Chương 7
He looked at the champagne tower.
One of the glasses had begun to tilt because melting condensation had made the base slick.
A bartender came over and corrected it.
Noah said, “We were supposed to announce the wedding date.”
“I know.”
“My parents flew in.”
“I know.”
“My mother is currently pretending not to watch us from the dining room.”
Avery glanced over.
Noah’s mother immediately looked at a flower arrangement.
Despite herself, Avery let out a short laugh.
Noah smiled.
Then she stopped.
“My mother chose Maya.”
“How do you know?”
“The event staffing sheet had another stewardess assigned to the observation lounge. Paige sent a revision yesterday. ‘Mrs. Sterling specifically requests Maya Collins.’”
“Did Paige say why?”
“No.”
“Maybe your mom liked her work.”
Avery looked at him.
He sighed.
“Yeah. I heard it too.”
Grant and Daniel joined them fifteen minutes later.
Avery showed them the email on her phone.
Daniel read it twice.
“Send this to my vessel email.”
Avery did.
Grant asked, “Did Paige write anything else?”
“No.”
“Did your mother ever mention Maya?”
“Not by name.”
“Did she discuss the Beaumont Grand incident?”
“Not for years.”
Grant said, “Who found the missing brooch?”
Avery stared at him.
“I told you. I don’t know.”
“Who managed your mother’s personal inventory then?”
“Paige.”
“Has she always been her assistant?”
“Seven years.”
Daniel said, “We need to speak with her.”
They found Paige in the private dining room clearing place cards into a silver tray.
She was not crew.
She was doing crew work because she needed something for her hands.
When she saw Grant and Daniel, she stopped.
“Mrs. Sterling is resting.”
“We’re here to talk to you,” Daniel said.
Paige looked toward Avery.
“No.”
Avery’s face changed.
“No?”
“I work for your mother.”
“I’m her daughter.”
“I’m aware.”
“Then answer me.”
Paige put the place cards down.
“This is exactly why I don’t want to do this here.”
Daniel said, “Ms. Morrison, you are not required to answer questions from me. But if you know facts related to the false placement of valuable property in a crew member’s bag, I would strongly suggest you not destroy, conceal, or alter anything connected to it.”
Paige went pale.
“I wouldn’t.”
“Good.”
Grant kept his voice mild.
“Did Mrs. Sterling ask about the corridor cameras tonight?”
Paige looked at him.
That was enough.
“Why?” Grant asked.
“She wanted privacy.”
“For what?”
“The necklace presentation.”
“Did she ask for the crew hallway camera disabled?”
Paige closed her mouth.
Avery said, “Paige.”
“Your mother asked me whether service areas were recorded.”
“When?”
“This afternoon.”
Avery’s water glass trembled in her hand.
“What did you tell her?”
“That operational areas usually are.”
“Usually?”
“I don’t work on yachts.”
Grant said, “At eight forty-two you entered the corridor with her and pointed at the camera.”
Paige looked at him sharply.
“You have that too?”
“Yes.”
She lowered her eyes.
“She said the event coordinator told her the camera would be disabled.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“That I didn’t think it was.”
“Why?”
“I saw the indicator.”
Grant said nothing.
Paige’s voice dropped.
“I told her not to do anything stupid.”
Avery whispered, “You knew?”
“No.”
“You knew she was going to frame Maya?”
“No.”
“Then what did you think she was going to do?”
Paige looked toward the door.
No one moved.
Finally she said, “I thought she was going to confront her.”
“About what?”
“The Beaumont.”
Maya’s name was not spoken.
It did not need to be.
Grant pulled out a chair.
“Sit down.”
Paige did.
She seemed suddenly older than she had an hour earlier.
Avery remained standing.
“The brooch,” she said. “Was it ever found?”
Paige stared at the silver tray.
“Yes.”
Avery stopped rubbing her wrist.
“When?”
“Two months after the dinner.”
“Where?”
“In a garment storage box at the Palm Beach house.”
Noah quietly swore.
Avery’s face went blank.
“Did Mom know?”
Paige did not answer.
Avery stepped closer.
“Did she know?”
“Yes.”
The word was almost inaudible.
Grant watched Avery absorb it.
Not the fact itself.
Its age.
Four years.
Four years in which a woman had apparently been blamed for theft after the missing item was found inside Vanessa Sterling’s own home.
Avery said, “Who did she accuse?”
Paige hesitated.
“A hotel employee.”
“Maya?”
“No. A dishwasher. Maya contradicted your mother’s timeline.”
Grant asked, “How?”
“She told hotel security she had seen the brooch still on Mrs. Sterling after the time Mrs. Sterling believed it disappeared.”
Avery sat down.
Noah moved toward her.
She held up a hand.
He stopped.
Paige continued because stopping had become worse.
“Your mother was humiliated. The security report said the staff search produced nothing. She felt Maya made her look careless.”
“She was careless,” Avery said.
Paige closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“What happened when you found the brooch?”
“I showed her.”
“And?”
“She said not to reopen the issue.”
“Meaning?”
“She did not want to contact the hotel.”
“Or the woman she accused.”
Paige looked at her.
“No.”
Avery laughed once.
It was almost the same sound Maya had made upstairs.
Grant felt something in his stomach tighten.
“How did Mrs. Sterling know Maya would be on this yacht?” he asked.
Paige wiped beneath one eye, though she was not crying.
“The crew biographies.”
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“The client packet.”
“Yes.”
“She recognized Maya’s photograph?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Last week.”
“And specifically requested her for tonight?”
Paige’s silence answered.
Avery stood so quickly the chair struck the carpet behind her.
“Where is she?”
“Avery,” Noah said.
“No.”
Daniel stepped between her and the door.
“Do not go into that cabin angry.”
“She spent a week planning this.”
“We don’t know exactly what she planned.”
“I do.”
“No. You know enough to be furious. That isn’t the same thing.”
Avery stared at him.
For a moment Daniel expected her to push past.
Instead she looked at Paige.
“You helped her request Maya.”
May you like
Paige’s face collapsed.
“I schedule what she tells me to schedule.”
