Until death, p.19
Until Death, page 19
“I’ll drive the ladies,” Titus informed Miller. “It’s a beautiful day, and I’d love to get my mind off all this, well, you know.”
Miller eyed Raina and shrugged. “Do you want Titus to take you to the country club? I could take your car,” he announced. “It’ll make things much easier.”
“Can we take the limo?” Jenna asked sounding a little giddy.
“Yeah, sure,” Raina replied.
“I’ll meet you at the club for drinks,” Miller informed them.
“See you there in an hour or so,” Raina replied then eyed Titus.
He smiled charmingly and extended his hand toward the freshly washed limousine.
§
While riding in the back of the limousine, Jenna admired the luxury of a first-class lifestyle. She finally figured out how to work the radio and fiddled with it. Raina couldn’t take watching her friend play with all the buttons like a kindergartner and moved to the backward facing seat near the front. She opened the glass partition to reveal Titus in the driver’s seat. She caught a glimpse of his profile and realized his eyes were slightly glossy almost as if he’d been fighting back tears.
“Are you okay, Titus?” she asked with concern.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “Allergies.”
She knew that wasn’t true and felt sorry for the guy. He was obviously hurting from everything that had happened over the last few months.
“I know you dated Callie for nearly a year,” Raina announced gently. “It’s understandable if you’re upset by her death.”
“I know how everyone felt about her,” Titus remarked. “I mean, I sort of hated her a little myself, but no one seems to care that she’s dead. It just bothers me that her death brings so much joy to others.”
“It does seem that way, I suppose,” she replied with a soft sigh. “Maybe once the police have her killer we can have a memorial or something for her. Perhaps invite her friends and sister.” She eyed him sympathetically through the rearview mirror. “It’s tough to have closure when there hasn’t even been a proper funeral.”
“That would be a nice gesture, but I doubt anyone from the house will want to attend,” Titus replied while looking back at her through the mirror. “The staff all hated her, especially Dane.”
“Why especially Dane?” Raina questioned with surprise. “I thought they only dated briefly. I heard they were never really that close either.”
“There’s a reason why they only dated a few weeks and why she never slept with him,” Titus announced then tensed. “Maybe I shouldn’t say.”
“And maybe you should,” Raina replied.
“It can’t get back that I said anything, because lord knows I have my own skeletons in my closet,” the chauffeur informed her.
“I won’t tell anyone what I heard from you,” Raina reassured him then watched one of the windows raise and lower while Jenna giggled.
“When we were first dating,” Titus offered, “Callie told me the reason she ended it with Dane was that she discovered something about his past--something disturbing.”
“Disturbing?”
“That’s the word she used.”
“What was it?” Raina asked now curious. Disturbing was a concerning word choice.
“She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t press her,” he replied. “All I know is she said she found a locked box in his room. She opened it and found something disturbing about his past.” He shook his head. “Whatever it was, it was enough for her to abruptly end it. She started dating Hanson shortly after that. I know Dane thought she was just using him, but there was more to it than that. She told me she only dated Hanson because she wanted protection from Dane.”
“Protection from Dane?” Raina asked with surprise. “She thought he’d hurt her?”
“She seemed to think so,” he replied. “Whenever I questioned her about her relationship with Dane, she’d distract me with sex.”
Raina sank into thought and wondered what Callie had discovered in the mysterious locked box she’d found in Dane’s room. What could she possibly have found that was disturbing and made her fear for her life? If it was something so incriminating, why hadn’t she gone to the police? It didn’t make sense.
Chapter 36
Cheaters, Liars, and Thieves
Raina and Jenna sat with Farley Nixon at a private corner booth in the quiet country club lounge. Each had drinks on the table before them. The lounge had an old, gentleman’s club feel to it. Rich dark wood, dim lighting, intimate booths, and a large antique bar. Despite the large windows, wooden mini-blinds kept out most of the natural light. Many of the tables were intimate booths allowing seclusion and privacy. Farley remained tense and shifted uncomfortably several times while already working on his second drink.
“If my wife knew we were discussing Callie, she’d kill me,” he informed them and looked around the lounge as if expecting someone to be eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Why’s that?” Jenna asked.
“The worst kept secret in town,” he replied and nervously leaned on the table. “You must have heard that Callie and I had an affair several years back. That Detective Payne seemed to zero in on it rather quickly and questioned me about it extensively.”
“If your wife already knows, why would she be upset that we’re discussing Callie?” Raina asked.
“Gilda is crazy jealous. Literally crazy,” Farley informed her then took a large swallow from his glass. “My wife found out about our affair and wanted me to dismiss her immediately.” His eyes widened dramatically with fear. “You don’t just fire the woman you’re having an affair with. They tend to take that personally.”
“So you convinced my father to hire her instead of firing her,” Raina muttered then made a face. “So I have you to thank for that little gift that just keeps giving.”
“I’ll admit, I didn’t tell your father the whole truth about her dismissal,” Farley replied uncomfortably. “I told him Gilda was going through one of her jealous fits of rage and accused me of sleeping with Callie. I told him she insisted I fire her or she’d divorce me.” He fiddled with his drink. “That’s all true, except her accusation was more than an accusation. It’s not as if it mattered at the time. Your father was completely devoted to Brenda. Their marriage wasn’t in any danger by pawning off Callie onto him.”
