I was careful about what I hadn’t seen.
I hadn’t watched anyone introduce anything into the wine.
I hadn’t seen Lydia open a bottle.
And I hadn’t witnessed the poisoning itself.
But I had seen Celeste’s reaction.
I had heard Antoine’s warning.
And I had watched Dominic realize that the bottle he’d been expected to drink from might be dangerous.
When the officers finally allowed me to leave, it was after midnight.
Mr. Harlan was waiting near the staff entrance.
I expected him to hand me my final paycheck.
Instead, he said, “Mara, take tomorrow off. You’ll be paid for your scheduled shift.”
I stared at him.
“Am I fired?”
He looked genuinely startled.
“No.”
“But Mrs. Rinaldi—”
“Mrs. Rinaldi doesn’t make staffing decisions here.”
I lowered my eyes.
“Thank you.”
He hesitated.
“Do you have someone to go home with?”
“My brother can meet me.”
“Call him. I’ll wait until he’s here.”
I stepped outside and dialed my brother’s number.
He answered on the third ring.
“Mara? What’s wrong?”
I looked up at the Manhattan skyline.
“Ben,” I whispered, “I think somebody tried to kill a man at work tonight.”
The next morning, I woke to seventeen missed calls.
Three were from numbers I didn’t recognize.
