City of Night

Chapter 18

After the body of William, the butler, and all of his severed fingers had been removed from the mansion by two men from the Hands of Mercy, the head housekeeper, Christine, and the third-floor maid, Jolie, cleaned up the blood in the hallway.

Erika knew that as the mistress of the house, she should not get down on her knees and help. Victor would not approve.

Because class distinctions prevented her from assisting, she did not know what to do; therefore, she stood by and watched.

The blood on the mahogany floor wiped up easily, of course, but Erika was surprised to see it come off the painted wall and out of the antique Persian runner without leaving any visible residue.

“What’s that spot remover you’re using?” she asked, indicating the unlabeled plastic squeeze bottles with which both Christine and Jolie were armed.

“Mr. Helios invented it,” Jolie said.

“He must have made a fortune from it.”

“It’s never been marketed to the public,” Christine said.

“He developed it for us,” Jolie revealed.

Erika marveled that Victor would have time to concoct new household products, considering everything else on his mind.

“Other spot removers,” Christine explained, “even if they took out all the stain visible to the eye, would leave blood proteins in the carpet fibers that any CSI unit could identify. This expunges everything.”

“My husband’s very clever, isn’t he?” Erika said, not without some pride.

“Extremely so,” said Christine.

“Extremely,” Jolie agreed.

“I very much want to please him,” Erika said.

“That would be a good idea,” Jolie said.

“I think I displeased him this morning.”

Christine and Jolie glanced meaningfully at each other, but neither replied to Erika.

She said, “He beat me while we were having sex.” Having dealt with all the bloodstains, Christine directed Jolie to proceed with her morning tasks in the master suite. When she and Erika were alone in the hallway, she said, “Mrs. Helios, excuse me for being so straightforward, but you must not speak about your private life with Mr. Helios in front of anyone on the household staff.”

Erika frowned. “Shouldn’t I?”

“No. Never.”

“Why not?”

“Mrs. Helios, surely the subject of social deportment was part of your manners-and-etiquette download.”

“Well, I guess it was. I mean, if you think it should have been.”

“It definitely should have been. You shouldn’t discuss your sex life with anyone but Mr. Helios.”

“The thing is, he beat me during sex, even bit me once, and he called me the worst names. I was so ashamed.”

“Mrs. Helios —”

“He’s a good man, a great man, so I must have done something terribly wrong to have made him hurt me, but I don’t know what upset him.”

“You’re doing it again,” Christine said impatiently, “talking about your private life with Mr. Helios.”

“You’re right, I am. But if you could help me understand what I did to displease my husband, that would be good for both me and Victor.”

Christine’s stare was sharp and unwavering. “You do know that you are the fifth Erika, don’t you?”

“Yes. And I’m determined to be the last.”

“Then perhaps you’d better not talk about sex even with him.”

“Even with Victor? But how will I find out why he was displeased with me?”

Christine stropped her sharp stare into an even more piercing gaze. “Maybe he wasn’t displeased.”

“Then why did he punch me and pull my hair and pinch my —”

“You’re doing it again.”

Frustrated, Erika said, “But I’ve got to talk with somebody about it.”

“Then talk to the mirror, Mrs. Helios. That’s the only safe conversation you can have on the subject.”

“How could that be productive? A mirror is an inanimate object. Unless it’s magical, like in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

“When you’re looking at yourself in the mirror, Mrs. Helios, ask yourself what you know about sexual sadism.”

Erika considered the term. “I don’t think it’s in my programmed knowledge.”

“Then the very best thing you can do is educate yourself… and endure. Now, if that’s everything, I have a number of tasks to attend to.”