I stood when Felicia entered the kitchen. “Thank you for coming over on a Sunday,” I said.
“Mr. Jonah, I’m confused. I thought I was meeting with Mr. Talon and Miss Jade.”
“Jade and Marjorie had some plans,” Talon said. “So I asked Joe to come over.”
“Is something wrong? Are you not happy with my work?”
I cleared my throat and looked to Talon. It was up to him to take the lead here. Felicia worked here, at his house, although technically the house belonged to all of us.
“Your work is fine,” Talon said. “We’ve always been very pleased with you. You know that.”
“Oh, good.” Felicia rubbed her hands together nervously. “Is there any coffee?”
I stood. “Of course. I’ll get it.”
Felicia stopped me. “No, I’ll get it. I know my way around this kitchen better than any of you.” She smiled.
She came back with a mug of coffee and sat down.
I looked at Talon again.
This time he cleared his throat. “Felicia, this isn’t easy.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you letting me go?”
“I don’t want to, but something has come to our attention that we need to discuss.”
“Oh, no…” Tears formed in her eyes.
“What is it?”
“It’s my parents… They’re so sick and old… And I…”
“Felicia, don’t worry about your parents. We will make sure they’re taken care of.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been feeling so guilty.”
“About what?”
“I…” Tears misted in her eyes. “I’m afraid.”
“Look, there’s no reason to be afraid,” I said. “Let us tell you why we called you here, and we’ll go from there.”
She nodded, trembling.
Talon cleared his throat. “We found a business card in Jade’s old room. It has three sets of fingerprints on it. One of them is yours.”
“I’m so sorry,” Felicia said.
“You don’t seem surprised,” I said.
She shook her head. “I’m so sorry,” she said again.
“Time to come clean, Felicia.” Talon rubbed at his temple, the muscles in his forearms strained. “This family has been through a lot, and we need the truth from you. Now.”