Chapter 2 - The Bowl Was Too Clean
At 6:12 Thursday morning, Adrienne Moretti’s town car passed through the wrought-iron gates of his Long Island estate.
He was home one day early.
Chicago had ended faster than expected.
The moment Adrienne entered the foyer, something felt wrong.
Not dangerous.
Wrong.
His driver, Carlo, brought the leather bag inside.
“Welcome home, boss.”
Adrienne did not answer.
He was staring at the floor.
Bruno was not there.
Every other time Adrienne returned from a trip, the mastiff had been waiting before the car even stopped. Sometimes standing. Sometimes lying across the marble because age had made getting up slower.
But always there.
Adrienne removed his gloves.
“Where’s Bruno?”
Carlo glanced toward the hallway.
“I haven’t seen him.”
Adrienne’s expression changed.
“Tony.”
The head of household security appeared from the east corridor.
“Boss.”
“Where is my dog?”
Tony hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Adrienne’s voice lowered.
“Answer me.”
“We thought he was with you.”
The foyer went silent.
Adrienne slowly turned his head.
“You thought my one-hundred-and-fifty-pound mastiff boarded a plane without anyone noticing?”
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
Footsteps sounded above.
Vivien Romano descended the staircase wearing a pale cashmere sweater and dark trousers.
Her expression changed when she saw Adrienne.
“You’re home.”
Adrienne ignored the greeting.
“Where’s Bruno?”
Vivien stopped.
“Oh.”
One word.
Too carefully spoken.
Adrienne’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh?”
She came down the final steps.
“I didn’t want to tell you while you were handling business.”
“Tell me what?”
“Bruno wandered off.”
Nobody moved.
Adrienne stared at her.
“My dog wandered off.”
“Tuesday night.”
“Through locked gates?”
“The gardener said the service gate may have been open.”
Adrienne looked toward Tony.
Tony stiffened.
“No gate was reported open.”
Vivien folded her arms.
“Then perhaps someone forgot.”
Adrienne walked toward her.
He did not raise his voice.
That made everyone more nervous.
“Bruno has lived on this property eight years.”
“I know.”
“He does not leave.”
“He’s an animal, Adrienne.”
Something hardened behind his eyes.
“Choose your next sentence carefully.”
Vivien exhaled.
“I’m only saying animals behave unpredictably.”
“Bruno doesn’t.”
She looked away.
Adrienne turned.
“Tony.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Close every gate.”
Tony nodded.
“Nobody leaves this property.”
Vivien looked back.
“Adrienne, that’s absurd.”
He faced her.
“I wasn’t asking.”
A tiny sound came from the hallway.
“Bruno didn’t go.”
Adrienne stopped.
Everyone turned.
A small girl stood barefoot beneath the archway.
Three years old.
Brown hair messy from sleep.
Stuffed rabbit against her chest.
Elena Rossi hurried behind her.
“Mia.”
She scooped the child up.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Moretti. She slipped away from me.”
Adrienne barely seemed to hear her.
His attention remained on Mia.
“What did you say?”
Elena tightened her hold.
“Mia, honey—”
Adrienne lifted one hand.
“Let her speak.”
Elena hesitated.
Mia stared at him.
Children normally looked away from Adrienne Moretti.
Mia did not.
She pointed toward the rear of the mansion.
“Bruno didn’t go.”
Adrienne stepped closer.
“What happened?”
Mia hugged Bunny.
“The bad lady made him sleepy.”
Elena’s face drained.
Vivien laughed once.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Mia pointed directly at her.
“You.”
Nobody breathed.
Vivien stared at the little finger.
“What?”
“You made Bruno sleepy.”
“Mia,” Elena whispered.
The child continued.
“Then two men put him in the black car.”
Adrienne’s head turned very slowly toward Vivien.
Vivien shook her head.
“A three-year-old child woke from a dream.”
Mia frowned.
“No dream.”
Vivien looked at Elena.
“Control your daughter.”
Adrienne’s voice came quietly.
“Don’t speak to her.”
Vivien froze.
Adrienne crouched before Mia.
It felt strange to everyone watching.
Adrienne Moretti did not crouch for people.
“What did the car look like?”
“Big.”
“Where did it go?”
Mia pointed toward the service drive.
“That way.”
“Did Bruno walk?”
“No.”
Her little face tightened.
“They carried him.”
Adrienne’s jaw flexed.
“He was sleeping?”
Mia nodded.
“Big sleeping.”
Elena looked horrified.
“I was working downstairs that night. I didn’t know she’d gotten out.”
Adrienne stood.
“Tony.”
“Boss?”
“Security footage.”
Tony looked uneasy.
“There’s another problem.”
Adrienne stared at him.
“What problem?”
“The service-drive camera was offline Tuesday night.”
Vivien’s eyes flicked toward him.
Adrienne noticed.
“When?”
“From ten forty-three until eleven thirty-six.”
Exactly the wrong hour.
Adrienne looked at Vivien again.
She stepped backward.
“You cannot seriously believe I stole your dog.”
Adrienne said nothing.
That frightened her more than an accusation would have.
He turned toward Tony.
“Bring me every employee who had access to those cameras.”
Then toward Carlo.
“Check toll cameras, gas stations, traffic cameras, anything leaving this property between eleven and midnight.”
Carlo nodded.
Adrienne took out his phone.
“And call every animal hospital, shelter, police precinct, sanitation yard, private veterinary clinic and rescue group from here to Queens.”
Vivien gave a bitter laugh.
“For a dog?”
Adrienne looked at her.
“Bruno stayed beside my mother’s coffin until the cemetery closed.”
Vivien’s expression faltered.
“He slept outside my bedroom when I was seventeen because I had nightmares I refused to admit I was having.”
Adrienne stepped closer.
“He has been loyal to me longer than almost every human being in this house.”
His gaze dropped briefly to Mia.
“Except apparently one three-year-old girl.”
Mia whispered, “Bruno is my friend.”
Adrienne’s face softened by a fraction.
Then he looked back at Vivien.
May you like
“And now somebody is going to tell me where my friend is.”
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