Chapter 8 - THE HOUSEMAID WHO KNEW TOO MUCH|
Elise Turner arrived the following afternoon carrying a canvas purse and wearing a navy coat that had clearly seen better days.
She was thirty-one, with tired eyes and an expression that suggested she had learned to be cautious around wealthy people.
When the front doors opened, she stood on the threshold without moving.
For nearly nine months, the Caruso mansion had represented everything she had lost.
Her job.
Her reputation.
Her confidence that doing the right thing would protect her.
Now the man who owned the house was waiting inside.
Dante stepped forward.
"Miss Turner."
She looked at him.
"Mr. Caruso."
"Thank you for coming."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"I came for Mrs. Caruso."
Dante nodded.
"She's waiting in the sitting room."
Elise glanced toward Nico.
"Am I allowed to leave whenever I want?"
The question caught Dante off guard.
"Of course."
She didn't appear convinced.
Dante stepped aside.
"The doors aren't locked."
Elise entered slowly.
Maren was waiting beside the fireplace.
She rose with the assistance of her walking frame.
"Elise."
The younger woman's face crumpled.
"Mrs. Caruso."
Maren opened her arms.
Elise crossed the room and hugged her carefully.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Elise pulled back and looked at Maren's legs.
"What happened?"
Maren attempted a smile.
"An unfortunate disagreement with the chapel floor."
Elise looked horrified.
"You're still going there?"
"Not anymore."
Elise turned toward Dante.
Her expression hardened.
"She was never supposed to be alone out there."
Dante felt the accusation.
He accepted it.
"I know."
Elise stared at him.
"Do you?"
Maren touched her arm.
"It's different now."
Elise glanced between them.
"I hope so."
They sat together.
Dante remained nearby, but he deliberately took the chair farthest from Maren.
He wanted Elise to understand that her testimony belonged to her.
She could speak without being physically surrounded.
Detective Mercer joined them shortly afterward.
A recording device was placed on the table with everyone's consent.
Elise folded her hands.
"I need you to understand something."
Mercer nodded.
"Take your time."
"I didn't know what Mr. Pike was doing at first."
She looked toward Maren.
"He always came to the house before you moved in."
"Yes," Dante said.
"But after the fire, he started coming at strange hours."
"How strange?" Mercer asked.
"Three in the morning."
Dante frowned.
"He said he was reviewing security arrangements."
Elise gave a bitter laugh.
"That's what he told everyone."
"What was he actually doing?" Mercer asked.
Elise reached into her purse.
She removed a small notebook.
"I started writing things down after Mrs. Caruso fell."
Dante leaned forward.
"Why?"
"Because I saw Miss Vale coming down the stairs."
Maren's expression changed.
Elise looked at her.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."
Maren shook her head.
"Tell us now."
Elise took a breath.
"Evelyn was arguing with someone on the phone."
"Did you hear what she said?" Mercer asked.
"Only pieces."
Elise opened the notebook.
"She said, 'The wife is becoming a problem.'"
Dante went still.
Elise continued.
"Then she said, 'I told you she'd start asking questions.'"
Mercer leaned forward.
"Did she mention a name?"
"No."
"What happened next?"
"I heard Mrs. Caruso on the stairs."
Elise glanced toward Maren.
"You were carrying sheets."
Maren nodded.
"Evelyn ended the call."
Elise swallowed.
"Then I heard her say you should learn your place."
Dante's fingers tightened.
"And then?"
"There was a crash."
Maren closed her eyes.
Elise's voice trembled.
"When I reached the staircase, Mrs. Caruso was lying at the bottom."
Dante could barely breathe.
"Where was Evelyn?"
"Standing halfway down."
"What was she doing?"
Elise looked directly at him.
"Fixing her bracelet."
Silence filled the room.
Mercer made a note.
"Did you see physical contact?"
"No."
Elise shook her head.
"I won't say I saw something I didn't."
"That's important," Mercer said.
"But I saw Evelyn's expression."
Elise swallowed.
"She wasn't frightened."
Maren looked down.
"She told me I slipped."
Elise nodded.
"And I heard her say that if you embarrassed the family with another dramatic episode, Mr. Caruso would be disappointed."
Dante looked toward the ceiling.
He remembered that night.
He had been at a private meeting downtown.
His assistant had received a message that Maren wasn't feeling well.
Dante had sent flowers.
White peonies.
He had thought they would make her smile.
Now he wondered whether she had been able to stand when they arrived.
Elise turned another page.
"Two nights later, I saw Pike enter the chapel."
Dante looked up.
"Through the front door?"
"No."
"Where?"
"From the old passage."
Mercer sat straighter.
"How did you know about it?"
"My grandfather worked here when Mr. Caruso's grandfather owned the property."
