contemplated that as I headed to the visitor's parking lot. Having endured a nasty experience upon leaving the hospital once before, I was relieved to step, uneventfully, into the sunshine. Before I could even walk to my borrowed car, my phone rang. A number flashed on the screen but it wasn't one I recognized.
"Is that Ms. Graves?" asked a male voice with a slightly foreign accent. When I confirmed it was, he continued, "This is Manny Ortega. Mr. Takahashi called me and said you were coming to the house. He said it was very important. Would you like to come now? I'm here so I can let you in."
"On my way," I eagerly replied.
The Takahashis lived in one of the nicest parts of Bedford Hills. The whole expensive neighborhood featured luxury homes on wide lots but Westmount was easily one of the most coveted streets. Recessed from public view behind a tall wall and fancy iron gates, the two-story brick house was an imposing character. I imagined it would be even more striking once the gardens were landscaped.
A tall, black-haired man in jeans and a padded vest, a toolbelt slung around his hips, waited for me beside a work truck opposite the house doors. A bit further along the driveway, I saw another older truck, parked next to a gleaming, black, brand new truck. That was a lot of trucks in one place for me.
I parked beside the work truck and hopped out, walking across to him. "Mr. Ortega?" I asked.
"Manny, please. We’re informal here. I tried calling Austen by his surname but he and Sophie said no way."
"Then you must call me Lexi."
"Follow me. Austen told me to let you in and allow you to go wherever you like. Is everything okay at the hospital? We're all so worried about Sophie."
I took an instant liking to Manny. Not only was the older man handsome, the deep gray that was filling in his temples was very attractive. He was pleasant to talk to and carried an air of capability about him, something I intuited from his calloused hands and the deep creases around his eyes. "I just came from the hospital and Sophie is stable but not yet conscious," I told him, figuring it wouldn't hurt to reveal one of the few pieces of information I gleaned about her health.
Manny unlocked the door and opened it, standing back to let me pass. I stepped into a large entryway that should have been bright and airy but was currently covered in a fine coating of construction dust. On my right, a staircase curved up to a mezzanine-style landing with thick, ornate, iron banisters. Immediately obvious was the missing panel in the middle of the landing. Manny must have noticed me staring at it because he said, "That's where Sophie fell."
I nodded and looked around for the missing piece. It was propped up against the far wall. "Do you mind if I look around some more?" I asked, glancing at the fetching foreman.
"Please go ahead. I'll wait by the door."
I walked over to the chunk of banister first, pulling my sleeves over my hands so I could examine it without leaving prints, just in case. Several of the spindles had blood on them, barely discernible against the black iron. That could have been consistent with Sophie landing on them, or the blood from her head wound splattering them.
"Austen said one of your work crew found her? Is that right?" I asked.
"Yes." Manny heaved a breath but didn't move from his position by the door. "I feel so awful about it. I heard what I thought was a scream but since no one called for help and I didn't hear anything else, I ignored it. I was cutting some marble for the kitchen and I didn't want to stop for fear of breaking it. It only occurred to me later, when I finished cutting, that maybe I should check just in case, so I sent David out to take a look. He found her, lying right there." He pointed to a section of the floor several feet from the bottom step of the staircase. "I came as soon as he shouted to me."
"Where was the banister in relation to Sophie’s body?" I asked pointing to the piece I just handled.
"Underneath her. She was holding onto it like this," he said, holding up his hands and curling his fingers.