Page 58 of Collateral Claim

“You’ll do great, Doc. And if you’re overwhelmed, we can always plan the wedding at another time.”

“I’m fine.” I pat her back. “I am. You hug nicely.”

We separate, and Fiada smiles. “Thanks. Let’s forget all the event stuff for now and talk about the dress.”

“The dress. Um, yes, okay. That is good. I like dresses.”

“Great. Unfortunately, we can’t order a designer dress. We must commission one from one of the town’s two tailors. Is that okay?”

“Sure. But I’m curious why we can’t order one.”

“Because it’s tradition to pay our local people, not some stranger who doesn’t care and will never see it on you. The tailors are good. Both of them studied fashion and interned at designer houses. Endo and Cass both get their suits locally. All the uniforms are made here as well.”

“The region is entirely self-sufficient,” Emily says. “The nearby towns trade among one another. This keeps food on the table. You might’ve noticed we don’t have any large grocery chains or similar stores operating here.”

“I wondered about that,” I say.

“Two large stores did open once. One for groceries and one for clothing. But they closed after about a month.”

“Oh, what happened?”

“They burned down,” Brenda says.

“Both of them?”

“Mmhm.” Fiada nods. “The grocery store caught fire right after Emily’s husband, who worked there, got sent home for chewing tobacco on the job.”

Emily smiles. “My husband, Ily, came into work chewing tobacco, and the corporate man told him to spit it out. Ily kept chewing and got fired for it. But Endo had a contract with the big stores that said that they can’t fire any of us. When Endo tried to get my husband’s job back, the corporate man refused.”

“That makes sense.”

Emily nods. “Messing with a Macarley is asking for trouble.”

“Are you all saying Endo burned down the stores?”

Fiada shakes her head. “Nobody said that.”

Rie clears his throat. “We aren’t saying anything, Doc. We’re trying to help you out.”

I look around. As if for the first time, I take in all their faces. Do they know I’m not really his fiancée? Do they know I’ve been forced into being here? That I’m collateral?

Maybe not. Yet they know enough of Endo to understand something is off, but they can’t say or do anything, and they won’t talk to me about it. For all I know, Endo might’ve concocted this wedding festival idea. He could’ve shaped this entire chat with my staff, twisting my reality and theirs.

They seem to accept it, but can I?

I can. I can because if I don’t, I’ll end up dead.

Rie breaks the awkward silence. “Do we know where the Macarleys stay during the time the house is open to the public?”

“Not in the west part of the house, that’s for sure,” Emily says.

Fiada nods. “Definitely not.”

That’s where I’m staying. “Why not?”

“The west part of Widow’s Keep is haunted. The corner bedroom that shares a wall with the nursery used to beDonatella’s room during the months she spent alone with Endo and the baby.”

All sorts of emotions explode inside me. I’m trying not to give them life, so I swallow them down and struggle to remain calm and composed. I fail. Jealousy breaks through and burns a hole in my belly. Another woman stayed in the rooms I’ve been sleeping in while she cared for Endo’s baby.