by Gina LaManna
Melinda was nodding along. “You’ve probably got a case of the what-ifs.”
“The whats?”
“The what-ifs,” Lassie continued. “The what if things had been different conundrum. What if Gem had kissed you, what if you’d chosen him over Russo, what if... You get the idea.”
“I don’t have a case of that,” I said. “I’m happy with Russo.”
“That’s good. That’s really great, sweetie,” Melinda said. “Speaking of, how is Russo?”
“Fine.”
“Uh-huh,” Melinda said. “And you don’t think that maybe the reason you haven’t called him yet is because you’re afraid it might spark a conversation about where the two of you are heading?”
“Lassie’s right,” I said. “Can we talk about divorce lawyers and broken hearts and dead bodies?”
“How’s the new intern?” Asha asked, putting me out of my misery. “I saw she sent her report to you just before I left the office. She cc’d me on it. I’ve got to say, for a noob with no specific experience in tech or detective work, she’s got a good head for it.”
“I agree,” I said. “I even let her take the lead on an interview today.”
Melinda chomped down on a maraschino cherry. “You did what?”
“I mean, the guy wasn’t guilty,” I said. “It was a gimme.”
I gave the group a quick rundown of what had happened after I’d left the crime scene earlier this morning. I filled them in on my chat with the chief and the interviews at the law firm. They listened intently.
“Those guys didn’t do it,” Melinda said. “My guestimate was a little off. The murder happened before five a.m. I’d give it a window between three and five a.m. If they weren’t getting back until five thirty, that puts their alibis as pretty solid, assuming they check out.”
“That’s good to know,” I said. “It’s still tight. I’m not going to completely rule them out just yet, but if I can get security footage of them leaving the casino around five or so this morning, that will be about as airtight of an alibi as they can get.”
Melinda nodded along. “I’ll finish up the autopsy in the morning. I’ll have more for you then. The lab’s already running tests. You’ll have more to work with tomorrow.”
I was going to tell her that I already had a few leads to follow up on today, namely the potential mystery woman that Chloe had guessed from the Facebook profile. If Travis wasn’t at the casino, then I had no clue where he’d been going on the nights he’d been out for the past six months or so.
Before I could get a word in edgewise, however, my phone rang. I looked down. It was Russo.
“Look, I’m really sorry to cut this night short,” I said, pulling some cash from my wallet and tossing it on the table, “but I have to go.”
There was no argument from my friends. It seemed they understood just fine. I said goodbye to all of them, endured another minute of nail complaints from my cousin, and then let myself out of the bar. I glanced down where Russo was probably leaving a message on my phone at that very minute.
Then I turned down the sidewalk and began to walk, thinking I’d need fresh air for this conversation.
AS I SUSPECTED, THE night breeze felt good against my face. Between the margaritas and being shoved into a booth with three other ladies, I’d gotten warm at Bellini’s. I took a few deep breaths before calling Russo back.
“Hey, you,” I said when he answered. “Sorry I missed your call. I was having a drink with the girls and had to say goodbye first.”
“If you want to head back to Bellini’s, you’re welcome to,” Russo said. “I don’t mean to interrupt.”
“No, it’s a good thing you did. I couldn’t have had much more margarita and still have driven home.” I paused, glancing at the sidewalk as I weighed my next words. “I’ve been meaning to call you all day, but man, it was a busy one.”
“New case?”
“Among other things. We caught the dead body first thing this morning. Not your average murder, considering there was a heart engraved into his arm postmortem.”
“Huh.”
I gave Russo a few more details about the case. When the subject of Chloe came up, Russo had plenty of questions about how it was going working with the new girl.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” I said, “but she seems pretty capable.”
“High praise coming from you.”
“Don’t tell her I said anything of the sort.”
He laughed. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“It just sucks because it’s another reminder that Jimmy’s retiring.”
“I’m sorry, Kate.” Russo allowed a moment of silence. “There’s nothing to say except that does suck. It’s hard to lose a partner.”
“Yeah.”
I got the sense there was more to Russo’s story, but I also knew that he was the sort of person to offer information when he wanted to share. He didn’t seem in the mood for sharing tonight, which was completely fine since I had more to say.
“Speaking of partners,” I followed up, “you’ll never guess what I got in the mail today.”
“A phone bill?”
“Who gets phone bills anymore?” I asked. “Doesn’t everyone pay them online?”
“Okay, so it wasn’t a phone bill. What was it?”
“A wedding invitation.”
“Is your sister getting married?”
“What? No,” I said, surprised his mind had gone there. “It’s for Gem and Mindy.”
“That’s one twist I didn’t see coming.”
“Tell me about it.”
There was a beat, and then Russo asked, “How do you feel about it?”
“Feel? It doesn’t really matter what I feel. I mean, I’m shocked, obviously, but that’s about it.”
Russo murmured a noise that sounded like he wasn’t sure if he should believe me or not. “Fast, isn’t it?”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Is she—”
“No,” I said quickly. “I don’t think it’s a shotgun wedding due to a baby. I asked Gem about it, and it seems like they’re just in love and excited about moving forward. I guess Mindy was pushing for it. You know, biological clock and all that.”
