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That was bad.
Right. I didn’t need Cain’s muttered commentary to tell me as much. I was pretty sure if he’d been able to, he would have slapped his own forehead. I was a good actress, but I wasn’t exactly a trained gumshoe.
Something sparked in Sage’s eyes, and a grin curled the edges of her mouth. “Oh, my goodness, theuproarwhen it couldn’t be found. I thought the family was going to pull the entire manor apart, stone by stone.”
The laugh that slipped out of Sage’s mouth was full of a wicked kind of glee.
Cain and I both stared. That had been easier than I thought. Someone might just have a bit of resentment bottled up about the Erepto family. And I couldn’t blame her. I’d spent a few minutes in a room with one of them and I was ready to crawl out of my skin with nerves. I couldn’t imagine working for them full time.
“They freaked, huh?”
“Lords and Ladies, you have no idea.” Sage leaned closer. “I thought Manos and Sophia were going to brawl, both of them accusing the other of stealing it. I’m surprised they waited for Magda to die before trying to get their hands on the thing. You ask me?” She jerked a thumb over her finger towards the closed double doors at the end of the hallway. “The old lady took the idol with her when she died. That would have been right up her alley. Then watch the whole family implode from wherever she ended up.”
Yeesh, what a nice family.
I made a show of glancing around, making sure there was no one here but Sage and me. And, well, Cain, but she didn’t need to know about him. “So, they still don’t have any idea where it is?”
Sage shook her head. “They have no idea where it is. Or if they do, they haven’t brought it up around me. And I’m basically furniture to them so they wouldn’t care what they said around me. Half the time, I don’t even think they realize I’m there.”
“Could it have gotten mixed in with this other stuff?”
Sage sniffed, glancing around at the half-boxed wing. “No—the idol isn’t the kind of thing you could misplace.”
“Too big?”
She shook her head. “It’s not very big, but it’s very… distinct.”
Okay, that was promising. Sophia hadn’t gotten around to giving me a picture yet, so I still had no idea what the doohickey even looked like.
“Distinct,” I prompted.
Sage’s eyes widened with vicious delight and I was suddenly happy that she clearly disliked the family enough to want to gossip with me about them—because by now she had to realize I was snooping. She bent closer, until our faces were almost touching, looking like she was going to impart the secrets of the universe.
“That thing,” she began with relish. “Is the most hideous thing I’ve ever seen in all my days. And I’ve seen trolls attempt abstract art.”
My mouth popped open, a shocked laugh slipping free.
Sage nodded, looking satisfied with my response. “Oh, yes. It’s a horrendous monstrosity, barely bigger than my fist.”
“What is it?”
“A woman all in gold with snakes wrapped around her. It even has the tackiest red ruby eyes you’ve ever seen.” She gave a theatrical shudder. “If it fell in with the rest of the junk being packed up, I’m pretty sure the other stuff would curdle, or crawl out on its own, just trying to get away from the ugly thing.”
Well, it sounded distinct. At least I’d be able to recognize it if I saw it.
“Hoo, boy. That sure sounds like something. So, is the family always… like that, then?”
“Probably,” Sage said, rolling her eyes, before she settled them on me once more. “But how do you mean?”
“Well,” I said, thinking fast. “They’re all smiling and gracious and all that, but it’s like they’re all trying to murder each other with their eyes. I saw Sophia yelling at her son like he’d committed the worst crime ever.”
Sage’s lip twisted up. “That’s Dimitri. He’s useless. He gets his fun by making work for the rest of us, the little brat. He’s terrified of Sophia, though. Wait.” Sage grabbed my arm. Her hands were surprisingly strong, for a dame. “Sophia was yelling at him?”
“Yeah. It looked like she was going to rip him a new one,” I continued, using one of the newer phrases I’d cottoned onto.
“Oh, that, I would love to see.” Sage strained forward like a hound begging to be let off the leash.
“Go, go, I’m sorry to have held you up.” I flapped my hands at her and started down the hall. “I’m just going to make a stop at the ladies’ room.”
