we got closer I broke the silence in order to direct him but I didn’t need to give him the exact address. Once we were within a block of the house all the flashing lights and uniformed officers served as a pretty clear indicator of where we were going. Anatoly parked several houses away and pulled the keys out without making any move to get out of the car. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask you again, Sophie. Are you sure you want me to investigate this?”
I should have been flattered by the note of concern in his voice, but its implication frightened me. I shook my head violently in an attempt to shake off the dark thoughts that were creeping in. “She’s innocent, and yes, I want you to investigate.”
We stared at each other for a beat. Finally, in what seemed to be slow motion, our hands simultaneously reached for our respective door handles and we got out and approached the crime scene.
CHAPTER 2
“Life is like a never ending play,” he said between drags on his cigarette. “We all have roles to perform and there’s always some critic insisting we’ve been miscast.”
—Words To Die By
We hadn’t gotten very far before we were headed off by a particularly butch policewoman who used her hand as a barrier. “Sorry, no one’s allowed beyond this point.”
“My sister’s in there,” I argued. “This is her house.”
The woman was completely unmoved. “You’ll see her later.”
“Well, if it isn’t Sophie Katz and her victim—er—friend, Anatoly Darinsky.”
I looked up to see the tall, lean form of Detective Lorenzo. His eyes narrowed as they met mine. He had let his black curls grow out since the last time I had seen him, which made him look younger, if not nicer. I felt the muscles in my neck tighten.
“You’re the detective handling this case?” I asked.
“One of them.”
“I think there’s a conflict of interest here. You hate me and you’ve been sent to investigate my brother-in-law’s murder. It doesn’t seem reasonable to expect you to remain objective.”
Anatoly put his hand on my shoulder in what must have appeared to others to be a supportive gesture. Only I knew that there would be permanent indentation marks where his fingers were digging into my flesh.
“What exactly do you want me to be objective about?” Lorenzo asked. “And how do you know your brother-in-law was murdered?”
Anatoly loosened his grip, but not enough to eliminate all the discomfort. I’m not sure what he thought he was accomplishing. Obviously what I needed was to be smacked upside the head.
I took a deep breath and soldiered forward. “Leah called me a little while ago, distraught. She told me she had…found him.”
“Do you know if this was before or after she called us?”
“I…don’t know. I didn’t think to ask. She loved him so much…. I’m really very worried about her—can I see her?”
“Just a few more questions.” Lorenzo pulled out a pocket notebook and pen. “Did she tell you how he was killed?”
“She wasn’t sure. She said there was a lot of blood and it seemed to be coming from his head.”
“She called and told you there was blood coming out of her husband’s head,” he said flatly.
“Mmm, I think that was it. It wasn’t all that clear…you know, with all the crying and all.”
“And the first thing you did was go out and hire a private detective? Any particular reason for that?”
Anatoly slid his hand down to my waist. “I was with Sophie when Leah called. We’ve become…close. I wanted to be here for her and her family.”
He pulled me tight against his side and I could feel his body heat radiating through his jacket. I reached my arm out to return his squeeze, somehow managing to “accidentally” brush it against his butt in the process.
“Right.” Lorenzo made another note.
I’m not very good at reading upside down but I think I could make out the word dysfunctional.
“When was the last time you saw Leah?”
“This afternoon,” I said. “She was on her way to see a friend…not sure who. Anyway, she stopped by to say hi.”
Lorenzo made another little note. “Did she say anything else?”
“It was just a basic conversation between sisters. She asked how I was, inquired about my next book, and then told me to stop talking to my cat and find a human companion to date and converse with.”
The detective glanced up at Anatoly. “She doesn’t consider Mr. Darinsky here to be human?”
“Well, Anatoly has a lot of apelike qualities, so it can be confusing.”
Anatoly removed his arm.
“How was her marriage?” Lorenzo said.
“Spectacular.”
“Spectacular?”
“Mmm-hmm. He brought home a paycheck and left her alone,” I explained. “A woman couldn’t ask for more.”
Anatoly made a noise of disapproval.
“That isn’t very liberated of you,” Lorenzo noted.
“Don’t get me wrong, she loved the time they did spend together, but Leah had a life of her own. She adored Bob because he gave her the space she needed to maintain her individuality while still supporting her. And he always made time to take her out on the occasional date or family outing with their son. I mean really, how much more liberated can you get?” It was also complete bullshit. I pretended to search my purse for a tissue so I wouldn’t have to make eye contact with either of my current male companions. Hopefully the picture I had painted of Leah would make her seem like the kind of gal who wouldn’t get all homicidal if she discovered her husband was messing around with some college-aged slut.
“Sophie!”
I looked up just in time to see Leah hurl herself in my direction. She flung her arms over my shoulders and tucked her tear-stained face into the crook of my neck. “Oh, how can this be happening to me?”
Lorenzo looked more irritated than sympathetic, but he did have the courtesy to put the notebook away. “It’s going to take a while for us to finish searching the house and dusting it for prints. Why don’t you come down to the station with us, Mrs. Miller? We can finish up the questions, and if your sister here would like to follow us she can give you a ride when we’re done.”
“Do you expect to be finished with the house by the time Leah’s through with questioning?” Anatoly asked.
“Not likely. I’m sure you understand the necessity of being
