Darian stares fixedly at the floor, but I press on, ignoring the intimate display. "Mr. Castellani, when Darian and I first asked you about the secret passages, you said only a few people had ever asked you about them. Who were the others?"
"Well, Sandro, of course," Julian drawls. "After our father's demise, he wanted to know all about them. Demanded the architectural plans, even."
"Okay. Anyone else?"
Something dark flashes in Julian's eyes, gone in an instant. "Why the sudden curiosity?"
"Humor me."
Julian glances down at Leo, who has closed his eyes and looks like he's falling asleep. "Oh, that redheaded vixen asked during one of her stays here."
"Roxanne Rochford knows about the passages?"
"Speaking of, Sandro will be having her and that asinine fiancé of hers over for dinner tomorrow to consolidate the surviving Bernardi faction as an ally. You'll make sure it's a perfect evening, won't you Darian?"
Darian shifts uncomfortably beside me, murmuring some reply, but something has clicked in my mind, like the tumblers of a lock falling into place. I keep my expression carefully neutral, but Julian's watching me closely.
The behind-the-stage picture is becoming clearer.
"Okay," I say, backing up, and shepherding Darian along with me. "We'll leave you to it. We need to get back to work."
"Of course, Raffaello. Off you go, then."
But I can feel his eyes burning into my back as I take Darian by the arm and march him to the door. The moment it closes behind us, I set off at a brisk pace, practically dragging him up the path leading back to the Manor house and ignoring the protests in my back.
"Raffi, slow down," Darian protests, struggling to keep up with my hurried steps. "What is it?"
"Roxy Rochford," I tell him, stopping and looking around. Goddamn it, who even knows where Julian might have added more cameras and microphones. I drop my voice to a soft murmur and put my mouth right up against Darian's ear. "It was her."
"But that's—that'sabsurd," he splutters, too loud, and I gesture for him to keep the volume down. He goes on in a whisper,"She's a movie star, Raffi, not some—some—gangster! Why would she even be involved in something like this?"
I pause, looking around. "Let's go to the security room," I tell him.
It's the one place in Redwood where I can be sure there are no bugs. No cameras. It gets swept daily, morning and night.
I have to kick out a couple of the guys, but they're used to that by now. Darian and pull a couple of chairs close together, and I lay out my thinking. "It's those holes, D, the ones in the?—"
"The wardrobe," he finishes. "Seriously, Raffi, you need to tell me about those, right now. I don't care if there's an emergency in the middle of it, you're telling me."
He looks so cute when he's frustrated. I'll have to see exactly how cute I can get him looking by edging him for hours…
"Right," I say, pulling my mind back on task. "The second I saw them, I knew what they were. Should've trusted my instincts. It was Julian who pointed out they were smooth, no splintering, and theylookedlike knots in the wood." I hold up my palm. "Remember those black smudges we got?"
"Yes," he says. "I'm not sure they'll come out of your handkerchief, Raffi."
"Yeah, don't worry about it. The point is, I finally figured out what those marks were. Ash."
His brow furrows. "From cigarettes?"
"Fromburnt wood. Someone fired through the wardrobe. And then they filed down the splinters and used a lighter to burn them a little, make them look like natural knots."
Darian stares at me. "Notsomeone," he says slowly. "You think it was Ms. Rochford."
"Yeah. I do."
Bewildered, Darian says, "But how did Mr. Lollo get into the passage in the first place?"
I lay it all out for him, start to finish, what I think happened. And I can see he doesn't really believe me at first, but as I go on, it gets a little more convincing. His expression turns somber, skepticism fading. "But Raffi," he says seriously, when I've wrapped up, "say itisMs. Rochford. Say you can even prove it. Don't you think that would just…" He spreads his hands helplessly.
