Page 31 of Dirty Looks

CHAPTER NINE

“What do you think?”I asked Martinez when we got back into his unit.

“I think it’s an inside job,” he said. “I don’t see how it could be anything other than that. The chances of anyone not affiliated in some way with this house seem pretty slim when you look at the number of people who are around and the level of security.”

“Yeah, that was my thought too,” I said with a sigh. “Pretty interesting that Astrid Nielsen didn’t bother to tell us about the master staff list. Like she had to go look it up in her magical house-manager computer.”

“I think there was a lot Astrid didn’t bother to tell us,” Martinez said. “But there was something that Molly said that caught my attention too. She said staff were paid well for their loyalty. Money can buy a lot of secrets and a lot of silence. Molly probably knows things that even Astrid doesn’t know. Her whole life has been wrapped up in this family.”

“Don’t forget her son and granddaughter,” I said. “That adds an extra layer when all of your income eggs are in one basket so to speak. It makes it harder to break free.”

Martinez grunted in affirmation as we drove back to the guardhouse at the front of the property. Guardhouse really dida disservice to the name. It was a dark gray stone building with white windows and trim, and by the size of it I could only assume there were offices or a room inside to monitor the cameras.

The rain was relentless, and Martinez parked in front of the gate and we both got out and ran to the side door where the guard checked visitors. At least the area was covered by a small overhang. Martinez knocked on the door, but there was no one inside that we could see.

“Goble?” he called out.

“Maybe he had to make a pass around the property,” I said. “His anorak was wet the first time we talked to him.”

“Maybe,” Martinez said. “We’ll try him again on the way out.”

We ran back to the SUV, both of us wet and shivering, and Martinez kicked the heater on high.

“Next time I complain about the heat in the summer, remind me what this spring has been like,” he said.

He put the car in reverse and then got back on the long drive that led to the house. Then he followed the paved path along the side of the house. The designers had done a good job of concealing anything that would take away from the splendor of the house, including the road that disappeared into a tunnel of trees and skirted the perimeter of the property.

“This place must be a security nightmare,” Martinez said. “Hardly a clear view from any direction with all the tree coverage.”

Our speed was slowed by the rain and low visibility, but as we turned a corner I thought I saw a building in the distance.

“That must be the staff garage,” I said, squinting to peer out the window.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Martinez said as the windshield wipers swished furiously. “I can’t see crap. What is this weather?”

The rain did seem to be coming down in sheets instead of drops, and I was starting to wonder if God was punishing us for some unknown reasons. My phone rang and I thought about sending it to voicemail, but then I saw Doug’s picture pop up and I wanted to make sure he was okay.

I put the phone on speaker and said, “Everything okay?”

“So, like, don’t get mad,” Doug said by way of greeting.

Martinez started laughing and slowed the car to a crawl as we continued on what I thought was the road that headed toward the barns.

“Hey, who’s that?” Doug asked.

“Martinez,” he answered.

“Oh, cool,” Doug said. “I saw the news this morning. That’s a pretty sweet suit you were wearing. Makes you look like a mobster.”

“Thank you?” Martinez said, giving me a look.

I didn’t say anything because the suit did kind of give off mobster vibes.

“Maybe you should get back to the part where you don’t want me to be mad,” I said. “Did something happen at the house? Are you okay?”

“I’m A-okay,” he said. “This rain is pretty wicked. My afternoon class got cancelled because no one could get on Zoom. And the groceries got delivered, so that’s good.”

“None of these things are triggering my wrath,” I said.

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