The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon Read Free Book Online Page B

floor. Jacket tossed at the foot of the bed. Vest nowhere to be seen. The suit probably cost more than she made in a month, and yet he flung it about like so many dishrags. She’d stripped the bed, ironed the sheets, and taken his suit to the cleaners. It took her an hour to clean the kitchen and another to clean the bathrooms. Now, with the clock inching toward twelve-thirty, she tried to finish dusting the bedroom. She would certainly miss lunch, but if she was lucky, she could avoid getting yelled at by Smithson. Maria was mentally calculating her route when someone rattled the handle to the front door. She stood up straight, listening. A key shifted in the lock. Then the door swung open with a heavy, wooden thud.
    Maria winced at the thought of facing Mr. Crater again so soon. Two sets of footsteps shuffled through the entry.
    “Where is she?” The voice was sharp and cunning and unfamiliar. She froze.
    “Gone for the day.”
    Maria gasped and spun around. She stood holding the dusting rag, arms stretched out in front of her like a marionette, as her mind adjusted to what she heard. She knew that second voice. Knew it and loved it.
    Jude .
    Maria looked back and forth between the closet and the open bedroom door. She bolted across the room and parted the garments with one smooth movement. Then she slipped inside, drawing them together again with a snap. Maria had the feeling of being a child, caught somewhere she didn’t belong. She pushed her back against the cedar-lined wall and scooted over so her shoes weren’t visible. Tucked into the shadowed corner of the closet, she peeked out between two pinstriped suits and saw Jude stick his head in the bedroom, followed by a broad-shouldered man in a Panama hat. Leo Lowenthall. Jude’s partner in the detective unit.
    In one hand Jude held four manila envelopes and in the other Mr.Crater’s house keys—the ones with the key ring made from a silver dollar, the ones he hung by the front door every day. He shoved the keys in his pocket. Maria could barely see him through the louvered slats as he scanned the room.
    Jude walked over to the antique bureau on the far wall. A key stuck out from one of the small drawers. He turned it, pulled the drawer open, and placed the envelopes inside. Maria saw him hesitate, his hand hovering above the drawer, as though to lift them out again.
    Leo stood in the doorway, staring at the closet. Suspicious. “So that’s why you were stalling?”
    Jude spun around. “What do you mean?”
    “I thought you didn’t have the stomach for the job. But really you just wanted to give Maria time to finish work. She was supposed to be here, you know. Owney wanted her to see this.”
    Jude took three wild steps toward Leo and grabbed him by the lapels. “You leave my wife out of this.”
    Leo rose up to his full height and knocked Jude’s arms away. “How else can we make sure you cooperate?”
    “And you think threatening my wife will keep me in line? Is that it?” Jude shoved him backward a step.
    “I think you’re not trustworthy. That you need a little motivation to do as you’re told. To stop asking so many questions.”
    “Don’t worry about me. I’m not stupid.” Maria knew her husband well enough to detect the fear in his voice, given away by the high note at the end of each sentence. “And don’t go near my wife.”
    “It’s not me you have to worry about.” Leo laughed at the look of strangled panic on Jude’s face. “What? You think Owney didn’t know she worked for the Craters? That this was all some coincidence ? Grow up. Nothing in this town happens on accident.” He snorted. “Just do your job.”
    The rest happened quickly, and Maria struggled to remain silent. The rustle of paper. The bureau drawer sliding shut. The small, almost inaudible click of a lock.
    “Doesn’t matter,” Leo continued. “Now you know the rules. You cross Owney and he goes after your wife.” He left the bedroom.
    Jude shifted into