predecessor, the second Countess de la Marco, had commissioned it that way. The fact is that everyone knows who
called the shots every step of the way. This was Sally Chico’s idea of high class and there were lots of jokes about it in the society columns. She throws a lot of parties, and she read that
it was called “Sylvie’s golden cage.”
Behind Glady, Lane could see that the countess was approaching them from down the hallway.
“What colors would you suggest for this room?” Lane asked Glady, her tone a little louder than necessary.
For an instant Glady looked startled. Then she realized that Lane was cautioning her to stop disparaging her new client. Without missing a beat she said, “This room will be very beautiful,
a suitable background for the countess.”
It was immediately obvious that de la Marco had overheard and picked up the sarcasm in Glady’s tone. Her eyes narrowed and her voice lost the friendly tone she had been exhibiting on this
second visit.
“For your fee, Ms. Harper, I would expect that you would be able to achieve a suitable background for me.”
Glady had better be careful, Lane thought. But she’s right. Underneath that pleasant demeanor, this is one tough lady.
Of course, Glady was not intimidated. “Countess, if you feel the cost of this renovation is beyond your means, I would be happy to withdraw and terminate our contract.”
“That will not be necessary,” the countess snapped, turned on her heel, and walked away.
When the countess was safely out of earshot, Glady said, “Did you notice that she never even blinked when I gave her the estimate for this job? It’s obvious she has a
boyfriend.”
“I looked her up,” Lane said. “She tried to break her prenup, but got nowhere.”
“I know that. The amount she got was sealed. But people say the family managed to put a lot of the count’s money in a trust, because of his obvious dementia. Sally didn’t get
that much comparatively, not enough for the way she is throwing money around now. You saw that the minute I gave her the final estimate she said that she had to make a phone call. She has to have a
new ‘big bucks’ boyfriend. My guess is that it’s one of those Russian billionaires.”
Without stopping for breath Glady added, “Of course, she was Parker Bennett’s girlfriend for years. She may have been building a golden nest egg before he disappeared.”
18
J onathan Pierce, alias Tony Russo, watched, amused, as a van marked “H&L Security” pulled up to the curb opposite Anne
Bennett’s town house. The security system had already been installed. He knew that the purpose of this service was to be sure Bennett’s new home was not bugged.
He had seen Eric Bennett enter the town house a few hours earlier. That was unusual. In the ten days she had been here Eric had established a pattern of having dinner with his mother every other
night. At least you have to give him credit for being a thoughtful son, Jon thought. But if he’s innocent, why would he be so worried about bugs in the town house? Is he afraid his mother
will let something slip about his father’s whereabouts, or the missing money?
In the past week he had managed to establish a tentative friendship with Anne Bennett without being too obvious about it. The mail was usually delivered around nine o’clock. He would watch
for the truck to arrive, and when he was on his way out to retrieve his mail the door to Anne Bennett’s town house would open. It seemed to him that she was on the lookout for the mailman.
Was it because she expected a communication from her husband?
He was trying to establish her pattern of behavior. On Sunday morning she had gone out at quarter of ten. He had followed her to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, where she had attended
Mass. A few days later she had also gone to a local hairdresser. He knew that her fancy New York salon had told her not to come back; after that she had had a
Jorge Luis Borges (trans. by N.T. di Giovanni)