of prescription. Cecil took the paper from my hand and began to inspect every nook and cranny of it. It took her at least a minute to settle her thoughts before returning them to me.

“Yes, this is indeed his handwriting as far as I can remember. The initials probably mean Nezbin Nagant.” She replied, her tone shifted from being jolly to serious.

“Does Lucio know him?”

“Of course, he introduced himself last year as Lucio’s own personal doctor. Sir Narcissus is already a Schizophrenic, he takes some medicine recommended by Nezbin on certain occasions such as this.” 

This is starting to make sense… A man who has done the extra effort to reach Eleanor’s father surely is serious of his business. What’s interesting here is that it is by no means a coincidence that I was dragged into this.

“I think I have a clue on where she is…”

Cecil was surprised by my statement, she almost lost her footing upon hearing those words.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am… But I need to validate it first. Is it possible to leave a message for Lucio?”

“John, he is in really bad shape. I don’t think it’s a great idea to pursue conversations with him.”

“I’m not, I just want to leave a letter.”

Before I could even speak another word, the woman came inside the room, carrying a tray. On it was a folded letter with a card. Cecil and I looked at each other, both surprised by what’s going on.

The woman spoke, “Sir Narcissus left you a letter, Mr. Simons. I hope this may help you with your journey.”

I picked it up and immediately took all the pieces of evidence I have including the prescription and her diary. As we were escorted out of the room, I can’t help but feel something odd when I was inside. There’s some sort of heaviness in the atmosphere that I can’t seem to shake off. I’m not certain if Cecil was able to feel it but that woman is difficult to read.

“Where do you plan to go next?” Cecil asked.

“I might drop by the clinic and ask someone about the prescription. Afterward, I need to do a quick call on the station to ask for certain places.” I replied.

Cecil told me that she wants to check the borders for Eleanor’s possible routes. It shouldn’t take a lot of time since she will ask her father’s help to narrow it down. From there, we parted ways as we took separate cabs. 

(To Be Continued)