Found in

Full text

thaw only in the event of my death

Simon,
I had wished for you to read this letter upon first arriving at Mt. Holly but I couldn't risk the contents of these pages falling into unsympathetic hands.

My personal freezer should prove quite the safebox, as all of the staff have for many years respected my wishes that it remain shut and untampered. (My favorite snacks were also stored here!)

But in addition to these delicious treats, it has also for the last 20 years stored many a cryptic message and ciphered note. This nondescript cooler is, in fact, a dubious frozen postbox of chilled secrets.

Have you heard of the Children of Black Water?

I have no idea how forthcoming your father has been about the details surrounding your mother's final chapter... or the role he thinks I played in that end. I have always denied involvement. To him. To the detectives. To the crown. And now to you as well.

But can I honestly say I had nothing to do with her disappearance? And yes, I speak of disappearance, not death. For I, too, cling to the hope that our fears are unfounded, and have occasionally, from time to time, caught fragments of information that bolster this belief.

Fragments of information that have cost me plenty, for our country is never short of opportunists and blackmailers.

Still, as I am now dead, I don't want this knowledge to be buried with me, even if that means passing the burden of these fragments onto you. Even if that information may weigh even heavier on your head than the crown involved.

Unfortunately, this information is a little too precious to entrust entirely to this freezer as I'm not too confident that the sanctity of my snacks will extend beyond my life! I've always found it best to use multiple baskets when it comes to incriminating eggs; a lesson that I recently learned again when a member of my staff betrayed my confidence.

I have placed eight red envelopes in eight even more secure locations throughout the estate and left a hidden message for you among the art that hangs in almost every room in this house. This message is the key to unlocking these secrets, but you must be open in your interpretation, as the message itself harbors multiple double meanings and hidden entendres.One final word of advice:

Do not assume the rooms you find today will be the same rooms you find tomorrow. These grounds have provided me a home for the last half century and even I am uncertain of which room lies beyond any particular door.

Your grandmother used to say, \"Don't go where the path leads. Abandon the path and go where you want it to lead.

_ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _,
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _