Cynthia Hamilton - Madeline Dawkins 02 - A High Price to Pay (5 page)

“But since you mentioned it, there is a bracelet I keep in the safe that Cherie is rather taken with. It’s diamonds and sapphires in an art deco style. It has stood the test of time and is still as chic as it was sixty years ago. I’m planning on giving it to her as a birthday present, as a matter of fact. I happen to know the value of that piece because I had it appraised when I had it cleaned. Would you believe the jeweler valued it at $47,000?”

Madeline nearly choked on the figure. Hopefully that hadn’t gone
missing too.

“Don’t worry—I put it in the safe with my own hands as soon as I got it back,” Vivian
told her.

“I’m sure Cherie will be very touched by your gift.”

Vivian gave Madeline a wan smile. “I would like to think so, but it’s kind of hard to compete with the crowd she runs with.”

Madeline changed the subject to avoid commenting. “Speaking of birthdays and gifts, I guess I need to check in with the honoree before I go see Helen. If I don’t, I’m afraid she’ll track me down. But first I need you to sign the contract for hire and this, which gives me the authorization to run a full factual credit report on Teresa.” Madeline laid the documents on Vivian’s dressing table along with
a pen.

Vivian took the time to read every word she was agreeing to, which both impressed Madeline and made her anxious. She had been to the house twice today without checking in personally with Cherie. She had excellent reasons for avoiding her, but Cherie was her big meal ticket. Also her
biggest headache.

Vivian signed the authorization form and handed the pen back to Madeline. Madeline hastily made sure everything was in order before stashing it in her
file folder.

“As soon as I get what I need from Helen, I’ll do a background check on Teresa. I’ll call your cell phone as soon as I
have something.”

“Thank you, dear. You can’t imagine how much better I feel just being able to share this
with someone.”

“I think I have a good idea, and I think you’ll feel a lot better once we know more about your companion and hopefully eliminate her as
a suspect.”

“From your lips to God’s ear,” Vivian said, walking with Madeline to
the door.

“There you are! I’ve been all over this damn place looking for you!” Cherie cried as Madeline stepped out into the hallway, directly in Cherie’s path. Madeline couldn’t decide what was more alarming—her employer finding her exiting a clandestine meeting or what she was wearing. Fortunately, Vivian came to
her rescue.

“It’s my fault, Cherie. I availed myself of Madeline’s innate fashion savvy.” Cherie glared at her mother-in-law uncomprehendingly. “She was helping me pick out what to wear
this weekend.”

“Oh. Well, I could’ve helped you with
that
,” Cherie countered, clearly taking offense. Both Madeline and Vivian tried to smooth her ruffled feathers
in unison.

“I know how busy you
are dear…”

“I figured it was one less thing you needed on your plate,”
Madeline said.

“What about your plate? Don’t you have enough to deal with? I mean, I’ve been running all over trying to find you…”

Madeline’s brow arched as Cherie’s petulance rose. After a year of putting up with an escalating attitude of checkbook authority, Madeline had become deft at walking Cherie back a few paces without even saying a word. But this time Cherie had an audience; she had two choices here—throw her weight around or have a breakdown. She chose
the latter.

“Cherie, don’t cry,” Madeline said, giving Vivian a surreptitious glance of solidarity before shepherding Cherie toward her rooms on the other side of the expansive house. “What’s going on?” she asked in her most patient voice. Cherie sniffed back the tears and carefully ran her fingers under her eyes to keep her
makeup intact.

“Ross won’t be back until Friday!” she wailed, though it was clear she was less upset now that she had Madeline’s
full attention.

“I know. I heard this morning when I dropped off the ID bracelets from Tiffany’s. Did you see them…?”

Madeline felt herself detach from the scene, going through the motions she could affect by rote. There were so many real worries to spend her mental energy on. For the umpteenth time, she reminded herself that this whole embarrassing, degrading and useless event would be a thing of the past in four
more days.

FIVE

Madeline knocked on the doorjamb to Helen’s office. The housekeeper was deep in thought in front of her laptop. She jerked to alertness as Madeline edged over the threshold.

“I’m sorry,” Helen laughed, hand to her chest as she rose from her chair. “My mind is running in a hundred different directions
right now.”

“I can come back another time,” Madeline suggested, though she remained stationary. Vivian’s missing jewelry trumped all the other household matters at the moment, at least in
her mind.

“No, please come in—I could use a break. My eyes are starting to cross,” Helen said with a weak laugh as she sat back down. “What can I help
you with?”

Madeline smiled as she crossed to the chair on the other side of the desk. She had little time to perfect her request, but tact was of the utmost importance. She could see Helen going either way with the bombshell she was about to drop on her.

Though Madeline was no stranger to dealing with hired help, even on this level, she found Helen Bagley a force to be reckoned with. Madeline had never experienced anything but civility and cooperation from her during this upheaval of her domain, but Madeline knew Helen was a stern taskmaster who expected her orders to be carried out down to the smallest detail. Even Helen’s appearance commanded complete obedience from the staff, while conveying an aura of competence and careful guardianship to her employers and their guests. The running of this house sat directly on her broad shoulders, and from what Ross had told her, she had never disappointed him. She had been with him for twenty years, surviving his two divorces and his four-year marriage to Cherie. There was no doubt where her loyalty lay, which was why Madeline had to slant the news she was about to deliver with Ross’s best interest as the
highest priority.

“Can I get you something to drink? A cup of coffee or some mineral water?” Helen asked. Though she was being cordial out of deference, she was sending a subliminal message that this interruption needed to be as brief
as possible.

“No thanks, Helen. I’ll try not to take up any more of your time than necessary. But first I must ask that you not share what I’m about to tell you with anyone for now—including your boss.”

A look of consternation descended over Helen’s features. “What’s Cherie done this time?”

“This has nothing to do with her. It concerns Vivian.” Madeline watched her reaction carefully as she delivered the bad news. “Some of her jewelry has gone missing. Three very expensive pieces, to be exact.”

Helen flinched as the words registered. Madeline saw the questions forming in her mind as clearly as if they were written on her face. Madeline decided to save her the trouble of
asking them.

“They are particular favorites of Ms. Story’s—a diamond and ruby brooch, an emerald ring, and a diamond and ruby bracelet—all circa 1950, all given to her by her late husband. She kept them in a Limoges box on her dressing table instead of the safe. I think she derived a certain comfort from being able to look at them. They went missing a
week ago.”

“I see,” Helen said, as she sat back, her posture rigid. “And why did she decide to bring this to your attention instead of mine?” Her tone wasn’t exactly hostile, but it was
definitely sharp.

“She has enlisted my services as a private investigator,” Madeline replied, as she withdrew a new business card from her wallet and handed it across the desk. This news threw the housekeeper off-guard.

“She hired me because I know her and her family and have the benefit of knowing what’s been happening around here the last
several months.”

“Twelve, to be exact,” Helen
said flatly.

“Yes. It’s been a long haul, and I really appreciate the way you and your staff have bent over backwards to accommodate these rather extraordinary preparations. What nobody wants to deal with right now is a theft inside the home. Which is why Vivian wanted to pursue this matter privately, rather than involving her son or you or the police, at least for the
time being.”

Helen let out an exasperated sigh as she studied Madeline’
s face.

“But here you are,” she challenged. “Does that mean you’ve hit a dead
end already?”

“I just accepted this case a few hours ago, and after first searching Vivian’s rooms with her, I convinced her it would be more expeditious if I could get certain information from
you first.”

“What is it you want to know?”

This was where Madeline had to tread very carefully. She knew Teresa was a hot button issue for Helen, as she did not personally hire the girl. Therefore, she hadn’t had the chance to imprint her standards of conduct on the girl. Yet she was Vivian’s companion, a very important position, as no one else in the household had time to spend doting on an
elderly woman.

“Specifically, I’d like to see Teresa Gomez’s W-4.” Helen eyed Madeline coolly before swiveling her chair around and bending to retrieve a file folder from the credenza. The fact that she said nothing about Madeline’s sole request spoke volumes. There was no need for her to speak ill of someone who was brought into this house without her approval; that Teresa was the only one singled out for scrutiny saved her
the trouble.

The housekeeper placed the file on her desk and flipped through the paperwork until she found the pages she was looking for. She glanced at the information before handing it over
to Madeline.

“Thank you,” Madeline said. She quickly looked it over. Name, address and Social Security number were all there. Simple as pie. The second page was a worksheet for figuring deductions. She was not surprised that it was left blank. She reached for her iPhone and took a scan of the document so she could print out a
copy later.

“Anything else I can do to help?” Helen asked with a pleasantness that was
clearly forced.

“Can you give me a list of any tradespeople who have been in the house during the last
two weeks?”

“Surely you know better than I do who’s been traipsing around here,” Helen
said coldly.

“I’m referring specifically to anyone who has been inside the house. Everyone employed to ready the grounds for the party has been given strict instructions to stay out of the main house. If you know of anyone who’s breached that protocol, it’s very important I know who
it was.”

Helen sighed deeply and massaged her temples. She let out another put upon sigh before consulting her
computer screen.

