by R. R. Banks
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Did something happen?”
“Yeah,” I said, holding up the frame. “I committed larceny.”
My sister narrowed her eyes at the frame and took a few steps toward it.
“What’s that?” she asked. When she was within a few feet of me her eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent gasp. “Is that the picture frame from his apartment?” she asked in a harsh, conspiratorial whisper.
“It appears to be,” I said.
“Mama,” Edmond’s voice came from the kitchen. “Cookie.”
I set the frame down and went into the kitchen. I opened the cabinet, pulling down the cookie jar and handing Edmond a cookie as Molly came into the room, looking horrified.
“I told you that we were going to make plenty of money on this job, Ella.”
“I didn’t take it on purpose, Molly,” I snapped. “Seriously, what kind of person do you think I am? You think that I would steal a picture frame from some guy’s apartment while I was decorating it for a party?”
“You might steal a silver picture frame from a billionaire’s apartment while decorating it for a party in the middle of a financial slump.”
I stared at my sister, stunned.
“Wow,” I said. “Just wow. Is that really what you think of me? That I’ve gone so far off the deep end that I’ve turned to felonies to make ends meet?”
“I’m sorry,” Molly said. “I should know better.”
“Yes, you should.”
I was hurt by her assumption, but at the same time I had to admit it wasn’t really that far of a leap. The truth was that I had been scraping bottom for long enough that most people wouldn’t think it was that outrageous to assume I might just crack a little and take an opportunity when I saw one.
“So, how did that thing end up in my house?”
“Right after you left Edmond got that burst of energy that he does right before he crashes out for a nap and he started running around the apartment. He grabbed the frame and I told him no and he put it back, but just a couple minutes later he did it again. I took it from him and he took off running. I had my bag in my other hand because I had been looking for his sippy cup and I guess I just shoved it in there without thinking about it.”
“Do you think he’s going to notice that it’s gone?”
“It was on the table in the foyer. I don’t think that it’s going to be too long before he realizes that it’s not there.”
I let out a long sigh and dropped down onto the couch, slumping down and resting my head against the back. Molly sat down beside me and looked at the frame in my hands.
“It’s a really beautiful frame,” she said.
I nodded.
“It really is.” I looked down and admired the complex, decorative scrolling along the sides of the frame. “I wonder why he had it on display.”
“Because it’s a beautiful frame?” Molly asked.
“No,” I said, holding the frame closer to her so that she would look at it. “Because it’s empty. There’s no picture in it. Why would he have an empty picture frame on display in his apartment?”
“Well, I’ve heard that he doesn’t really have any family or anything. Maybe he doesn’t have anyone to have a picture of to put in the frame.”
“Then why have the frame on display?”
“Maybe it was a gift from somebody that he works with and he figured that it would hurt their feelings if they found out that he wasn’t displaying it.”
“But wouldn’t they be upset if they found out that it didn’t have a picture in it? And if he was just keeping it up to appease someone, why would it be up when there was no one else in the apartment? Wouldn’t he only put it up when that person was coming over? And at least put some kind of picture in it? The basketball team? A dog? Something?”
“I don’t know,” Molly snapped, obviously frustrated by my questions. “Does it really matter why he had it on display?” She stood up sharply from the couch and turned to look at me. “The point is that he had it on display, so obviously it means something to him. He’s going to notice that that thing is gone, and when he does, he’s going to be pissed. Worse than that, he’s going to know exactly who took it.”
“He will?” I asked, swallowing hard.
I already knew that chances were very good that he wasn’t going to have to do much thinking to come to the conclusion that it was one of us who took the frame, but hearing it come out of my sister’s mouth was somehow so much more intimidating than me just telling myself.
“His entire staff was out of the apartment,” Molly pointed out. “We were literally the only people there. Unless he thinks that one of them just randomly decided to swoop down and steal it on their way out for their errands for the day, he’s going to know.” She pressed her fingertips to her temples. “Holy shit. This is going to ruin us. He’s going to fire us and then he’s going to tell anyone who is going to listen to him that we’re thieves. We are seriously never going to work again.”
“Calm down,” I told her, standing.
“You’re right. It’s going to be fine.”
“How?” I said, sliding in to take the place of the one who was panicking now that my sister had so graciously vacated it for me. “How is it going to be fine? I stole a picture frame. I stole it.”
“Mama, you aren’t supposed to steal.”
I looked over at Edmond who stood at the door to the kitchen, staring at me with his wide eyes. I had forgotten that he was there and now I felt a pang of guilt rush through me. This was not one of the childhood memories that I wanted to make for him. I reached into the bag again and took out his dinosaur. Kneeling down in front of him, I handed him his toy and kissed his nose.
“I didn’t really steal it,” I told him. “It was just an accident.”
“Accidents are OK.”
