The Long Game

Part 2

I was already exhausted - physically and mentally. Trying hard not to think about having to do all of this work EVERY. SINGLE. DAY, I dragged my feet towards the kitchen to get started on the dishes. I stopped at the entryway to the kitchen, hearing voices in there. What made me stop wasn't the volume of the voice but the tone - it was all too familiar. The voice was laced with such venom, I knew immediately it belonged to Jessica. But it reminded me too much of Reyna.

"You're already on thin ice, Rosa. This really isn't smart of you," Jessica chastised.

"Sorry, ma'am. It was mistake. I forgot," Rosa sounded frazzled. Just then, Louis brushed past me to get to the kitchen.

"You're pathetic," bristled Jessica to Rosa. Louis returned a moment later with a beer in hand, without saying a word, totally unbothered by what was happening in the kitchen. How can you not stand up for a person who is being spoken to so rudely?

Just when I thought that, a memory flashed through my mind from a few weeks ago. "Shut up. The coffee taste is too overwhelming. Throw them out!" Reyna ordered. Helda apologized profusely while clearing our plates. I could only offer her a quick sympathetic smile.

Oh my gosh. The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I was just like the Shelleys. I could've done more for Helda but I didn't, I was too stuck in my own world. But I wasn't now, and I could choose to say something or just walk away.

Decision made, I stepped into the kitchen, "Jess-" but Rosa cut me off with a look. Jessica turned around and saw me, not realizing I was about to address her by name. "Ah, Lorie, I'm glad you're here. Maybe you'll remember to do the laundry when I tell you." Jessica said before stomping off.

Shit. My bad.

I turned to Rosa. "Why did you cover for me?"

"Ma'am already don't like me. You don't get on her bad side also." warned Rosa. It was a real warning too. She was genuinely afraid of Jessica. Interesting.

I knew there had to be a story there so I coaxed Rosa into telling me once we were back in the maid's quarters and everyone else had gone to bed. According to Rosa, this particular incident happened a few days after Derek fell into a coma. She had been out all day, helping Ella with an event and only got back late in the night to an empty house. She knew Ella and Louis would probably be out the whole night - they liked to party. But Jessica should've been home. Rosa had searched the house for her but stopped outside of Derek's home office when she saw a note stuck to the door. 'Clean this up' was all it read in Jessica's handwriting. She opened the door and was horrified at the sight. The whole room was trashed. Books and papers strewn everywhere. Fragments of glass from broken bottles. And blood on the rug.

I suggested that Jessica had probably cut her hand open when she was wrecking the place and smudged the blood on the rug. Rosa immediately shook her head and insisted "There was a lot of blood. I throw away rug. Too much."

"So what do you think happened?" I asked since she clearly had a theory.

"There was someone else in house. With ma'am. They fighting...." Rosa trailed off, not wanting to say the next part out loud.

"What, you think Jessica attacked someone?" I asked, incredulous.

Rosa shook her head. "I think maybe she killed someone."

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I waited until Rosa was safely back in her room before I called Charles.

"Daniella? We didn't have a call scheduled," Charles answered, sounding tired.

"I can't stay here. These people are lunatics! Rosa is under the impression that Jessica killed someone! What are the chances that I escape one homicidal woman only to find myself in the house of another???" I said, a crazed edge to my voice.