The Butler(32)

When he got to work the next morning, he watched her face carefully, and waited until they were alone in the kitchen. Then he spoke to her in a low voice so no one could overhear, although Alphonsine’s English wasn’t fluent, but just in case. For all they knew, she spoke better English than she let on.

“I know you’ve lost something, and you don’t know who to suspect and who to trust right now. I’d like to help you with it. Is it something of great value?” he inquired. She hesitated and then shook her head and decided to trust him.

    “It’s of great sentimental value. They were my mother’s two favorite pieces of jewelry. I had them in a small jewel case in a drawer. I was going to put them on yesterday and the case was empty. It could have been anyone. I haven’t opened the case since I moved, and there have been a million people in and out of the apartment.” He was relieved that she was telling him. He thought it was a good sign. She had to trust someone, or her life would be untenable, and he was glad she had chosen to confide in him.

“Let me handle it. Trust me. I know we don’t know each other well, and you have no reason to trust me. I’d like to handle this in a way that I think will get results.”

“Are you going to accuse someone directly?”

“I don’t think I’ll have to. And with any luck, you’ll get your jewelry back. It’s worth a try.” She nodded, and for some unknown reason, she thought he was being honest with her, although she had been almost certain it was him, the day before.

“Come with me,” he said quietly, and she followed him to her bathroom, where a plumber was working on a leak under the sink. Joachim had called him to do some repairs and adjustments. He asked the plumber to go to the living room and wait for them there. He then went to Olivia’s bedroom, where Alphonsine was making the bed. She was coming every day while they got settled. She looked frightened and startled when they walked in together, and Joachim used a harsher tone with her, and told her to go to the living room. There was a window washer hanging out the dining room window, and Joachim sent him to join the others and then he and Olivia walked into the living room and sat down.

    Joachim was wearing an odd expression and used a tone that Olivia hadn’t heard from him before. He looked and sounded harsh, merciless, to the point of frightening. He suddenly looked like the head butler, a man to fear, or the police. He eyed each of the three people seated across from them, and then he spoke, as Olivia observed their faces. The plumber looked confused, the window washer clearly had no idea why he was there, and Alphonsine looked terrified and was shaking in her seat.

“I have a very disappointing announcement to make to all of you. There has been a theft in the house, of two pieces of Madame White’s jewelry. Of course, I have no choice here, I am obliged to notify the police. You may not leave the apartment before they arrive. They will want to speak to each of you, and probably fingerprint you. We cannot take this matter lightly, and the insurance company will want to question you too. I will be very grateful to any of you who have information on the theft, if you saw anything unusual, or saw someone take them. If the items reappear, there will be a reward to any of you who find them. Five hundred euros, and no further questions will be asked. In the meantime, and until the items are returned, we will wait for the police.” There was shocked silence in the room, as Olivia waited with them, and Joachim disappeared, presumably to call the police. She was sure he would, in order to terrorize the three suspects further.

Joachim returned a few minutes later to tell them that the police would be with them shortly.

“Can I go back to finish the windows?” the window washer wanted to know, and Joachim said he could. The plumber went back to the leak under the sink, and Joachim and Olivia walked into the kitchen. Alphonsine had been crying when they left the room.

    They were sitting in the kitchen, talking quietly, when Alphonsine rushed in, shrieking that she had found the missing items. She said they had been swept under the corner of the rug, and she hadn’t seen them previously. “Someone must have dropped them,” she said. Her hand was shaking violently, as she held them out to Olivia.

“Are those the missing items?” Joachim sounded fierce when he asked Olivia, and she nodded with tears of relief in her eyes and took them from Alphonsine.

“Thank you,” she said softly, although it pained her to be grateful to a thief.

“Do I get the reward?” the maid had the nerve to ask him, and he nodded.

“Yes, you do,” he said quietly, took out his wallet, and handed five one-hundred-euro bills to her. She looked pleased but still shaken, as she slipped them into her apron pocket, and left the kitchen.

The police showed up twenty minutes later, and Alphonsine had mysteriously vanished.

“She must have gone down the back stairs,” Olivia said when they went to look for her and couldn’t find her coat or her purse.

“She won’t be back,” Joachim told her. He explained the situation to the police and apologized for bringing them out for nothing. They asked if Olivia wanted to file a report or a complaint against the maid, and she said she didn’t. Alphonsine didn’t have keys to the apartment, and Olivia agreed with Joachim. Alphonsine wouldn’t be back, if she had to face the police. She had probably done things like it many times before, with her previous employer who was elderly, and at the hotel before that. The police had suggested that too. It was a common occurrence.