The kids have been safely deposited at school and I’m back in front of Maya Rain’s condo like a real creep. It’s been only a few hours since I saw her, but it feels like a lifetime.
Victor, if you’re listening…ah, who am I kidding, you’re the only person who listens to these things. But please ignore all of this stuff about me pining away for someone who’s a possible witness in the biggest murder case in Philadelphia history. Because that would be wrong, and I would never, ever act on it.
Anyway…
Maya isn’t scheduled to be at the Hughes house until noon, which means she’ll probably be headed downstairs to her car around eleven fifteen. I slipped the garage security guy a crisp hundred-dollar bill to let me know the moment she calls down for her ride.
At first he was weird about it, but then I casually mentioned that I was trying to stop this annoying lawyer chick working for the DA from hassling Maya. Garage Dude was all too happy to help after that. I probably didn’t even need to slip him the hundred. Thank you for being you, Veena.
My plan is to follow her until we reach the Hughes home, then come up with some pretext to knock on the door…some detail I forgot to follow up on. I don’t know. Maybe you can help me with that, Victor.
Speaking of, I’m finding it hard to believe that you’re coming up with zilch on Maya Rain. I mean, this is you we’re talking about here, Victor. Keep trying. I need to know everything about her.
Okay, need is a strong word. I want to know everything about her.
For the case!
I think Archie was paying for Maya’s apartment despite what she says. I think she and Archie had some kind of relationship that was extramarital but also somehow had the blessing of Francine. Hey, it’s the twenty-first century, people are gender-fluid and relationship-fluid these days. Maybe Archie and Francine allowed each other to have little dalliances…just as long as they cleared them with each other first.
For all I know, Francine hired Maya as a nanny and trusted her, liked her, and then Archie expressed an interest, and Francine thought, Sure, why not? I trust her, I like her, and I could literally destroy her if she moves in on my husband for real.
I’ll need to watch the Francine-Maya dynamic a little more to know for sure. But Victor, if you can find any kind of document trail regarding Maya’s employment at the Hughes house, that would be huge. A high-profile gig like that would definitely require a state background check. You have any sources in Harrisburg who could help us out?
I just can’t believe someone as amazing as Maya popped out of the West Virginia woods and into a multimillionaire’s Main Line mansion without leaving some traces.