Detective Murphy rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Yet, if the information was false, why were you killed?”
“Exactly! Now you’re getting it.”
Morgaine’s head fell forward, and Chad realized she needed a break. He yanked himself out of her body and let her know she could rest, but he’d be back.
“Something’s wrong with her,” Gwyneth cried.
Konrad rose, scooped her up, and headed for the door. “Open the apartment door for me, Gwyneth. I’m taking her home. This shit-show is over, folks.”
Lila hung back in the shadows. The chilly November air made a few minutes of espionage seem like hours. What was everyone doing in there? She had seen people walking upstairs, but the place was dark with the exception of one dimly lit window on the third floor.
“There’s something weird going on in there,” she muttered to herself.
“Back again, are we?”
Startled, Lila jumped and felt as if her heart had lodged in her throat on the way down. “Who the…? Oh, it’s you. Sylvestro, right?”
“Call me Sly.”
“Okay, Sly,” she said, feeling a little sly, herself. Maybe she could get some more information out of him and the evening wouldn’t be a total waste. “How’s Allison?”
“Allison, who?”
“Give me a break,” she said. “The woman we talked about last time I saw you.”
“Oh, I should apologize. It was a case of mistaken identity. As it turns out, her name isn’t Allison after all. I’m sorry if I gave you misinformation.”
“Oh. Well, mistakes happen. I’ve since learned that her nameis Merry. Is that right?”
He didn’t confirm or deny. He simply stood there, staring at her. Then he leaned forward and sniffed the air right in front of her.
Lila stuffed her hands in her pockets and leaned away, trying not to let her teeth chatter. Something about him gave her pause. Last time, she didn’t pick up any sinister vibes, but now…Maybe he knows about the article and is pissed—like everyone else who knows this sainted Merry seems to be.
She’d have to try a different tactic. “So, do you know why the building is so dark? I think people are home. At least, while I was waiting for someone, I saw people come and go.”
“Who were you waiting for?”
She waved away the question like it was no big deal. “Just an old friend. I thought I saw him last time I was here.”
“Last time you were skulking in the bushes?”
She chuckled. “Well, okay. He’s not exactly a friend. He’s a friend of a friend. You know how that goes.”
Falco and I are both friends of the media reading public, right. And if no publicity is bad publicity, he should thank me. When the baseball season starts up again, everyone will be watching to see what “bad boy Falco” is up to.Hey, cool. I should be able to spin it that way and get another credible story out of it.
“And you thought you’d find this guy here? What’s his name?”
“Oh, I’d rather not say. You might alert him to the fact that I’m watching for him—for my friend—and I really don’t want to bother him.”
“Why would I say anything? Are you stalking him for your friend or something?”
She slapped her knee and laughed. “Ha! Stalking. That’s funny.”
“You think stalking is funny?”
“No, of course not. Just the fact that you think I’m doing it.” She elbowed him.
Sly grabbed her elbow faster than she could blink and his expression changed. His posture straightened and his eyes darkened. Suddenly, she didn’t feel safe—at all.