Raina shook her head with disappointment. “Didn’t you think to tell my father about your relationship when you found out he was dating her?”
“I wanted to, but he seemed happy,” Farley explained. “I mean, she made me happy too. Why shouldn’t he be happy, right?”
“Can’t argue with that,” Jenna muttered then eyed the nervous man. “How did your wife find out?”
“Someone found out about our affair and secretly recorded us together,” he explained.
“One of the staff?” Jenna asked while staring at him with surprise.
“Doubtful. The video was shot from outside the window,” Farley explained. “If I didn’t pay them for their silence, they were going to send the video to my wife.” He frowned and shook his head. “At the time, Callie tried to convince me to come clean with Gilda and not pay the blackmail, but I couldn’t let my wife see that video, so I paid them. I paid on several occasions. My wife caught me paying the blackmail money, and that’s how she found out about the affair.” He reconsidered the comment. “Well, she strongly suspected. Naturally, since my wife knew, I decided to stop paying the blackmail money and dismiss Callie. It would get both the blackmailer and my wife off my back. Once my wife knew, the blackmailer had nothing more to hold over me, so he left me alone.”
“Who do you think killed Callie?” Raina asked while leaning across the table.
“Under the circumstances, I’d say your father did it, but I know him too well,” Farley insisted. “He’s more of a ‘get your lawyer involved than take justice into your own hands’ kind of guy.” Farley shook his head. “And that hanging business? I can’t imagine him ever doing something like that. It’s a little too grand, you know, over-the-top. A lover seeking revenge wouldn’t fake a suicide in that manner. He’d slip pills into her drink. That’s how you kill your lover.”
Raina and Jenna stared at the man across from them a moment and raised their brows as if coming to the same conclusion.
“Sounds like you’ve given that some thought,” Jenna muttered.
“I think most married men do,” he replied with little concern and sipped his drink.
Neither woman moved for a moment then pushed their drinks away.
§
It was almost dinnertime, and the staff was busy setting the dining room table. Raina appeared on the back stairs, glanced around the empty kitchen, and listened a moment. She could hear the familiar voices coming from the nearby dining room. Raina seized her opportunity and hurried through the servant’s wing doorway. Dane kept the house running on a tight schedule, so she knew how long they’d be out of the kitchen. It was a small window, but she felt she had to risk it. Raina hurried down the staff wing corridor and entered Dane’s room. She quietly shut the door behind her and began a quick search of the room. She looked under the bed, frowned, and then checked the closet.
Dane’s suits hung neatly and almost perfectly spaced. She marveled at the neatness of his closet and shook her head. He was more of a prima donna about his clothes than most women. She then looked at the shelf above the suits and saw the black, fireproof locked box. Titus had been right about there being a locked box. Raina removed the slightly heavy box no bigger than a shoebox and set it on the floor. Thankfully, it was a key lock. She removed a paper clip and worked on the lock. It took some time, but it finally sprang open. She hesitated a moment before opening the box.
To her surprise, she saw a large amount of cash, several legal papers, a 9mm semiautomatic, and three envelopes. She opened the thicker envelope to reveal several military medals and stared bewildered at them. She opened another thick envelope to reveal several passports. Raina looked at each passport with horror. Dane’s photo was on each one with different names and addresses all issued before being hired by her father.
“What the hell--?”
Who was he? James Bond? Raina studied them briefly then placed them back inside the envelope. She opened the last envelope, which was the thinnest. There were several newspaper articles referencing jewelry heists in different countries. One of the articles had a photo from a fancy gala of some sort, although she couldn’t read it since it was in Italian. She stared at the picture a moment then became alarmed. To her surprise, she saw Dane standing in the background looking like an aristocrat holding a champagne glass. There was no mistaking he was a guest at that particular party and not a servant. She glanced over the dates of the articles then looked back at the passports.
“Oh, hell no.”
She heard faint voices in the servant’s corridor. Raina stuffed everything back into the box and hurriedly replaced it to the shelf in the closet. When she heard someone in the hallway closer to Dane’s room, she looked around for somewhere to hide. Raina darted into the bathroom and hid behind the door, although that would do her little good if Dane found her there. Another door within the hallway opened and then closed a moment later. It seemed as if she were in the clear. Raina slowly emerged from the bathroom and approached the bedroom door. She listened a moment then heard the servant’s wing door open and close. She sighed with relief before slipping out of the room.
Raina hurried down the staff wing corridor toward the kitchen and paused before the door. She listened by the door but didn’t hear anyone. Raina gently opened the door and peered into the kitchen. Luckily, it was empty. She hurried through the doorway then heard voices by the dining room door. Her heart was now pounding. Raina bolted for the refrigerator and opened it. Levi entered the kitchen as she removed a bottle of water.
“Raina, you’re just in time,” Levi announced cheerfully. “Dane was about to announce dinner to the others in the lounge.”
