Page 106 of Ethan & Grace

He didn’t respond. Instead, he pressed his lips into a thin line, as if I wasn’t worth wasting words on. It was fine by me. I’d only shown interest to be polite.

Nate, James, and I chatted until they’d finished their drinks. When they asked if we wanted to join them at the bar, Ethan and I declined. Nate wished us a good evening, and James asked me to save a dance for him later.

“I like your friends. Nate and James, anyway,” I said to Ethan once they were gone. His hand was still on my back.

“I like them too, especially James. Don’t get me wrong, Nate’s really nice, but he spends too much time with Charles for my liking, and he’s hardly the best influence.”

“I don’t think Charles likes me.” He’d only exchanged a couple of sentences with me during the whole conversation, and only when prompted. It was pretty rude, especially considering how much these people valued proper etiquette. It was fair to assume they would have some grasp of basic manners.

Ethan snorted. “Don’t take it personally. He likes to surround himself with sycophants and dislikes anyone who doesn’t worship him. That’s why he can’t stand me.”

Before I could reply, we were interrupted by Kate striding towards us with a wide grin. It could only mean one thing. The adrenaline, which had briefly vanished while I was talking to Ethan’s friends, came rushing back with full force. “Have you got the key?”

Kate shot Ethan a sceptical glance, but quickly realised she could speak openly in front of him. “Sure. I’ve still got the touch.” She held out her closed hand to me. I took it, and she slid the key discreetly into my fingers.

“You stole the key from Claude,” Ethan said, surprised. I hadn’t been able to tell him my plan in front of his friends. He looked impressed by my scheming and Kate’s skill.

“Don’t say that so loud,” she admonished him, looking around, but no one was paying attention. She turned back to me. “I have no idea what you’re looking for in Asterdam’s study, but when you’re done, lock up and leave the key in the door. That way, he’ll think he forgot to take it. It’ll look the least suspicious, because there’s no way I’ll get that thing back into his pocket.”

“Will do,” I said, clutching the key tightly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And next time we’re alone, I want an explanation.”

I promised Kate I’d fill her in later, and then she was gone, leaving Ethan and me alone—with the key to Mr. Asterdam’s study in my hand. Now we just had to find evidence that would prove beyond doubt that he was responsible for Amy’s death.

40

My wife is out tonight.

Want to come over?

Message from Richard Darlington to Vivian Edwards

Ethan

“I’ll start on the left, you take the right,” Grace said, her voice low, though I was sure no one could hear us regardless.

We were in Claude’s study, which we’d managed to get into easily thanks to Kate’s nimble fingers. We had originally agreed we wouldn’t leave the party at the same time, but we’d lost a lot of time getting hold of the key, and who knew when the evening would be over. Sometimes these events ended as early as ten o’clock; other times, they went on deep into the night. But neither Grace nor I wanted to risk being kicked out before we’d had a chance to look around, so we had scrapped our original plan and set off for the study together.

I nodded to Grace, and we got to work. Claude’s study looked just like my dad’s—antique furniture, dark wood, heavy cabinets. Who knew why these men all seemed to have the same taste, but if I ever had a study, I’d make it bright and cosy, with a rug and plenty of plants. There definitely wouldn’t be a mahogany desk. I pushed aside my interior-design daydreams and opened the first filing cabinet, which was packed with folders from the past decade—mostly insurance papers and documents relating to the household staff.

I closed the cabinet, not interested in the old stuff, and moved on to the next one. Bingo! I’d found the current files. I glanced over at Grace, who sat at the desk, opening one drawer after another. She looked harried, her movements frantic. My heart was already racing, and I didn’t want to imagine how nerve-racking all this must be for her. And yet, she’d kept her composure all evening. She’d even taken the time to talk to Nate and James, which meant a lot to me. The two of them—especially James—were an important part of my life, just like Grace. I wanted them to get along, and I silently hoped that James would still be my friend after all this.

I turned back to my search, not entirely sure what I was looking for. I started with the folder of December invoices. Even though I worked quickly, scanning each page for just a few seconds, it felt like it was taking forever. Nothing suspicious jumped out at me, so I moved on to the next folder: the invoices for this January. I was grateful for Claude’s assistant’s orderly filing system, without which my task would have taken a lot longer.

“I’ve found something!” Grace suddenly called, forgetting to whisper.

I spun around.

She tapped the wood. “This drawer has a false bottom.”

I hurried over to her. She had emptied the entire contents of the drawer—pens and other office supplies—and was now trying to open the false bottom but couldn’t find a way in.

“There must be a mechanism that opens it. Let me try,” I said, pushing aside the office chair Grace was sitting on and crouching down next to the desk. I examined the drawer from every angle until I found what I was looking for. A tiny notch, no bigger than the head of a pin. I pointed to it. “Do we have anything that fits in there?”

“Yes, here! This was in the drawer,” Grace said, handing me a small Allen key. “I wondered why it was in there.”

Carefully, I slid the tool into the tiny opening, and with a click, the false bottom popped open. Grace grabbed the documents hidden inside. My gaze, meanwhile, wandered to the grandfather clock in the corner. We’d already been here for fifteen minutes, and technically, it was time to go if we wanted to avoid drawing attention. But one look at Grace’s face told me she wouldn’t leave now. I took some of the papers and helped her sift through them. The first thing I laid hands on was a will. The second, a draft patent application. And the third . . .