Free The Connicle Curse by Gregory Harris Page B

bay windows, and there was a small adjoining room off to one side within which I could see shelves of hatboxes, ladies’ shoes, and endless women’s clothing and linens. It seemed a veritable abundance of possibility, so it was with great interest that I watched Colin begin a slow rotation around the space, stomping on several floorboards near the walls and giving a cursory look into the side room before coming to a halt in front of the banquette farthest from the door.
    â€œMy guess is that you’ve either fitted a false bottom into one of your armoires, a costly and rather predictable choice, or one of these banquettes conceals a built-in safe. And if that is the case, then I choose the one farthest from the door.”
    â€œWhy, Mr. Pendragon!” Mr. Guitnu’s smile came easily again. “And I thought I was being so clever.”
    â€œYou really mustn’t judge your cleverness by Mr. Pendragon,” I said.
    Mr. Guitnu laughed. “Perhaps not, but he is most certainly correct. I thought it would provide us the best protection.” He shook his head and walked over to Colin. “I never imagined a thief could come from within our own home.”
    He removed the thick seat cushion and lifted a tiny rectangle of wood in one corner. Within was a small lever that he twisted like a spigot, releasing a spring that popped the seat up about an inch. He swung it up toward the window, revealing the dial of a long, slim metal safe inside.
    â€œIngenious,” Colin marveled.
    â€œYet not enough.” Mr. Guitnu reached down and spun the dial quickly back and forth before pulling back the door to expose stacks of trays filled with loose gems and exquisite pieces of jewelry. “I thought I was a clever man, but now I see I am only a fool.” He lifted several of the trays out, but as he reached in deeper it became obvious that the trays farther in were sparser in their bounty. “The thief is no fool. He takes only things from the bottom. Harder to notice. Items my wife seldom wears. But I noticed.” He stood up and backed away from the safe to allow Colin to peer inside.
    â€œWho knows the combination to this safe?” he asked as he ran his fingers along the door and locking mechanism.
    â€œOnly my wife and our eldest daughter, Vijaya.”
    â€œAnd who else knows about the safe?”
    â€œAll of our daughters. My valet, Damish, who met you at the door, and the girl who tends to the upstairs. No one else.”
    â€œYou seem very certain,” Colin prodded, “and yet someone is helping themselves to your hoard.”
    Mr. Guitnu’s smile wilted. “And so he is.” He took the trays and laid them back in the safe in the same order he had removed them before closing the lid and whirring the dial about haphazardly. Appearing satisfied, he pressed the wooden seat back down upon the top and set the heavy cushion back in place. “Shall we go back down so you can ask your questions and sort this matter? I cannot abide this scoundrel living under my roof one more night.”
    Colin’s eyebrows arched up. “I’m honored by your faith in me but cannot promise a resolution in a single day. These types of crimes can be difficult and I do not want to accuse someone wrongly.”
    We made our way back to the sitting room and within half an hour Colin and I had questioned both the valet, Damish, and the upstairs housekeeper, a pretty freckled Irish girl named Molly. Both admitted knowledge of the safe and yet neither recollected having ever seen it open, a contention Mr. Guitnu and his wife ultimately verified. While Damish had proven to be collected and succinct in his demeanor, poor Molly had been nearly undone by nerves as her dark eyes darted about and her already-pale complexion grew almost transparent.
    â€œThat . . .” Colin said as she hastily made her way from the room, “is either the guiltiest woman I have ever confronted or