Daniel could have accepted. Instead, he remained under the rain-darkened light and answered in the same unhurried voice. "I'd rather give it to her personally, if she'll agree. It may contain something important to her, and I'd like her to know it stayed safe."
Marcus glanced toward the camera monitor, where a small notification had appeared about the calls from headquarters. The receptionist had already warned the property staff that someone might appear claiming to have found the chief executive's wallet. He picked up the internal telephone and called the house.
Inside, Victoria had just changed from her charcoal suit into dark trousers and a loose sweater, though she still felt the weight of the day in every muscle. She was standing near the library windows, watching the rain, when the house manager told her an unknown man was at the front gate claiming to possess her wallet. For one moment, she felt hope so sharp that it frightened her. Then she heard Linda Whitfield's voice behind her, dry and certain, warning that the man was probably hoping to negotiate a reward. Victoria turned and asked that he be brought to the front entrance.
Linda followed her down the long staircase without being invited. She was the deputy director of operations at Sterling Living, a precise woman in her late forties who had built a career by assuming every problem concealed a larger one. She had come to the house to deliver revised figures after the investment announcement and had stayed while Victoria handled the missing wallet. To Linda, the timing of the stranger's appearance was suspicious by definition. Anyone who could find Victoria Sterling's address could also discover how much money she possessed.
When Daniel stepped into the covered entrance, rainwater dripping from the edge of his jacket, Linda looked him over with open skepticism. "You found a wallet containing cash and identification," she said. "And rather than deliver it to the police, you brought it to a private estate after dark?" Daniel met her gaze and nodded.
"That's right." She crossed her arms. "Do you understand why that sounds unlikely?"
"I understand why you'd check," he said. "But I'd still like to return it to the person who lost it."
Victoria appeared behind Linda and saw the black leather wallet in Daniel's hand. It was a plain thing, with a small white scratch on the corner from the time she had dropped it beside an airport security tray. She moved forward before she realized she was doing so. Daniel held it out without opening it or asking anything in return, and she took it with both hands. For a brief moment she could not speak.