“On April 10th, we had Spotless Upholstery Cleaning here. There were four guys. They worked in pairs. They cleaned all the upholstered furniture in the downstairs rooms, including the
theater seats.”

“Nothing upstairs?”
Madeline confirmed.

“No. But that’s not to say one of them didn’t sneak off to do a little pilfering. I certainly didn’t have time to stand sentry over them.” Madeline met the wave of bad vibes exuding from the disgruntled housekeeper with aplomb. It would be hard to get back into Helen’s good graces at this point, but she had to keep their dealings as civil
as possible.

“How about security cameras?” Madeline had made note of several on
the premises.

“There aren’t any upstairs.”

“Are there cameras on both flights
of stairs?”

“Yes,” Helen
confirmed grudgingly.

“When you shut the house for the night, do you personally activate the alarm system?”

“Yes, except for when Mr. Alexander is
at home.”

“Aside from the upholstery cleaners, did anyone else outside of the staff have access to the house during that time frame?” Helen consulted her
calendar again.

“Nathan’s Furnace Duct Cleaning. They were out on the 15th. They were here about five hours, I’d say, and I couldn’t tell you where all they went. There were three of them and they inspected every room before they went to work on the ducts. Again, I was way too busy to stand guard over them the whole time they were here.”

Madeline made notes on her cell phone, ignoring the insinuation. But something about this particular service struck her as odd. For one thing, the coldest months were behind them now. With everything else going on, it seemed like that could’
ve waited.

“Is that an annual service?” she asked. Helen’s eye shifted, just slightly, but enough for Madeline to
catch it.

“Ah, no.”

“So, the timing wasn’t exactly ideal,”
Madeline surmised.

“No again. Let’s just say I don’t make all the decisions about
household maintenance.”

Madeline waited for further enlightenment. Helen’s features had become a placid mask. Since she knew the housekeeper’s fondness for Ross, Madeline gathered that she was referring to Cherie. But the idea of Cherie getting a sudden bug up her butt to have the heating vents cleaned bordered on
science fiction.

“You’re saying
Cherie
set that up?” Madeline asked incredulously. Helen’s eyebrows and upturned hands raised in unison.

“A friend of hers had it done and I guess Mrs. Alexander thought it was such a great idea…” Helen shook her head in bafflement. Madeline clicked her nails against her phone as she ruminated on
this theory.

“I saw two men leave the house this morning,”
she said.

“I thought you said the jewelry went missing a week ago,”
Helen countered.

“That’s what Vivian said. But for the sake of thoroughness, I should probably get the names of every individual or company that’s had access to the house.”

Helen huffed and turned the laptop toward Madeline. “Everything in red indicates a house call. Be my guest,” she said, standing up abruptly. “I’ve got to check
on something.”

Madeline let out a deep breath to deflect the housekeeper’s animosity as she left the room. She scrolled through the dates leading up to the present. She tuned her ear to the sounds coming from the main kitchen. Helen could be heard issuing orders at a fair distance. Madeline took advantage of this opportunity to go back through Helen’s calendar, looking for patterns or anything that struck her
as unusual.

She jotted down all the commercial visitors on a notepad and returned the screen to the date Helen had up. She was deep in thought when Helen reentered. From the look on her face, Madeline could tell she had outstayed
her welcome.

“One more question, and I’ll get out of your hair. Besides scheduled appointments, have there been any other strangers in the house in the last two weeks—delivery men,
for example.”

“We’re always getting deliveries. Wine, food, dry cleaning…” Helen’s voice trailed off, leaving Madeline to imagine
the rest.

“But those delivery people don’t make it past this area of the house, I
would imagine.”

“That’s right. I really hate to be rude, but I’ve got a thousand things on my mind right now.” Madeline stowed her notes in her handbag and stood up. “Before you leave, maybe you could enlighten me on what your course of action is going to be. And when exactly will you clue Mr. Alexander in on this…situation?”

“The first thing I’m going to do is run a background check on Teresa Gomez. Knowing your thoroughness, I suspect all the employees on your staff have been carefully vetted, so I won’t waste my time on them.”
For the time being, anyway.
“I will expand my investigation depending on what I find out about Miss Story’s companion.” This information was met with
stony silence.

“Helen, I’m sorry this has landed on you in the midst of everything else. If it hadn’t been Vivian, I wouldn’t have gotten involved. But the good thing is this matter can stay completely confidential unless it needs to be turned over to the authorities. In the meantime, I hope we can work together to get through the next
four days.”

“Absolutely,” Helen said, a diffident smile returning to her face, as if she hadn’t just broken protocol and revealed her more human side. While Madeline walked to her car, she had to wonder what really went on behind that
elastic façade.