# Investigation explained — Lost Man’s Lane > Chapter companion for Lost Man’s Lane by Anna Katharine Green. ## What happens Mr. Gryce and Miss Butterworth exhume a body from the cellar, revealing it to be Althea Knollys, the mother of Lucetta and Loreen, who had been secretly buried there. Lucetta confesses that her mother died only days ago, despite the world believing her dead for years, and that the family resorted to secret burial to protect their honor. Mr. Gryce, having impersonated Mother Jane to assist in the burial, forces the revelation, and the sisters reluctantly agree to further examination of the remains. ## Themes in this chapter ### Secrecy and Deception The Knollys family conceals the true death and burial of Althea Knollys for years, and Mr. Gryce impersonates Mother Jane to uncover the truth. ### Family Loyalty and Sacrifice Lucetta and Loreen go to great lengths to protect their family's honor, even resorting to secret burial and enduring public humiliation. ### Detection and Investigation Mr. Gryce's systematic exhumation and questioning reveal the hidden truth about Althea Knollys's death. ## Character check-ins ### Amelia Butterworth Present at the exhumation, identifies the body as Althea Knollys, and struggles with the emotional ordeal. ### Mr. Gryce Leads the investigation, reveals he impersonated Mother Jane to assist in the burial, and insists on further digging. ### Lucetta Confesses that the buried body is her mother, who died only recently, and that the family concealed her death to protect their honor. ### Miss Knollys Loreen, the elder sister, supports Lucetta's confession and pleads for reverent treatment of their mother's remains. ### Althea Knollys The deceased mother, whose body is exhumed from the cellar, having been secretly buried there. ### Mother Jane Mentioned as the persona Mr. Gryce impersonated to assist in the burial. ## Key lines > It is Althea Knollys! Changed almost beyond conception, but still these girls’ mother! Miss Butterworth identifies the exhumed body as Althea Knollys, the mother of Lucetta and Loreen, despite her altered appearance. _Confirms the identity of the deceased and resolves the mystery of the secret burial._ > Our work is not done yet. They who make graves so readily in cellars must have been more or less accustomed to the work. We have still some digging to do. Mr. Gryce hints that the discovery of Althea's grave is not the end; the family's ease with cellar burials suggests further secrets. _Foreshadows additional revelations and deepens the investigation._ > To the world my mother has been dead many, many years, but not to us. We closed her eyes night before last, and it was to preserve this secret, which involves others affecting our family honor, that we resorted to expedients which have perhaps attracted the notice of the police and drawn this humiliation down upon us. Lucetta explains that her mother died only recently, but the family pretended she died years ago to protect their honor, leading to the secret burial. _Reveals the central deception and the family's motive for secrecy._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lost_man_s_lane_se/chapters/xxx-investigation - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lost_man_s_lane_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/lost_man_s_lane_se/chapters