“Come in.”
She entered and shut the door behind her. “John Langa lied.”
Rigo leaned forward in his chair. “Possible, but how did he have your father’s name?”
“The real culprit fed it to him so my dad would get framed?” Even she could hear the question quivering in her voice.
“Possible. My hypothesis is that one or more of the principals of the company were embezzling. The CFO was new and had arrived from London with a mandate to turn the company’s financials around. Someone knew the scheme was about to be exposed so he decided to hire a local to kill him, maybe just to buy himself enough time for a cover-up.”
“But my dad is rich. Why would he go to the trouble of embezzling, let alone murder?”
“Going to this kind of trouble might be the reason why your father is rich. You’ve seen the financials on the companies he’s involved in. They rarely make any substantial money, and perhaps embezzling is the reason why.”
“So, by a leap of imagination, you think he may have murdered your family or hired someone to do so?” Bella stood still, her back to the door, chest tight, tears creeping up on her. “I don’t believe it. I don’t.” A hot tear burned down her cheek. “It has to be someone else.”
“Then who?”
“I’m not a detective.” Another tear rolled down her cheek. “I couldn’t even find this Francine person in a country as small as Altaleone. I think you’re wasting your time with me. You should let me go.”
“I’ll let you go when I’m done with you.” His tone was cool, even. He talked as if he were an ogre keeping her prisoner in his remote castle.
“What do you want me to do?” She tried to sound professional when all she really wanted to do was yell at him.
“Keep going through the files just as you have been. You’re more useful than you know.”
He kept his stern brown gaze on her long enough to crumple her insides. Why did their last kiss keep sneaking back into her consciousness? He knew she’d done it simply to serve some selfish purpose of her own. Just like that first time in the airport…
No wonder he hated her. She didn’t deserve the admiration or friendship, let alone the love, of a man like Rigo. He’d probably never used anyone in his life. He was honest to the point of blunt rudeness and clung fiercely to his principles. With his background he could be sailing through life on a yacht, but instead he was hunched over his desk defending the rights of disenfranchised strangers on this lovely sunny day in Altaleone.
She realized that she probably should have responded by now, but Rigo was already head down over a thick sheaf of papers, so she simply turned and left.
Rigo’s family was so friendly and warm that it would have been a pleasure to spend time with them if she wasn’t tortured by the knowledge that she’d been sent here as a paid mole—and Rigo knew it.
She’d escaped out to the garden with Squiggles for a breath of air when Serena walked by with her little dog, Lucky. “We should see if Lucky gets along with Squiggles,” said Serena. “He’s very friendly.”
“Squiggles isn’t,” she said apologetically. “I don’t want Lucky to get bitten.”
“Rigo told me you have an animal rescue. I think that’s awesome. Did he tell you that Sandro and I found Lucky tied up outside during a freak storm, about to drown in flood water?”
“I didn’t know that. His owner had left him there?”
“Yup. Luckily, when we located the owner he agreed to let us keep Lucky. Which is only fair since he’d have drowned if we’d left him there.”
“Thank goodness! It drives me crazy that someone would leave a dog to fend for itself in a disaster.”
Bella’s phone rang. “Excuse me.” Her landlord. Hopefully he hadn’t found out about the new cat. “Hello.” She could hear barking in the background.
“Ms. Beauvoir, I am standing in the apartment that I rented you, and I am surrounded by animals that you never mentioned to me at the time of the rental. I agreed to let you keep one dog and one cat.”
Her stomach clenched. That was Suki’s shrill bark. “I, uh…I could pay extra.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” He was shouting over the barking. Now she could hear Pepe’s loud squawk adding to the cacophony. “I need you and these animals gone by the end of the week, or I’m taking you to court for breach of promise.”
“But that’s three days!” How could she find somewhere else in that short time?
“Move or get sued.” The line went dead.
“Oh, crap.” She felt herself sag. Then she remembered she was with a royal. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to curse.”
“Oh, please. I curse all the time. Though I suppose I should stop now that I’m a princess.” Serena shrugged. “What happened?”
Bella sucked in a breath. “My landlord has discovered that I have more animals than my lease allows. He says I have to be gone in three days.”
“Is that even legal?”
“Altaleone isn’t the most progressive country. A lot of our laws date back to the middle ages.”
“Can you stay with your dad? He lives locally, doesn’t he?”
“He’s not a huge fan of animals.”
“The royal family has houses all over Altaleone. Maybe you could borrow one.”
“I doubt they’d want all my animals in one of their properties any more than my landlord does.”
“Can’t hurt to ask.” She pulled out her phone, and before Bella could stop her, she was explaining the situation to Sandro. In less than a minute, Sandro, Lina, and Emma were striding across the lawn toward them. She could sense Squiggles curling into a tighter ball inside her bag, as if bracing for the onslaught of humans.
“Oh, Bella, I’m so sorry,” exclaimed Lina. “I know you loved the short commute from your house. But in two days all the wedding guests will be gone and we can help you move into one of our properties, at least until you can find somewhere more permanent.”
