“It’s the perfect crime, really. All the pieces fit together and make sense. It’s clear that Billy did this. I don’t know how everyone else doesn’t see it. Though I suppose probably a few people considered it. I think it’s probably been a little less scrutinized because he’s dead now. So, if he did kill them, he’s no longer a danger to anyone.”
Ezra finished his wine, then poured himself another glass. He couldn’t argue with her reasoning. It made too much sense to ignore. He suspected if Billy were alive, he would be questioned further. But Clara was right. With him being dead, the police were less likely to take such a close look at him. It was possible they’d never know what happened to the family.
“Seems very suspicious,” Ezra admitted. He shook his head. “You’re probably right, honestly. The pieces do form a compelling picture.”
Clara was thankful she didn’t have to try to convince Ezra to agree with her. It’d be much easier this way. It was nice to feel justified in her suspicions. Yet it was also unsettling. Billy’s son was working for them. Surely now Ezra had to see why that was a bad idea.
Ezra debated it. He weighed his interactions with Nathaniel so far against what Clara was telling him. If Billy had killed the family, what did that say about Nathaniel? Did that mean he was a danger to them?
“I don’t know what to think,” Ezra said, shaking his head. “We do have to take this seriously but… I still don’t think it proves Nathaniel has ill intentions by working for us. I don’t see how this information means we’re at risk. Everyone who was involved in all this are dead now. They’re not going to come back for us.”
Clara took a moment to take a breath and control her frustration. She was shocked Ezra still couldn’t see the danger in this. She was worried he might never see the danger in this. She suspected it had something to do with his unhealthy relationship with his father.
Clara worried that because Ezra’s father was unsupportive and cruel, he was rewriting the script by taking Nathaniel under his wing. He was trying to be a father figure to Nathaniel, a young man without a father who reminded Ezra too much of himself. He was trying to be the fatherly mentor he always wanted.
If this was the case, it was going to be much more difficult to get Ezra to take a critical look at Nathaniel. That was a bond that was deeper than the typical employer and employee, it touched Ezra differently. Clara wasn’t sure how to go about challenging that without hurting her husband, but she had to make him see before it was too late.
“If you can admit Billy might’ve killed the family, then you have to see how this might motivate Nathaniel to do the same,” Clara said as gently as she could. “I’m not saying he is out to get us. I’m not even trying to suggest he’s a bad person or that he has nefarious motives for being here. I’m just saying we must consider it.
“His grandparents built this place; it was their dream and they put their all into it. His father grew up here and was potentially willing to kill to reclaim this property. After all the work his family did for this bed and breakfast, Nathaniel could very well wish to buy it and rewrite the past. That would put a lot of pressure on anyone to make up for the ways his family failed. To make them proud by successfully running a business that meant so much to all of them.”
Ezra understood her reasoning. It made sense but… “It’s possible,” he admitted. “I just don’t want to condemn someone based off their family’s actions. You know how different I am from my own father. He’s done some awful things too. I wouldn’t want anyone to judge me based off his decisions.”
“I know.” Clara took his hand and looked him in the eyes. “But you’re not Nathaniel, okay? You must realize that. You don’t owe him anything and you don’t know his motives. So, you must be careful.”
“I know. No matter what, I care about our safety over everything else. I care about you over everything else.” He paused as he tried to come up with the best solution that might take all their fears and feelings into consideration. “How about I talk to him about it?
“I don’t want to fire him based off fears and a past that he couldn’t control. But I can at least talk to him about it. Maybe if I do, I can get a sense of if he’s lying or not. Hopefully, I can figure out where he stands with all this. I’ll pay attention to his reaction and then decide what to do.”
“Are you sure that’s safe?” Clara asked, a bit skeptical. She didn’t want Ezra to take a risk like this, though she honestly didn’t know a better way to approach it. She didn’t know what to do.
“It is,” Ezra assured her. “Even if Nathaniel isn’t being quite honest about everything, he’s not going to lunge and attack me simply for talking to him. I’ll bring it up at the menu tasting and go from there.”
“Okay…” She felt bad for putting this on him, but she would’ve felt worse if she hadn’t said anything and something terrible happened. “How do you bring something like that
