If Diana Dupont had been murdered in her bed, then the suspects list was short. Only people with access to the house would have the opportunity. That included the family and the staff. The most pressing motive for killing a wealthy person was the money of course, but Alexis had said the last months of Diana's life the cancer had altered her personality from cold to cruel, so I couldn't rule out spite as a potential motivation either.

           The first person on my list was the maid. For one, she was the easiest to find, and two, I'd caught her snooping in Diana's room and I wanted to know why. Looking for a dropped murder weapon? Making sure the crime scene was clean? Looking for her missing documents? Stealing priceless jewelry? I'd find out.

          Diana's mansion loomed solemnly in the wake of her burial. The scent of wet Florida earth was musty from the stagnant rains of an early morning storm. No sound breached the perimeter but the chirping of happy little birds overhead and the caressing of wind through the trees. I rang the doorbell and plastered a smile on my face—ready to ease any natural suspicion she may have of a stranger. Este opened the door and smiled back, "Yes?", she asked.

          "Hi, I'm Alexis's friend, Evie. I think I saw you at the funeral."

          No spark of recognition lit her face, which suited my purposes just fine. "Come on in." She stepped aside and held the door.

          I made a show of wiping my feet on the mat, then entered the threshold with my head high and my shoulders relaxed. "Shame about Diana, huh?" I said as she led me through the high-ceilinged foyer.

          "Yes, ma'am." Her voice was curt but polite.

          "The repass was crazy, huh?"

          "Yes, ma'am."

          "Crazy family."

          "Mm hmm." She barely looked over as we quickly stepped through the dining room.

          I was undeterred. "Even crazier how she died. Such a spitfire wasting away from cancer."

         "She was quite a woman." Well, at least it was a complete sentence.

          Este excused herself to go get Alexis while I waited in a polished living room. I sat down on a comfy gray sofa and occupied myself by looking around. There was nothing unusual, just an ordinary living room with seating, coffee table, and flat screen above the mantle.

          I twiddled my thumbs and watched the clock. I'd told Alexis that when I stopped by, she should pretend to be busy so I could have time with Este by myself. This part of the job was about making people feel comfortable enough with me to speak openly. Good thing I'm such a damn people person.

          The wall to my left was full of old color photos encircling what looked like an AKA emblem. My curiosity (and boredom) got the better of me so I got up and walked over to stretch my legs and get a closer look. Sure enough, the wall was a collage of Diana's time as an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha. Each picture was a stamp in time of Diana's life as a sorority sister—a part of life she shared with my mother, though mom was less enamored with having any pink and green décor around the house.

            In one of the pictures a cheery Diana stood next to a smiling woman with a soft round face and straightened and curled hair. I couldn't shake the feeling I'd seen her before but had to put it out of my mind as Este came back with a serving platter full of freshly made scones and lemon water.

           "She's coming." Este said with a significant huff in her voice. Going up and down those stairs all day is probably taxing. I knew two things about Este. She was an immigrant, thanks to the dates on her passport, and she was a maid. From that, I deduced the quickest way to have her open up was talking about work.

           The key was to get her to a place where she led the conversation.

          I reached for a saucer as she poured me a drink. "How are you holding up by the way?"

           She looked up suddenly, the pitcher hovering in place over the tray. "Ma'am?"

          "You knew her too. I mean you worked here for years, right?"

           "Oh, yes ma'am. She wasn't my mother though." She sat the pitcher down and moved the glass of lemon water onto a coaster.

           "No, but death is hard no matter who experiences it." I took a little sip of the lemon water; quite annoyed that it wasn't either water or lemonade but resigned. "And I know sometimes people get stressed in these situations and take it out on the help."

          She nodded. "It was a stressful situation."

          "I don't doubt it. You know I used to work as a maid."

           "Really? You?"

           "Put myself through college. I wasn't domestic, though. I cleaned an office building. Still ran into a lot of entitlement." That was only half a lie. I did work in housekeeping for an office, but it was only one year out of four. Most of my working student career had been as a barista at the Rise and Grind.

          She took a seat next to me. "But you managed to graduate?"

          "Oh yeah. I'm a business owner now," I flashed her my most charming grin. "Why, are you trying to get through school?"

          "No... but my son."

          "Ah."

          "The tuition is so expensive."

          "What's he in for?"

          "Business. He'd rather focus on history. But what can he do with a history degree? Be a teacher? Not for the money they charge." A woman after my own heart.

          "Young people have to learn how to balance their passions with practicality."

          She nodded like what I'd said was profound. "Ain't that the truth."

          "People just don't know how good they have it in the U.S."

          "They really don't." Her eyes shined. I'd said the magic words. "I try to tell my son all the time, if I hadn't come to this country, he wouldn't have all these opportunities. I don't think he understands me."

          "Kids. They'll understand with time." I wouldn't know, I had no children and wasn't planning on any anytime soon. "That's a lovely accent. What country are you from? "

          "Haiti."

          "Ah, our neighbors to the South." I flashed another grin and nodded my head. "I hope my countrymen have been hospitable."

           "It's...an experience."

           "Well I hope at least the Dupont's treat you right."

           "They're a nice family but sometimes they can be a little thoughtless."

           "Really?"

          She leaned forward and poured herself a cup of lemon water. "Yeah. You know that Destiny can be a handful."

          "Oh, I know. I try to avoid her."

          We shared a laugh, but her eyes darted back and forth like she was scared someone could walk in at any moment. "After her divorce she asked me to put a root on her ex-husband's new wife. I don't do root-work!"

           "Good to know." We laughed again, like old buds.

          "I can't believe a nice girl like you is friends with this family."

          "What do you mean?"