I smiled at him and ran my fingers through his thick baby hair.
“Accidents are OK. Why don’t you go play with dinosaur? We’ll have dinner in a little bit.”
He took the toy from my hand and rushed toward the bedroom and I turned back to Molly.
“So, what are we going to do?”
“We aren’t going to do anything. You are going to figure out a way that you are going to get that thing back into his apartment before the police show up.”
“Seriously? You’re just going to throw me out there all by myself? I’d like to remind you that you are the reason that I got myself into this in the first place. If you hadn’t left me there alone, it wouldn’t have happened.”
“Don’t blame this on me! Who just shoves things into their bag without realizing it?”
“Have a toddler and then judge me.”
“Alright, alright,” Molly said, drawing in a calming breath. “We aren’t going to get anywhere fighting with each other. We just have to figure out a way to get you in there, put it back, and get out without anyone noticing you.”
“Oh, just that? No problem.”
I groaned and dropped back down onto the couch, covering my face with my hands.
“Actually,” Molly said, her voice sounding hopeful enough that I took my hands away from my face and looked at her. “It might not be as much of a problem as we think.”
Chapter Seven
Mason
“Where is it?” I shouted. “Where the fuck is it?”
I stomped through my apartment toward the guestroom where the maid was finishing vacuuming. She looked up at me, startled.
“Excuse me?”
“Where is it?” I demanded.
“I’m sorry, sir, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. Where is what?”
Her eyes were wide and I could see a shimmer of fear in them. I hadn’t meant to scare her, but in that moment, I was so angry that there was really nothing else for me to do. My body was shaking, and I felt my hands tightening into fists and then relaxing, remaining that way for only moments before clenching again.
“My pic
ture frame,” I said. “The silver picture frame from the front table. It’s missing.”
Emma looked at me quizzically.
“It’s missing?” she asked.
My teeth clenched, and I had to take a moment to calm myself before talking again.
“Yes, it’s missing. That’s why I’m looking for it. It was on the front table like it always is when I left for work.”
“When did it go missing?”
“I just noticed it,” I said.
I felt horrible admitting that. How could I not notice if the frame was there when I got back from work? Or when I came home from the spa? It hadn’t been until I was starting downstairs again that I reached out to touch it and realized that it wasn’t sitting there on the table, in the place where it had been for years.
“Is something wrong?” the housekeeper asked as she came into the room carrying a stack of clean towels to replace those in the bathroom to ensure that anyone who may come would have fresh towels rather than those that may have been sitting there for a few days. “Emma, I can hear you in the other room.”
The young maid looked embarrassed that her superior was pointing out behavior that would be considered unacceptable in their professional service and glanced away. I hadn’t even noticed that the woman’s voice had gotten any louder, but Faye seemed appalled at the interaction.
“My picture frame is missing,” I said. “I can’t find it.” I took a breath, trying to calm myself. There was no reason for me to believe that anything had happened to the frame. There was probably a completely innocent explanation. “I was hoping that maybe one of you took it to clean it, or maybe you moved it to protect it during the party.”
The way that Faye was looking at me, I knew that she didn’t actually believe that that was why I stormed into the room. They could tell that I was furious, but neither of them was going to say anything about it. The only person who might have would be Bettie, and I had given her the night off so that she didn’t have to deal with the caterer in her kitchen. It was probably better for me that she wasn’t there. The last thing that I needed as I dealt with the potential loss of the frame was a lecture.
“No, sir,” Faye said. “I didn’t move it and I’ve instructed the rest of the staff that they shouldn’t touch it. It was there when I cleaned this morning.”
The revelation made the panic rise up in me even more and I struggled to control my emotions. I had to find that frame. I couldn’t have lost it. It was all that I had left.
“Then what could have happened to it?” I asked.
“I’m sorry that I didn’t notice that it was missing, sir,” Emma said. “My arms were full when I got back from running my errands and then when I was finished putting everything away, I was so taken by the decorations around the apartment for the party tonight that I didn’t even pay attention. I’m sorry.”
Her words struck me and I held up a hand to stop her. I could see the tears forming in her eyes and I didn’t want to make her feel any worse than she already was.
“It’s alright,” I said. “It’s not your fault. You wouldn’t have any reason to notice that it was gone. The event coordinator was gone by the time that you got back from your errands, right?” I asked.
Emma nodded, blinking away the tears.
“Did they leave a card or anything?”
She shook her head.
“You can ask for their information at the concierge desk,” Faye said. “They had a key to the apartment.”
I nodded and rushed out of the apartment. I remembered the way that Molly looked at me when we were standing in the drawing room. I had seen that look of almost aggressive interest countless times before. I had shut it down as fast as I could, but sometimes that had the exact opposite reaction that I wanted it to. With the way that she was throwing herself at me even after Ella rushed out of the apartment, I wouldn’t put it past Molly to snag the easiest thing that she could get her hands on as a souvenir of her time in my apartment.
