My eyes strayed to his lips, and I had to force myself to look straight ahead again.
Livy bounced into view, providing me with a distraction that I desperately needed. She was using the padded benches in the lobby as a parkour course, with Theo cheering her on. Normally, I’d tell my niece not to jump on the furniture, but I thought itadmirable that I was even still breathing, considering the state of my mind.
“Why would your ex kill Freddie?” Wyatt asked, and I appreciated that he kept his voice low enough that Livy wouldn’t hear him. “Did they know each other?”
“Not that I’m aware of, but Hoffman was in the building around the time of the murder. And remember that smashed bottle at the crime scene? There was a label from a bottle of the same color in Hoffman’s apartment, with broken glass stuck to the back. Freddie has an intact bottle in his apartment with the same kind of label.”
“You were at your ex’s apartment?” Wyatt asked. “Not that I’m judging.”
“Not forthat,” I said quickly, hoping to set him straight. “He doesn’t know I was there.”
Livy took a flying leap off one of the benches and ran over my way.
“Auntie Em, look what I found.” She opened her hand to reveal a cuff link.
The round fastener was studded with a three-by-three grid of square gems in shades of blue and green, with four tiny diamonds spaced evenly around the edge.
I’d seen the cuff link before, along with its matching partner.
A wave of queasiness crashed through my stomach at the memory. Overpowering cologne. Clammy hands on my arms.
My skin crawled, and anger simmered inside me.
“That was Freddie’s,” I said, my voice faint.
Livy tipped the cuff link into my palm. “You can give it back to him.”
Light from the overhead chandelier—which was missing at least a quarter of its crystals—glinted off the cuff link, revealing the initialsTRengraved into the silver.
Theo joined us. “His initials were FH, not TR.”
“Maybe he inherited them.” My voice still sounded weak. I gavemyself a mental shake and spoke normally as I addressed Livy. “Where did you find it, sweetie?”
“In the phone booth.”
I glanced back that way. “Freddie must have lost it.”
“But we can give it back,” Livy said again.
I rested a hand on her head. “We’ll make sure it gets to the right person.”
“What would Freddie have been doing in the phone booth?” Wyatt posed the question that was on my mind.
As a group, we moved in that direction. I tucked the cuff link into the pocket of my jeans, hoping that hiding it from my sight would rid me of the memory it triggered.
Wyatt opened the door to the phone booth, and we all stared inside. The booth was constructed from wood, with a window making up the top half of the door. What looked like the original plaque remained above the door, with the wordTelephoneemblazoned on it, but the actual phone itself had been removed, leaving the narrow space empty.
Livy pointed at the back corner. “It was right there. On the floor.”
I still couldn’t think of any reason why Freddie would have been in the phone booth. Had he been hiding from someone? If so, why?
I stepped into the booth and gazed around. When I looked up, I noticed a water stain on the ceiling. I pointed it out to the others. “That’s probably why Freddie was here.” I looked down by my feet. The wooden floor was also marred by a water stain. “Water was leaking from somewhere up above. It dripped down and probably started trickling out into the hall, drawing Freddie’s attention to the booth.”
Livy squeezed inside with me. “Let’s see how many of us can fit in here!”
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, hon,” I objected as gently as I could.
“Come on, Wyatt,” Livy pleaded.