Serena smiled at her triumphantly.
“You could stay in the orangerie, which is in town and walking distance, but that has no garden. There’s an old lodge that’s a short drive, but it has far more room for your animals to roam and there’s a lovely walled garden.”
Bella blinked. Lina must be talking about the place she checked out when they were planning where to billet the guests. Would they really let her stay there? “Uh, that belongs to Rigo, doesn’t it?” The last thing she wanted was to further irritate or take advantage of him, and this was bound to do both.
“Oh, Rigo could care less about it. It’s a bit desolate and spooky, but there are guests staying there right now so it’s probably been spruced up. You could take a look and see what you think.”
“I’ve seen it and I think it’s wonderful, but I really don’t want to impose.”
Lina shook her head. “On the contrary, you’d be doing us a favor by breathing some life back into the place. All these old houses we own rather lose their spirit when there’s no one living in them for decades.”
This was all far too good to be true. “You do realize that I have six animals. Actually seven including Martini, my new cat that just arrived. I have a rat named Sapphire.” Nobody ever seemed to want a rat in their house.
“Don’t worry. The place is far too big for them to destroy it easily. You can move in as soon as the guests are gone, which won’t be more than a day or two.”
Bella drew in a breath. It was an amazingly practical solution—except that now she’d be utterly dependent on Rigo’s goodwill. Still, she only needed a place until she could buy one, which wouldn’t take that long, would it?
Her phone pinged, making her jump. A text from Rigo. Please come into my office.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Bella walked along the hallway as slowly as she could without drawing attention to herself. She was trying to compose a good way of letting Rigo know that his family had offered to let her and her entire menagerie stay in his hous
e—without even asking him.
She knocked softly on the door.
“Come in.” He didn’t look up. “The palace has a large hay truck that can help you move.”
“You know?”
“Yes.” Now he glanced up, pinning her with his dark gaze. “Fine with me. Ask your father about Africa. Watch his body language when he tells you what happened.”
She frowned. “I already told you my loyalty to my father trumps my loyalty to you.”
“I have faith in you.” He didn’t blink.
“That makes one of us,” she quipped. Who was he to think she’d tell him the truth? Not that there was any kind of unpleasant truth to tell. Her father wasn’t a murderer. “Besides, my father’s so busy it would be a miracle if he even has time to meet with me in person.”
“Don’t you have a large check to pick up?” One eyebrow lifted slightly.
“I expect he’ll do a wire transfer.” Did he really think people wrote checks for that kind of money? Maybe royals did. “Still, it’s very kind of you to let me and my animals stay in your house.”
“Kindness has nothing to do with it.”
He probably wanted to keep her in his vice-like grip until he figured out a way to pin the murders on her father. She shivered. She really should hate him, shouldn’t she?
“Is it okay if I go home? I’d like to start packing.”
“Sure.” He didn’t check the time. She knew it was still early. Maybe she was testing him. “And call your father.”
Bella left a message for her father explaining her proposed upcoming move and asking if they could meet. She wanted to make sure he didn’t forget to transfer the money. She needed to start shopping for her permanent home as soon as possible—before the current situation blew up in her face, which it was bound to do sooner or later.
To her surprise her dad called back as she was feeding pistachios to Pepe. “Can I come over for dinner?” she asked. She didn’t want to put him on the spot in the hushed atmosphere of an expensive restaurant, and he didn’t enjoy tangling with her animals.
“I was going to suggest that.” His voice sounded uncharacteristically warm. “Eight o’clock, if that’s convenient for you.”
His easy agreement shocked her—and made her a little nervous. Maybe he was impressed that she was moving into a royal palace and wondered if she might be about to become the next royal bride.
No need to let him know that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Eight is perfect. I’ll see you then.”
Bella drove up to her dad’s house half an hour early, wanting to arrive before dark. The warm stone of the facade glittered like gold in the fading sunlight. The lovely estate—a mix of woods and open pasture dotted with picturesque stone buildings—had been in the family for hundreds of years. She’d never questioned where the money came from, assuming that—like the impressive family titles—it had been inherited and simply continued to prosper under her father’s care.
Avoiding the grand front entrance and her dad’s intimidating butler, she parked on the stable side of the house and entered the house through the side door. Almost immediately she heard her dad’s voice and was about to call out when she realized he was speaking on the phone.
“I warned you not to trust a local. We should have sent someone from home to finish the job. Someone who knows we mean business. Now there’s a loose end to flap around and make trouble. Get rid of it.”
Bella froze. If Rigo overheard this he’d assume her dad was talking about the hired hit man in Africa. But most likely he was talking about—
She racked her mind...and her imagination failed her. Bella felt herself shrinking against the wood paneling.
The heavy door to her father’s office swung open, sending a sharp triangle of light slicing into the hallway. She jumped half out of her skin, then steadied herself and kept walking slowly toward his door. “Dad?”
“Bella, darling.” His languid greeting sounded phony. The old hurt ached in her chest. “I was finishing up some business.”
“What kind of business?” She couldn’t stop herself.
