Page 70 of The Last Girl

Vera listed each item in her notes. “Anything else?”

Renata pointed to the railing at an unpainted section of spindles. “Repair bad wood. We work hard. Much work. All of us very tired after working for Mr. Wilton. Time off is good to catch up here.”

Vera waited for her to go on. Frankly what she’d said so far didn’t sound like enough work to keep three people busy over a long weekend. The Carter property wasn’t that large.

As if she suddenly understood, Renata pointed in the direction of the little cottage they occupied. “Paint in our house. New floor in bathroom.”

Okay, so they were getting somewhere now.

“Anything else that you recall?”

“Cleaning.” She laughed a little. “We never have time to clean our house.”

They would definitely have plenty of time now. At least until they found new employment. Then again, with ten million dollars each, they might not want to go back to work for anyone else. They could start their own businesses.

“Did you or Jose go anywhere? Did you leave the house at all?”

“Hardware store. Nowhere else.”

Since there was only one hardware store in this town, Vera was reminded once more of that damned receipt. She forced the thought away.

Moving on, she asked, “Did you see or talk to Mr. Wilton or his wife at all over the weekend?”

Big side to side swing of her head. “No. Just home working.”

“Do you like Mrs. Wilton?” Vera sent her a pointed look. “She’s your boss now.”

Renata pursed her lips for a long moment. “She not nice woman. She make me clean same thing over and over.” She patted her chest. “I know clean. No need for her to tell me.”

So she didn’t like her.

“Was Mr. Wilton nice to you and Jose?”

A smile appeared. “He was. Very much.” The smile faded. “But he changed after Alicia came.”

This was new. “How did he change?”

“Not friendly. Too busy to even say hello. Not care about the property so much.” She shook her head again, her expression sad. “Not happy. I could see it.”

“Do you have any idea what made him unhappy?”

“Shemake him unhappy.” Renata glanced around as if fearing someone might eavesdrop. “Cheater. Thief. She came for his money.” Her lips trembled, and emotion glistened in her eyes. “She make bad man out of him. Ruin all things.”

“Did Jose have some idea of how to fix this or take care of the problem?”

“We ...” Renata appeared to recognize the trap before going on. “No way to fix. We just live with it.”

“What about Lena Wilton, the first wife? Was she nice?”

Renata smiled. “Oh very nice. An angel.”

“Was she cheating on Mr. Wilton?”

Her smile faded, replaced by a frown. “No way.”

“Are you sure?” Vera pressed.

The other woman hesitated ... blinked. “I very sure.”