Malpractice Makes Perfect

Chapter 5

            Alexis had been kind enough to send a carelessly sketched map so I could find my way around in her very large, very foreign house. I took one more look over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't being watched, then made my way up a partially walled, carpeted staircase that squeaked lightly under the weight of my feet. Every cautious step I took made my heart race that much faster. The wood underneath tried to betray my every step.

         Squeak, squeak, squeak...

          Surely the whole house could hear me, but then again, the woman causing a scene in the garden was probably all anyone cared about. If I was down there, that's where my attention would be. I doubled my pace and skipped up the last few steps.

          Upstairs, the walls were a glistening off-white that absorbed the rays of sunlight streaming through wide opened curtains. Abstract paintings of black figures dancing hung perfectly spaced on the walls. A crescent console table was positioned neatly between two doors; in the center was a bronze bust of a boy that was reminiscent of Augusta Savage's work—or maybe the real thing...They could certainly afford it...

          Wait a minute! Focus, Evie! You're here for a job, not to muse over the furniture.

         I moved on slowly, keeping my eyes and ears open and my tongue ready with an excuse about getting lost should someone discover me. According to my poorly drawn map, there were seven bedrooms on the second floor. Originally there was one for Diana, one for each child, one used as Diana's office, and one guest.

          Malik had moved out after college as had Destiny once she'd married her ex—but now she was back with her two children in tow. Gabe came in and out depending on if he was at rock bottom that week or not, and Alexis being the youngest, had never left. I pulled up my phone and opened the attachment with Alexis's map. Her messy handwriting had labelled each rudimentary square representing the rooms and who they belonged to:

          Diana, Corrine, Me, the kids, Gabe, Este, and Destiny.

          Diana, Destiny, and Gabe were self-explanatory, 'Me' was Alexis, and the kids were Destiny's kids. The name Corrine sounds familiar but I'm drawing a blank.

          Who the hell is Este?

          Whoever they were they weren't the target, so I followed the map and strode into the third room on the left from the staircase, per Alexis's instructions, and closed the thick hickory door behind me.

          Inside was a bedroom furnished with the impeccable eye of a master decorator. Everything from the million-count comforter on the bed to the drapes to the rug were designed to be cohesive. In fact, said comforter, rug, and drapes were all the same matching gray and silver flower pattern. How do you even do that? Did they sell the rug and the comforter together? Was it all specialty made? My ass couldn't even match two out of two pillowcases on my bed at any one time and they came in sets of two—never mind the damn curtains! I shook the thoughts from my head. I need to stop gawking and get to work before I get caught.

          I took an extra five seconds to text Alice before I got down to business.

I'm upstairs. Text if someone comes back inside.

          She sent back a thumbs up emoji and I put the phone away and looked around. If I were an ugly necklace where would I be? Across the room and opposite to the bed was a gray and silver vanity.

          On top of the silk lined table was a gem encrusted jewelry box. On top of that, was all the jewelry. Either she struggled to match the right pieces to her outfit today or she's messy as all hell. I shifted through a tangle of necklaces and earrings that were probably worth more than my and Alice's wardrobes combined. Pearls, diamonds, sapphires, and gold knotted together in a sort of twinkling metal bird's nest. Some of them were kind of cute, I think. It was hard to tell through the jumble. None of them looked like a hideous pearl and diamond eye-sore, though.