Chapter 3 - The Locker in the Basement
The procession moved down the wide spiral staircase leading to the staff quarters in the lower level of the mansion. Lorenzo walked at the front, carrying four-year-old Emma safely on his hip, while Mrs. Harper followed closely behind, her trembling hands clutching the cloth of her white apron.
Renata walked behind them, her polished black heels clicking against the stone floor. Her hands were folded stiffly across her dark uniform, but sweat had begun to glisten along her forehead.
"Mr. Duca," Renata began smoothly, trying to reclaim her authoritative tone. "There is really no need for you to trouble yourself with staff disputes. I conducted a routine inspection of the locker room an hour ago after noticing your father's antique gold desk clock was missing from the east study. I found it concealed inside Mrs. Harper's personal cabinet."
Lorenzo did not look back. "We will see."
They reached the staff locker room—a clean, tiled corridor lined with green metal storage units. Lorenzo stopped before locker forty-two, which bore Mrs. Harper's name tag.
"Open it," Lorenzo ordered flatly.
Renata stepped forward with her master key, her fingers trembling slightly as she inserted it into the brass keyhole. The metal door creaked open.
Sitting on the middle shelf, rested atop a folded spare maid apron, was the heavy, antique gold clock. The gold leaf shimmered under the harsh fluorescent lights of the basement.
Mrs. Harper let out a strangled gasp, tears spilling over her fair, pale cheeks. "I didn't put that there! Mr. Duca, I swear to God! I was cleaning the second-floor library all afternoon!"
Lorenzo leaned closer to the locker, his sharp eyes examining the scene with meticulous precision. He didn't touch the clock. Instead, he looked at the thin layer of grey dust coating the metal shelf around the base of the clock.
Where the clock sat, the dust was undisturbed around its brass feet. But near the back corner of the shelf, a distinct, fresh smudge in the shape of a gloved thumb was visible against the grey powder.
Lorenzo looked down at Renata’s hands. She wore pristine white cotton gloves as part of her senior uniform.
"Mrs. Harper wears latex gloves while cleaning, does she not?" Lorenzo asked quietly.
Mrs. Harper nodded frantically, pulling a blue latex glove half-way out of her apron pocket. "Yes, sir! We are required to wear rubber gloves for all sanitation work!"
Lorenzo turned his head slowly toward Renata. Pino stepped up beside Lorenzo's leg, his black snout sniffing the air near Renata's apron before letting out a low, menacing growl that vibrated through the tiled room.
"You placed the clock in this locker yourself, Renata," Lorenzo stated, his deep voice carrying a terrifying certainty. "And you did it while Mrs. Harper was upstairs."
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Renata’s face turned as white as paper. "That... that is absurd, Mr. Duca! Why would I frame a junior maid?!"
"That," Lorenzo said, adjusting Emma comfortably in his arm, "is exactly what we are going to find out."
