by Kari Shuey
The Last Housekeeper
by Kari Shuey
The Last Housekeeper Copyright © 2019 by Kari Shuey All Rights Reserved
Cover © Sabrina Frohlich Watts/ paperpandastudio.com
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof
may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the Author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Kari Shuey
[email protected]
Printed in the United States of America
First Printing 2019
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
A Note from the Author
About the Author
Chapter 1
Abby glanced up from the newspaper in her hand and focused on what the news station was reporting. Lately, the press only fixated on one thing.
“… the young woman named Amara Sanchez was found dead last week in her employer’s home. Discovered by a delivery man, she was stabbed after what looked like a struggle. Her employer, Gavin Saxe, the current CEO of Securitech, was called in for questioning and has been labeled a person of interest early this morning. His lawyer was not available for comment. Law enforcement also refused comment…”
Studying the other early morning coffee goers in the shop, Abby was dismayed that few even gave the story a second thought. All of them were too wrapped up in their own lives to care that a woman lost her life.
She wasn’t so naïve to assume this Saxe guy was guilty. From what she could tell, the evidence was all circumstantial. The police department seemed to be scrambling to find anything that could link him to the murder, but Saxe’s lawyers were making that difficult. After all, Saxe had an alibi.
“Hey, Sorry I’m late!” Lori arrived out of breath. She had a small duffle bag slung over her shoulder and she was rifling through her purse for her wallet. “Be right back.”
Abby watched her best friend from college head to the counter to place an order. She glanced back at the television and was still listening when Lori returned.
“Pretty crazy huh?” Lori motioned to the news report with a nod of her head. “People like that should just do us a favor and cease to exist.”
Abby nodded absentmindedly. Lori was the kind of person who insisted the wealthy could be, and usually were, criminals. Not only that but they had the means to get away with it. That was one thing Abby could believe. There seemed to be a grey area between right and wrong when you had money, and the wealthy resided there.
“She was his housekeeper. I think she worked for him for at least three years. You’d think you could trust your employer not to kill you…” Lori was engrossed in the news story. Being an investigative reporter, it was hard to pull her away from anything newsworthy.
“Do you know anything about this Saxe guy?” Abby asked
“Just that he bought a big piece of property outside of Boise. He moved here from California and runs that new multimillion security firm.” They continued to listen, as the news reported there were no other leads for the murder.
Lori shook her head in disgust. “This will likely be just another unsolved, lower-class murder. and the criminal will never be caught. It’s so sad.”
Abby motioned to the duffle bag now on the floor. “Taking another trip? Where to now?”
Lori’s expression lit up. “Yes! I get to report on a story in Singapore. Something about interviewing diplomats. So… that means I won’t be available to talk much for the next couple of weeks.”
“That’s pretty exciting! You’ll have to tell me all about it! I’m so happy for you!” Abby smiled and took a sip of her drink. The two of them couldn’t be more different, but they got along so well. It didn’t matter how long Lori was gone; they could always pick up where they left off.
“Oh shoot, I have to get to the airport! I’ll text you when I can!” Lori stood up and gathered her things. They gave each other a tight hug and said their goodbyes.
Looking at her watch, Abby quickly gathered her coffee and purse. She needed to get to work for an important meeting. Her company was excited about some big changes they were making. Dirt Slayers was a small house cleaning company that had slowly grown and branched out into the corporate market. The owner, Mr. Chris Perkins, was still looking to expand his business and had asked for a half dozen employees to meet with him. He would be introducing the new project this morning.
Abby found herself looking forward to the change. She had been working with Mr. Perkins going on ten years now. She enjoyed cleaning and she was good at it. Being a fixer, she used cleaning as a means to escape. Often, she was requested for some of the more difficult jobs because they trusted her work.
Slipping out of the coffee shop, she walked down the already bustling street in downtown Boise. The street was lined with brick buildings that made her reminisce of simpler times. Her company was in a small office space nearby. Fall was settling in, but the days still warmed up, making it too hot to pull out her sweaters. She passed some boutique shops that hadn’t quite opened yet and made her way inside the familiar offices. The newest receptionist at the front desk smiled and nodded to her in salutation. Although this was a great company to work for, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a good deal of turnover.
A gentleman exited the hallway that led to the main office. His hard exterior expressed a desire to be left alone. This man was strong, capable, and not at all the type of client she’d ever seen inquire about a cleaning service. He seemed to have a purpose and his body language told others to get out of his way. Curious, Abby watched him walk out the front door.
She turned to the receptionist, “Who was that?”
