Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter
Fifty-Three
“Ms. Gray,” the detective said in a cool voice. “How convenient to see you here.”
“Is it?” My voice sounded unnaturally high.
“I understand that Ms. Gao sometimes brings you day-old goods from her bakery.”
“Um…so?” I asked, thrown off by the question. “What do Agnes’s baked goods have to do with anything?”
I glanced at my friends, but they appeared to be just as puzzled as me.
“Some of the desserts she sells are decorated with gold leaf,” Callahan explained.
Oh.
I’d never made that connection.
Did that mean Agnes belonged on my suspect list?
“Is that the case with any food she’s given you recently?” the detective asked.
“Not that I can think of.” That was the truth, but the way he stared at me made me wonder if Agnes had answered a similar question in the affirmative.
“I’d like you to stop by the station tomorrow so we can have a chat.”
Champagne churned in my stomach.
“Not without a lawyer present,” Wyatt said, stepping up to stand at my side.
He put a hand to my back, and comforting warmth radiated through the fabric of my dress, easing my trembling slightly.
Callahan’s eyes never left my face. “Then I’ll see you and your lawyer tomorrow morning. Shall we say ten o’clock?”
I nodded, because I couldn’t get my voice to work in that moment.
Callahan strode away.
“I can’t afford a lawyer,” I whispered once I found my voice.
“I’ll take care of that,” Wyatt said, removing his hand from my back.
I immediately missed his touch.
“I can’t let you pay for my lawyer,” I protested.
Jemma nudged me with her elbow. “Em, accept the offer. Please. I don’t want to be visiting you in jail.”
I pictured myself trying to hug Livy through iron bars.
I raised my gaze to meet Wyatt’s. “Thank you.”
“I’ve got Minnie in my sights,” Theo announced. She gave a discreet nod to the side.
Sure enough, Minnie stood surrounded by several stylishly dressed men and women, ranging in age from about forty-five to seventy-five.
“Oh my God,” I said as the light glinted off an oil painting on display beyond Minnie and those chatting with her.
The painting depicted a close-up view of a plume of feathers in shades of blue, purple, and gold.
“What is it?” Wyatt asked as he moved closer to me.
I tried to ignore the way my skin tingled in response to his nearness.
“Gold leaf. On the painting.” I thought back to the cocktail party/wake held at Minnie and Yolanda’s apartment. I landed on a memory of a piece of art on the wall. “I’ve seen gold leaf on one of Minnie’s other paintings as well.”
“And there was gold leaf on Freddie’s body,” Theo added.
“She’s our killer.” Jemma stared hard at Minnie.
Theo’s eyes gleamed behind her glasses. “We should get her to confess.”
“But she’s the lady of the hour,” Jemma pointed out. “It might be hard to get her alone.”
“Leave that to me,” Theo said.
Before we could ask her what she had up her sleeve, she shot off toward Minnie’s admirers. She nearly ran into two of them before slowing down.
“Excuse me. Sorry. I’d really like to see that painting.” She nodded at the picture of the feathers.
Minnie and the others stood between her and the work of art, but they scattered as Theo started moving her wheelchair again, putting their toes in serious danger of getting run over.
Suddenly alone, Minnie was about to turn away when I swooped in and tucked my arm through hers. “Minnie, this is a fabulous exhibition.”
She beamed at me. “Thank you, Emersyn. And thank you for coming.” She looked around as Jemma, Theo, and Wyatt closed in on us.
“There’s something we need to talk to you about,” I said, leading her into the alcove that Wyatt and I had vacated mere minutes earlier. The others followed, crowding into the small space with us.
“Oh?” Minnie said, clearly unsure of what exactly was happening. “What’s that?”
“Freddie’s murder,” Theo said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Minnie’s left hand fluttered and landed near the base of her throat. “What about it?”
“Where were you at the time of the murder?” I asked, releasing my gentle hold on her right arm.
Her eyes widened with surprise and—I thought—fear. “Why are you asking me that?”
“We’re trying to find out the location of everyone who lives in the building,” Wyatt said smoothly. “We’re wondering if you or your neighbors saw or heard anything that day that might be helpful in solving the crime.”
Wyatt’s charm put Minnie at ease, and she lowered her hand from her throat. “I was in and out for the first part of the morning, loading a few of my pieces into a van so they could be transported here to the gallery.”
“You work at home?” I asked with surprise. I didn’t think their one-bedroom apartment had room to accommodate an art studio. I certainly hadn’t seen any signs of one while I was at the cocktail party.
“Not usually,” Minnie replied. “Sometimes on small pieces. And I had a couple that were hanging on the wall in the apartment. The gallery sent a van to pick up all my work, both from home and from my studio. It parked in the alley while we moved everything downstairs.”
“Did you see anybody while you were loading the van?” Jemma asked.
“The driver, of course, but either Yolanda or I was with him the entire time,” Minnie said. “I don’t recall seeing anyone else.”
I thought that over. “What about Yolanda? Did she see anyone?”
“Not that I’m aware of.”
“And once all the pieces were loaded into the van?” I prodded.
“The driver brought them here to the gallery. I went back upstairs to my apartment.”
“What time was that?” Wyatt asked.
“I’m not entirely sure, but it was maybe an hour later that I heard all the sirens and realized that something had happened.”
I put the next question to her. “Was Yolanda with you during that hour?”
Minnie’s gaze skittered about. “Not the entire time.”
“Can anyone else vouch for your whereabouts?” Jemma asked.
Minnie’s hand fluttered back to the base of her throat. “I…No…But…”
Theo jumped back into the interrogation. “You told us that you only ever spoke to Freddie to say hello, but he had a Grub Tubz flyer, and you’re a sales rep.”
Minnie shook her head, her eyes unmistakably lit with fear now. “I don’t sell the Grub Tubz products.”
“Leona said that she got her water bottle from you,” Wyatt said before I had a chance.
“I gave it to her as a sample. I thought if I did that, maybe she’d want to buy some.”
“But you said you’re not a sales rep,” Jemma reminded her.
“I’m not,” Minnie maintained.
“She’s telling the truth.”
Our heads turned in unison toward the new voice.
Yolanda stood just outside the alcove, glaring at us.
She crossed her wiry arms over her chest before adding, “I’m the one who gave Freddie the flyer.”
I fought the urge to shrink away from her. She stood several inches taller than me, and the way she glowered at us suggested that she wouldn’t mind wringing our necks.
She stepped into the alcove and put a protective arm around her petite partner. “Why are you interrogating Minnie?”
Theo seemed unfazed by Yolanda’s annoyance. “She had reason to be angry with Freddie. Plus, there was gold leaf on Freddie’s body, and Minnie uses gold leaf in her artwork.”
“Sometimes I do,” Minnie admitted. “But I didn’t kill Freddie. I got rid of my anger by playing darts with Rosario. After that, I was fine.”
“Then maybe you killed him because of the whiskey,” Jemma said.
Minnie seemed truly baffled. “What whiskey?”
“From the speakeasy,” I explained.
Rage sparked in Yolanda’s eyes. “Nobody should have touched that whiskey!”
“You know about the speakeasy?” I asked with surprise.
The light glinted off something on the sleeve of Yolanda’s black shirt.
I drew in a sharp breath. “Gold leaf.” I raised my eyes to meet her angry brown ones. “It was you, Yolanda. You killed Freddie.”
Minnie cried out as Yolanda lunged for my neck.