David frowned. “I would have punched his lights out if I’d been in your position. I was tempted to do it anyway.”
“I was trying to follow your example and make nice,” Mati explained as she unlocked the door at the top of the steps.
David nodded approvingly at the sturdy locks and solid wood door as she threw it open.
She flipped the switch to power the strings of fairy lights wound around her iron curtain rods and the frame above her iron four-poster bed.
Her apartment was one big, open space, her bed on a dais in one corner, her kitchen a long counter under the back windows and an island that held her oven and stove and sat three on the opposite side. Her steel stove hood gleamed in the twinkling lights.
Reese and David looked around curiously.
“I love the changes you’ve made,” Reese commented. He’d come with her when she’d had the building inspected before buying it, but hadn’t been back since. He poked his head into the bathroom, his laughter echoing. “You said you would put in a big tub, and I see you have.”
She wished she could enjoy giving them a tour, and appreciate the few minutes to shake off what had happened downstairs, but it needed to be addressed.
“Did you notice his arm was broken?” she asked.
Reese popped out of the bathroom, his smile gone. “I did. And it’s the right arm.”
She pulled off her coat and hung it on a peg by the door. “You think he’s the one whose arm was slammed in the door?”
“I think we need to consider it,” David said.
“Does that mean the Chaz thing was a coincidence?” Reese asked.
“Maybe. I think we have to look into that, too. Do they know each other?”
“No,” Mati said. “I don’t think so. Different ages, schools, churches, careers…”
Reese nodded. “I agree. It’s unlikely, though Sydney isn’t a large city.”
David sighed. “We’ve gone from zero working theories to two. I guess this is better than none.”
“Workingmight be generous. There are still a lot of holes in both,” Reese pointed out.
“Yeah, there are,” David said. “I’m going to call Chance and update him.”
“I’ll call Hodges and do the same,” Reese said. “I’ll make sure he’s seen a picture of Frankie, in case he has any ideas.”
“And I’ll order us some dinner,” Mati offered with a grim smile.
This wasn’t the homecoming she’d been hoping for.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Reese paced Mati’s apartment and told himself not to check the clock or his phone.
He checked. Again.
Fifteen minutes. The Thai place was a five-minute walk, and they’d been gone fifteen minutes.
He considered texting them but reminded himself that he was being ridiculous and he wouldn’t want to be a distraction. Frankie was out there, somewhere, and David and Mati should be keeping an eye out for him, not looking at their phones.
If they did see Frankie, Reese would probably have to bail one of them out of jail. Gladly. Hell, he’d kiss whoever socked that asshole right in the face.
He’d called Mati a whore.
Reese wanted to run him over with every fucking car he owned.
