“And you believe it?”
He shrugged. “I kept seeing red dahlias, and fungus, so it would fit. And these guys in here would have no reason to lie to me, as far as I can tell. Especially about something like cupcakes.”
“Renee might be angry with you for what happened to Tristan. We think it’s possible he came to San Francisco to work with Renee, to be the other half to her coincidentia oppositorum.”
“We?”
“Aidan and I.”
“Uh-huh. And what makes the two of you think that?”
“Jamie mentioned it, and then Renee confirmed it.”
“So we might have to consider the sources.”
“True. But Aidan thought it was a good possibility. He says there aren’t that many options for Renee, so she might have recruited him.”
“Imported him all the way from Germany, like a BMW? I can believe she’s put out a global search, but was Tristan that well respected?”
I shook my head. “That thought struck me too. So if they’re lying, then what does that tell us?”
He gave me a barely there smile. “You mean you haven’t figured it all out yet, supersleuth?”
“Not hardly,” I said softly.
“I’m kidding,” he said, his voice gentle. “It’s been less than two days, Lily. You’ll get this.”
“One other thing: I saw something at your apartment yesterday.”
“You went to my apartment?”
I nodded. I wasn’t going to fill him in on the details of getting chased by his look-alike; he had enough to worry about.
“I wanted to see if I could pick up any clues. The police had tossed it pretty well.”
“Looking for evidence.”
“Exactly. There were some doodles on the table near your bed; did they mean anything to you?”
“I kept seeing that image in my trance, right before the police arrived. I was hoping you might be able to interpret it for me.”
“Maya’s working on it. I also noticed your jewelry box was empty.”
“Men don’t have jewelry boxes. We have cuff link boxes, or valet boxes.”
“Because you have so many cuff links? Or a valet, for that matter?”
He gave me his crooked smile. “As you would say, ‘not hardly.’”
“So, what did you keep in it?”
Now he frowned. “Wait. You say it was empty?”
I nodded. “I found it open and empty. What did you keep in it?”
“My father’s watch.”
“The one you told me you saw in your vision?”
“The very one. I don’t have many keepsakes.”
“I know you don’t. I’ve seen your apartment before it was tossed, remember? You hardly had anything in it, other than books.”
He looked troubled. “Maybe the police took it into evidence, for some reason. I’ll have Petulengro check for me.”
“So, once I manage to spring you from the hoosegow . . .” I trailed off, unsure how to approach this.
“Lily? You’re not breaking up with me over a little thing like a murder charge, are you?”
I let out a bark of laughter. “Don’t be silly.”
“I can’t help but notice you’re not wearing the ring I gave you.”
“Patience needed it, just temporarily. To help her try to find your double.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Who knew? All I needed to bring you two together was to get busted?”
“I wouldn’t say we’re best buddies, but we’re working together. Nonetheless, I honestly think I need Aidan’s help with this. Would you at least consider agreeing to go back to work for him? It might well be the only way.”
A curtain came down over his face. His eyes turned cold and flat, reminding me, ever so slightly, of that horrifying look-alike.
“Is that so?” he murmured.
“Yes, it is. And Patience agrees. Aidan said he’d pay you well.”
Silence. Sailor just stared at me, his gaze cold.
“I’m . . . I’m not saying you should agree, necessarily. But if the choice is between being convicted of murder or working with Aidan, then—”
“As I said,” Sailor interrupted, “it’s only been a couple of days. Let’s see what you can come up with, first.”
“I can’t. . . . There are no visiting hours tomorrow. I won’t be able to see you unless you’re arraigned, and I guess that might not be until Monday.”
He gave a curt nod. “Don’t worry about me. Focus on trying to figure this out.”
“I miss you.”
He smiled. “Miss you, too, my little witch. I’ll be home soon.”
• • •
The bad news was that I couldn’t spring Sailor on bail. And that he was annoyed with me for suggesting he work for Aidan, but I wasn’t going to think about that part now.
The good news was that, maybe, the prosecutor was considering lesser charges than murder one.
I spied a small bank of pay phones at the jail. I fetched the roll of quarters I kept in my car for parking meters, and started making phone calls. I tried Sailor’s lawyer first, and this time got through.
Henry Petulengro was brief and efficient. His voice didn’t betray a lot of emotion.
“This is the dream, in homicide cases,” he said. “Turns out the victim died of some preexisting condition, something like that. Suddenly murder one turns into simple assault.”
“But Sailor didn’t assault anyone,” I insisted.
“Sure, right. I’m just saying, it’s a whole different ball game.”
“So what happens now? When will I be able to bail Sailor out?”
“We have to wait and see what the new complaint against him looks like. Probably not over the weekend. But this is good news, Lily. Try not to worry. And do me a favor—ask Sailor’s aunt Renna to stop threatening to hex me if I don’t get him off.”
“Renna’s threatening you?”
“It’s not like I’m not getting enough pressure from my wife. I’m doing the best I can.”
I thanked him, told him I’d see what I could do about Renna, and hung up. I was frustrated. Yes, it was good news. But still it wasn’t the news I wanted. I wished Petulengro had said that Sailor would be coming home for dinner. That my fiancé would be in my arms tonight. That this was all a terrible misunderstanding and, oh, by the way, there was no overarching threat posed by a cupcake lady and your cold is merely a case of allergies and all will be well.
As
