It took Vivian a moment to realize he had finished when the flood of words finally came to an end. “So what are you going to do about it?” she demanded, remembering Corny Rokesby cornering her in the alley—had it only been a couple nights ago? It felt like half a lifetime. It made all too much sense, now, why he had wanted to talk to Honor.
And it seemed damned suspicious that he had. To find out what she knew about the will? To try and scare her off of claiming whatever inheritance she had coming? And with him hiding things from the police…
Levinsky sighed and took another drink. “Just having suspicions isn’t enough to pin anything on the Buchanans. We need proof, and we need time, and neither is looking likely right now. Not with reporters sniffing around, getting people riled up and clamoring for quick answers.”
“I saw it in the papers,” Bea said quietly. “They’re making a real stink about it.”
“It’s the sort of thing that catches attention,” Levinsky agreed.
“Haven’t they found anything else?” Vivian asked. “Buchanan had a business meeting right before he died. What about his partners?”
Levinsky frowned. “That Whitcomb fella was at the office all day, half a dozen people saw him there. The other one…” He shook his head. “We’re still looking into it.”
Vivian wanted to ask him about the poison. But she didn’t know how to bring it up without getting Dr. Norris in trouble. “What about anything… strange? About how he died? Do they think more than one person might’ve been involved?”
He gave her a dry look. “Right now they think you were involved. I don’t know how much they’ll look beyond that. So… good luck, I guess.” He stood, tucking his hat under his arm. “I’m off. Baby’s up at all hours still, and Maud’ll be expecting me home soon to give her a break. Tell your fella I stopped by, will you? And…” He shrugged. “Whatever else you want to tell him. It’s a hell of a mess you’ve got yourself in. Hope you can pull through.”
“Thanks for your help,” Vivian said quietly. “I know you didn’t have to do that.”
“Long as you don’t go telling my boss, I should be okay.” He gave her a tired smile, looking for a moment like a young, exhausted father who was just trying to do the right thing.
Vivian was starting to suspect that was exactly what he was. “Boy or girl?” she asked impulsively, putting a hand on his arm.
He gave her a surprised look. “Girl,” he said, his eyes lighting up. “Rebecca Maud.”
“Congrats,” Vivian said, meaning it. “Hope she figures out her sleeping soon.”
“Don’t we all.” But he was smiling as he headed for the stairs.
They watched him until he disappeared toward the front door, and then Bea let out a heavy sigh, dropping her chin into her cupped hands. “Lord almighty, Viv. You sure meet some interesting folks.” Her dry tone said thatinterestingwas the mildest word she could come up with. “How much you think you can trust him?”
“Enough,” Vivian said. “I think. Leo seemed on… well, not friendly terms, but some kind of terms with him. And it was a decent thing for him to come here. God knows he didn’t have to.”
“It was decent if he was telling the truth,” Bea said skeptically. “It was decent if he was here to help you and not because he was playing some other game for his boss. You don’t know for sure.”
“Gotta be some fellas on the police force that want to help people, right?” Vivian pointed out as Danny slid a tray onto the bar and started filling it up with drinks. “Stands to reason.”
“Sure,” Bea said, though she didn’t sound convinced. She glanced over her shoulder and hopped to her feet. “Mr. Smith is sending his death glare my way. I’ve gotta scoot on up to the bandstand.” She frowned. “You’ll be all right?”
“Absolutely,” Vivian said, giving her friend a sunny smile that didn’t make Bea’s frown go away. “See you after last call?”
“Count on it.”
When Vivian turned back to the bar, Danny was watching her. “You making friends with cops now, Viv?” When she shrugged, he laughed. “It’s not a bad idea, you know. Honor’s on friendly terms with a lot of them. That one spooked me pretty bad, though, showing up on his own like that. I thought we were getting raided for sure.”
“Not yet, anyway,” Vivian said quietly, thinking of the commissioner casually revealing that he knew exactly where she worked.
Danny smiled comfortingly. “But if they like you, they look out for you.”
“And in our line of work, we can use the looking out,” Vivian said, taking the tray as he added the final drink, her mind darting back to Corny Rokesby. What was he trying to hide? “Where’s this one going?”
“Pretty Jimmy and his pals in the corner,” Danny said, nodding toward the cluster of well-dressed young men who were flashing smiles and cash in equal measure. “And then hop on back here. It’s going to be a busy night.”
He wasn’t wrong, and Vivian was glad to spend the next few hoursrunning her feet off. It didn’t leave her much time for worrying about things like whether Levinsky was telling the truth or why Buchanan’s family didn’t want to talk to the police. She took her break right when they were playing a Charleston, and Pretty Jimmy Allen, whose friends were either making eyes at the girls on the dance floor or had disappeared into dark corners with them, snagged an arm around her waist and begged her for a dance. He had a smooth, easy lead, even if he wasn’t the flashiest dancer, and Vivian was happy to lose herself in the music for as long as it lasted.
When the song ended, she and Jimmy were both breathless, and he grinned at her. “I’m glad your Ms. Huxley lets her girls take a spin on their breaks,” he said, leaning over to brush a kiss against her cheek. “Dance floor wouldn’t be the same without you, baby doll. I think someone else is hoping for a turn.”
With a playful wink, he disappeared back into the crowd, looking for a new partner as the band started up a Baltimore beat. Vivian turned to see who he had been talking about and froze.
