Suspicions with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Four) (10 page)

“
I
won’t lie,” she said as she crouched down. “I thought Mr. Lewis was completely nuts when he said he lost his purple dog. It looks like someone got into that paint from yesterday.” She held out her hand and the little dachshund came timidly toward her.

“That’s Outlandish,” he stated as he bent down next to her.

She scratched the top of the dog’s head before picking her up. “At least it’s waterproof paint. It hasn’t hurt her at all.”

“No,” he chuckled. “Her name’s Outlandish. You can call her Landi, everyone does. She must have hidden out here during the party last night. She isn’t fond of large crowds. I should probably take her back to Mr. Lewis. I imagine he’s getting pretty worried.”

“I’ll do it,” Rilynne said as rubbed Landi’s chin.

Her attention remained on the purple dog until they stepped back into the manor. “I’ll find Mr. Lewis, then meet you in the kitchen for lunch,” she told Danny. He looked for a moment as if he wanted to argue, but just smiled as he gave the little dog a quick pat on the head.

She didn’t have to search long before finding Mr. Lewis in his study. When she knocked on the open doors to announce her presence, he responded by jumping from his chair and standing tall. He reminded her almost of a soldier.

“That’s Outlandish!” he yelled as he began making his way toward her. “I knew if anyone would find her, it would be you.” He smiled warmly at her before reaching for the dog. Despite having been nearly completely covered in paint the day before, Landi was excited to see him. He held her close and chuckled as he let her lick his face.

“How’d you know it would be me?” she asked inquisitively, having just registered his statement.

He gave her an impish grin before turning back toward his desk. “You’re a smart girl,” he stated simply.

Rilynne watched him curiously as he placed the dog gently on his desk and sat back down. She didn’t know how to respond, so she waited quietly for him to continue.

She didn’t have to wait long. “You know, you actually remind me a bit of Brittney,” he stated, his wild eyes looking her over carefully. “She was also quite smart. I always thought she could be so much more than a maid. She was a very pleasant person.”

“I was very sorry to hear what happened to her,” she said.

“Yes, quite dreadful. It was a very curious event. I saw her not long before they’re saying it happened. She had quite a bit of work still to do for the day. Cyndi wasn’t thrilled the banister on the east wing stairs was only partially dusted the next morning.”

For the first time in her life, she was glad that someone was crazy. From everything she had learned about Brittney so far, she wouldn’t have left a job half finished unless she were interrupted.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Lewis?” she said, trying to contain her excitement.

He flashed her another large smile and shook his head. “I’ll take care of this Outlandish situation. You scamper off. I’m sure you have much more pressing things to tend to.”

She nodded and smiled as she turned to leave.

“I hope you find your maidly duties quite pleasurable while you’re on our staff,” he stated before she reached the door. Rilynne turned back toward him only to find a pleasant smile waiting for her. She didn’t know if he was mocking her or being sincere. She studied his face, but he was too difficult to read.

Again she just nodded and turned.

She checked her watch as she left the study. She was torn. If she missed lunch, someone would surely come looking for her. She decided to go to the kitchen first, then make her way to the east wing when she knew everyone would be busy with their own work.

The kitchen was already buzzing when she walked in. Other than the security officers-who she had decided ate elsewhere-she was the last to arrive.

“Tell me that poor dog wasn’t actually painted purple,” Sydney said, sliding over to make room.

“I wish I could,” she replied as she began making herself a plate. In addition to the macaroni salad Danny had mentioned, there were also small sandwiches and a pudding dessert. “She didn’t seem to mind it, though.” She finished loading up her plate, and sat down between Sydney and Danny.

“Don’t worry about her,” Casey told Sydney. “That’s one of the happiest animals I’ve ever seen. She may end up painted or covered in food from time to time, but she’s used to it. I’m sure she’ll have a bubble bath and a pedicure waiting for her this evening.”

“Lucky dog,” Nancy laughed sarcastically. “Maybe that’s what I’ll do on my next day off. I know the perfect place in town to get pedicures.”

“I thought you were going to go feed the ducks with your boyfriend,” Lisa stated.

Nancy shook her head. “I decided to call things off with him last week,” she replied. “He was just too… boring. I need a real man.” Rilynne caught her eyes shift quickly to Danny, then away again before anyone else noticed.

She looked around the table and found a similar look sitting on nearly all of their faces: exasperation. Rilynne had the distinct feeling that the infatuation Nancy seemed to have for Danny wasn’t a secret.

“So are you regretting coming here yet?” Cole asked in an obvious attempt to shift the conversation away from Nancy.

Rilynne grinned. “Not at all. While it definitely is the most structured place I’ve ever worked, it’s not lacking entertainment.”

“Just wait,” Casey laughed. “Mrs. Lewis’ birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks. That means she’ll be throwing herself a big party, and Mr. Lewis will be finding inventive ways to sabotage her plans. Last year he took everything sharp out of her bathroom and covered the doorway with a dozen rolls of saran wrap while she was taking her bath. It was so thick she couldn’t get through it. She was stuck in there for several hours before Nancy finally found her. By that time, the guests had already started to arrive.”

“You should have seen it,” Nancy said, wide eyed with amusement. “The wrap was so thick, it was hard to see through. I could definitely make her out, though, even if she hadn’t been yelling at the top of her lungs. Her face was so red when I finally cut it open that I thought she would explode. Of course by that time Mr. Lewis was nicely dressed downstairs, conversing with the guests.”

As she said it, the picture formed in front of her.

Cyndi Lewis had just stepped out of the tub and into an awaiting towel. She walked over to the large vanity and studied herself in the mirror as she pulled the clip from her hair, letting it fall down over her shoulders.

