Free Torch Scene by Renee Pawlish Page A

sorry,” I said lamely.
    She looked me in the eye. “My parents don’t know, and I want to keep it that way.”
    “I won’t say anything. You have my word.”
    “Thank you.” She gazed at the birds again, and drew in a breath and let it out slowly, as if letting out the horror of what happened. “So that’s the story of Nick and me. I spoke to my dad this morning and he told me that Nick is dead. After what he did to me, and to my dad, I feel like he got what he deserved.”
    I let the comment simmer. Who could blame her for feeling that way? My phone rang and I silenced it.
    “You can get that,” she said.
    I shook my head, debating whether to answer it. I really did want to, because it was Willie, but I also wanted to keep Leena talking.
    “Did you ever see the bookie?” I asked.
    She shook her head. “But Nick described him pretty well, made fun of the guy. Said he was some little white dude who thought he was a pimp, always wearing flashy silk shirts, always a solid color. And he liked to wear Trilby hats that matched his shirt.”
    And he smoked a lot , I thought. “Did Nick ever mention a name?”
    “No. I told you everything he said about the guy.”
    “So you think someone was coming after Nick?” I asked. “Was he in trouble with that bookie? Or some other loan sharks?”
    She shrugged. “I never saw any evidence of that, and he never said so, but if I had to guess, I’d say yes. By the time I left him, he was clearly having money trouble. He’d gotten rid of his Mercedes and he’d moved into a smaller apartment. And he was getting paranoid, literally looking over his shoulder a lot.”
    “And you had no idea he was stealing from your father’s company?”
    “No.” She glared at me. “Do you know everything about your father’s business?”
    I held up a hand. “I wasn’t trying to criticize.”
    “Anything else?”
    “I have to ask, where were you Tuesday night?”
    She gave me an annoyed look. “I had dinner with my parents, and I stayed until midnight. My father went to bed early, but my mother and I watched a movie.”
    “Your father didn’t mention that you were there.”
    “Lay off him. He’s getting older and he’s working too hard.” She grabbed the brown paper sack her lunch was in and crumpled it up. “I hope I’ve helped you.” She stood up and stared down on me. “And I hope I don’t ever see you again.” With that, she walked away, not once looking back.
    I sat for a moment, going over the conversation. Lots to digest. And that last part, about being at her parents the night of the fire. Did she provide him an alibi? Or vice-versa? The pigeons came closer, pecking at the ground. “Go on,” I shooed them off. “I don’t have anything for you.”
    That could be a metaphor for this case , I thought. I didn’t have anything for me either, just a growing list of suspects. But Leena had certainly painted an interesting picture of Nick. And I could add her to the list of potential killers, because she had a motive as well.

 
    CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    As I walked back to the 4-Runner, I called Willie.
    “How’d it go?”
    She sighed. “Lots of questions, and then the same questions asked in a slightly different way.”
    “They’re trying to see if you’re lying, if you trip over your story.”
    “Since I’m not, they were wasting their time.”
    “I don’t like it,” I said. “They haven’t eliminated you from their suspect list.”
    “I didn’t do it,” she said, desperation in her voice.
    “I know.” I got to the car. “Try to relax, okay? I’m on my way home.”
    My condo was in the Uptown neighborhood, immediately east of downtown, so it took me less than ten minutes to get there. I parked in the garage and stopped by Ace’s place before heading upstairs.
    “Hey, Reed,” Ace said. He was wearing sweats and his hair was tousled, like I’d woken him from a nap.
    “What’s up, my ‘Ace’ sidekick?” I asked.
    “Huh?”
    I dispensed with