Chương 4
Lorenzo looked at him. “Why does my estate administrator have access to security archives?”
“He approves vendor service calls and maintenance contracts.”
Arthur Bell had managed the financial and practical machinery of Duca properties for eleven years. He decided when roofs were replaced, which insurers received documents, how many temporary workers appeared after large parties, and whether a broken wine refrigerator was repaired or quietly moved to a guest house. He wore modest suits, remembered birthdays, and never raised his voice. Lorenzo had trusted him with the boring parts of wealth because boring things were where money disappeared.
“Where is Arthur?”
“At the hospital with his wife,” Dominic said. “She had a procedure this morning.”
“What kind?”
“I don’t know.”
“Call the hospital.”
Dominic gave him a level look. “Hospitals won’t confirm patient information to us.”
“Call Arthur.”
“You said no calls.”
“Now I’m saying call him.”
Dominic dialed. The call went directly to voicemail.
He tried again through the encrypted office line. Same result.
Matteo opened a system log on the monitor. “The archive deletion wasn’t a crash.”
Dominic moved beside him.
A command had been entered at 4:02 p.m. to suspend recording on the service corridor, basement stairwell, locker hall, west sitting room, garage passage, and exterior refuse area. At 5:12, after the live incident outside, the entire archive had been wiped.
The account used belonged to Dominic.
Matteo stepped back from the keyboard.
Dominic did not.
“Where were you at four?” Lorenzo asked.
“Downtown. Meeting with outside counsel.”
“Who knew?”
“You did.”
“Who else?”
“My assistant. Arthur. Matteo.”
Matteo’s head came up. “I knew you were out. I didn’t know where.”
Dominic pointed at the access log. “That command came from inside the house network. Someone used my credentials.”
“Were they stolen?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
Dominic’s jaw moved once. “My office terminal keeps an active session during the day.”
“Unlocked?”
“It requires a key card after five minutes.”
“Who has a card?”
“Me.”
Matteo looked at the floor.
Dominic turned toward him. “What?”
Matteo swallowed. “The replacement cards came last month. Arthur handled the delivery.”
Dominic’s face remained calm, but the skin around his eyes tightened. “You signed the receiving form.”
“I signed for a sealed package.”
“How many cards?”
“Six.”
“There should have been four.”
Silence settled over the humming equipment.
Lorenzo studied them both. “Nobody leaves this room. Make an image of every surviving system log before someone decides to lose those too.”
Dominic sat at the terminal. Matteo brought an external drive from a locked cabinet, then stopped.
“The cabinet key,” he said.
“What about it?”
“It’s gone.”
Dominic looked toward the empty hook beside the desk.
Lorenzo felt something cold move beneath his anger. This was not Renata improvising to punish a maid. Someone had prepared the house in layers: a duplicate locker key, a forged signature, a suspended recording schedule, missing credentials, a watch placed where it would be found. The person had expected the accusation to end Clara’s employment quickly and quietly.
Emma had broken the plan by walking outside.
Pino had broken it again by choosing her.
Lorenzo left Dominic and Matteo with orders to preserve what remained. In the corridor, he found one of the kitchen staff waiting beside a cart of untouched coffee.
Her name was Nisha Patel. She had worked breakfast and lunch service for six years and had a directness Renata frequently described as “unsuitable for formal hospitality.”
“Am I allowed to go home?” Nisha asked.
“Not yet.”
“My son is waiting at school.”
“Call someone to collect him.”
“I did. My sister is going, but she works nights, so now everyone in my family is angry with me instead of only one person.”
Lorenzo glanced at the coffee. “Who asked for this?”
“No one. People think rich men drink coffee during emergencies.”
“Do they?”
“My husband drinks antacid.”
Despite himself, Lorenzo almost smiled.
Nisha’s expression sharpened. “Clara didn’t steal that watch.”
“You know this how?”
“I don’t. But Renata searched the locker before Clara came downstairs.”
“What time?”
“Just after four. She sent everyone out of the changing room.”
“Did you see her enter Clara’s locker?”
“No. I saw her come out holding the clear bag.”
“The watch was already inside it?”
“Yes.”
“Who was with her?”
“Arthur.”
Lorenzo looked toward the nearest camera, then remembered the dead archive.
“Why didn’t you say this in the hall?”
Nisha gripped the cart handle. “Because I have a mortgage and two children and no desire to become a lesson.”
“Renata frightened you?”
“Everybody in this house frightens me when they stand too still.”
He let that sit between them.
“Did Arthur speak to Clara today?”
“He called her into the linen office before lunch. She came out angry.”
“About what?”
Nisha shrugged. “Clara doesn’t gossip much. It’s one of her more irritating qualities.”
“Find Luis. Tell him to sit with Renata. Then go downstairs and stay with Clara until I come.”
Nisha did not move. “Is that an order or a favor?”
“Whichever gets you there.”
“A favor usually includes thanks.”
“Thank you.”
She pushed the cart away, muttering, “House finally catches fire and the man discovers manners.”
The linen office smelled of starch and cedar. Clara stood near a metal desk with Emma asleep against her shoulder. The child’s mouth was open against the gray fabric of Clara’s uniform. The one-eyed rabbit hung from two limp fingers. Pino lay across the doorway, forcing Lorenzo to step over him.
Clara watched him enter. “I thought you said the dog would stay outside.”
“He disagreed.”
“That seems common tonight.”
Nisha sat on a folding chair with a cup of coffee. She lifted it slightly. “I’ve been thanked. We’re all changing.”
Lorenzo ignored her and looked at Clara. “Arthur Bell spoke to you before lunch.”
The fear in Clara’s face returned, accompanied now by caution.
“He handles payroll,” she said.
“What did he want?”
“He said I’d made copies of confidential records.”
May you like
“Had you?”
Emma stirred. Clara adjusted her weight and lowered her voice.
