Page 42 of The Fragile Truth
It hadn’t taken Sadie long to settle into a routine. She did her shopping in the mornings so the produce would be fresh. Next, she would head over to the hotel and place her items in one of the large refrigerators at the restaurant. Then, she made a pretense of going into her office for a few minutes before darting over to wherever Effie was working to check on her. Effie wasn’t happy about having bodyguards, but she was tolerating it, understanding that her safety outweighed any inconvenience. The more time that Sadie spent around Effie, the more she liked her. Effie was a talented designer. Sadie enjoyed hearing the story of how she and Talon met on her first day on the island. Effie had some time to kill before her interview with Madeline, so she was sitting on a park bench and eating strawberry frozen yogurt. Talon spotted her from across the park and felt an instant connection. He unleashed his dog, Sugar, with, “Go get her, girl.” Sugar bounded over and jumped on Effie, spilling the yogurt all over her white pants and blouse. It wasn’t just Effie’s story that touched Sadie, but also the way her eyes grew soft when she spoke of Talon. The two of them were very much in love.
A pang went through Sadie as she thought of Ian. He’d taken centerstage in her dreams of late. She kept reliving their first kiss and how it had filled her with hope and light, not to mention lighting her cells on fire. Ian normally stopped by her house after she got back from the island to get a report. His visits were brief and to the point. Several times, Sadie tried to make him something to eat under the guise of keeping him with her longer, but he always refused. Even though their relationship had only just begun when everything imploded, Sadie acutely missed the closeness they shared. It was interesting how much Ian had come to mean to her in such a short period of time.
There had been no news of Lina. It was as if she’d vanished off the face of the earth. For Effie’s sake, Sadie hoped Lina stayed gone for good. As for the investigation into The Gorham Treasure andThe Shadow, Sadie was no closer to finding out any information than she’d been a week ago. Urgency was building a volcano inside her to the point where she felt like she would erupt. Questions chipped away at her relentlessly. Was Brent’s fascination with The Gorham Treasure the cause of his death, or was Sadie barking up the wrong tree? Was Lina’s blackmailer the notoriousShadow,or were the events unrelated?
Sadie’s gut insisted that Brent’s death was somehow connected to Lina’s necklace. Her fervent hope was that she would be able to find the stolen pieces of The Gorham Treasure. Was Banks Chasing the notoriousShadow? As the question ran through her mind, Sadie considered the plausibility of it. Banks had every material possession known to man. And yet, people stole for various reasons, many of which had nothing to do with economics. Brent had named him a suspect. Sadie trusted her brother’s instincts as well as she trusted her own.The Shadowhad a connection to Honeysuckle Island, and Banks was an avid art collector.
Sadie was here in the Chasing’s home. She had to follow the trail to see where it led. She frowned. Following the trail would be a lot easier if Matilda the Hun would give her some space! When Sadie learned that Madeline spent most of her time at the hotel, she’d hoped that she would have free rein to search the Chasing Manor while she was “preparing” dinner. However, she’d not counted on having Ingrid, their German housekeeper or “Matilda the Hun,” watching her every move.
Today, miracle of miracles, since it was Friday, Ingrid was taking off early to spend time with her grandkids. Madeline normally got home from work around six and asked that Sadie have dinner ready by six-thirty. Sadie glanced at the clock. It was a quarter after four. Ingrid had announced to Sadie when she first arrived at two p.m. that she’d be leaving at four, but the woman was still here. Sadie had been working frantically to get dinner made quickly so that the minute Ingrid left, she could conduct a search of the house. She would start with Banks’s combination study and library. She’d found the study her first day on the job, but before she could so much as step foot in the room, Ingrid came up behind her and asked what she was doing. Sadie used the excuse of looking for the restroom. She’d not dared to go near the study again with Ingrid lurking around.
Her mind racing faster than her hands could work, Sadie grabbed a stick of butter off the counter and unwrapped it. She would go ahead and make the garlic butter spread for the Italian loaf bread and put it aside. When Madeline got home, she’d spread it over the bread and then broil it.
Sadie pulled open the oven door and assessed the spinach manicotti baking in the oven. It was still raw in the center. She had just set the timer for twenty-five minutes and wiped her hands on a nearby dishtowel when Ingrid lumbered into the kitchen. “I’m out of here,” she announced in a thick accent.
“See you tomorrow,” Sadie said with a casual wave, making a point to turn her attention back to peeling the garlic cloves for the spread. Her heart thrummed out a fast beat as she cocked her ears, listening for the front door to close. The second she heard the click, she made a beeline for the study. Thanks to Brent’s extensive notes and her time spent at the Gorham Museum in Edenton, NC, Sadie had a basic enough knowledge to know what to look for … or at least that was her hope.
She stepped into the study, which had a cigar-room feel with its smokey gray walls and floor-to-ceiling walnut bookshelves. The shelving was varying heights and custom-made to fit the sizes of the artwork, pottery, and sculptures. Sadie decided to start at the bookshelves, treading briskly over the elaborately detailed Oriental rug that no doubt cost more than her yearly salary of working as a detective. The crazy part was that the rug wasn’t worth a fraction of the value of the art pieces. The money that the Chasings had was mind-blowing.
