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Taking a deep breath, she began the long climb, dragging along her suitcase. She’d packed light, but halfway up it began to feel like it was full of rocks and her arm felt rubbery. She didn’t finish until she was well out of breath, her travel clothes clinging with sweat to her body. As she approached the archway to some thick, rustic, wood double doors, a bead of sweat trickled down her nose.
She scraped her wild blonde curls into a ponytail, trying to wrangle them into something presentable. Then she pulled on the knocker and let it drop, and almost immediately, a slight woman in a black polo and shorts answered. “Si?”
“Hi, there. I’m Daisy Fortune. I’m here to meet with—”
“Oh, yes. You are expected,” she said in broken English, stepping aside. “Come in.”
Daisy left her suitcase next to the front step and went in. The woman led Daisy into a modern foyer with a high ceiling and exposed beams. There were plants everywhere and, overhead, a stained glass window that sent crystals of every color onto the tile floor. Daisy didn’t have time to gape at the beauty. The efficient housekeeper walked at a hurried clip toward another large room with an enormous stucco fireplace as the centerpiece. Atop the rough-hewn wood mantle was a large, rather garish painting of a balding man and a much-younger woman with white-blonde hair. They were dressed in white, with olive leaf headdresses, much like Greek gods and goddesses, embracing in front of a sunset with an active volcano in the background.
“Nice painting,” Daisy remarked as she sat down on the leather couch, since she really couldn’t take her eyes off the artwork. The eyes seemed to follow her around the room.
“Hmph,” the housekeeper said, casting a sour glance at it. Clearly, she didn’t think it was nice, or she saw through Daisy’s attempt to be friendly. “Can I get you something to drink? I have fresh lemonade.”
“No, thanks,” Daisy said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a pad and pen. “I’d really just like to meet with Ms. Tate and get some background information on the case, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“I’m sorry, but Ms. Tate isn’t here. She had an engagement in town,” the woman said stiffly.
“Oh.”So much for her expecting me. Or maybe it was because she was expecting me that she decided to make herself scarce?“Will she be back soon?”
“No, not likely. She just left.”
That was perfect. Daisy snapped the cover of her notebook closed and stood up. “Is there someone else I can speak to, who knows about Franklin Tate’s death?”
The woman let out a sigh and sat down in a chair across from Daisy, wiping her hands on her thighs. “You may talk to me. But I can’t talk for long. I’m charged with keeping this house in order, and I have much to do, since Mr. Tate’s death.”
Daisy looked around. The house looked spotless. “It looks very nice in here. I’m sure that’s a testament to the--”
“The courtyard is a mess. Ms. Tate has been spending all her time poolside, with friends. However they’re having a celebration of life in two days, and I need to make arrangements for that.”
“I see. And you are?”
“Roberta Principe. His head housekeeper. I’ve been with the family since he bought this place, with wife number one.”
“Goldie?”
She nodded. “Yes, the one who hired you.”
“And what did you think when you heard about that?”
The woman shrugged, indifferent. “The first Mrs. Tate was very shrewd. Okay, if she did it, I am sure there was a reason.”
“So you liked her?”
“I like all my employers.”
“Even Kiki?”
She pressed her lips together for a moment before looking away and saying, “You will not hear me say otherwise.”
I’ll take that as a no.“And what was your impression of Mr. Tate?”
“I liked him, too,” she said, without emotion. “He’s my employer, so of course, I appreciate him.”
“Okay, but what kind of employer was he? Was he difficult? Did he have trouble with any of the staff, that you know of?”
She waved her hand. “He wasn’t difficult. In fact, he’s very hands-off. If I didn’t clean the place in a month, I doubt he’d have noticed. And neither would Ms. Tate. I’m the stickler. They are not exactly the cleanest people, you see, so they need me.”
“You said they have a lot of parties?”