The gal at the front desk looked in the direction of the customer and shrugged. “He didn’t give me his name. He insisted he had an appointment with Mr. Perkins and demanded to be let back to his office. He wasn’t here very long; I wonder why he came…”
Abby glanced back at the empty doorway, a hint of unease settling in her stomach. She quickly made her way through to the back and headed straight towards Mr. Perkins’ office. His door was open, and she could hear his voice wafting through the quiet hallway. An older gentleman, he reminded her of her grandfather. His hair was white, but he’d been lucky enough to not lose any of it. He was probably as tall as she was, which made him one of the least intimidating men she knew. Always with a smile on his face, it was hard not to feel welcome in his presence. She arrived in his doorway and observed as he shuffled his paperwork, his shoulder holding his phone to his ear. All thoughts of inquiring about the strange man were forgotten as she overheard his conversation.
“… I understand that. What I w
ant to know is what the insurance will charge me… The liability is what I am concerned about. What will it take to cover that?... He said money isn’t an issue, so what I want to know is can we do it? Will there be a problem accepting him as a client while he deals with his current circumstances?” Mr. Perkins glanced up and saw Abby in the doorway. “I have a meeting, I will call you back.”
“More great things coming to the fabulous Dirt Slayers?” She slowly entered the office and lightly sat on the chair in front of his desk. She liked Mr. Perkins. He was an honest entrepreneur with a head for business. It was no surprise everyone who worked for him loved him – he would do anything to make sure they felt respected and heard.
“Ah, Abby, I am so glad you are early. I had something I wanted to talk to you about privately. You still living in that overpriced apartment?” Mr. Perkins walked past her and quietly shut the door to his office.
Nodding, Abby looked over at her boss questioningly. They had been working together for so long, Abby knew he considered her part of the family. She might even dare admit she thought she was his favorite employee.
“What would you say if I could get you set up in a place where you wouldn’t have to worry about rent anymore? Well, as long as you continued working for me.” He winked and sat on the edge of his desk. “I know the rental market has been going up a lot and I have an opportunity that might interest you.”
Abby raised her eyebrows. “That sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?”
Mr. Perkins glanced away, something he tended to do when he was nervous about pitching something new to Abby in particular. “As you know, this area is growing. A lot of wealthy people are coming to settle down over here and they love having a professional come clean their homes. Well, I have had a few clients contact me about finding them a housekeeper. Of course, the pay would be better as the hours would increase. I had one client specifically request if I could find him a live-in housekeeper. In this situation, your living expenses would be covered as well.”
Abby was surprised. A live-in housekeeper job seemed like something in storybooks or in cities larger than here. Was the concept making a comeback? Perhaps it was the type of people moving into the area. “I suppose I could consider it,” Abby hedged.
“I was hoping you would say that. The thing is, the client I am referring to just called me last week specifying what he is looking for. I gave him a list of some of our best employees. In this instance, I would be like a middleman for staffing local housekeepers. This would be a big step into an untapped market for our area.” Abby could tell he was enthusiastic about this prospect. But as she observed him, she could also see that Mr. Perkins was fidgeting a little as he walked back behind his desk. “But the ‘catch’ as you put it is who the client is. He sent over his preferences… and you were his top choice. And you won’t believe this… he said money isn’t an issue.” He forced a chuckle, “And if I could get you to agree to work for him, he’d open the door to other clients wanting to use this service.”
Abby could feel her own nervousness increasing. He wasn’t usually this worried, so he must really want this project to work out, and it was hinging on whether or not Abby would accept the job. “Who is this client?”
“Well, he has references from before he moved here, and he treats all his employees very well. I think this would be a good-”
“Chris. Who. Is. The. Client?” Abby interrupted, using his first name.
Mr. Perkins picked up his papers and shuffled them again. “His name is Gavin Saxe.” He looked up at Abby over his glasses and waited for the reaction he undoubtedly predicted would come.
“Wait! Gavin Saxe… suspected of murder Gavin Saxe?” Abby leaned back in her seat, stunned. “Isn’t he under suspicion for killing his housekeeper?”
“Yes, and that is why he is asking for our help in finding a replacement. He doesn’t want to put a personal ad out for the job for obvious reasons. He needs a replacement as soon as possible to look after his property. He works a lot and prefers having someone to stay on the premises. There is a housekeeper’s suite and he is willing to pay more than usual due to the extenuating circumstances. I completely understand if you are uncomfortable with this position. I can give you time to think about it if you need it. Of course, you will need to be discrete because the press will likely want to talk to you as the investigation moves forward. There is some paperwork he requires you to fill out in order to work for him.”
Abby watched Mr. Perkins nervously twitch as he attempted to sell her on this opportunity, she couldn’t help feeling she owed him. He’d done so much for her.
Abby didn’t believe the words coming out of her own mouth. “Sure, I will give it a try. Innocent until proven guilty, right?” The chuckle that escaped her lips had a degree of lunacy to it. She was probably making the biggest mistake of her life, but she couldn’t deny the curiosity that welled up inside her. “But I have one condition. You need to run a background check on him and verify his references before I sign anything.”