Elise looked at Dante.
"He told me the passage existed."
"Go on."
"I was cleaning the chapel when I heard footsteps behind the altar."
She paused.
"I hid in the storage cupboard."
"What did you see?"
"Pike came through the wall."
Dante exchanged a glance with Nico.
Elise continued.
"He was carrying a metal case."
"What kind?"
"Small, gray, with a combination lock."
"What happened next?"
"He opened it."
Elise's hands began to tremble.
"Inside were photographs and documents."
"Photographs of whom?" Mercer asked.
"Mrs. Caruso."
Maren went pale.
Elise looked at her.
"Photographs taken while you were sleeping."
Dante stood so suddenly that his chair scraped against the floor.
Maren flinched.
He immediately sat again.
"I'm sorry."
Elise watched him carefully.
Mercer continued.
"What else was inside the case?"
"A phone."
"Did Pike use it?"
"Yes."
Elise swallowed.
"He called someone and said the wife still hadn't found the ledger."
Dante frowned.
"What ledger?"
"I don't know."
Elise glanced toward Maren.
"But he said she had something Adrian wanted."
Maren stared at her.
"I don't have anything."
Elise nodded.
"That's what confused me."
Dante looked toward Nico.
"The missing warehouse records?"
"Possibly," Nico replied.
Mercer leaned forward.
"Elise, what happened when you left the cupboard?"
Elise lowered her eyes.
"Pike saw me."
"What did he say?"
"He told me I had entered a restricted area."
"And?"
"I told him I was cleaning."
Her voice tightened.
"He said nobody would believe a maid over a family attorney."
Dante closed his eyes.
"Then?"
"The next morning, Evelyn accused me of stealing her bracelet."
Maren looked at her.
"I knew you didn't."
Elise smiled sadly.
"I know."
"Why didn't you contact the police?" Mercer asked.
Elise took a deep breath.
"Because Pike called me after I left."
She looked toward Dante.
"He knew where my mother lived."
The room became still.
"He said people who talked about Caruso family matters had a habit of disappearing."
Dante felt shame rise in his throat.
His family's reputation had been used to terrorize an innocent woman.
And the people responsible had assumed he would approve.
"Elise," he said quietly.
She looked at him.
"I owe you an apology."
She gave a bitter smile.
"That won't get my job back."
"No."
He paused.
"And I wouldn't insult you by asking you to return to a place that hurt you."
She looked surprised.
Dante continued.
"But the accusation against you will be formally withdrawn."
He looked at Mercer.
"Everything the family submitted about the alleged theft will be corrected."
Elise's eyes filled.
"And your lost wages and legal expenses will be addressed through my attorney."
She stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because you were punished for protecting my wife."
His voice tightened.
"And I should have protected both of you."
For the first time, Elise looked at him without suspicion.
Maren reached for her hand.
"You didn't deserve any of it."
Elise began to cry.
The women held each other's hands across the table.
Dante looked away to give them privacy.
Then Maren spoke.
"Elise, you mentioned a ledger."
Elise nodded.
"Yes."
"What if Adrian thought I had it because of my mother?"
Dante turned.
"Your mother?"
Maren looked at him.
"She worked in medical billing before she became ill."
Dante frowned.
"At which hospital?"
"St. Catherine's."
Nico straightened.
"St. Catherine's?"
Maren nodded.
"Why?"
Nico looked at Dante.
"Boss, St. Catherine's was one of the hospitals supplied by the warehouse."
Dante felt a chill move through him.
Maren continued.
"My mother kept records of everything."
"Did she ever mention missing medical supplies?" Mercer asked.
Maren thought carefully.
"She used to talk about patients being billed for equipment that never arrived."
The detective's expression changed.
"Did she report it?"
"I think so."
Maren looked troubled.
"She was worried about losing her job."
Dante leaned forward.
"What happened to those records?"
"I don't know."
Then she froze.
"The letters."
Everyone looked at her.
Maren's voice trembled.
"My mother sometimes wrote about her work."
She stared at Dante.
"The missing box."
Dante felt his pulse quicken.
Pike had searched the chapel.
Evelyn had threatened Maren.
Someone had stolen the only letters her mother left behind.
And all along, they might have been looking for evidence connected to the fire.
Maren suddenly covered her mouth.
"What is it?" Dante asked.
She looked at him with wide eyes.
"My mother sent me one final letter."
"When?"
"Three days before she died."
Maren's voice shook.
"She told me that if anyone ever questioned her honesty, I should remember the blue dress."
Dante frowned.
"What blue dress?"
Maren stared into the distance.
"The one she wore on my graduation day."
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"I thought she was being sentimental."
May you like
She looked toward the bedroom.
"But I still have that dress."
