Page 45 of Lost Cause
The men reached the top of the steps, Ugo was huffing and puffing.
Abby gave him a smile. “Have a seat next to Sylvia for a moment.”
He cocked his head, but didn’t argue, probably because he was too tired from climbing the steep stairway and needed to sit down.
He looked at Sylvia. “Why are you just sitting here instead of putting the produce away?”
She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at Abby and Burke. “Ask them.”
“We can’t have the crime scene disturbed until all evidence is recovered,” Burke said.
Ugo shook his head. “I do not know the crime you speak of, but I do not like this.”
“I’ll tell Sam they’re here.” Burke headed to the library.
Abby faced the couple on the bench. “We’ll be collecting fingerprints from around the house. Our forensic tech will scan your prints so we know which recovered prints belong to you.”
“And if we don’t want our fingerprints taken?” Sylvia asked.
“I’m afraid it’s not optional, and we can get a warrant for them, but then we’ll have to take you to the station and take them there.”
“Just let them do it, Sylvia,” Ugo grumbled.
“Fine,” she said, but the deep sigh she let out proved she still wasn’t happy about it.
Holding her portable scanner, Sam returned with Burke and knelt in front of Ugo. She gave him a big smile. “This will be painless and won’t take long. I promise.”
He held out his hand, and when it came to Sylvia’s turn, she did as well.
Sam stood. “Thank you both for cooperating.”
“Not like we had a choice,” Sylvia muttered under her breath.
Ignoring the comment, Sam mouthed “good luck” to Abby on her way back to the library.
Abby turned to Burke. “I’ll wait here with Sylvia if you’ll send Gabe out to sit with her.”
Burke gestured for Ugo to follow him to the dining room. “After you.”
Gabe soon strode through the foyer looking all ‘let’s do this’ as usual. If he approached Sylvia this way, they would soon be feuding.
“Stay put, Sylvia.” She met Gabe where they could talk out of the woman’s hearing. Still, Abby lowered her voice for good measure. “You need to tread lightly with this one. No sarcasm. No humor. She’s feisty and distrustful. I don’t want her all wound up by the time we question her.”
He winced. “So, back to watching paint dry then.”
“I really appreciate you taking on these menial tasks.”
“Hey, we gotta do our part to keep the business going, right?” He squeezed her arm. “Now go charm the pants off Ugo. Or maybe make sure he keeps his pants on, but you know what I mean.”
She rolled her eyes, something she did frequently around this guy, but her heart was filled with love for her teammate. For all of her teammates.
In the dining room, she found Ugo seated on the side of the table facing the fireplace. Burke poured a glass of water from a crystal pitcher and placed it in front of the older man.
“So tell us how long you’ve worked for Victor.” Burke talked as he would to a friend, keeping things light to not spook the jittery guy more.
Ugo wrapped trembling hands around the water glass. “Victor was just turning twenty-one. His father, Valentino Lemoine, was disappointed in the way his son presented himself to the world, so he hired me to improve his grooming habits. I made sure he was dressed impeccably every time he went out in public. I was only a few years older, so we had a unique employee/employer relationship.”
Abby slipped into a chair across from Ugo. “So you worked for him for over fifty years, then?”
