Beautiful Affliction(11)

"Jaime," I breathe, completely shocked to see him. "I didn't realize you…you're with the police here?"

"Cora," he says, equally shocked. "I just transferred. They had an opening for a detective."

"Detective? Congratulations." I know that job had long been his dream.

"Well, junior detective," he corrects himself, looking sidelong at his older partner. "What are you doing here?"

"I hate to interrupt, but it's fucking freezing out here," the other man interjects.

"Oh god, sorry. Come in, please," I say, moving out of the way and then shutting the door behind them. "I can take your coats." Jaime frowns at me. "Can't you tell by the uniform? I'm the new maid."

"What?"

"Yeah, I just started yesterday."

"I'm Detective Felix Donohue," his partner says, and my mind jumps back to the quote he gave in the newspaper article. "And I can tell you already know Jaime. How, exactly?"

"We were…" I trail off as I hang their coats.

"Childhood sweethearts," Jaime completes my sentence for me, though he is downplaying our relationship quite a bit. We grew up in the same neighborhood, and were serious together for a while, though our relationship fell apart when my sister died. Not that there weren't already cracks, but Jaime refused to see them. He looks almost exactly the same as he did then, with his closely cropped dark blonde hair and brown eyes, though the frown line between his eyebrows looks slightly deeper.

"Well, if you just started yesterday, that shouldn't be a problem. No conflict of interest or anything, I mean."

"Oh, good. Let me just let Mr. Redmond know you're here," I murmur, trying to get back to my job. I return to his study and knock on the closed door. When I open it, Mr. Redmond and Aaron are deep in conversation and frown up at me. "The detectives are here. Should I show them into the living room?"

"Yes, we'll be right there. Mr. Scanlon should be arriving soon," Mr. Redmond says.

"Yes, sir," I reply, shutting the door and walking back to the foyer. "Right this way," I say to Jaime and Detective Donohue, leading them into the living room. Jaime is looking around at the sumptuous furniture with a sneer. He always had a chip on his shoulder about the very wealthy. "May I offer you something to drink?" I ask as they settle into two armchairs.

"Coffee," Detective Donohue says. "Black." Jaime nods as well, and I smile to myself. Well, sometimes stereotypes are true.

When I reenter from the kitchen with the coffee in elegant white mugs, Aaron and Mr. Redmond are sitting across from the detectives on the couch. Just as I set the mugs down on coasters, the doorbell rings again and I hurry to answer it. Mark Scanlon hurries in, handing his jacket off to me, and I follow him into the living room to take everyone else's drink orders.

"…in Cedar Lake. We think the rain last night swept her into shallower water, and a fisherman pulled her out," I hear Detective Donohue say as I hang up Mark's jacket. I begin to move more quietly.

"Drowned?" Mark asks.

"We don’t know yet. Won't know until after the autopsy, but we are investigating other avenues."

"So what are you calling it?"

"Possible murder. Again, won't know—"

"Until after the autopsy," Mark interrupts. "Would it be possible to keep this quiet until after that? There's no reason to cause a media circus until something's definite. Mr. Redmond here has his reputation and his company to think about."

"That's ridi—" I recognize Jaime's outraged voice.

"We'll do our best," Detective Donohue's voice cuts in. "We would like to take another look at Ms. Hall's room, though."

"Is that really necessary?" Mark asks.

"It's fine," Brent says, "though I believe Cora, the new maid, has already moved in. You told us before that would be alright."

"We'd just like to take another look," Detective Donohue reiterates.

"Cora?" I hear Mr. Redmond calling to the kitchen. Shit. I wince and wait for a moment to make it seem as though I haven't been eavesdropping, then walk into the living room. They turn in surprise, expecting me to come from the hallway to the kitchen, and I put on an innocent smile.

"Yes, Mr. Redmond?"

"The police need to take a look at your bedroom," he reports, then pauses for a split-second and adds, "If that's alright with you."

"Of course," I reply. "Please follow me." Jaime and Detective Donohue stand and walk behind me as I lead them down the hallway, and I just catch sight of Mr. Redmond and Mark bowing their heads together in serious discussion. I lead them through the kitchen then up the back stairwell and into my room. "I haven't had a chance to unpack," I explain, nodding to my suitcase. "Do you want me to move it?"