All That Really Matters, Nicole Deese [best detective novels of all time .TXT] 📗

Suddenly, there was no better compliment to receive in all the world.

28

Molly

Somehow nearly three weeks had passed since our dart-throwing date. And I was certain I hadn’t ever smiled more in my life than I had when I was with Silas, which was often, considering I’d basically commandeered the once makeshift office across the hall from him into my all-the-time office.

But today wasn’t about office work at all—it was about makeovers and pampering and watching movies with my favorite young ladies. Upon delivering a suitcase of full-size hair and makeup products to the girls’ cottage, along with a closet’s worth of selected outfits for them to try on, I was now on the hunt for some wildflowers in the west garden. In addition to the treat tray I’d arranged on the counter, I wanted to find something fresh and pretty to brighten up the cottage.

But instead, I found something else entirely.

The garden shed door, which was usually latched in the top right corner by a padlock, was ajar.

I looked behind me, in case I’d missed seeing some groundskeeper while I was trying to roll my gigantic suitcase over the grass. But, alas, there were no groundskeepers at present, because there was no budget for them. I knew this well, as I’d had to hire a special crew for The Event.

I approached cautiously.

“Hello?” I had no idea why I said it as I pushed the shed door open. It wasn’t like I thought someone was living in there and would invite me inside for tea and a chat.

But as it turned out . . . someone had been living in there. By the looks of it, two somebodies.

I gasped at the pillows and the blankets and then . . . oh, dear heavens.

An open box of condoms.

I suddenly felt woozy and sick to my stomach. Not at all like how I’d imagined a detective on True Crimes would feel after stumbling upon such a scene. For all my years obsessing over Nancy Drew and wishing my life held the same kind of adventure, I certainly did not feel that way now. If I had the option to unsee this, to go back five minutes and five hundred steps ago to where my biggest concern involved making the cottage’s countertop party pretty with flowers and decorations, I’d choose it in a heartbeat. Because whoever was involved here, they had not only broken their commitment to the house but also endangered their place in the program.

And that was a reality too heavy to carry alone.

I slipped my phone out of my pocket and called Silas. He’d know what to do.

He didn’t pick up. Instead, he sent an immediate text.

The Duke of Fir Crest Manor

Still with Diego and Alex at the mechanic shop. Everything okay?

Oh, that’s right. Today was the final exam for their certification program.

I snapped a picture of the love shack and sent it off to him.

Molly

Discovered this just now. In the garden shed.

Why was it that time never moved slower than when you were waiting on a critical text message to arrive? I turned on my phone flashlight, scanning the darkened interior for more clues. With an ever-sinking heart, I pinched my lips together and searched for something identifiable.

The Duke of Fir Crest Manor

Okay. I’ll deal with it when I get back. There’s a protocol we need to follow.

Molly

Want me to find Glo? I can be discreet.

The Duke of Fir Crest Manor

No, I’ll talk with her when I’m back.

Molly

So what should I do in the meantime?

Perhaps instead of makeovers, we could sit around in a circle and talk about how secrets and lies hurt people and then maybe one of the girls would start to cry and—

The Duke of Fir Crest Manor

Nothing.

Molly

Wait . . . it seems like you just told me to do nothing about this?

The Duke of Fir Crest Manor

I can’t text right now. Diego is up. We’ll talk tonight. Just leave it for now.

I reread his response several times over, and though I didn’t want them to, his texts bothered me. He and Glo weren’t the only ones who cared about the shenanigans that went on around the manor. Or the residents who lived in it for that matter. I’d practically become a part-time resident myself over the last few months. After all, I was here on the grounds constantly, rubbing elbows with everyone in the house multiple times a day. I had finally started to believe I was done having to prove myself to Silas.

I guess not.

The thought stung. It more than stung, actually.

As I turned to exit the shed, my gaze snagged on a lidded container shoved in a shadowed corner. I swallowed down the rising bile in my throat, because surely the answer I dreaded most was inside. I pried off the thick plastic lid and stared at a sea of random electronics: laptops, iPads, cords, earbuds. I reached into the box to shift the contents and then immediately squeezed my eyes closed as realization struck hard. There was nothing random about the findings in this box.

The glint of a necklace with a gold heart pendant was the first item to confirm my suspicion. And then a pair of name brand red flats. And then a pair of stud sapphire earrings that Wren had recently reported missing. On the fridge. In the Lavender Cottage.

Which was where most of these items had been listed.

This container was filled with the spoils of a lost-and-found list I’d read a dozen times over, one I’d begged the girls to copy onto the cute chalkboard I’d hung in the living room a month ago. One I’d even contemplated adding my Gucci sunglasses to several days ago, though I’d convinced myself I’d simply misplaced them in the manor somewhere. But apparently, they’d been misplaced for me, by a housemate—or a pair of housemates, I couldn’t be sure.

If I had to guess, this box, with all its stolen contents, was likely to be sold to the highest bidder. A crime not even the most