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Sam was listening intently. “We argued that night,” I continued. “I remember being in the art room. While I was drinking, I found some documents that Victoria had hidden. When I called her and confronted her about what I found, she started to cry and admitted the truth to me.” I was not ready to disclose any information about Natasha. “I must have got in the car at some point, but I remember seeing Victoria’s car down the embankment. That’s where everything is still fuzzy. I don’t remember what happened afterwards. The police found one of my diamond cufflinks at the scene. That’s their smoking gun. The other one is missing. It was in my bedroom closet.”
Sam stopped me. “I think I know where it is. I found a single cufflink on the floor of the art room but I didn’t know that was the cufflink you were looking for. It wasn’t a set; it was just a single cufflink so I didn’t think it was of much importance. I dropped it in one of the boxes that got sent to storage.” I listened as she helped me piece some of the mystery together.
“There’s also a music box that Natasha gave me to use as inspiration for the art room at my apartment,”
“It had blood on it. Do you think that may have been what gave you that gash?”
I was reeling from these bits and pieces of information Sam was disclosing. “I am not sure, but I can find out. Do you still have the music box? What does it look like?”
“Yes. It weighs about ten pounds, metal—”
I finished her sentence, “—with pictures of Natasha and a secret compartment at the top of the lid.”
“Yes.”
“That music box wasn’t in the art room before Victoria died. It was being repaired at a jewelry store in the city. She was supposed to pick it up the day she died. It was the reason why we drove separately.”
“We had been staying at the loft more often before Victoria died because I was spending more time at the office and the commute was shorter. Work finally quieted and we decided to leave the city to get back to a quiet weekend at the ranch, but she got called at the last minute to pick up the music box. That box was always at the loft in the city. It’s an heirloom from my grandmother. How did it get in the art room?” Fuck, even more questions.
Just then Roy walked up. He took our lunch order and zipped off to tend to the remaining guests tucked away in the other private booths.
As soon as he left, I continued. “So, someone took the music box from Victoria’s car and left it in the art room, so weird.”
That’s when Sam dropped the mother of all bombs on me: “I am pretty sure someone saw us that day in the master bedroom closet. The police mentioned they had an eyewitness statement that proved we were intimately involved. The only thing I could think about was the day in the closet.”
I sat in silence, racking my brain trying to find the motives of everyone around me. What was I missing?
Sam broke the silence. “Did it run across your mind that you may be getting framed? Based on what you’re telling me, you have pockets of time missing that explain crucial parts of this investigation. It may have been deliberate.”
For the first time in the past 4 months, I had a moment of clarity. All this time I was worried that I had done something to Victoria and missed what was staring me in the face. There was a third party at the scene and they were hiding their involvement. Why?
Roy came back with our order; we ate in silence. After finishing our meal, I thanked Roy and we headed to the ranch so Sam could get her car. On the drive back, we talked about Natasha, the renovations, how Sam got into interior designing, and her upcoming job with the Carters. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about her life and interests. She was very optimistic and easy to talk to. I have been aroused the entire ride to the ranch. I even thought about leaning over and stealing a kiss, but my legal dilemma quickly brought me back to my senses.
I dropped Sam off and headed back out to get Natasha from school and meet Peter in the city. Before I was able to pick up Natasha from school, Peter called.
“Hey, brother, the results are in from the blood on the floor in the art room. It’s not a match for Victoria.”
I was not surprised. “Do me a favor, Peter, can you get a sample of the blood and run it against my blood type? I have a hunch.”
“Okay. What are you thinking?”
I was not comfortable talking over the phone. “I’ll fill you in later. Natasha is about to get in the car.”
Peter hung up and I sat deep in thought. I opened the door and Natasha slid into the backseat beside me. “How was school, peanut?”
“School was good, Dad.” Natasha went into a long conversation about a bird that got loose in the school, but I was preoccupied with something Sam mentioned at lunch. She was right; there is someone in the background trying to frame me for this. Iwasn’t sure who it was or what their motive was but I was going to find out.
CHAPTER 16
SAMANTHA
“I’m fine, Liz. Stop hovering.” I now regretted telling Liz about Chris, the investigation, and the pregnancy. Well, not really. Lizzie was there when I needed to vent and she was also there the morning after when I needed a ride to the gynecologist. The problem now is that she has decided she knows what is best for me. My plans were to start back at the ranch today. I had trades lined up to finish the carpet in the master bedroom, and painters would be in towards the end of the day to paint the master bedroom and master bedroom closet. I would go in the next day to get all the furniture staged. Lizzie did not think it was a good idea for me to go to the ranch with all the media coverage of the case. I could not tell her about the conversation between me and Chris yesterday; it felt like I would be betraying his trust. Based on what he told me, someone was out to get him and he needed to keep everything a secret until he knew who it was.
Before leaving yesterday, he swore me to secrecy and he also asked that I continue with the renovations to keep everything status quo. If the person was watching, this would make them drop their guard. I agreed but would be watching my back from now on at the ranch. That’s if Lizzie would get off the phone so I could get to work!
“I’ll check in every thirty minutes,” I said, “and both Chris and Natasha are back in the city at his loft. They won’t be at the ranch until after all the renovations are complete.”
Lizzie was not satisfied. “Are you sure you’ll be okay there by yourself?”