Banks’s taste in art was eclectic, ranging from Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko to the classics of Rembrandt and Vermeer. There was even a post-impressionist painting by Vincent Van Gogh. Seeing so many exquisite paintings in one study was surreal. The Chasings had a sophisticated alarm system for their manor, but from what Sadie could tell, there wasn’t any additional security in the study. She did note, however, that there were no windows in this room.
The pottery looked to be from somewhere in South America, and there was a grouping of African masks. The delicate glass-blown art with its colorful patterns and unique shapes were Sadie’s favorites. Disappointment settled over her. There was nothing in the collection remotely like The Gorham Treasure. Gingerly, she felt behind hanging art, searching for a safe. Not that she could crack into a safe, but her inclination was to search for one anyway so that she would know what she was dealing with.
Her gaze went to the large mahogany desk similar to the one in Talon’s office. The only items on top were a green glass banker’s lamp, an expensive pen set, and several family pictures framed in silver. Glancing toward the door, Sadie stole over to the desk. She tugged on the middle drawer. It was locked. Systematically, she tried the other drawers. They were also locked. Her lock picking skills were limited, but these locks weren’t sophisticated. She’d come prepared. She reached into her pocket and removed her small kit. She was about to try the center drawer when she heard the cadence of footsteps coming down the wooden floor in the hall.
Trembles ran through her as she shoved the kit back into her pocket. She darted over to the bookshelves and pretended to be observing the art.
“What’re you doing in here?” a man demanded.
She turned to see Banks. “Hello,” she smiled. “You caught me.”
His eyes narrowed. “Caught you doing what?” he demanded.
Goosebumps prickled over her flesh. Banks Chasing was not the type of man to trifle with. Everything about him screamed power player. “Admiring your art.” She cringed inwardly at the high-pitched edge of her voice, willing herself to speak slowly and distinctly. “This piece is incredible.” She pointed to the blown-glass piece shaped like the bottom of a horseshoe. “Who’s the artist?”
“Caleb Nichols,” he answered brusquely.
“I like the muted earth tones,” she observed.
His expression remained hard and unyielding. “You shouldn’t be in here.”
Banks flew home on the weekends. Sadie had been so fixated on paying attention to the time when Madeline usually returned home that she’d not even thought about Banks. “I’m sorry,” she said contritely.
“Any news about Lina?”
She met his eyes, straightening her shoulders. The idea was to come off as the picture of calm and confidence. “No. I’ve been checking in on Effie every day. She’s doing well … getting used to being surrounded by bodyguards.”
The muscles in his jaw twitched as his voice cut like a knife through the stuffy air. “Let’s get one thing straight. I do not approve of you being in my home.” He gave her a contemptuous look that could have turned an army in its tracks. “I went along with the idea because of Madeline and Talon. And to keep Effie safe.” His jaw turned harder than glass. “I will not have you snooping around my home. Is that understood?”
Heat splashed through her veins with the force of a blowtorch, bringing home the knowledge that Banks Chasing was a dangerous man. And she was alone with him. Her words came out shaky. “O—of course. I meant no harm.”
“I’d better check on the manicotti. Excuse me.” She scampered out of the room and hurried back to the kitchen to find the timer going off. She opened the oven door, relieved to discover that the manicotti hadn’t been overcooked. It was perfect, with the cheese brown and bubbly. Her mind whirled as she slipped an oven mitt over her hand and removed it.
Turning off the oven, she took in a deep breath as she began compiling details that had seemed inconsequential until now. When the sedan came at Effie at the restaurant, Talon said he was on the phone with Banks. Had Banks called Talon to distract him at the precise moment when the car charged? Banks was one of the few people who would have known that Effie’s security-background brother was no longer on the island and that during a short window of time, Effie had no protection. Banks was vehemently opposed to Sadie coming into his home. That in and of itself was odd, considering that Chasing Manor was so large and grand that it no doubt requires a staff of workers to maintain it. Banks claimed that his reticence to having Sadie here was owed to his need for privacy. However, it could be that Banks had something to hide. He prominently displayed his priceless art, taking no additional security measures, and yet, the drawers to his desk remained locked … in his own home. Why?
The depth of Banks’s scorching acrimony was unnerving. It seemed that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Like mother, like son. Wariness trickled down Sadie’s spine. The urge to get out of this house and away from Banks Chasing was so strong she could almost taste it. Should she call Ian and tell him what happened? She couldn’t very well just up and leave. Not when Madeline was expecting her to have dinner ready. Sadie had to maintain her cover so that she could find out if Banks was, in fact,The Shadow. Was he responsible for Brent’s death? Anger smoldered through her as she steeled her jaw.
Female laughter drew Sadie’s attention as Madeline and another woman with short auburn hair came in through the side door leading from the garage. Recognition flashed through Sadie’s mind—connecting the online photos she’d researched with the flesh-and-blood woman. It was Lizette Laramie. Both Madeline and Lizette were dressed in stylish tennis outfits. Madeline was trim and as fit as a twenty-year-old. Lizette’s build was a little thicker. She still looked terrific, but more like a normal woman her age.