“We just need more proof against Benny so Raina will feel safe going to the police,” Ziya said.
“Mm,” David murmured.
“What?”
“He doesn’t think Benny did it,” Amie explained.
“You got that from ‘mm’?”
“We talked about it earlier. If someone used the florist to lure Savannah back to the store that night, it’d be a little …elaborate, for Benny.”
“Mm.” Ziya nodded. “Yeah, makes sense. But maybe he was working with someone. Remember Elena heard someone yelling at him the other day? Maybe that was his accomplice.”
Amie sucked in a sharp breath. She’d been so focused on Benny being in the Harlows’ apartment that day that she had completely forgotten why Elena had gone to investigate in the first place.
“What did the other person say to him?” Ziya asked.
Amie wracked her memory. “All she said she heard was ‘you did it.’ ”
“Hm. Would’ve helped us more if they said, ‘We did it.’ Are we sure that wasn’t his ex-girlfriend?”
“She’d just broken up with him two nights before,” Amie said. “In my experience, you don’t go to visit your ex so soon after a breakup.”
“Gotta give it three months,” Ziya agreed knowingly.
Or two years.“But it could’ve been her. Or his accomplice. Speaking of, since we learned that Raina hadn’t wanted Madeline to buy the store before Savannah died, they probably didn’t work together to kill Savannah.”
David suddenly let out a low groan, wincing.
“Oh my god, what?” Amie asked, alarmed.
Ziya swiped his plate away. “No more pizza.”
“No.” David rubbed his face. “I’m fine. I just remembered something. I wasn’t going to mention it because I knew it’d set you two off. And to reiterate, I don’t condone continuing this investigation—”
“Sure, yeah, we get it,” Amie said impatiently. “What is it?”
It was clear that David was trying his best to downplay the news, but there was a gleam of intrigue in his eyes that was impossible for him to disguise.
“I stopped by Eons on my way home from the hardware store,” he said. “While I was waiting for my drink, I saw a man taking measurements of the wall across from the counter.” He sat back in his chair, “my work here is done” scrawled across his face.
Amie and Ziya exchanged a look of confusion.
“Who was the man?” Amie finally asked, not sure if that was the correct question.
It was not.
“The man doesn’t matter!” David exclaimed, apparently realizing that his work was not, in fact, done.
“That’s harsh,” Ziya said. “I’m sure he matters to someone. At the very least, he probably matters to whoever told him to take those measurements.”
“And who would that have been?” David prompted.
“Madeline?” Amie asked. A thought struck her as she pictured the interior of the café. “The wall across from the counter is between Eons and Shelf Starter.”
“Bingo.” David crossed his arms, satisfied.
“You think she was getting measurements to combine the businesses?” Amie asked. “She still thinks she could buy the bookstore?”
