“We’re going over the guest list for the party,” Emily explained. “It looks like just about everyone that was invited is going to show up.”
The brother named Tony glanced up and gave Emily a frustrated look. “Em, there’s no reason for the maid to worry about the guest list.”
When Emily’s cheeks darkened with embarrassment, Charlotte decided to save the poor woman the trouble of apologizing…again. “Guess I’d better get busy,” Charlotte told them. “Nice meeting y’all.”
By midafternoon, Charlotte was back in the laundry room folding the towels and washcloths. So many people had been in and out all day that she ignored the sound of the back door opening and closing.
“Who are you?”
Charlotte jumped at the unexpected question, and when she whirled around, a young girl who looked to be around thirteen or fourteen and a boy who was probably a bit younger were standing in the doorway.
“I’m Charlotte, with the maid service,” she told the girl. “And who are you?” she asked even though she already knew from the framed photos scattered throughout the house that they were the Rossis’ children.
“I’m Amanda Rossi, and this is my brother, Brandon. So what happened to Jennifer, the other maid?”
Charlotte smiled. “Your mother said that Jennifer had a family emergency to take care of.”
For several moments more, both children stared at Charlotte, then, without a word, they both turned and headed for the kitchen.
“She’s older than Jennifer,” Charlotte heard Brandon tell his sister. “I wonder if Daddy knows yet. If he don’t, he’s gonna be mad.”
Unease crawled through Charlotte. Did Robert Rossi know that his wife had hired her, or had Emily done so on her own? Surely he did.
“Daddy’s always mad about something,” Amanda retorted. “I hate him.”
“He is not always mad. You’re just being mean.”
“Is too always mad. And he’s the one who’s mean, especially to Mama.”
“Is not!”
“Is too!” Amanda argued. “And I’m going to kill him just like he killed Papa, if he hurts Mama again.”
In the laundry room Charlotte stiffened with shock and a suffocating sensation tightened her throat. He killed Papa…hurts Mama again. Out of the mouths of babes. Charlotte shivered. The courts couldn’t convict Robert, but courts made mistakes. And Emily…At least now she knew the reason that Emily’s makeup was heavier on one side of her face.
Even so, Charlotte tried telling herself that all teenagers, at one time or another, hated their parents and spoke out of turn. But not all teenagers threaten to kill a parent.
“You’re a liar!” Brandon shouted. “And I’m gonna tell Daddy what you said.”
“If you know what’s good for you you’ll keep your mouth shut, you little brat.”
Since no one else seemed to be paying attention, Charlotte decided that she’d better break up the fight before one or both decided to get physical.
“I’m gonna tell,” Brandon yelled defiantly.
Just as Charlotte stepped out of the laundry room, another voice interrupted the two squabbling children.
“And just what are you going to tell?” The voice was male, hard-edged with a cold, disapproving tone. “And what’s all the shouting about?” Several moments passed without a sound. “Well?” he demanded. “I’m still waiting for an answer.”
“Nothing, Daddy,” Amanda said meekly.
Charlotte halted in her tracks. Uh-oh. Daddy’s home.
“I didn’t ask you, Amanda. I asked your brother.”
Several more quiet moments passed before Brandon finally spoke up. “N-nothing, Daddy. We were just arguing over the cookies.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes, but she had to admire Brandon’s fast thinking.
“In case you two haven’t noticed, I have guests with me.”
“Sorry, Daddy,” Amanda mumbled.
“Sorry,” Brandon added.
“We’ll go to our rooms,” Amanda offered.
“Good idea,” her father said.
Charlotte stepped back into the laundry room. Ever since she had realized that Emily was married to Robert Rossi, she had dreaded coming face-to-face with the mobster. Since she now realized that there could be some doubt as to whether Robert knew that Emily had hired her, Charlotte dreaded it even more.
Charlotte eyed the basket of folded towels and washcloths and mentally went over the tasks still to be done. With a grimace and a shake of her head, she picked up the laundry basket. There was no getting around it. She still had work to do, and she certainly couldn’t hide out in the laundry room for the rest of the day. Besides, all he could do was fire her.
Charlotte entered the kitchen just in time to see the Rossi children, armed with cookies and soft drinks, disappear through the doorway leading to the hall.
Three men were in the kitchen, their attention on the retreating children. Out of the three, there was no mistaking which one was Robert Rossi. For one thing, though shorter than his brothers, Robert shared the same dark hair and dark eyes that his brothers had. But Charlotte would have recognized him anyway because of the many newspaper photos and TV news clips she’d seen when he’d been on trial for the murder of his father.
When Robert turned and saw Charlotte, his eyes narrowed. “You must be Charlotte, the new maid.”
Clutching the laundry basket with an iron grip, Charlotte nodded. If he knew who she was, that must mean that he’d okayed Emily hiring her. Feeling a measure of relief, she tried to speak, but the words seemed to stick in her throat.
There had been a few times in Charlotte’s life that she had sensed pure evil when coming in contact with certain people, and meeting Robert Rossi was one of those times. It was his eyes, she decided. Though seemingly polite and friendly, there was a cold, soulless look in the depths of Robert Rossi’s dark eyes that chilled her to the bone.
“Well, Charlotte, nice to meet you,” he said. Stepping aside, he motioned toward the two men with him. “This is Leo Acosta, my attorney, and Porter Anzio, an associate of mine.”
The contrast between the two men with Robert was the difference between hot and cold. The attorney, a sharp dresser, had a shrewd, calculating look about him, whereas Robert’s so-called associate, though dressed nicely enough, had a hard, mean look about him and was the epitome of a mob enforcer, just like in the movies.
“You don’t happen to know where I can find my mother, do you?” Robert asked.
Praying that she
