The Maid

Molly is not sure she can carry out her part. She hates lying, but Juan Manuel tells her, “Sometimes, you must do one bad thing to do another thing good” (206). Molly already knows this from helping her grandmother die and hiding the identity of Mr. Black’s murderer.

By the time her friends have helped Molly practice her part in the sting, she feels like Colombo, and her friends are proud of her. She types a message for Rodney into her phone and has her friends check to make sure it’s all right. Juan Manuel admires the way she speaks: “[So] nice all the time. More people should talk like you, Molly” (207). Rodney replies to her message, telling her to meet him at Olive Garden. With the meeting arranged, the next step is up to Molly.

As Molly waits at Olive Garden, she thinks about Mr. Black, Rodney, and Giselle and the last few minutes of Gran’s life. When Rodney arrives, Molly thanks him for being such a reliable friend and being there for her. She tells him that the police are saying Mr. Black didn’t die naturally. He was asphyxiated. Rodney feigns surprise, adding “and you’re the obvious suspect” (210). Molly says that no, the police are looking for someone motivated by Mr. Black’s will.

Rodney asks whether the police were concerned about the gun in Molly’s vacuum. He says he hopes Molly knows he never said anything to anyone about the gun. Molly says she has something dreadful to tell him; when Detective Stark said she was going to go over the Blacks’ suite again, Molly told her she couldn’t because Juan Manuel was staying there. Then she told them all about how Juan Manuel is Rodney’s friend and Rodney was helping him.

Rodney begins to panic. He says Molly has to find a way to sneak into the hotel and clean the suite again so that no sign of Juan Manuel (or the drugs) will be there. Molly reminds him she isn’t allowed to enter the hotel, but she might be able to sneak in long enough to get the hotel key, then Rodney could clean the room himself. Rodney agrees that seems to be the only thing they can do.

When Molly returns home, the conspirators prepare to launch the next phase of their scheme. Juan Manuel can’t return to the hotel because Rodney might find a way to frame him for the drugs and the murder, but that means he’ll have nowhere to sleep that night. Molly offers to let him stay in her room, and she’ll sleep in Gran’s room.

They turn on the news in time to learn that the police will hold a press conference in one hour during which they will release the name of the murder suspect. They must act while Rodney still believes he might be a suspect. If he learns he is not, he won’t try to clean the room, and the police won’t catch him red-handed. They have only an hour to set their trap.