“Gotcha. You don’t seem like you believe it.”
“I’m a detective. It’s in my nature to be skeptical.”
“Like you said, I guess it’s none of our business. So long as they’re happy.”
“Right. Totally.” I cleared my throat. “So will you be my plus one?”
“I’m invited?”
“Gem assumed you’d be there.”
“You’ve talked to Gem a lot about this.”
Russo wasn’t the jealous type, and I didn’t get the impression he was poking at me out of distrust. But there was something in his voice that was difficult for me to register over the phone. I would’ve preferred to have this conversation in person, but living across the country from one’s boyfriend made spur-of-the-moment dates like that nearly impossible.
“He came to my mom’s café today,” I admitted. “He wanted to apologize for me finding out about the wedding through the mail. That’s when I got all the information. He felt bad for blindsiding me, I guess. I don’t know why.”
Russo gave a dry chuckle. “It’s not hard to guess why.”
“He didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t understand the apology.”
“It’s because whatever happened between the two of you was complicated. You’re still friends. I understand why he’d have wanted you to find out in person.”
“You both are way overreacting. It’s just an invitation.”
“It’s a wedding. A lifelong commitment.”
“Don’t say it like that,” I teased. “I’m getting itchy just thinking about it.”
“So this isn’t the best time to ask if you’ve considered my proposal that you try living in DC for a bit?”
I coughed. “Russo, I thought I told you—”
“
I know, I know. It was worth a shot.”
I found myself smiling. The tone of his voice was kind and understanding. I gave him full credit for the reason we’d managed to make our relationship last as long as it had already. I knew I wasn’t an easy person to date, let alone long distance, but Russo made it easy. Everything with Russo was easy. Sometimes it seemed so easy that it threw me off.
“I love you, Kate,” Russo said. “Just send me the date of the wedding. I’ll be there.”
“I love you too.”
We disconnected, and I found myself a mile away from Bellini’s. I’d been so lost in the conversation I hadn’t paid attention to where I was walking. Winding my way back to my car, I had plenty of time to wonder how long Russo’s patience would last. It felt like I was playing a dangerous game here, being unwilling to commit to more than a long-distance relationship. Wait too long, and I could lose him forever. Was that something I was willing to risk?
Chapter 9
THE NEXT MORNING, I woke in my bed to the sound of my phone ringing.
“Hello?” I grumbled without looking at the caller ID. “Rosetti.”
“Yes, Detective. Good morning.”
I shot up in bed at the sound of Alastair Gem’s voice on the other end of the line. “Gem? What’s going on?”
I glanced at the clock and saw that it was seven in the morning. Usually I was up by this time, but my alarm wasn’t set to go off until eight for once. I hadn’t been able to fall asleep last night. After my conversation with Russo, my mind had been whirling until the late hours of the night. The most pressing thing on my plate this morning was to be at the precinct by the time Melinda finished her autopsy, which wouldn’t be for another few hours.
“Have I woken you up?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said as my voice cracked. Then, “Yes, okay, but I needed to get up anyway. What’s going on?”
Gem gave a soft laugh. “Apologies, Detective. I can call you back later once you’ve had a cup of coffee.”
“C’mon, I’m up now. It must be a little bit urgent if you’re calling me at seven.”
“It’s really not.”
Gem’s tone caught my attention more than anything. He sounded almost hesitant, or embarrassed, or sheepish, or something of the sort. It was completely uncharacteristic of him to sound anything but confident and sure.
“Did something happen?” I threw my covers off and padded downstairs. I flicked on the coffee machine and waited for Gem to explain.
“I just wanted to invite you to our engagement party personally.”
“Huh?” I blinked, wondering if it was my lack of caffeine that was causing me not to understand. “You called to extend an invitation to me this early in the morning?”
“You’ll have to excuse me. I hadn’t looked at the clock. I’ve been up for hours,” Gem said. “I’ve got a slew of meetings today and didn’t want to miss you. Once you get into the office you can become quite unreachable.”
“Well, no apologizes needed. I’ve officially got my first cup of coffee in hand, so I’ll be able to process things more as soon as I get a few sips down. What’s this about an engagement party? Why didn’t you send out an invitation?”
“I wanted you to hear it from me.”
“Okay. I mean, we talked yesterday. I think this is a little excessive. You don’t have to hand-invite me to everything. Take this as your blanket pass from me. I accept text and mail invites. I don’t expect special treatment.”
“It’s this Friday.”
I took a sip of my coffee. “Like, a couple of days away?”
“That would be how weekdays work.”
“That’s fast.”
“We weren’t going to have one at all, considering how fast we’re getting married,” Gem said. “Then Mindy got talking to her parents, and her parents thought it would be fun to have a small get-together. The small get-together started to grow, and grow, and now it’s a party at a country club this Friday evening at seven thirty.”
“That snowballed quickly.”
“Tell me about it.”
