The next morning, when Nadya unlocks the door and begins to enter the security code to the Westcotts’ brownstone, she gives a little gasp of fright as she is suddenly confronted by her employers, who step into the hall from the front room. She gapes at them from the foyer. She was not expecting them to be here. And she doesn’t like the way they’re now looking at her. Mrs Westcott, especially, looks as if she hasn’t slept, and has a strange look in her eyes, almost like she’s on something. Why isn’t she at work? Why are they looking at her this way? ‘What are you doing here?’ Nadya asks. And then she realizes how foolish that sounds– it’s their house. But they’re never here on her cleaning day, and she’s taken aback, disoriented.
‘We’d like to talk to you Nadya,’ Mr Westcott says. ‘Please, come in.’ And he directs her into the front room and gestures for her to sit down, while the two of them remain standing. They both look tense, and she immediately feels tense in response. The room seems untidy, she notices, as if someone had been rummaging through it. She wonders if there’s been a theft.
They are going to dismiss her, she thinks. They seem angry at her. She presses her lips together and prepares to defend herself. She hasn’t done anything wrong.
Mrs Westcott begins. ‘Nadya, we have welcomed you into our home. We have trusted you.’ She glances at her husband. ‘But we’re not sure that trust was warranted.’
What is this?Nadya wonders. ‘What are you talking about?’ she asks, a tremor in her voice. She looks from one to the other. She hasn’t stolen anything. She looks up at them from the sofa. They seem to tower over her. They are behaving oddly. Her breath becomes shallow.
‘We think you know,’ Mr Westcott says roughly.
‘No, I don’t,’ Nadya answers, frightened now. ‘What are you accusing me of?’
‘Someone has been in our house,’ Mrs Westcott says.
‘I only come here to clean, you know that.’
‘Someone has been in here and planted hidden cameras,’ Mr Westcott says accusingly.
She looks back at them, stunned. She has done no such thing. ‘And you think it’s me?’ She tries to laugh, but fails.
‘You’re the only one who has keys to the house and knows the security code,’ he says.
She knows that’s not true, because she knows that MrsWestcott’s friend, Lara Donleavy, looks after the place when they travel. But then everything else empties out of her mind as a horrible thought strikes her.Her son, Peter.He has been far too interested in the Westcotts ever since that boating accident a couple of months ago.
‘I didn’t do anything,’ she protests.
‘How can we be sure?’ Mrs Westcott says, an edge to her voice. ‘We don’t know anything about you!’
They don’t know about her son, Nadya thinks. They have never asked, never shown any interest in her or her life. But now they are going to look into her, Nadya thinks, they are going to find out about her son and the criminal company he keeps. What if he’s involved?
Her heart pounds. She looks up at her inquisitors.
For the first time, she realizes that they look truly frightened, and it’s a revelation. Nadya is not stupid. Maybe there is something to it then, she thinks suddenly, all the speculation online about what happened on that boat. And maybe whoever is spying on them caught something on those cameras. She gathers her thoughts and her courage. Is it possible? Could her employers be guilty of pushing that man off his boat? To get his money? She remembers the man from the Coast Guard, and his questions.
Why is she sitting here, letting herself be accused by them, when they themselves might have done such a terrible thing?
She finds her voice, and it is surprisingly firm. ‘I had nothing to do with any cameras. I resent your accusations. I am a loyal and trustworthy employee. Perhaps you should talk to your friend who looks after the place when you travel. I am just a cleaning lady.I have impeccable references, as you know, as you checked them when you hired me.’ She says this with a measure of confidence and dignity she didn’t know she was capable of. She adds, ‘Would you like me to offer my resignation, effective immediately?’
Her employers glance at each other and seem to come to a decision. ‘No, that won’t be necessary,’ Mr Westcott says. ‘I’m sorry about this. But we had to ask, since you have access to the house.’
After an awkward pause, she asks, ‘Do you still want me to clean today?’ She really doesn’t want to be here now, with them, and they seem to be able to tell. They don’t want her around either.
‘No, that’s okay, Nadya. Take the day off,’ Mrs Westcott says. ‘You’ll still be paid.’
Then she’s out of the brownstone and walking down the street and around the corner on her way back to the subway. She can hardly believe what’s just happened. Can hardly believe what her employers have accused her of, that they might possibly be murderers, as some of the tabloids have been suggesting. Well, she thinks, if they did kill Greg Westcott for his money, and they’re being spied on, they deserve it.
She wonders how she can possibly continue to work for them after this. But she really needs the money, and they are easier to work for than most, and generous at Christmas. And as she rides the subway back home, the more ridiculous it begins to seem that Mr and Mrs Westcott deliberately murdered anyone. But someone has certainly broken into their home and planted hidden cameras– no wonder they are so upset.
She tries not to think about Peter.
Chapter Thirty
THROUGH THE FRONTroom window, Jill watches Nadya walk back down the street until she turns the corner, and she can’t see her any more. This afternoon they have a locksmith coming to change the locks, and a new company coming to upgrade their security system. She turns to face her husband. ‘What do you think?’
He shakes his head. ‘I don’t think she knows anything about it,’ he says. ‘She looked genuinely shocked.’ He adds, ‘Is she even smart enough? Tech savvy enough?’
‘I don’t think it was her,’ Jill agrees. ‘She did seem shocked. If she’d done it, I don’t think she could have been so convincing. And I don’t think she has the nerves– she seems afraid of her own shadow. She was terrified by Ramirez.’ She looks at him anxiously. ‘Do you think it could have been Lara?’
