Page 34 of Buried Secrets

The elderly woman turned, her faded blue eyes brightening with recognition. “Mattison! How nice to see you. You’ve grown into such a nice looking young man.”

Matt pulled up chairs for himself and Kaitlin. “We’re researching the history of the mansion where you used to work.”

Mrs. Jenkins’s gaze shifted to Kaitlin, curiosity replacing confusion. “The mansion? Oh, I haven’t thought about that place in years.” She leaned forward, studying Kaitlin intently. “You’re not from the island, are you, dear?”

“No, ma’am,” Kaitlin replied. Her voice was still slightly hoarse. “I’m from London.”

“London! How lovely. I’ve never been, but I always wanted to see those changing of the guards and the big clock. What’s it called? Big Bill?”

“Big Ben,” Kaitlin corrected with a smile that softened her features.

“That’s right, that’s right.” Mrs. Jenkins nodded, then frowned slightly. “Now, what was it you wanted to know about the mansion? I was a nurse there, you know. For the girls.”

“We’re interested in what it was like to work there,” Matt prompted. “The daily routines, the staff you worked with, particularly in the years before it closed.”

“Oh, it was very organized,” Mrs. Jenkins said. Her thin hands smoothed invisible wrinkles from her skirt. “Dr. Whitaker ran a tight ship. The girls needed routine, he said. Structure.”

“Dr. Whitaker was the physician in charge?” Kaitlin asked, pen poised over her notebook.

Mrs. Jenkins nodded. “He came over from Portland three times a week. More if there were deliveries expected.” Her face clouded slightly. “Toward the end, he was there almost all the time.”

“They delivered on site?” Matt prompted, keeping his tone casual despite the quickening of interest.

“Oh yes. With the doctor, you know. High risk girls went to Portland, though. It was a good place for a long time. Not like right before it closed down.” Something in her expression had changed, a wariness that hadn’t been there before. Her eyes returned to the window, distant. “It was a long time ago.”

Matt exchanged a glance with Kaitlin, who seemed to pick up on the shift as well. “Before it closed down? Did something change?”

A frown appeared between the elder woman’s brow. “Things change. Not a big need, you know. Unwed girls having babies—in my day families would send you away, not now.”

“What about the other staff?” she asked. “Did you work closely with anyone in particular?”

“Oh, there was Marissa in the kitchens. Such a good cook, that girl. And Jasper who did the maintenance. Quiet man, kept to himself.” Mrs. Jenkins’s fingers began to twist in her lap. “And Robert Holloway who handled all the paperwork. Always proper with his tie and his briefcase.”

Matt’s interest sharpened. “Holloway? Mrs. Eleanor Holloway’s brother? The town clerk?”

“Brother-in-law,” Mrs. Jenkins corrected. “Eleanor married Jasper and Robert’s brother David, who passed—oh, must be fifty years now, right after they married.”

This clarified his earlier question of their relationship. He’d always assumed Jasper and Mrs. Holloway were siblings, not in-laws. But then, island families were complicated, generations intertwined through marriages and shared surnames.

“And what about the girls who stayed at the mansion?” Kaitlin asked. “Did you get to know any of them?”

A veil dropped over Mrs. Jenkins’s eyes, and her hands suddenly stilled in her lap. “They came and went. That was the nature of the place. They came in their time of need, and when it was over, they went back to their lives.”

“All of them?” Matt asked quietly.

The elderly woman’s gaze was suddenly searching and intent. “They left as soon as they could, after they took their babies. Hard thing…”

Mrs. Jenkins dabbed a crushed tissue to her eyes, her face crumbling. “Harder for some than others…” She looked off out the window for a long moment. “They took them, you know. The babies. They took them away and told the girls it was for the best.”

The elder woman’s book fell onto the floor with a loud smack! She ignored it. She looked from Kaitlin to Matt, as if puzzled who they were.

Matt leaned forward, about to press further, when a nurse appeared at his elbow.

“Mrs. Jenkins, it’s time for your medication,” she said cheerfully. She glanced at Matt and Kaitlin. “I’m afraid you’ll need to wrap this up.”

Matt recognized the gentle but firm dismissal. They’d pushed as far as they could for now. He rose, thanking Mrs. Jenkins for her time, and Kaitlin followed suit.

As they turned to leave, the elderly woman’s voice called after them, suddenly higher-pitched and agitated. “It wasn’t right what they did.”