Chapter 3: Shadows in the East Study
The east study smelled of aged leather, pipe tobacco, and old paper. Heavy velvet drapes blocked out the storm outside, creating a cocoon of muted shadows illuminated only by the green glow of a banker's lamp on the mahogany desk. I stood nervously near the door, my coat clutched in my hands, waiting for Julian to return from the private vet suite down the hall.
The door clicked open, and Julian entered, his tuxedo jacket discarded, revealing the intricate black ink of the tattoos wrapping around his forearms and disappearing beneath his crisp white shirt cuffs. The German shepherd, now wrapped in a dry woolen blanket, lay resting quietly on a Persian rug near the hearth, its breathing slow and steady.
Julian poured two fingers of amber liquid into a crystal tumbler, swirled it, but didn't drink. He leaned against the edge of the heavy desk, studying me with an intensity that made me want to look away. "The house manager said you were hired through a temp agency three days ago," he began, his voice low and even. "That means you didn't know anything about what happened to Max before tonight."
"Max. That's his name?" I asked softly.
"Max," Julian confirmed, taking a slow sip. "He was supposed to be cremated six months ago. Victoria presented me with the paperwork while I was recovering from my hand surgery. She said his kidneys failed while I was out of the country on business." Julian clenched his jaw, the muscle ticking beneath his trimmed beard. "She told me she stayed by his side until the end."
"He wasn't sick when I found him," I said, stepping a little closer into the warm light of the study. "He was skinny, yes, and cold, but his coat wasn't matted from illness. It was matted from being kept somewhere dark. Like a crate or a kennel in a basement."
Julian's gaze sharpened. "A kennel? Our estate doesn't have an active kennel. The staff quarters are above the garage, but—" He stopped, a sudden realization dawning in his dark eyes. "The old stable block. Victoria had the locks changed last winter. She claimed it was for storing antique furniture."
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"If he was locked in the stables, someone was feeding him," I pointed out, my voice gaining a firmer edge as the reality of the situation set in. "Someone who knew he was there, but didn't have the key to let him out into the main house."
Julian pushed off the desk, walking over to stand just a few feet from me. The proximity was overwhelming; he smelled of cedar, rain, and expensive cologne. "Which means someone on this property is lying to both of us," he said quietly. "Victoria thinks she can erase whatever she doesn't want to see. But she made a mistake leaving him out in the rain tonight."
