Minnie wasn’t a tall woman, but she probably could have reached Freddie’s head with the mallet. The angle of the blow might give the police an idea of the assailant’s height, but I didn’t have that kind of evidence to work with.
I stood up from my seat. “Thanks for talking with me, ladies. Enjoy the rest of your game.”
They all called out their goodbyes as I left. I’d made it only a few steps down the hall before Rosario called my name. I turned back to see her rushing after me.
“Emersyn,” she whispered when she reached me, “did you have a specific reason for asking if Freddie had a woman in his life?”
“Oh…” I tried to think of a way of answering without letting on that I’d been in his apartment.
Rosario solved the problem by not giving me a chance to respond. “It’s just…I’m hoping you and your colleague can be discreet.”
“You and Freddie were…?”
Rosario’s cheeks flushed. “It wasn’t serious or anything, and it didn’t last long because he was a jerk about my snakes, but I’d rather the other ladies didn’t know.”
I couldn’t blame her for that, especially after Leona’s comments.
“Did you lose a false eyelash recently?” I asked.
The question took her by surprise. “Yes, actually. I did have one go missing.”
“I don’t think there’s any need for the other residents to know about you and Freddie.”
She relaxed with relief. “Oh, thank you, Emersyn.”
Leona called out Rosario’s name from inside the apartment.
She glanced that way. “I’d better get back to the game.”
“Rosario,” I said to stop her from leaving. “Which vet clinic do you use?” When I saw her puzzled expression, I quickly added, “I’m thinking of getting Livy a pet.”
She smiled. “South Paws. All the doctors there are fabulous. I hope you find the killer soon!” She hurried back into her unit.
Did she really want me to find the murderer?
Only if she wasn’t the culprit.
With a plan taking shape in my head, I pulled out my phone on my way to the elevator.
A notification alerted me to a new text message.
From Wyatt.
Ready to compare notes?
I stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring at the message, my thumb hovering over it.
No,I typed out.
Then I deleted that and wrote,Yes.
My thumb hovered over theSendbutton.
Then I deleted that word too.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket.
Clearly, my brain wasn’t up to the onerous task of responding to a simple text message.
