Chapter 31
Chapter
Thirty-One
OBSIDIAN
A riana has been on edge for the past two nights. The first night Leah arrived, she got settled, but the next night, I insisted to Ariana that we dine with Leah out on one of the patios to show my appreciation. Ariana barely said a word the entire meal.
I’m not sure if it’s jealousy making her act so out of character, but I don’t think so. It seems like something more than that, something different, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. When I questioned her after dinner, she said she was tired and still not feeling one hundred percent.
I’m on my way back to my office, one of Mrs. Potter’s amazing cappuccinos in hand, when Marcel calls my name from behind me. I stop and turn to face him. His jaw is tense, and he’s frowning.
“Everything okay, Marcel?”
“Sir, if I could have a word please. There’s something I’ve wanted to talk to you about.”
My forehead wrinkles, and I set the cappuccino on a nearby table before setting my hands on my hips. Marcel has been working for the Voss family as far back as I can remember. He’s a loyal worker who knows how to keep his mouth shut, so the apparent concern on his face raises some red flags.
“What is it?” I ask.
He swallows hard and hesitates, almost as though he’s considering how he wants to say what he has to say. The pause puts me on the edge.
“Spit it out,” I snap.
He nods. “Sir, Finn came to me after some of the housekeeping staff went to him over the past several weeks with concerns. Apparently, they’ve noticed that items have gone missing from within the manor.” He raises his chin and waits for my response.
“Items? What kind of items?”
“Candlesticks, a Fabergé egg, among other things.”
A creeping feeling webs in my gut. “And why are you telling me specifically?”
He clears his throat. “Because, sir, the items didn’t go missing until Miss Clarke came under your employment.”
His words hang between us.
My immediate reaction is disbelief, but anger is quick to follow. “Are you accusing Ariana of stealing from us?”
Marcel’s gaze darts away. “I’m just relaying the facts, sir.”
I step toward him, but Marcel holds his ground. “How do you know it’s not one of the housekeeping staff taking the items and using Ariana as a scapegoat because she’s new on the premises?”
“I don’t, sir. That’s why I’m telling you. So you can tell me how you’d like me to proceed to figure out what’s going on. Whether you want me to call the police.”
“No police,” I say.
“Very well. What would you like me to do?”
My mind races like a Formula 1 car in Monaco, every thought looping around to the same place—is this what’s been bothering Ariana lately?
“I want you to keep this between the two of us. Leave it with me. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“Yes, sir.” He gives me a small nod in deference before walking away.
I push a hand through my hair and blow out a breath. What the fuck is going on?
It can’t be true. It can’t.
But that oily feeling I’ve had a few times, like everything with Ariana is temporary, rises.
If Ariana was stealing things, when the hell would she have even had time to pawn them or find a buyer? She can’t be hoarding them in her room. The housekeeping staff would have found them.
She never leaves the manor without me except… fuck. She meets her brother every Saturday night. I didn’t think anything of it, but what brother comes to see his sister once a week? And where is he coming from? She’s never given me the impression that he lives around here, and I’ve never bothered to ask.
I assume he lives wherever she lived before coming to Midnight Manor, but I don’t know where that is. In the beginning, I refused to look at her employment file because I was planning to make her quit. After a while, I didn’t want to know anything she didn’t tell. Why didn’t she tell me?
Tonight, I’ll be paying a visit to Black Magic Bar.
I need to know for sure that everything Marcel is saying is bullshit, and I don’t want the staff whispering about her in dark corners. I’ll clear her name.
I step into Black Magic Bar, and there are only a few patrons. I sit at the opposite end of the bar from the old-timers but can tell they know who I am when they do a double-take and whisper to each other.
When the bartender is done helping them, she sidles down to me. “Can I get you something?”
I pull a one-hundred-dollar bill from my money clip and slide it across the bar top. “Just a water.”
Her eyebrows rise, but she slides the bill into her back pocket. “Water it is.” She fills one of the glasses with water and slides it over before coming to stand in front of me, leaning on the bar with her chin on her hand. “I’m assuming you’re looking for a little more than just water.”
Smart woman.
I pull my phone from my suit pocket and pull up a picture of Ariana from the Bahamas. Setting the phone on the bar, I turn it to face her and slide it closer. “Do you recognize this woman?”
Her gaze flits down to take a look. “Yeah, she’s usually in here every Saturday. Don’t know her name though.”
“That’s fine, I don’t need it.” I click the button on the side of my phone, making Ariana’s picture disappear—which is for the best. I feel like the worst guy imaginable, doubting and questioning the woman I love. The only thing that could make it worse would be her face looking up at me while I did it.
“What do you want to know then?”
Someone else walks into the bar and sits at one of the tables, and she lifts her finger to tell them to give her a minute.
“Who’s she usually here with?” I ask.
“Her brother. At least that’s what they say. I think it’s the truth, though, because he always flirts with me in front of her, and she never seems bothered by it.”
I nod. “Anything stand out about their interactions?”
She presses her lips together and looks at the ceiling before flicking her gaze back to mine. “Not really. They both order beer, don’t cause any trouble. Just sit at that table and talk for a while.” She gestures at one of the tables.
I’m not sure whether I’m relieved or not. Her words haven’t helped me get any closer to the truth.
“Okay, thanks for your help. I’ll let you get back to work.” I push up off the bar stool and stand.
“Oh, wait.”
I still as dread crawls up my spine like a scorpion.
“There was this one time I was out back smoking a cigarette when they were leaving. He was parked at the back of the parking lot, so I could see them. She went to his car with him, which I thought was weird because I’d seen her get picked up by a driver the other times she’d been here.”
My eyebrows raise to my hairline. “And…”
“She passed him something.” She shrugs. “Not sure what exactly. Maybe drugs? I dunno, he just stashed it in his car really quick. Just the way they did it felt kind of shady to me, like a drug deal, you know? They didn’t seem like druggies to me, but after I saw that, I wondered.”
A pit forms in my stomach. Could Ariana have been passing her brother something she stole from the manor? Or am I blind to a drug problem?
“Thanks for the info.” My voice is reed-thin, and I turn to exit the bar in a daze.
No, this can’t be true. Ariana hasn’t been playing me for months so she could steal from me.
But deep down, doubt rears its ugly head. I always felt Ariana would be taken from me, but maybe I had it reversed, and she’s been taking from me.