Chapter 79
LUCY
On Wednesday morning, I was awakened by a phone call.
I was quite surprised by who was on the other end.
Poppi Grace was at law school with me. She had always been a sweetheart. Law school was often cutthroat, and you were ostensibly competing against all the other students, but Poppi had gone out of her way to be helpful to me, and to anybody else who needed it, really.
We hadn’t been close friends, but we had been friendly. We kept in touch a bit, and I do remember inviting her to my engagement party, but I’m not sure I’ve talked to her since. Certainly not since I’d been married, so that’s why I was pleasantly surprised to see her calling.
Honestly, anything that kept my mind off of Eddie’s murder or the fact that I was missing my trial was a good thing.
“Hey, Poppi. Been a long time.”
“Did I call too early, Lucy?”
“No, you’re fine.”
“Okay, good.”
She sounded nervous.
“How have you been?”
“Good. Thanks for asking. First, I wanted to express my sincere condolences on your husband’s passing. I saw it on the news.”
It came off as overly rehearsed. She sounded borderline skittish.
“Thank you. It’s been a real rough time.”
“And the news also said that you’re a lawyer.”
“I am. Thanks. How about you?”
“I just passed the bar on my second try. I was a wreck before the first one, and I knew I’d failed. The second time I came in relaxed, and alas, I’m now a lawyer.”
“I’m so happy to hear that. You were always so helpful in law school. Thanks for that.”
“You’re welcome. I liked you. I can’t say that about everyone in our class.”
I laughed for what felt like the first time since Eddie had been killed.
“You can say that again. We had some real gems.”
“We sure did. Do you remember Susana Castro or Kala Jardine?”
The Poppi I remember had returned. Her nervousness was dissipating in real time.
“I see that and raise you a Fletcher Thorne.”
It was her turn to laugh. “Oh my God, he was the worst!”
“Why haven’t we kept in touch as much lately, Poppi? I miss you.”
“I don’t know. I went to your engagement party, and then you got married, and I know how much things can change after that. I kind of just gave you your space.”
I felt terrible. Poppi Grace was one of the good ones, and I’d failed to keep in touch with her. Just as I’d done with Nia. Had I been a bad friend since I’d met Eddie?
“That’s my fault,” I said. “I should have kept in touch more.”
“Don’t worry about it. That’s not why I called, anyway.”
It was time to get down to brass tacks.
“Why did you call, Poppi?”
“Well, it’s actually about your husband.”
My mind immediately thought maybe they’d had an affair. Something in her voice told me she wasn’t going to be heaping praise on Eddie. And Eddie had been acting so weird the last several weeks, an affair wouldn’t have shocked me.
Then I thought back to Poppi, and what a sweet woman she was. She would never cheat with a friend’s husband. I was positive it was something different.
“What about Eddie?” I asked.
“I only met him the one time at your engagement party, but he’s pretty easy to remember.
He was a very handsome man. And I’m only saying that because he’s someone you’d remember seeing a second time.
Most people you meet once, you’d probably have a hard time recognizing if you hadn’t seen them for a while. Sorry, I’m babbling.”
“You’re doing fine, Poppi.”
“So anyway, about three weeks ago, I was walking on Pico Boulevard, and I happened to see your husband.” She paused.
This didn’t seem very odd. He could easily have been doing business with a client on Pico Boulevard, which was a long street in Los Angeles.
“Okay. I’m assuming there’s something more.”
“Sorry, I’m not very good at this. It wasn’t just that I saw him on Pico. It’s where I saw him.”
“Where was that?”
“He was walking out of a place called Hotel Pico at like nine in the morning. And it’s more than just that.
When he walked out, I was like twenty feet from him.
He was looking around, almost like making sure no one was looking in his direction.
His shirt wasn’t fully buttoned, and his hair was going a million different ways.
What I’m saying is, I don’t think he’d just come out of a meeting.
I didn’t notify you at the time because I really didn’t know what was going on.
Maybe I was wrong, and he was at a hotel at nine a.m. on business. It didn’t feel that way, though.”
I guess there could have been a good explanation for this. Maybe a client was staying at Hotel Pico, and Eddie had to meet him there, but Poppi was a bright woman. If she sensed something was up, I’d tend to believe her.
And the unbuttoned shirt and wild hair suggested maybe he hadn’t been alone. Dammit, Eddie. Was nothing sacred to you?
“Did he see you? And what happened after you saw him?”
“I was really close, but he never looked directly at me. As I said, his eyes were everywhere else, as if looking for others. He then walked across the street, and I saw him get into his car. That was it. I can’t tell if I’m overreacting or should have called you that very day.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about it, Poppi. You were in a tough spot, and there’s no right answer.”
“Thanks, Lucy.”
I could tell she was close to getting emotional.
“Was there anything else?” I asked.
“That was really it. Again, maybe I’m reading too much into it, but he looked and acted like he was guilty of something, and then I saw that he’d been killed. So today I finally got the courage to call you.”
“I’m glad you did. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m going to look into this, and I promise to get back in touch with you soon.”
“Okay. I hope it helps.”
“Thanks again, and talk soon, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
I was about to hang up the phone when I thought of one more thing.
“Hey, one more question.”
“What is it?”
“What day of the week was this?”
“Hmm, let me think.”
She paused for a few moments.
“I’m 99% sure it was a Tuesday.”
“Great. Thanks, Poppi.”
“Bye, Lucy.”
Today was Wednesday.
There was no way I was going to wait six days to swing by Hotel Pico.