"Now, just a minute." Howard began.
"The night Honey saw you coming down the stairs, she and I went up to see Gerta, Howard. We saw what you had done. She told us."
"That's just her crazy imagination. You don't expect anyone is going to take her word against mine. Why..."
"Never mind your bickering." we heard, and saw Madame Senetsky in the doorway. "Both of you, sit," she ordered Howard and Steven. They moved instantly to the two chairs across from us. She closed the office door.
"I don't know how much of that you heard. Madame Senetsky,-. Howard began, "but I can assure you--"
She raised her hand like a traffic cop. and Howard pressed his lips together so hard, someone would think they were glued shut. The door opened and Edmond stepped in. He closed it softly behind himself and stood there, leaning against it.
"You should be with our guests. Edmond," Madame Senetsky said.
"No, Mother, I believe I should be here," he replied. He was so firm in his reply, she did not disagree. Instead, she turned to us.
"How long have you known about Gerta?" she asked. From the way her eyes fixed on me, it looked as if she was directing herself solely to me.
"Some time now. Madame Senetsky. Weeks," I replied. I glanced at Edmond, who didn't look as angry at us as he did troubled and sad. "It began when we realized someone was on our fire escape landing in the evening, looking into our rooms. Rose's and min e, especially. We didn't know who it could be," I said.
"It wasn't me," Steven said quickly, somehow thinking that was the most important issue.
Howard smirked and looked away.
"You thought it might have been me?" Edmond said, reaching his own conclusion from the way my eves shifted to him and then quickly away. "Because of how she was dressed:" he added. "correct?"
"Edmond," Madame Senetsky chided.
"Correct?" he pursued, raising his voice like a prosecutor.
"Yes," Cinnamon said. "Especially after we found what we believed was your ascot."
He nodded and looked at Madame Senetsky.
"Apparently, taking advantage of her identity problem and having her play me worked. Mother, but not the way you expected it to work."
"Edmond, return to our guests," she ordered gently. "It's too late. Mother. Let's just finish all this."
Madame Senetsky raised her eyes toward the ceiling and then looked back at us.
"Go on," she said. "What happened next?" Once again. she centered her gaze on me.
"We watched for whoever it was one night and saw a figure go up the fire escape to the landing above. Shortly after that. I was missing some clothing."
"yes, the clothing. Why didn't you report it?" "I... we..." I turned to Cinnamon.
"We weren't ready to make any accusations yet. Rose and Ice were missing some things as well. For a while, they doubted they had brought them," she explained.
"Go on."
"One night we went up the ladder and we saw... saw Gerta dressed in man's clothing, but we also saw she wasn't a man. It frightened us, and we retreated. We didn't know what to think and we didn't want to make a scene. We were afraid," I added. "Afraid of you."
"Not that afraid apparently," she muttered. "So?"
"Rose's brother is an expert on the computer and he found out some things about your family."
"That article about my husband.," Madame Senetsky recalled. She turned to Cinnamon. "The one you claimed you found in your closet. That was something this brother dug up?"
"Yes," Cinnamon said.