I don't know where Perry is now. He is gone forever from my life, but never from my heart. I loved him dearly.
A few hours after Perry left, Detective Pigeon stopped by.

"Miss Salford, do you recognize this?" the Detective said, as he held up two of my bobbypins. I told him that they were my bobbypins and used to hold on my witch wig.
"Interesting. We found them in the cuff of the dead man's pants."

In the hour after Perry left, I renewed my investigation. This time, I found some results.
The calligraphy note. I studied if for five minutes when I realized what was wrong. It was the letter "U". In the style of old-time calligraphy, Mary always carefully penned a calligraphic "V". So that the word UNION should look like VNION. I had often argued with Mary over this strange habit and especially when she left me a note to plug in the air conditioner unit that had me wondering for hours what the heck was an air conditioner vnit. The "U's" in Mary's suicide note were plain "U's", as in not "V's". And they were placed so prominently at the beginning of the note, I had no doubt that she intended for such a slip to be noticed.
Then there was the picture of Pete Broons. It was his eyes. While I had never met the art teacher when he lived, I felt as if he were someone that I had seen many times before. And he was. The face in that picture of the young Pete Broons was the same face that sadly regarded me every day from my living room wall. It was the face of the clown.
I walked over to the painting that early morning of my investigation. As I stared thoughtfully into the face of the clown, I noticed the tiny scribble signature of the painter in the lower right-hand corner of the painting. I had to scout down a magnifying glass to see it clearly, but upon inspection, it very clearly read "Perry Broons".
Still in investigative mode, I silently mouthed the words..."PERRY Broons?" Why Perry Broons, I wondered.
I stared into the eyes of the clown for some more moments and I remembered then two more places I have seen those eyes. One person was none other then Perry. The other person existed in my memory as a faded newspaper picture.

"Father suspected in abuse slaying of 5 year old daughter. Peter Broons of Riviera Beach has been arrested by Baltimore County police for the death of his daughter, Amanda Broons, who died in the emergency room of Arundel Hospital from suspicious injuries....."
I found the article in the library just an hour later. There was a picture of Amanda Broons. She had the same eyes as the clown.
Amanda Broons had a younger brother. He couldn't have been more than two at the time. His name was Perry.
So I claimed ownership of the two bobbypins found in Pete Broons pants cuffs and also turned over the papers Perry found to Detective Pigeon. I have heard no more from the police. I assume that have accepted the dual suicide pact theory.
It's been two years. I receive letters from Perry at least once a month. Yes, Pete Broons was his father and yes, he "assisted" him in his hanging. Yes, Perry knows I could turn him over to the police, even with just the letters of admission. But I haven't yet, have I? I must still love him, no? And I must understand why he did what he did. And he is still sorry about Mary, but she provided the perfect motive. Would I ever forgive him? Do I still love him?
I sit quiet in my small living room. The clown painting has been taken down. For some time, I thought the sad clown only added to my loneliness. But even with it gone, my heart aches for Perry Robson. With a little rearrangement of the letters, it becomes Perry Broons.
Even if I could mount some sort of defense of the actions taken by Perry, I am stopped by the thought of Mary's calligraphy.
Was Mary's death assisted also? Was she sending a message in the suicide note she may have been forced to write as Pete Broons was forced to write his? If justification for the death of Pete Broons could be made, what justification was there for the innocent Mary?
I encourage the letters from Perry, both because I still love him with all my heart and because I am waiting for him to acknowledge any culpability in the death of Mary.