There was a note of something in Gem’s voice that again set me on edge. I tried my best to remember the advice of everyone I’d talked to about Gem’s quick marriage. Namely, to stay out of it. But the detective in me couldn’t help but notice when something didn’t seem quite right. Once again I reminded myself that it was none of my business.
“I hope you’ll be able to make it,” Gem added quickly. “Of course, Russo is invited if you’d like. I realize it’s a quick turnaround, and I apologize. I’d be happy to pay for his flight if he’s able to make it as a token of my sincerity.”
“Gem, you’re being weird,” I said. “I’ll let Russo know. If he can make it, great. If not, no problem. He did say he’ll be there for the wedding, so consider me RSVP’d plus one. I’m sure my sister will still be happy to send the invite in as a formality.”
“I’m glad to hear you’ll both be there. Shall we expect you on Friday?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Glad to hear it. I’ve got a meeting, so I’ll let you go. See you in a few days. I’ll have an invite sent over to you with the details.”
I was still reeling from a bit of confusion when Gem disconnected. I topped off my cup with some fresh coffee and sat at the table, sipping it slowly, hoping the caffeine would jog something for me. Nothing had jogged by the time I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Morning.” Jane flounced over to the coffeemaker in her yellow pajamas. “Why are you sitting there looking like you’re trying to decipher Latin?”
“I just spoke with Gem.”
“That explains it.”
“Have you heard about the engagement party this Friday?”
“Yes, why?”
“I feel like something was off. Like maybe I wasn’t supposed to be invited or something. Gem called me to invite me personally today. Talk about last minute.”
“You’re reading too much into this.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. I think something is off with this wedding thing. Gem sounded uneasy and embarrassed on the phone this morning.”
“Don’t get in the middle of this,” Jane warned. “Just show up when you’re invited.”
“That’s what I’m planning on doing.”
Jane wrinkled her nose but didn’t respond. “What’s on your plate today?”
“I’m heading into the office. Melinda’s working on an autopsy this morning, and I want to be there to hear the results. I’ve got a new girl I’m sort of training in, so I’ve got to deal with her. Depending on what Melinda finds, I’ll probably head out for some more questioning this afternoon. You?”
“Me and Wes are going apple picking,” she said. “Then I’m working tonight. I’ll be home late.”
“Apple picking,” I said. “Do you drink pumpkin spice lattes?”
“Is it really fall without them?”
I left my sister with that rhetorical question and headed upstairs to jump in the shower. I was in my car and headed to the precinct half an hour later, still musing over my conversation with Gem. Sitting in the parking lot, my car still running, I dialed Russo’s number.
“Two phone calls from you within twelve hours?” Russo said on answer. “What’s the special occasion?”
“I missed you?”
“Yeah, yeah,” he said with amused exasperation. “What do you need?”
“I don’t need anything,” I corrected, hiding a smile. “However, I do have another strange invite for you.”
“I’m intrigued.”
“Gem called this morning and let me know that he and Mindy are having an engagement party this Friday evening.”
“This Friday?”
“That’s what I said. I didn’t ask too many questions. I’m trying not to get involved.”
“Are you going?”
“Well, I was planning on it,” I said. “I was hoping you might be interested in a las
t-minute flight to come with me. I wouldn’t mind seeing you, and we’re about due anyway.”
“Overdue.” Russo waited a moment. “Are you sure I’m invited? I’d hate to show up and make things awkward. Not that it would be a wasted trip because I’d get to see you, but still.”
“You’re definitely invited. Gem said if you were able to come, he’d offer to pay for your flight.”
“That’s not necessary.” Russo sounded a little sharp. “I’ll be there. And I can handle my own flight.”
“Okay,” I said, sensing the subject was getting into a touchy zone that I didn’t entirely understand. “That’s great news. I’m really excited to see you.”
“Me too.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Fine,” Russo said. “I’m just in the middle of consulting on a case. I should get going, but I’ll talk to you later?”
“Good luck on the case. Talk to you soon.”
I climbed out of the car, feeling like I was leaving behind awkward conversations left and right the last couple of days. I wasn’t entirely sure what line I had crossed during my conversation with Russo. I wondered if he was annoyed at Gem offering to pay for his flight—some sort of pride thing?
As I entered the precinct, I tried to put my lingering questions and half-finished conversations with Gem and Russo behind me. I still had a case in front of me that needed solving. The new girl—who I needed to stop calling “the new girl”—would be expecting additional training. I’d always excelled at leaving my personal life out of the job, and this was no time for me to start dropping the ball.
I passed Asha on the way in. She had headphones on and merely raised her eyebrows at me as I passed her. I figured she was either on a phone call or was in the middle of something and didn’t want to be interrupted. I knew I’d hear from her the second she found anything interesting.
Jimmy was already at his desk. Chloe was at her assigned temporary desk, typing furiously.
“Good morning,” I said, encompassing both of them. “How was the doctor, Jones?”
“Annoying as usual,” he said. “They were running an hour late. By the way, I saw the brief you had Chloe send over. Some good stuff in there.”