After running her fingers through it, she started toward her bedroom. When she tried to step through the door, a thick wall of plastic stopped her.

Fury consumed her face as she slammed her hands against it. As hard as she struggled, it just wouldn’t budge. She let out an angry roar as she stormed back over to the vanity. She threw open every drawer and cabinet in the room, but found nothing of use. As a wave of frustration and anger swept over her, she resigned to screaming and slamming her fists against the new wall.

Rilynne struggled not to laugh loudly as the kitchen came back into focus. She couldn’t help but wonder to herself how Cyndi Lewis had been so oblivious that she had not only failed to hear her husband in what must have been a long, loud process, but she didn’t see the wall before walking into it.

“I don’t imagine that went over well after the guests left,” Rilynne said.

Casey shrugged. “Mrs. Lewis seems to have given up on talking to him about his behavior. After the guests left, she just locked herself in her room. Mr. Lewis definitely seemed even more amused by her reaction, or lack thereof.”

Lisa stood up as she finished her plate and stated, “I honestly can’t wait to see what he pulls this year. You’ll come to discover that one of the best parts of this job is watching the stunts that he pulls, even if they do require a lengthy clean up afterwards.”

After she finished her lunch, Rilynne headed back to her room. She still had an hour before she was supposed to start on her afternoon duties, but she wanted to get a jump on them so she would have enough time to look at the east stairs before dinner.

“Let’s see,” she said as she flipped through the binder. Because she had the following day off, her afternoon list was fuller than any of the other days she had looked at. When she glanced down to the bottom, though, she discovered a lucky break. The very last think on her list for the evening was to dust and polish the banisters on the east stairs.

Not wanting to waste any time, Rilynne found the closest supply closet and began working on the rest of her daily duties.

Before she could start on the stairs, she first had two other rooms to take care of. First on the list was the formal dining room.

The table, which was almost as long as her entire house, had thirty chairs on either side. The one sitting at the head of the table was larger than the rest, looking more like a throne than an actual dining chair.

Rilynne started at one end of the table and worked her way slowly around. Though the caterers had cleared the room after the event, it was far from clean. It took the better part of an hour just to clean the crumbs from the chairs and polish the fingerprints away.

After making her way back around to the head of the table, she branched out and began cleaning the rest of the furniture in the room. She saved the large china cabinet for last.

It was filled with the most beautiful set of china she had ever seen. Each piece had been monogrammed with an elegant J and C. From the looks of it, the set had been cared for. It surprised her in a way, though she wasn’t sure why.

*

“Don’t mind me,” Cole said when she walked into the room titled ‘man cave’ half an hour later. “Mr. Lewis has decided to spend the rest of the day out searching for mystical creatures in the woods-his words, not mine-and Mrs. Lewis is at her tennis lesson. That gives me a nice little break unless someone comes to the door. Mr. Lewis lets me sit in here and watch the game.”

“We should trade jobs,” she chuckled.

Cole raised his eyebrow and smiled. He wasn’t like she had pictured at all when she read over his file. Her only experiences with butlers had been on television, but they all seemed a bit uptight. Cole was the complete opposite. While he was very formal when performing his duties, he was much more relaxed in his free time. She had yet to see him without a smile on his face. “I think I’ll pass. It’s not as easy as you would think, though. The majority of my day I spend waiting on a woman who’s never pleased, or trying to prevent a mad man from destroying the manor.”

“Now, I definitely wouldn’t want that responsibility,” Rilynne said as she climbed the small stepladder she placed below the large display case hanging on the wall. “How long have you been working for the Lewis’?”

“I started working for Mr. Lewis just over ten years ago. I’d just graduated from high school and was working as a waiter to save up for college. He came in one day and just offered me the job. At first I thought he was just messing with me, but he sent a car to pick me up after my shift so I could see the house. I started working here the next day,” he explained. “He also paid for me to take night classes so I could get my degree.
Believe it or not, he was actually pretty normal before he met Mrs. Lewis. I think she makes him as nuts as he makes her.”

“I don’t imagine she was entirely thrilled with the relationship he had with the maid that was killed,” she said casually. “From what almost everyone said, it sounds like there was something going on between them.”

“You know, I had my suspicions from time to time, but I never actually saw anything that would have suggested there was anything going on,” he stated, his eyes still glued to the large television in front of him. “They did spend a good deal of time together, though. He wouldn’t let anyone else clean up his messes.”

“Well, everyone seemed to think along the same lines, other than Danny, that is,” she said. She turned toward the cases and waited for him to fill the silence. It didn’t take long.

Cole chuckled and said, “Well, that’s just because of their pact.”

Rilynne stopped dusting and turned back toward him. “What pact?” she asked curiously.

“See, Danny and Brittney started dating shortly after she started working here,” he stated, still not turning away from the screen. “They were only together for about six months, but when it ended, they made the pact. They agreed that, out of consideration for each other, neither would date anyone else in the house while they were both still employed.”

“That’s actually kind of nice. Do you think they both would have stuck to it?”

“They both had options within the house,” he said. He seemed to be considering the question carefully. “I know Danny wasn’t going to break it, but I can’t say for sure whether Brittney would or not.”

With a pact like that, Rilynne could see several different motives for Brittney to be killed. As she thought over the list of scenarios, Cole returned his attention to the game. Rilynne was so lost in her thoughts-constructing a possible suspect list-she found herself finished with the room without actually remembering the work that went into it. After gathering the supplies and returning them to her caddy, she walked out of the room, leaving Cole entranced by the game.