Page 74 of Hard Heart

“It leaves you doing revision, as previously discussed. If you’re good, you can take an hour off to go shoe shopping. I really hate those boots.”

“It’s a slippery slope. First the shoes, and before you know it, I’ll be selling feet pictures on the internet to support myself.”

“Is that a thing?”

“Apparently so. My roommate tried it as a sideline when she was dancing on Broadway. Feet pictures and used socks.”

“At least the socks have a practical use. A guy could— Never mind. We’re not going there.”

“Where are we going?” she whispered so softly that Levi barely heard the words. He knew what she was asking.

“Nowhere.” He jingled his chains in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“I feel as if I’m playing with fire. If my boss finds out I’m visiting you, I’ll be on the fast track to unemployment, and if anyone saw this…” She held up their joined hands. “I might set a new record for disbarment.”

“Then stop coming here,” he whispered. The last thing he wanted was to ruin her life.

“I can’t. I just…can’t.” She heaved out a sigh. “After my exam, I’m going to take another trip to Fairfax County. If Ruby’s death is connected to Professor Groveland’s, then whoever paid off Jacobs could also have paid off Justin Norquist. Their paths must have crossed somehow, and Stark’s car is distinctive. Somebody might remember it. Who was your nosiest neighbour?”

Easy question. “Nancy. Turn left out of the driveway, and she lives in the pink house on the other side of the street. Practically opposite.”

“If she’s still around, I’ll speak with her.”

“She’s still around. Who do you think called Duke when she saw you poking around at my house?”

“I did wonder why he suddenly showed up. Does he keep an eye on the place for you? The yard is in better shape than I figured it would be.”

“Yeah, he mows the grass in the summer, makes sure the house is watertight, that kind of thing. The townsfolk are aware he does it, which means they also understand the place is off-limits.”

“What will you do with the house?”

Levi shrugged. “I only know I don’t want it to crumble into the ground. It was Ruby’s home. She tended the yard, she picked out the couch cushions, she found the kitchen table in a fuckin’ dumpster and called the rest of us to haul it home. Apart from her grave, it’s the only evidence she ever existed. Give me your notepad, your pen too.”

“Why?” Sera asked, but she complied.

“Because your feet are inaccessible.”

Ruby had been Levi’s muse, the subject of many of his sketches, drawings, and paintings. He’d taken photos of her to immortalise later on canvas, captured her spirit with a pencil, and spent hours recreating her features in oils.

Levi began sketching Serafina. The curve of her jaw. Those big blue doe eyes. The straight nose and the Cupid’s bow beneath. That tumble of golden curls. Just quick studies, focusing on her persona rather than precision.

She snuck a peek. “That’s amazing.”

Levi turned to a new page. “Look to the right.”

His movements took on an urgency, a need to commit this woman to paper before it was too late. She’d said it herself, she was playing with fire, and he feared every visit would be her last.

“When you go to Fairfax, ask Nancy for the key to the house. Tell her I said it’s okay and to check with Duke if she wants.”

“You’d trust me with your home?”

“I’ve trusted you with every other part of me.”

“Don’t make me cry.”

“That’s the last thing I want. I only want to see you happy. If you find any paintings you like in my studio, take them. Not the ones of Ruby, but anything else. And if you need money, check the panel to the left of my desk. It slides out. Maybe someone already found it, but maybe not.”

Sera’s eyes shone with tears, and Levi wished he could wipe them away. For the first time in years, he felt the hatred rise up inside him. He hated Justin. Hated him for everything he’d stolen.