Whispers of Refuge Box Set

CHAPTER 34-4

Roger hated coming home so late, but his schedule probably wouldn’t change any time soon. Sales had increased steadily for the past eighteen months, but the number of employees and machinery remained constant. He hadn’t told Juliette yet, but he was toying with the idea of taking an entire month off in the spring so they could go back to the States and see Kennedy and some of their extended family on the East Coast. It would take a decent amount of planning, and Juliette would probably complain about leaving Mee-Kyong and their house staff, but their marriage could use some serious time away from Yanji.

He half expected Juliette to be asleep by the time he came in, but she was sitting up in bed reading when he swung their bedroom door open. She put her bookmark in place and looked up. “Hey, there.”

“Hey, yourself.” Roger loosened his tie and sat on the side of the bed to kick off his shoes. “You’re up late.”

“I was solving a little mystery.” Juliette’s smile hinted mischief as she laid her novel on the end table.

“And what mystery might that be?”

Juliette dangled Roger’s watch like a prize from one finger. He unbuttoned his shirt and grinned. He hated thinking their new guest was a thief, but until he had evidence otherwise, he couldn’t just dismiss his suspicions. “And where exactly did you find it, then, Mrs. Holmes? No, let me guess. In the kitchen with the butcher knife. Am I right?”

She chuckled. “No, it was in the trash downstairs.” Juliette told him about going to Eve’s room. “Her place was such a ridiculous mess — junk and candy wrappers all over.”

Roger couldn’t hide his amused smile and wondered how tidy their own room would be if Eve didn’t clean it up twice a week for them.

“I saw a Hershey’s wrapper over by her bed, and I remembered I had been eating a chocolate bar last night when you got up to take that phone call.”

Roger sat on the bed and let his mouth drop open in mock surprise. “A chocolate bar?” he gasped. “I thought you were on a diet!”

Juliette looked aside but continued to smile. “Well, I wanted you to keep thinking that, so when I heard you coming back in, I swept the wrapper off the nightstand into a little bag. I carried it out first thing in the morning and dumped it in the kitchen trash. And that’s where I found your watch.”

Roger let his fingers play up and down Juliette’s back. He loved the silky feel of her nightgown. “Sounds like it’s a closed case, then.” He wrapped his arms around his wife, but she tensed her muscles up and rolled over to face him. Roger sighed. “I’m sorry for thinking the worst about Mee-Kyong. You were right. She’s no thief.”

Juliette relaxed in Roger’s embrace.