Page 16 of Tough as Steele

“Must be a false door,” he said to himself.

Footballs sounded behind him. Hand on sidearm, he spun.

Wendy entered the room.

“Stop right there,” he stated. “This is a crime scene.”

“Sorry.” She ran a nervous hand over her skirt, which fit like a second set of skin, and clutched her phone with the other as if she feared he would take it from her. “I’m wiped out and want to go to bed, but Cook said you wanted to talk to me.”

“Where have you been?”

“In my room.”

“That’s odd,” He let his statement linger for a moment. “You didn’t answer the door when I knocked and called out. And Francis said you weren’t there.”

Wendy rolled her eyes. “Don’t believe a word that woman says. She’s jealous of me because Mimi thinks of me as one of the family, but Francis is just a cook.”

Just like Francis and Georgia had told him, but he doubted the Mimi he knew would think that way. “Mimi has said that to you?”

She sniffed. “She didn’t come right out and say it, but her actions speak louder than any words could.”

Still, he doubted her statement. “How long have you worked with Mimi?”

Wendy shifted on her shiny black shoes and looked down. “Three months.”

Interesting. What was she trying to hide by looking away from him? Evasive behavior often meant a person was lying, but on this? Why? He could easily check how long she’d been employed there. She would know that, so why lie about it?

He tapped the door on the armoire. “Tell me about this piece.”

Her head popped up, and she fingered a gold chain in her open collar. “I don’t know much about it. It’s an antique that Mimi absolutely loves. She has quite a few antiques in the house.”

“Why doesn’t the left door open?”

“Oh, that.” She released her chain and waved a hand. “Mimi said the inside was damaged. The workers couldn’t repair it to her standards, and she didn’t want to look at something inferior every morning when she got her clothes out.”

Sounded exactly like something Mimi might say. “Are you sure about the last time you saw her?”

“Positive. I brought up her dinner, waited for her to finish to help her dress, and then left.”

“Do you like working for her?”

“It’s all right.”

“Just all right?”

Wendy cocked her head. “You know how picky she can be.”

He did, but he wouldn’t admit it to Wendy. “So why stay, then?”

“The pay is really good. I can do most anything for good money.” She chuckled, but it rang false.

“Even abduct your employer?”

“What?” Her hand flew to her chest. “Me? You think I had something to do with it?”

“It’s crossed my mind, yes.” He kept his tone level but his gaze pinned to her. “You’re the last person to see her and the first to notice she was missing. Automatically makes you a suspect. And you know the house better than anyone and could figure out a way to get Mimi out of here unseen. For all I know, she’s been gone for far longer than you claim.”

Wendy crossed her arms and glared at him. “I saw her after dinner when I helped her dress, and I wouldn’t even know how to go about abducting someone. Plus, I couldn’t possibly drag her out of the house.”

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