My anger was getting more and more intense as I rode the elevator down toward the concierge desk and approached the man standing behind it. His eyes brightened slightly when they rose up to look at me.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Dupree,” he said. “Is there something that I can help you with? Tickets to the theater? Make you a dinner reservation?”
I shook my head adamantly, hoping to stop him mid-stream before he went down the entire list of services that he could provide. It was one of the luxuries of living in The Avalon, and I took advantage of it frequently, but in that moment, I just needed him to stop talking so I could ask for Molly’s information.
“There was an event coordinator in my apartment today,” I said.
“Yes,” he said, looking to the computer in front of him. “I have the record of her arrival right here. She assured me that you expected her and that she was preparing your apartment for your event this evening.”
He was starting to resemble Aidan and I nodded.
I seriously need more stable people in my life.
“She was,” I told him. “That’s not the problem. Did she return the key to my apartment?”
“Of course,” the concierge said. “I insisted that she give it back to me before she left the building.”
This piqued my interest.
“Did she try to leave with it?” I asked.
Shit. Could we have a ‘Misery’ situation on our hands?
“Oh. No. I wouldn’t say that she tried to leave with it, but she did look rather flustered when she was on her way out and I had to remind her that she needed to give the key back. She didn’t even seem to remember that she had it.”
That still didn’t prove anything. She probably didn’t remember that she had the key because she was so focused on getting the frame out.
“Do you have her contact information?”
“Yes. I can give it to you.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
He jotted down the information and handed it to me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket as I approached the elevator, smashing the numbers to call her. The phone rang several times and then a loud scream echoed through the phone. It startled me so much I dropped the phone. Scooping it up, I checked it for damage.
Thank the fucking gods of technology for Otter Boxes.
I checked the note that the concierge had given me and dialed the number again. It rang through a few times again and again the splitting sound of a scream caused me to pull the phone away from my ear.
“What the living fuck?” I asked, looking down at the phone.
I walked into my apartment and Faye approached me.
“Did you talk to her?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “I haven’t been able to get in touch with her.”
“If I may, sir, you really should be getting ready. The caterer is set to arrive shortly, and the guests will be coming soon after.”
I glanced down at my phone again and realized that far more time had passed than I thought and that I needed to hurry if I was going to be ready by the time I was expected to meet with the caterer and then greet my guests. The frame would have to wait, even though I knew that that was the only thing that I would be able to think about, and the very thought made me dread the gathering even more.
“I’m going to go get my suit. Please wait for the caterer and tell them that I will be back in just a minute if they get here.”
“Do you want me to go get it for you?” Faye asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Thank you.”
I felt like I needed to clear my head and though I was only going to be going back down to the lobby, it was the only chance I had.
I could hear yelling as I approached the dry cleaner located in the back corner of the floor. I rested my hand on the back of the man standing at the counter and he turned to look at me.
“Hey Bankston,” I said. “Is everything alright?”
“No, everything isn’t alright,” he snapped. “They gave some
of my dry cleaning to someone else. They don’t even know who picked it up. It has the suit I was going to wear to your party tonight and a dress that Elsie wore to the premiere last week.”
I remembered that dress clearly. His girlfriend had poured herself into it with the hope that her ample assets wouldn’t spill out if she breathed too hard.
“I just don’t understand what happened,” the girl working at the counter said, looking terrified. “I’ve just gotten here for my shift.”
I accepted the bagged suit that another of the workers handed out to me and smiled.
“Good luck,” I said to Bankston and started back up to my apartment, not wanting to be around for the continuation of the situation.
Chapter Eight
Ella
“You can’t be serious.”
“Why not?” Molly asked.
“Because that’s just…. you can’t be serious.”
“I’m absolutely serious. Do you have another plan?”
I didn’t, but I was scrambling trying to come up with anything that was going to mean that I didn’t have to go along with the ridiculousness that my sister was presenting to me at that moment.
“I can’t just put on somebody else’s dress and waltz into the party pretending that I’m supposed to be there.”
“Sure, you can. But don’t waltz. I don’t think that there’s dancing.”
I rolled my lips in and let out a long breath.
“Molly, I’ve already stolen a silver picture frame today. I can’t steal a dress, too.”
“I’m not asking you to steal the dress, Ella. You’re just borrowing it. It was in Aaron’s dry cleaning when I picked it up and I just haven’t gotten a chance to bring it back. I’m sure that it’ll fit you. You’ll just wear it long enough to get the frame back in place, and then you come back here. That’s it.”
“You promised me that I wasn’t going to have to try to fit in,” I pointed out.
“Well, you didn’t promise me that you weren’t going to take anything from the apartment, but that didn’t go as planned, either, did it?”