          "You're so nice and friendly. And—"

           "Down to Earth?"

           "Yes."

           I nodded like we were in on a secret, looked around like I didn't know who was home, and lowered my voice. "All Alexis talks about is this missing necklace. 'It's important. It's the principle'. Like, okay, but the woman had, like, fifty priceless necklaces!" I rolled my eyes. It felt a little overdrawn, but Este didn't react to it. "Not to say anything because we're friends but you know, she was born rich so it's different."

           "I know. Don't get me started on that Gabe. What a waste."

          "Right! If I was him, I would have been a doctor or a lawyer or something." I shrugged. "But we all must work with what we're given."

         "That's just what I tell my son."

          "Now that Malik is cut from a different cloth."

           "So successful!" Her smile was wide. Clearly, she was impressed. "You notice he's the only one who doesn't live here."

          I nodded. "Can you imagine having a son like that?" When her smile turned into a slight grimace, I mimicked her expression and widened my eyes. "What's wrong?"

           She leaned forward again to whisper. "Well, he's not Gabe. But he's not particularly nice either."

          "Really? I've never spent much time around him. He seems nice."

          "It's an act. He and Ms. Diana had a falling out years ago."

          "No way. Why?"

           "It was during the recession. Ms. Diana was close to filing bankruptcy, so Malik tried to steal the company right from under her!"

          "What? His own mom?"

          She nodded. "I was here after. She kicked him out of the company, her house, and slapped him across the face."

          "Oh, wow. That's crazy."

          "They barely spoke again even when she was dying."

          "Well that explains what Alexis was talking about—oh, I shouldn't have said anything."

           She frowned and folded her hands in her lap. "What?"

          "Well, just between us?"

          "Of course."

         I took a leisurely sip of lemon water. "Well, some of the family members are suspicious that Diana's death maybe had help."

         "But Ms. Diana had cancer."

          "Yes, but there's been evidence found that suggests someone might have smothered her a little before her time."

           "And they think it's Malik?"

           "Well they were on the outs."

          She shook her head. "Oh no. Malik couldn't have hurt Ms. Diana."

           "What makes you say that?"

           "He's been banned from the house for years. And everyone knew not to let him in."

          "Huh, that's funny then."

          "What?"

          "Well according to Alexis somebody's been going through Diana's stuff." I drank some more lemon water to let the information simmer a bit. "She said even at the funeral someone had gone in her room."

          "What?"

         "Yeah, she's thinking about calling the cops. That's why she invited me over today. My boyfriend is a cop. He'll look into it." Este sprung from her seat but stood stone still. I faked a frown. "What's wrong?"

          "I was the one in Ms. Diana's room." The confession was immediate. That doesn't bode well for her being a murderer.

          "Oh, well just tell Alexis that." I nibbled at some of the now cool apple scone like I didn't have a care in the world.

          "I can't."

          "Why not?"

            "I just can't."

          "Surely you weren't stealing?" I placed my hand dramatically at the base of my throat and raised my eyebrows like a properly scandalized Southern lady.

          "God no!" Her dangly earrings jingled as she shook her head from side to side. "I... I was looking for something. Something Ms. Diana stole from me."

           "Well that's perfectly reasonable."

           "I would never steal from Ms. Diana. Or hurt her." She sat back down but her hands still fidgeted in her lap.

            "Of course, but if they go through with any investigation, they may misconstrue your motives. You know how police are."

           "I do."

            "They'll probably dig all through your background to find the truth too."

            She bit her lip and looked away. "I didn't think of that."

           "If you haven't done anything, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

            She turned to me, her eyes desperate. "Could you...speak to Alexis for me?'

             "About what?"

            "This whole murder thing. She has to know I'd never hurt her mother."

          "Of course. Everything else we've said here is between you and me."

          Her shoulders relaxed a bit. "Thank you." She smiled and I felt a twinge of guilt. It's true that lying, or rather, stretching the truth was part of the job but that didn't mean I took pleasure in giving this lady more anxiety than necessary. I hadn't forgotten that I still had her passport either.

          "It would help if there was someone else, though."

           The snitching was forthwith. "Corrine."

           "You think the nurse could have hurt Diana?"

          "I know she could. I've seen her hit her before."

          I gasped, momentarily taken aback. There was some information I hadn't anticipated. I remembered myself and morphed back into my curious façade. "Why did she hit her?"

           "Diana hit her first but she was sick and out of her mind. Corrine smacked the soul out of that woman. And she was always giving her drugs."

          "Drugs?"

           "To make her sleep."

           "That makes a lot of sense." I heard myself say while my brain was busy processing the person who was quickly rising on my suspect list.

           "And Corrine hated her."

           "Why would she continue to work for someone she hated?"

           She shrugged. "Maybe Diana stole something from her. Maybe she was threatening her. Maybe this was the only job she could get."

          Or maybe her secret boyfriend had promised her a cut if she stayed on and watched her. Maybe she'd even let him in the night Diana died. Or maybe she did it herself.

           If Este was telling the truth, then Corrine was an abuser. Maybe this wasn't about the money. Maybe it was a drugging gone wrong. Maybe she went too far one night and covered it up.

          There was a lot to consider, and yet still more to learn.

           I stood abruptly and plastered another smile on my face. If I keep this up it'll get stuck that way. "I hate to eat and run, but I've got to get back to work." That was actually true. I couldn't stay here all day.

            "But Alexis..."

            "I'll call her." I grabbed my purse. "You know how they are. Nobody's time is valuable but theirs."

             She graced me with a mischievous grin that spoke to her true feelings.

           Either she was legit and had a little naughty side, or she was as conniving as I was. Either way, I was going to find out.