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Arthur stood up and poured himself another cup of coffee from the silver coffee urn and went back to his chair, not bothering to ask Rowena if she wanted a refill.
“Oh, no, don’t bother. I’ll get it myself,” she snarled.
“Rowena, can you just zip it?” He picked up the newspaper and put up a paper shield between them while waiting for the doorbell to ring.
Rowena took her coffee into the kitchen. She had to take the scones from the boxes that were delivered earlier and put them on a platter and pretend to be a doting wife. It made her skin crawl. At the moment, she couldn’t even stand to hear him breathe. The burner phone rang in the other room. Arthur had placed it on the buffet before they sat down for breakfast. “Yes? What is it?” he roared.
Rowena had noticed that Arthur had two volumes lately. Loud or bellowing. Neither was incredibly attractive. He even began to yell at the staff over everything. Even the mashed potatoes. If that missing will wasn’t so important, she would book a flight to Paris. A one-way ticket. She pondered for a moment. Maybe that would be the best idea for her. Get out while she could. She couldn’t file for a divorce. Not yet. She would simply be taking an extended vacation. But then she thought about it again. If she took off now, Arthur would go nuclear and cut off her credit cards. That could be extremely embarrassing. No. She had to think of something else. Perhaps being an ally and helping Arthur would be the best move. Once they found and destroyed the new will, she and Arthur could go back to their superficial marriage and her extravagant spending. She heaved a big sigh and returned to the dining room, where Arthur was finishing up his conversation.
“That’s excellent news. How soon do you think you can get on a plane to Buffalo? Of course, I’ll pay for the ticket. No, I don’t think those flights have first class. It’s only an hour, Jerry. I think you can handle it.” Arthur had a much happier look on his face than he had had a few minutes ago. He ended the call with “I’ll expect to hear from you in two days.”
Rowena leaned against the doorjamb. “Good news, darling?” She feigned interest.
“Yes, indeed.” Arthur pulled out one of his cigars.
Rowena thought it was a bit gross to be smoking something like that at the breakfast table, especially with a guest arriving at any moment, but she was in no mood to argue. Besides, this was the first time she had seen Arthur in a decent mood. “Do tell.” She slithered over to the table.
“Thompson seems to think he’s located our Miss Petrov. From what he gathered, she is working as a housekeeper at the Curtiss. A luxury hotel in Buffalo.”
“At least she’s not blowing the money we gave her.” Rowena pulled a cigarette from her case. “I mean, she has a job.”
“Well, let’s hope this is the same Colette Petrov who worked here.” Arthur sat back down and folded the newspaper.
“How many could there be in Buffalo?”
He ignored her question. Rowena freshened her cup of coffee and returned to her seat at the table. “When will you know?”
“Two, three days.”
“Then what?” Rowena was genuinely intrigued. Did Arthur think Colette would easily hand anything over to him? If therewassomething she actually had in her possession?
“Rowena, must you be so relentlessly curious?”
“Well, darling, since we seem to be in this doodie pile together, yes. I am curious. What is your plan?” Rowena had had enough of being the doormat for the day.
Arthur slammed his hand down on the table, causing Rowena to jump. “Can you please stop interrogating me? I don’t know what the plan is yet. First of all, Thompson has to confirm it’s her.”
“And?” Rowena wasn’t about to stop.
“And I will fly out there and talk to her myself if necessary. Face-to-face. If she has anything, I’ll be able to tell.”
“So, what? Walk up to her, and say, ‘Hey, remember me? I’m the guy who fired you? Gotta will you want to share?’ ” Rowena was tiring of Arthur and his attitude toward her.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Arthur boomed.
“I was being facetious. And I am not the problem here, Arthur. I was not the one who wanted the furniture sold to generate ready cash.”
“Well, you’ll be the recipient of any indictments should it come to that.” The vein in his neck was pulsating.
“Arthur, please try to calm down. You have a lead. Let’s take it one step at a time. When Jerry confirms she’s working at the hotel, why don’t you and I fly out together? We can say you’re on a business trip, and I tagged along. It’s better if there are two of us hunting her down, don’t you think?” Rowena was trying to be levelheaded.
Arthur looked up. “You may be on to something. As soon as I hear from him, we’ll take the company jet. Yes, my dear. Thereissomething going on in that pretty little head of yours.”
She batted her eyes at him, thinking,He’ssuch a blowhard. He probably thinks I married him out of love and his good looks. Jerk. Two more years, and the prenup will be updated to reflect inflation.It would also give her a good amount of time to spend whatever she could of the Millstone fortune.Only two more years.I can do it.
The doorbell chimed Westminster bells. Rowena put out her cigarette and headed over to answer the door.
Rowena made a grand gesture opening the solid, hand-carved oak door. “Amber! How lovely to see you. Please come in.” Rowena thought she might choke on her own saliva. She knew that Arthur and Amber had had a few rolls in the hay a year or so ago. Maybe the affair was ongoing. It didn’t matter. Between the two women, Rowena had the upper hand. She had access to the money, the manor house, the yacht, the five-thousand-square-foot beachfront villa in St. Kitts, and the summer home in Bar Harbor, Maine. At least for the time being.
