Chương 10
Charles told Marianne that reopening the case would damage the hotel, expose her misconduct, and accomplish nothing because Nora had already left. He promised to correct Nora’s personnel record privately.
He never did.
Marianne’s later letters became less defensive. She offered money. She described giving birth to Adrian. She wrote that she had told Richard Cross before marrying him and that Richard considered the matter closed. The final letter said she had placed copies of everything in a blue locket Nora once admired.
If you never forgive me, I will understand. But one day, please tell your daughter I knew what you did for me. Tell her I was not worth the price you paid.
Nora had kept the locket.
She had never told Evelyn.
The investigator found no evidence that Charles knew the letters survived. There was, however, evidence that he remembered the locket.
A photograph from a 1997 company picnic showed Nora wearing it while standing beside Marianne. Charles appeared in the background. Another archived image showed the locket on Marianne’s desk after Nora returned it briefly for repair. Charles had initialed the expense form for the repair.
When Helen Ward confronted him, he said he had forgotten.
“People forget jewelry,” he said.
“Your daughter asked where it came from before damaging it,” Helen replied.
“I cannot explain my daughter’s words.”
“Did you ever tell her about the locket?”
“No.”
“Did she see the old photograph?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you keep copies of Marianne Cross’s correspondence?”
“No.”
“Did you know the locket might contain evidence that you failed to correct a false termination?”
Charles leaned back in his chair.
“A thirty-year-old personnel dispute is not evidence of current misconduct.”
“That was not my question.”
“The brooch was recovered. Nora Hart could have appealed.”
“She was twenty-four, newly unemployed, and accused of theft by a luxury hotel.”
“She had options.”
“Which options did you explain to her?”
Charles looked at the window.
“I followed the standards of the time.”
Helen closed the folder. “That sentence has protected a great deal of cruelty.”
Bianca’s second interview began an hour later.
She arrived without her father. Noah had postponed the wedding and moved out of their shared apartment. His attorney delivered the notice because he did not trust himself to speak without saying something irreversible.
Bianca wore a cream sweater, black trousers, and no jewelry except the engagement ring she had not removed. Her polished low bun had been replaced by a loose knot. She looked younger and meaner without the ballroom lighting.
Helen placed the company picnic photograph in front of her.
“Have you seen this before?”
Bianca stared at it.
Her attorney said, “Take your time.”
“Yes,” Bianca said.
“Where?”
“In my father’s study.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Why did you remember it?”
“My father kept it inside a file with family photographs.”
“Did he discuss the locket?”
Bianca pressed her thumb against the edge of her ring.
“He said the woman wearing it tried to damage his career.”
“Nora Hart?”
“I didn’t know her name.”
“What did he say she did?”
“He said she had stolen from a guest and later threatened to accuse him of covering up the mistake.”
“Did he show you the letters?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you the brooch was recovered?”
“No.”
“Did he tell you Marianne Cross admitted responsibility?”
Bianca looked up.
“No.”
Helen slid a copy of Marianne’s letter across the table.
Bianca read the first paragraph. Color rose along her throat.
“Did you recognize the locket when it fell from Evelyn’s uniform?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you deny that?”
“My father said not to speculate.”
“That is not an answer.”
“I thought she might be using it against him.”
“Evelyn said it belonged to her mother.”
“I didn’t know who her mother was.”
“You knew the woman in the photograph was named Nora Hart?”
“No.”
“You had just seen Evelyn’s employment name on the event roster that afternoon.”
Bianca’s eyes moved toward her attorney.
Helen continued. “Your assistant sent you a message at 4:12 p.m. identifying Evelyn Hart as the server who had requested a lifting accommodation.”
Bianca’s attorney raised a hand. “My client has answered.”
“She has not.”
Bianca pulled the engagement ring from her finger and placed it on the table.
“I saw Hart,” she said. “I remembered the picture in my father’s study. When the locket fell, I thought she had come to embarrass him.”
“So you embarrassed her first.”
“I was angry.”
“At what?”
“At everyone acting like my evening was an inconvenience.”
Helen said nothing.
Bianca stared at the ring between her hands.
“My father spent a year arranging that party. The guest list, the investors, the hotel partnership. Noah had postponed the wedding twice. He said it was work. I thought if the evening was perfect, he would stop looking for reasons to delay.”
Her attorney touched her sleeve. She moved away.
“Then the champagne tower was unfinished,” Bianca continued. “The flowers were wrong. My aunt complained about her room. Noah disappeared into a conversation with Adrian. Evelyn told me no in front of six people. Then that locket fell.”
She swallowed.
“I wanted her to feel small.”
Helen’s voice remained even. “Did you believe she stole anything?”
“No.”
“Did she behave aggressively?”
“No.”
“Did the locket fall accidentally beneath your shoe?”
“No.”
“Did your father ask you to claim those things?”
Bianca closed her eyes.
Her attorney said, “Do not answer.”
She opened them again.
“Yes.”
The admission reached the special committee before sunset.
Charles called Adrian twice. Adrian did not answer. On the third call, he sent the number to Helen Ward and asked whether taking it would interfere with the investigation.
She advised him not to engage.
Charles then called Evelyn.
Rachel was sitting across from her at the kitchen table when the phone lit up.
“Do not answer,” Rachel said.
Evelyn looked at the name.
“What if he wants to apologize?”
“He has attorneys.”
May you like
“So do I.”
“That is why he should call me.”
