“Oakley made the mask himself? I thought he was a writer.”
“He was also a skilled wood craftsman. Someone once offered a thousand dollars for a console table he made, but he turned it down. It was one of my favorite pieces, so he kept it.”
“When did he start working on this mask?”
“Recently. A few weeks.”
A man carves a mask right before it’s stolen, around the same time the man is carved up and murdered—it was the type of detail that slithered its way under Drayco’s skin. It was also another “coincidence.” He asked, “When did you notice the mask was missing?”
“It was at the house the day before he died. I didn’t notice it was gone until after Oakley’s death. I assumed Oakley took it with him.”
“Could someone have broken into the house to steal it without your knowledge?”
“I’ve had
