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It’s Juan Manuel who notices what I do not. All eyes turn to him as he speaks. “You mentioned many charges. But you never mentioned murder.”
Detective Stark nods. “We have also charged Rodney with the first-degree murder of Mr. Black. But to be perfectly honest, we’re going to need your help to make that charge stick. There are still a few things we can’t figure out.”
“Such as?” Charlotte prompts.
“When we first went into the Black suite the day you found him dead, Molly, there were no traces of Rodney’s fingerprints anywhere in that whole suite. In fact, there were hardly any prints anywhere. And traces of your cleaning solution were found on Mr. Black’s neck.”
“Because I checked his pulse. Because—”
“Yes. We know, Molly. We know you didn’t kill him.”
It occurs to me then. “It’s my fault.”
Everyone looks my way.
“What could you possibly mean by that?” Mr. Preston asks.
“The fact that you couldn’t find Rodney’s prints anywhere. When I clean a room, I leave it in a state of perfection. If Rodney ever entered that room and left prints behind, I would have wiped them away without even knowing it. I’m a good maid. Maybe too good.”
“You may be right,” Detective Stark says. She smiles then, but not a full smile, not the kind that reaches the eyes. “We’re wondering if you know anything about Giselle Black’s whereabouts. After we arrested Rodney, we rushed to her hotel room, but she was already gone. Seems she saw us ambush the hotel and took off in a real hurry. She left a note on Regency Grand stationery.”
“What did it say?” I ask.
“It said, ‘Ask Molly the Maid. She’ll tell you. I didn’t do it. Rodney and Charles = BFFs.’ ”
“BFFs?” I say.
“Best friends forever,” Charlotte offers. “She’s saying Rodney and Charles were accomplices.”
“Yes,” says Juan Manuel. “They were accomplices.” All eyes turn his way. He continues to speak. “Rodney and Mr. Black talked a lot on the phone. Sometimes, they argued. About money. About shipments and territories and deals. Nobody thinks I hear anything, but I do.”
The detective turns her chair to face Juan Manuel. “We’d be very interested in taking your witness statement,” she says.
A look of alarm crosses Juan Manuel’s face.
“They’re not going to charge you,” Charlotte says. “Or deport you. They know you’re a victim of crime. And they need your help to try the perpetrator.”
“That’s right,” the detective says. “We understand that you were threatened and coerced to cooperate with Rodney, that you suffered…physical assault. And we know you had a work permit that ran out.”
“It didn’t just ‘run out,’ ” Juan Manuel says. “It ran into Rodney.”
Detective Stark cocks her head to one side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Juan Manuel explains how Rodney put him in touch with an immigration lawyer, only to have his money disappear and his papers never materialize.
“This ‘lawyer.’ You have his name?”
Juan Manuel nods.
The detective shakes her head. “Looks like we have another case to pursue.”
Charlotte jumps in. “Juan Manuel, if you support us as a key witness in the case against Rodney, maybe we can also catch this so-called lawyer. Catch him before he does this to more people.”
“No one else should go through this,” Juan Manuel says.
“That’s right. And Juan Manuel,” Charlotte says. “My partner García handles immigration law in our firm. If you want, I can introduce you to him, see if he can get your work permit reinstated.”
“I would like to talk to him, yes,” Juan Manuel says. “I have manyconcerns—Mr. Snow, for one thing. He knows what I did. He knows I stayed quiet when I should have talked. He will fire me for sure.”
