We discover a bit more in this episode. The mother's name and how she came to find the book of spells. 

The theories in response to what happened to the father in "Secrets" (Part One) have been varied and very unusual.  The father has either been killed, he's run off, he went crazy, or just mysteriously disappeared. I knew they'd come up with a few wild ideas! 

My students will have read at least Act One of Arthur Miller's well-known play The Crucible so I decided to make up a narrative about witchcraft. I struggled to come up with a title but "Secrets" will have to suffice for now. 

The topic of witches and their "craft" has always been a popular one. Who doesn't like a good story about witches--whether they be good or bad? 

Will this story have a sequel? I left it so it could have one. Notice I put "Part One" within parenthesis. Maybe I'll ask the students to make up a second part. It would be interesting to see how they might continue the story.  With their wild imaginations, I might be surprised. Who knows?

They say as you grow older you become wiser.  I'm not so sure about that. In this tale, an old woman instructs a young mother who is desperate for help with her children. Whether her solution was wise or not is up to the listener to decide. My students had mixed reactions to the tale. 

I must admit that I admire mystery writers. Plotting a mystery takes into consideration so many details. I can just imagine the writer jotting down all the events and how they lead to a satisfactory conclusion. It must be like a map where an X is placed to indicate a clue and all those clues lead to a treasure. The reader must be careful because sometimes the clues are false and are placed there to mislead. But that's part of the fun, isn't it? When we as the reader are able to guess the mystery, there's a sense of pride. Pride at having solved a kind of puzzle. Mysteries and puzzles challenge the mind and are meant to solved, that's why they exist.

Grannies or "nanas" are lovely people. Right? But not all are alike. They have their quirks. Is Gertrude a typical grandmother? As a mother-in-law, does she convince the listener that she only has her daughter-in-law's best interest at heart?  Or is she only concerned for her son? What motive would she have to harm Alice? 

Nannies are lovable people or that's what most people think. If they take care of children, they must be nice, right? But you never know. Besides, what possible motive could Nanny Claire have? 

In this episode a new character is mentioned. Might this person have something to do with Alice's "accident"?  

"The butler did it" is what we often hear in these mysteries. In this one we have no butler but we do have a maid. Could Nancy be a possible suspect? What might be her motive to harm Alice? 

In this episode the listener has a suspect to consider: Alex the husband. What possible motive might he have to harm his wife Alice? 

In the episodes that follow, other clues might be found. There is also one other character who has not been mentioned.