Chapter 32
LILY-ANN
Anthony’s muscles tensed beneath his skin as he did one of his kettlebell routines, moving with a grace that still surprised Lily-Ann.
His shoulders bunched, then stretched, and his thighs thickened as his big hands tightened on the handles.
She sat at the small kitchen table in his studio, working on a spreadsheet for the Murder Collective, but she was having trouble concentrating.
Then Ocean rapped on the door and stepped inside. She took two steps toward Lily-Ann before she stopped, watching Anthony with a clinical eye.
Then she said: “I need you to model for me.”
Anthony grunted.
“Twenty-five dollars an hour.”
“In the nude?” Lily asked.
“Undraped.” Ocean tore her gaze away and sat across from Lily-Ann. “Uh, and I wanted to talk to you before dinner.”
“Are you bringing cheese and crackers?”
“I’m bringing Cheez-Its, like I told you.”
“Oh.”
“Mrs. B wants the kids to come, and I had to lure them with Cheez-Its.”
“How do they feel about kettle corn? I have an extra bag.”
“They’d love that.”
Lily-Ann liked Ocean’s children more than she usually liked kids. Miles was attached to Anthony, which pleased her, and Riley came to her for advice. Only about math careers and beauty regimes, of course—the emotional stuff she left for Sophie—yet she still treasured the interactions.
“Is that all you wanted to talk about?” she asked.
“No, I also wanted to tell you not to grill CJ about Frank DeYoung’s death.”
“I won’t.”
“By ‘grill,’ I mean ask anything.”
“Oh.” Lily-Ann frowned. “Why?”
“We’re just introducing ourselves to the new neighbor, who I happen to be dating. Mrs. B wants to welcome CJ and have her greet everyone at Hamilton’s. This is not a meeting of the Murder Collective.”
“All right. I understand.” Lily-Ann tried to conceal her disappointment, then closed her laptop and asked, “May I grill you instead?”
“About CJ?” Ocean frowned. “I guess.”
“About her and Frank DeYoung.”
“Not about your love life,” Anthony added.
“Oh!” Ocean leaned back in the chair. “Sure.”
So Lily-Ann asked, “What if someone did interfere with the flooring? Was there a rug at the top of the stairs? Something that intentionally tripped him? What about his shoes? We need the caterer’s contact information. And the cleaner’s.”
“If they’d noticed anything, they would’ve told the cops.”
“Not if they’re undocumented.”
Ocean tilted her head. “True.”
“Sabotaging his medication would work, too.”
“Mm. CJ helped him with that. And the autopsy found nothing.”
“Hamilton says the broken wine bottle was actually a broken Amaretto bottle,” Lily-Ann reported.
“Okay.”
“They’re more fragile.”
“Like CJ,” Ocean said.
“Is she?” Lily-Ann clicked a manicured nail on her laptop. “Then I’m not sure I see any productive way forward on this case.”
“Because there wasn’t a murder, Lily-Ann.
We’re doing this to keep Mrs. B happy, that’s all.
And to support CJ, who doesn’t have anywhere else to go.
If you heard her talk about Frank DeYoung, you’d know she adored him.
The most suspicious thing about her is that she doesn’t seem to have much of a life outside of work. ”
“Lucky woman,” Lily-Ann said.
Ocean laughed, though Lily-Ann hadn’t been joking. “I guess she’s been focused on Frank. Did Riley tell you she thinks Pax has a crush on CJ?”
“Does he?”
“I don’t think so. CJ doesn’t think so. But Riley saw him bringing extra bird stuff over for the parakeets.”
“Nice guy,” Anthony said, without pausing his push-ups.
“Suspicious,” Lily-Ann said. “Riley’s right.”
“Why’s that?” Ocean asked.
“You can’t trust a man who’s that handsome. How’s your relationship with CJ?”
Ocean looked flustered. “I don’t know. Good. Except for Frank’s death. Also, Riley thinks she’s too young for me.”
“You’re not even ten years older, that’s nothing. Do you love her?”
“What? No, Lily-Ann. Not yet. It’s too early to tell.”
“But you’re falling for her?”
“She’s in the middle of a pretty major disruption in her life.”
“So you are falling for her?”
“Okay, when I said you could grill me, I didn’t expect it to go this far.”
Lily-Ann tried to think of a new subject, but nothing sprang to mind so she said, “I’m trying to think of a new subject but nothing springs to mind.”
“Sometimes, Lily-Ann,” Ocean said, as she stood to leave, “I fall in love with you all over again. Anyway, Anthony, let me know about the modeling.”
He grunted between his sit-ups.
Lily-Ann wasted a few minutes wondering what she’d done that was lovable. Then she returned to work until Anthony finished his workout. He stood and wiped sweat from his face with a hand towel.
“You didn’t tell her that you agree CJ is too young,” he said.
“No,” she said. “It didn’t seem helpful.”
He crossed the studio in two steps. “Look at you.”
“I don’t know, maybe I should’ve—”
Anthony put his rough, hot hands on her face and kissed her so thoroughly that she forgot what she should’ve done.