“We’re already on our second round of the game,” Theo replied. “But I’m pretty sure I know where she’s hiding.”
Theo cruised through the lobby, heading for the hall that led back toward the courtyard. She stopped outside the first of two indoor phone booths, relics from the Mirage’s heyday as a glitzy hotel in the 1920s. She opened the door and peeked inside. By that time, I’d reached her side and could see that the booth was empty.
She rolled up to the next booth. This time, when she opened the door, giggles burst out.
“Found you!” Theo declared in triumph, reminding me of the moment she’d found Wyatt and me.
I begged my cheeks not to flush, but they ignored me.
Livy sprang up from a crouch and darted out of the booth. She ran for the lobby, Theo following in her wake.
My cheeks warm, I shut the door to the phone booth, looking anywhere but at Wyatt.
“It’s your turn next,” he said.
His words startled me into facing him. “But I initiated the first kiss!”
A slow grin took shape on his face, and heat flashed in his eyes. “I’m happy to take turns with that too, but I was talking about sharing information.”
Now my cheeks weren’t just on fire, they’d been inhabited by two suns, each burning hot enough to destroy the entire solar system.
“Ha!” I tried to sound amused, but the sound came out crazed. “I knew that!” One look at his grin and I could tell he saw right through me. “Okay, so I didn’t,” I confessed in a rush. “But…um…where were we?”
“The dumbwaiter shaft.”
“I meant in our conversation!”
The laughter in his eyes told me that he’d known that full well.
I walked briskly toward the lobby, trying desperately to get mybrain functioning properly. “Never mind,” I said as Wyatt walked with me. “Rosario López, aka Snake Lady, was on my suspect list—as you know—but she’s got a solid alibi. I’ve got two other suspects: Hoffman Fisher and Minnie Yang.”
“Minnie Yang hosted the cocktail party, right?” Wyatt said.
“She and her partner, Yolanda.”
“So she lives in unit 211.”
I stopped short. “Right above the dumpster. She could have disposed of the croquet mallet in two ways. Either she took it out into the alley and chucked it, or if she was worried about the security camera—which doesn’t actually work—she could have taken it back to her apartment and dropped it into the dumpster from one of her windows.”
“What’s her motive?”
I resumed walking again, and Wyatt kept pace with me. “Freddie publicly ridiculed her artwork. She was humiliated and furious enough to use his portrait as a dartboard.”
“I thought that was Rosario.”
“They both played the game, for Minnie’s benefit.”
“Isn’t Hoffman your ex?” When I glanced at Wyatt in surprise, he explained, “I heard you call him by name at the country club.”
Another incident best forgotten.
Like that kiss.
Which I feared I’d never be able to forget.
I also feared that I was now doomed to compare every future kiss against that one and have them fall woefully short of measuring up.
Unless those future kisses were also with Wyatt.