“Some nonsense. It’s so hard to find reliable subcontractors.”
“For what?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Please tell me. I’ve spent the last few weeks going through all your business files, remember? I’m kind of curious.” She steeled herself. “Is it the champagne? Or the diamond mine in Africa?”
Her dad’s sudden stillness chilled her. For the first time ever she felt a distinct hint of actual danger in the air.
“Oh, never mind.” She forced a smile to her lips. “What do I care anyway? I’m so excited to have the money to build my sanctuary.” She inhaled slowly. “When will it arrive in my account?”
Her father closed the office door behind him and headed down the hall toward the rest of the house. “I’m moving some things around. I’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
“I need it soon. I’m not sure how much longer they’ll keep me on at the palace.”
“What do you mean?” He wheeled around. “I thought you were about to move into one of their unused homes.”
“Yes, but…you know how it is. They’re royal and fickle, and they’ll get sick of me.”
“Make sure they don’t.”
“For how long?” Did he expect her to work there for the rest of her life—or only until the “loose end” in Africa was cleaned up?
“Until this nonsensical investigation dies down.”
“You mean until they find the murderers?” It was hardly nonsensical.
“Exactly.” He shone a chilly smile at her. “I asked Raina to prepare your favorite.”
“Cassoulet?” A ray of warmth spread through her that he’d remembered.
“Roast pork, with the crackling skin and roast potatoes.”
“Oh.” She didn’t even like pork. Must be one of his ex-girlfriends’ favorites. That familiar sinking feeling returned. “Great.”
At the dining table, under the stern gaze of her forbidding ancestors, she played at sipping her wine but didn’t want to risk getting tipsy so she didn’t swallow any. She talked about her plans for the sanctuary and how she would have a quarantine area for integrating new animals and a play area for prospective adopters to meet pets ready to find a new home.
Her father looked bored and distracted as he sawed away at his pork. At last he looked up. “Does Rigo have any new suspects in the murders?”
“Not that I know of. They don’t really discuss that sort of thing with me.” She could tell her father about Francine. Bella wasn’t sure if Francine was an actual suspect or not but she was certainly a person of interest. Unexpected loyalty to Rigo made her hold her tongue
“You should ask.”
“It’s not really my place.”
Her father laughed. “You’re not a scullery maid, my dear. Our line is older than the Leone’s.”
“It’s not so much that I’m intimidated, more that they’re such lovely people I don’t want to annoy them.” And I’m starting to feel like a traitor in their midst. “I think I’ve pushed my luck far enough by kissing Rigo. Right now they probably think I’m a bit ditsy, but if I start asking probing questions they’ll wonder what I’m up to.”
“Good point. But do keep your ears open. What have you learned about the investigation?”
She shrugged, wishing there was actual news to share. “Nothing, really. I do know Rigo is growing suspicious of the Cross of Blood. He thinks it has a financial motive.”
“Ridiculous.”
“What is the point of it? There are all sorts of rumors, even that it’s to provide for the royal family’s kinky sexual proclivities, but no one seems to know what it’s really about.” Curiosity emboldened her. “You’re in it, aren’t you? What is its true purpose?”
His face darkened. “To protect the monarchy.”
“Then it’s failed, so why not disband it?” She could hardly beli
eve her boldness. She glanced at her wine to make sure she hadn’t accidentally drunk it.
Her father’s bushy brows lowered further. “One failure does not invalidate a thousand-year-old institution.”
“But there are hardly any members left. Most of their lines have gradually died off over the centuries.”
“That makes the work of our remaining members all the more important.”
“But what is that work?” She could almost feel Rigo egging her on. He’d be so proud if she could get a real answer. She realized with horror that she desperately wanted to make him proud. “Rigo thinks the Cross of Blood is behind the murders.” She leaned forward, heart pounding. She could see her father’s face growing redder with every word she spoke. “Is he right?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“You’ve lived a very privileged lifestyle, young lady. You’ve never had to wonder where the fees for your expensive schools came from and now you’re about to enjoy a large infusion of cash for very little work. If I were you I’d remember the old proverb about looking a gift horse in the mouth.”
In other words…yes, the Cross of Blood was guilty. And her dad was in it. Her thoughts ran in a million different directions. “Did you know what they mean, about looking the gift horse in the mouth?” She didn’t pause for him to interject, she needed to give herself time to think. “It’s because you can tell a horse’s age by looking at its teeth. If you were buying it, of course you’d want to know if it’s five years old or twenty-five, but if it’s a gift—”
“Then it would be rude to inquire about its age.” Her father lit a fresh cigar and blew a puff of smoke over the ruins of his pork loin. “Exactly my point. When you have everything you need handed to you on a silver platter, you don’t demand to know the provenance of the platter.”
Her father was guilty. He’d as much as admitted it. Was he guilty of murder or just an accessory? And he expected her to keep his secrets from the royal family.
Her pulse hammered, and she felt her breathing grow quicker. I’ve got to get out of here.
Taming the Royal Beast (Royal House of Leone Book 6) Page 11