Page 86 of Dancing in the Dark

“Right.” I nibble on the inside of my cheek and keep an eye on Archer’s quickly scribbling hand. “What time do you think you were intimate with Johanna that night? Roughly.”

He swallows and stares down at his water bottle. “About ten, I guess. I didn’t check the time, but we’d been partying for a while. I didn’t… she didn’t…” Sweat breaks out along his brow. “I didn’t kill her or anything. She was fine when we were done. Then she went and banged Dex after that.”

“Are you sure?” Archer flicks back through his pages of notes. “We’ve already spoken to Dexter, and he swears he and Johanna never hooked up that night. He said they danced and hung out. That’s it.”

“Then he’s lying. It’s not uncommon for a guy to bend the truth a little when he’s scared the cops will pin him for something he didn’t do.”

“But not you, right?” Arch drops his papers again and hits Carson with a heavy stare. “You admitted to having sex with a dead woman.”

“Yeah, but she wasn’t dead when we had sex. Last time I saw her, she was breathing and completely fine. I know I’m innocent, so I’m gonna tell the truth and help you figure this out. For Jo.”

“For Jo.” I nod. “What happened once your yacht docked and everyone got off again?”

Confused, his brows pinch and squeeze. “W-what do you mean?”

“Well, twenty-one people got on your boat. Only twenty got off. You’re an accountant; you didn’t think to count your guests once the night was over?”

“No, I…” He peels the label off his water and swallows nervously. “I was asleep in my cabin until, like…” He shrugs. “I dunno. Midday the next day. I didn’t see anyone get off. I didn’t even know anything was wrong until I saw her on the news.”

32

SERAPHINA

I stride through the lobby of City Hall with my phone pressed to the side of my face and Charlie’s ‘I can’t get to the phone right now,’ voicemail prompt playing through my ear… for the third time today. “Hi Charlie. It’s, uh… me. Again.” I tap the elevator call button and peer up at the numbers above in an effort to predict which of the three will open first. “I need to update Justin on the Bayside thing and figured I could call you directly instead of going through all the official channels and making it weird, but perhaps I should’ve gone the other way since you’ve been busy all day. Could you call me back when you get a chance and let me know what’s happening? We need to make a statement to the press soon, so the more information we have, the bet⁠—”

Beep.

“Shit.” The ding of the elevator doors opening pulses in the back of my mind, so as I lower my phone and move forward without looking, I cross the threshold and smell him before I see him.

I really should’ve looked.

“Seraphina.” Anderson moves two full feet to the side to make room for me. “I was just looking for you.”

“Uh…” I swing my panicked gaze back to the lobby. “What are you…” Dammit, Sera! Be faster. Be better. “Why…”

“I’m here in a professional capacity, I promise.” He taps the button for my floor and digs his hands into his pockets. “I know things got ugly the other day, and I know I texted you my apologies⁠—”

“Please stop,” I groan.” I have absolutely no desire to go around in circles on the matter.”

“I’ll only say this once,” he rushes on. “I’m sorry. For everything. I’m sorry for what happened between us back then. I’m sorry for how I behaved after the accident. I’m sorry for not taking any accountability in the matter. And I’m sorry for how things went inside your apartment. And that’s it,” he gulps. “I’m sorry. Now that I’ve said it, I’m done forcing you to hear it, which means we can jump back into professional mode. I’ve come with a Bayside update.”

“You…” My eyes narrow to slits as I study him in the reflective surface of the doors. “What update?”

“I was with the primary detectives earlier today.”

My heart thunders painfully in my throat. “What?”

“Don’t worry.” His lips curl into a small grin. “Everything went fine. I apologized for the way things escalated inside your apartment. They apologized.”

For what?

“I spoke with their lieutenant as well.”

“Why?”

“To assure him that the Port Authority is determined to work seamlessly and cooperatively with the police department. I wasn’t sure what the detectives might’ve told their lieutenant⁠—”

“So you wanted to get in first and cause drama where drama wasn’t needed?” I snap. “Really, Anderson?”