Mr. Perkins raised his eyebrows and sat speechless before her. “You – okay. I will call his assistant and set it up. They said you can start at the beginning of next week and offered to pay off the rest of your lease if you have one.” There was a timid knock at the door and another one of his future housekeepers opened it slowly.
“Are you ready for the meeting this morning?” She asked.
Nodding, Mr. Perkins waved her in along with four other women. “Good morning ladies! You have all been selected to be trained for a new program I am working on.”
Abby’s attention drifted to the story she had overheard this morning on the news. Did she feel secure enough to take a job in a murder suspect’s home? They would be living under the same roof. But this was just a cleaning job, so she could keep to herself and he would probably not be at home much anyway.
Coming out of her reverie, Abby looked around as the other girls filed in. She assumed they’d be given similar offers. Mr. Perkins’ business would be put on the map if this all worked out as he wanted. She just hoped she hadn’t made too rash of a decision.
Abby gathered her things and left the building. Resolving not to judge Mr. Saxe until she met him, she chose to treat this as what it was: a job opportunity. She didn’t fear for her safety or care what others thought. She didn’t quite know how she felt.
Her phone rang. A number she didn’t recognize. “Hello?”
“Is this Miss Abby Russell?” A prim female voice on the other end asked.
“Yes.”
“Good morning, Miss Russell. My name is Jamie White. I am Mr. Saxe’s assistant. Mr. Saxe is pleased to hear you accepted the position as his new housekeeper. He’d like you to stop by his residence to get acquainted with the property before you begin on Monday. Are you available tomorrow evening?”
“Um… He knows this isn’t official until my conditions are met, right?”
“Of course, Miss Russell. Mr. Saxe is fully aware of the requests you have made. He is confident you will find his history acceptable. Will tomorrow evening work for you?” She repeated.
“Yes, that will work.” Abby wondered if the background check would be expedited or if it would follow the same regulations as a typical request. Probably the former… Mr. Saxe could be the type of person to take advantage of his connections in the security field.
“I will email you his address. If you have any questions, please call me. Have a good day.” Ms. White hung up and Abby’s phone buzzed with an address and a meeting time.
“What have I gotten myself into?” She muttered to herself.
Chapter 2
Abby spent the rest of the morning organizing her apartment and planning out the week so she could start the move-out process. If Mr. Saxe was so confident that his background check would come back clean, it was likely she would be out of here by this time next week. Contacting her landlord, they worked out a move-out date. She hadn’t collected a lot of things over the years
and she was relieved how easy it would be to move to another place. She didn’t even think it was strange to be a live-in anything. In fact, when she was in high school she had thought about getting a job as a nanny. Abby simply had better cleaning skills than babysitting skills.
As much as she tried to avoid making assumptions about her soon-to-be employer, Abby couldn’t help musing over the mysterious man. There wasn’t much in the way of information about him. He was a quiet businessman who kept to himself. But who could blame him? Even after living in the area for three years, no one knew much about him. Not even the media had landed an interview after all these years. What exactly was he trying to hide?
The day went far too quickly and before she knew it, she was getting ready to meet Mr. Saxe. Growing up in a low-income family, she didn’t know what to expect meeting a person in the top one percent. Abby pulled out her phone and scrolled through articles written about Mr. Saxe. It was mostly about his company and his recent relocation. There was nothing about his family, his interests, or anything personal. He could have been the posterchild for Billionaires Anonymous. She had started to feel a little intimidated as the hours passed and the time came to leave.
Abby drove out of town and found herself passing some vineyards. The road curved around a bend and her GPS guided her to what appeared to be a gated community. Pulling up to the intercom, Abby pushed the button. A security camera located on the intercom activated as a red light flickered on. Abby stared at the camera with curiosity. She’d never seen a system like this for a gated community. Looking around her, she noticed another camera located in front of her near the gate.
A voice through the box echoed as the evening started to cool. “Miss Russell?”
“Yes?”
“Mr. Saxe is expecting you. Please follow the driveway to the main house.”
Main house? Was this not a community? Was all this property owned by one person? And was there more than one house on the premises? Boy, Mr. Perkins wasn’t kidding about the wealthy moving into the area.
The gate slowly, effortlessly swung open, granting access to the property. Abby hesitated. She didn’t realize she would be confined to a place with a suspected murderer. Alone. But, maybe the voice on the other end lived on the property too. Perhaps she wouldn’t be alone after all. There must be a need for more than one person. A full staff maybe? Pulling forward, Abby drove up the entire driveway to the large house. It was pretty modest for being a billionaire’s home on such a large piece of property. It couldn’t be more than 4,000 square feet. There was another building that looked like a guest house off to the back of the property. Lights were on inside, but there didn’t seem to be anything going on.