Elin tossed her blond ponytail over her shoulder and slid an arm around her fiancé’s waist. “Have you found out who killed my mother?” She sniffled, her eyes bloodshot and nose red as if she’d been crying.
I glanced at Daisy, who sniffed the air, her wet nose twitching. She whined. Her grief smells genuine. She sneezed. And perfumey. Ick.
I raised my brows at Peter. He stepped forward. “Not yet, but we have some promising leads.”
Elin frowned. “Then why are you here?”
Hostess of the year, ladies and gentlemen.
Peter leveled Lorenzo with a serious look. “We’d like to ask you some questions.”
The tanned guy, his shirt unbuttoned nearly to his navel, shifted on his feet. His smirk faltered, and he glanced down at Elin.
“Separately.”
Good call, Peter. We’d get straighter answers—and probably be able to keep our promise to Tonya about discretion—if we did it that way.
Lorenzo looked relieved, but Elin stomped her slippered foot. “Separately?” She gaped at me and Peter, hands on her hips. “Is this normal police procedure.”
I grinned. “There’s a lot of things about us that aren’t normal.” I pointed at Daisy. “Lie-sniffing dog.” Then pointed my thumb at myself. “Pet psychic.”
Daisy let out a low growl. Not quite true.
Peter grinned but nodded. “Yes, it’s fairly commonplace.”
Elin grumbled to herself.
I raised my brows. “So who wants to go first?”
We followed Elin out onto the narrow balcony that overlooked a quiet, charming, cobblestone street. She slumped into one of the bistro chairs, and I took the other, with Peter standing at the railing. Daisy stuck her head between the bars and panted down at the passersby.
I let out a quiet woof. Be careful not to drool on anyone.
She yanked her head back and shot me a dirty look. I grinned back—before knowing Daisy, I didn’t even know dogs could give dirty looks. She’d taught me so much.
With a wave of her wand, Elin lit several ivory pillar candles on the bistro table between us. The candles, plus a few potted plants, lent a flowery scent to the cool evening air. She hugged the neck of her thick robe tighter to her and raised her brows. “So what do you want to know?”
Peter cleared his throat and leaned against the railing. “We just spoke with your sister, Tonya.”
She rolled her eyes.
Wow—I could just feel the sisterly love.
“We understand that the two of you have inherited the bakery now that your mother has died. We also understand it’s a highly successful business.”
I nodded. “And that property, with the flat above, right on Main Street?” I let out a low whistle, and Daisy jerked her head to look at me. False alarm, Days. “That’s got to be worth a pretty merkle.”
Elin’s neck and face flushed bright red. “How dare you!”
I shot Peter an innocent look. “How dare we what? We were just stating facts, yes?"
Elin leaned forward, her chin jutting out. “No, I didn’t kill my mom to inherit the bakery, if that’s what you’re asking!” She practically spat the words.
Daisy wagged her tail. True.
Elin’s eyes filled with tears, and her chin quivered. “I love—loved my mom.” She sniffled, tears pouring down her cheeks. “I would never have tried to hurt her! I never wanted her dead! This—this whole situation is horrible!”
Peter and I looked to Daisy, the canine truth-o-meter. She whined. She’s really distraught—everything she said is true.
I let out a sigh and raised my brows at Peter. Guess we didn’t have our killer. Then again, we’d both suspected Lorenzo more, anyway.
Elin played with the ends of her ponytail. “Besides, Tonya’s always been the one way more into the business—it’s her whole life.” She rolled her eyes again. “She doesn’t have anything else. I, on the other hand, have Lorenzo.” She made sure to flash her diamond ring.
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my chair. I could see why Tonya was so annoyed with her. Still, sleeping with your sister’s fiancé was taking annoyance pretty far.
I licked my lips, not sure how to ask this. “Do you think Lorenzo has been faithful to you?”
Elin’s jaw dropped. “What?!”
I held my ground and just stared at her. Tonya had said Lorenzo was known around town as a player. Maybe Elin had an inkling and it was somehow linked to the murder.
She sniffed and lifted her chin, then looked out over the street. “You know…” Her cheeks flushed pink. “He is a man, after all.” She whipped her head around to face me. “But he asked me to marry him—he wouldn’t do that unless he wanted to be with me!”
I drummed my fingers on my elbow. Yeah, unless he liked living an expensive lifestyle and wanted to secure a piece of it for himself—at any cost.
25
LORENZO
After Lorenzo brought his bride-to-be a glass of red wine on the balcony, he closed the glass doors and settled on the white chaise across from Peter and me, who sat on the leather sofa. He leaned forward, his knees wide, and wrung his hands.
I raised a brow. The guy was nervous. I glanced at Peter, then dove right in. “So, we know you cheated on Elin with her sister.”
The color drained from his face as the whites showed all around his eyes. He chanced a quick look toward the balcony doors, then hissed at me, “Keep your voice down!”
“Oh.” I played dumb and nodded slowly. “So Elin doesn’t know.”
His expression darkened, a muscle in his chiseled jaw jumping. “No—of course not!” The color drained from his face again. “Unless—did you just tell her?”
I shook my head and batted my lashes at Peter, beside me. “No—did you?”
He bit back a grin.
Lorenzo dragged a hand down his face and groaned. “Ohh… this is bad.”
“Yeah.” I nodded at him.