“Lucky for me; my timing is amazing,” she announced while grinning.
Chapter 37
No One’s Above Suspicion
Raina sat on her bed later that evening and typed into the search bar on her laptop. She consulted a paper that she had scribbled the names she remembered from the passports and typed them into an internet search. None of the names produced any results, which was mildly infuriating. She groaned with defeat then contemplated her next course of action. She typed ‘jewelry thefts, Italy’ and glanced through the results. She picked one from six years ago, before Dane’s employment with her father. The same article from the newspaper in the locked box envelope appeared on the screen. She studied the picture and clicked to translate the article from Italian to English. She studied the screen with great interest while reading the article aloud.
“Over a million dollars in jewelry was stolen from the duke’s penthouse suite during a formal party at the famous downtown hotel,” she read softly aloud. Raina stared at the picture with Dane in the background and shook her head with disbelief. “I can’t believe it.”
She couldn’t get past the disappearance of Brenda’s emerald necklace with the coincidence that Dane was a potential jewel thief in his former life. The necklace theft made little sense either way. If the murder was the result of theft, why did the thief leave behind Callie’s diamond tennis bracelet and one-karat diamond engagement ring? Taking the obvious theft out of the equation, the murder pointed back at Miller. He was the only one who’d be interested in his mother’s necklace and not the other, more expensive jewelry. But, by his own admission, the necklace belonged to him, so he had no reason to steal it. Raina groaned and held her aching head.
§
Otto sat at his desk in the study and stared at his computer, but he was obviously somewhere else. The study was old school with antique furniture, dark wood, and a refined, gentlemanly appeal. Her father’s desk was the showpiece of the room, befitting of a man of great wealth. The small desk lamp and the glow of the computer dimly lighted the room. There was a knock on the open door bringing him out of his mild trance. Otto looked up as Raina entered and approached his desk.
“Are you okay?” she asked with concern for his emotional state.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” her father replied and attempted a smile, although it was obviously fake. “It’s been a rough couple of days.”
“I know,” she replied gently. “It’s late. Why don’t you go to bed?”
“Oh, Raina, if only I could,” he announced with a depressed sigh and leaned back in his chair while rubbing his eyes. “There aren’t enough sleeping pills in the world to put me to sleep tonight.”
“I’m sorry to hear,” she replied and sat on the edge of the expensive desk facing him. “I know you won’t approve, but do you suppose I could look at the employee files?”
“I suppose I don’t really care,” he teased back and forced a humored smile, “but I would like to know why you’re interested.”
“Let’s just say I don’t have faith in Detective Payne,” she informed him. “I’ve been poking around in Callie’s past a little, and I’m looking for that shred of evidence that might point to someone other than you for Detective Payne to sink his claws into.”
“You’re right, I don’t approve, but there’s no harm in you looking at the employee files,” her father remarked. “Dane takes care of that. He keeps all that stuff in the computer somewhere. You can ask him for them.”
“Oh,” she replied with disappointment. “I, uh, didn’t know you relied that heavily on him.”
“He’s far more organized than I’ll ever be,” Otto reluctantly admitted.
“It’s late,” she announced. “I’ll bother him in the morning.”
“I’m sure he’s still puttering around the kitchen,” he assured her. “I doubt he’d mind.”
“It can wait,” she announced then managed a smile. “Goodnight, Dad.”
“Goodnight, Raina.”
§
Miller stood on the back terrace and leaned on the half wall while staring out to the dimly lit garden and possibly beyond it to the crypt. Jenna stepped out of the mansion through the dining room doors and approached him. She sat on the half wall near him and attempted to gauge his emotions.
“You seemed quiet at dinner,” she remarked while studying him. “I thought you’d be in a better mood with Callie out of the picture.”
“I was initially, but now I’m starting to feel guilty about it,” he informed her and frowned. “I liked it better when it was suicide.” He shifted uncomfortably and cast a look at her. “Raina’s right, Callie didn’t deserve to be murdered. Her indiscretions at the reception would have been sufficient cause to remove her from our lives forever.”
“I know it’s none of my business,” Jenna gently announced then grimaced at the question she felt she had to ask. “But did you and Callie have a fling at one time?”
Miller straightened and stared at her with surprise. “What? Me and Callie?” he gasped as his eyes widened with something resembling horror. “You must be kidding.”
“It’s a valid question,” Jenna insisted in her own defense. “She seemed to enslave most of the men in the house with her feminine wiles. Why not you?” She shifted uncomfortably. “I mean, you were young and single when they hired her. Things happen, don’t they?”
“Yes, things happen, but not with her,” he announced proudly then eyed her. “No, I never slept with Callie.” Miller fidgeted and frowned almost reluctant to continue. “I was too busy chasing Sloan around the house.”
“Really?” Jenna asked with surprise then attempted a smile although hiding her jealousy, which seemed to be obvious to everyone but Miller. “Did you ever catch her?”
“A couple of times,” he admitted with a chuckle then shifted uncomfortably. “She’d only been working here maybe a year. It was really just a casual thing.” Miller hesitated then managed a smile. “Well, for her.”
