“Yes. But that box… ”
“Yeah, what about that?” I wondered frankly. The shock of being locked in the sauna, and my physical recovery afterward, had dampened my curiosity about this mysterious box. Until now, anyway. “Valeria mentioned that you found it here, in this room?”
“Yeah,” Dave said, shifting on his feet. “The bar and the cabinet were one of the last things we tore down. We found it in there in a locked compartment. I thought it should go to Mr. Halifax right away. I didn’t realize he wasn’t here, at the house.”
“I’ll make sure he gets it the second he comes back. Well, thanks for taking a second to talk to me.”
As I came downstairs after talking to Evan on the phone, a divine scent entered my nose.
“Whatever you’re making smells fantastic,” I told Valeria as I entered the kitchen.
“Coq au vin and oven roasted asparagus,” Valeria said. “Do you want to eat out on the terrace?”
“No, why don’t we just sit here at the counter,” I suggested, pointing at several stools situated next to the island.
“We?” Valeria asked, straightening with a pan in her hand, her eyes wide. “You want me to eat with you?”
“Uh… yeah, is that okay?”
“I guess. I don’t know,” she laughed as she set down the asparagus. “I’ve never really had a job like this before. I don’t know the rules, exactly. I don’t want to break any accidentally.”
“Well, I’ve certainly never had someone… you know, cooking and doing things for me before,” I confessed. “It feels really weird for me, too.” I realized Valeria seemed as uncomfortable as I did, and rallied.
“Look, there’s no doubt that Evan didn’t hire you to be a typical cook and maid. I think he wanted you to be another friendly face around the house. And you’ve really been that so far. You were nice enough to come out here and spend the weekend with me, and that’s not at all part of your job duties. Maybe we should just sort of figure things out as we go along?”
“Sounds good to me,” Valeria said gamely.
“And in that spirit… can we just open up a bottle of wine and eat this amazing dinner you made at the counter?” I asked hopefully.
Valeria laughed and nodded.
I spent half the meal gushing over how delicious the food she’d prepared was. I wasn’t lying. Valeria clearly possessed layers of talent.
In retrospect, I think we both wanted to avoid the topic of what had happened in the sauna. For me, the whole memory had become charged with fear, embarrassment, and doubt. For Valeria, I imagine it was just yet another weird thing she had to deal with in regard to her new employers.
Instead, we talked about our planned dive tomorrow.
“I talked to Manny, and he says he can take us out on the boat,” Valeria said.
“That’s great,” I replied, taking a sip of wine. The Languedoc red I’d chosen to go with dinner had a real kick to it. Maybe that—or the unusual stress of the day—was responsible for what I said next.
“So… you and Wes Ryder?” I said with a little twitch to my shoulders and a grin. “What’s the story there?”
I immediately regretted my off-the-cuff comment when Valeria’s smile vanished in a split second. I set down my wineglass.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.” I rolled my eyes. “Jesus, this wine is strong. Forget I said it. I just thought—”
“It’s okay,” Valeria interrupted. She gave a shaky smile. “I’m not the one who wanted to keep it secret.”
“Just forget I mentioned it,” I said, mortified.
“No, it’s okay. Wes and I met at the casino I used to waitress at, a couple months ago. He was a regular.”
“At the bar?”
“No, at the tables,” she said evenly.
“Oh,” I said, sitting back slightly and trying to picture it. Valeria smiled at my reaction.