“That’s Charlie. He’s harmless. He likes to keep an eye out on my place since he works from home.”
“He’s a little odd, isn’t he,” I said, but Jenny just laughed.
“He’s fine.” To show she meant it, she waved next door and called out, “Hey, Charlie.”
“Hi, Jenn . . . y.”
“Very good,” she answered with a smile. “You’re getting better. You caught yourself from using my whole name just in time.”
“I’m trying, but it’s tough.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get there.”
He nodded. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“The best,” she said.
When Jenny led me inside, I saw that she already had a glass of sangria waiting for me.
“Have a drink,” she said before I could take off my coat.
“I’d better not,” I said. “Do you have any orange juice?”
“You’re not serious, are you? Come on, you need a stress reliever.”
“You’re right, I do, and I just talked to him. He’s on his way.”
Jenny pushed the glass aside. “Maybe you’re right. We don’t need any alcohol in our systems if we’re going to drive to the airport to pick him up. How would that look if we got stopped?”
“Not good,” I admitted. “But he’s renting a car, so that’s not really a factor. I just think I need to keep my wits about me right now, do you know what I mean?”
“Sure I do, but I insist you take one sip. I’ve been dying to toast my partnership with you. We can do it with these, or we can crack open a bottle of champagne. It’s your choice.”
“Let’s save that for when I’m out from under this mess,” I said.
“Then in the meantime, this will do nicely,” Jenny said as she raised her own glass.
“To you,” I said, picking up the fruity but potent concoction and raising it toward her. “Congratulations.”
We clinked glasses, and then I took a sip. It was a sweet and icy drink, and the first time I’d had one in college no one had told me that it packed an alcoholic punch. After three drinks, I had slept for twelve straight hours and woke up with the worst headache of my life.
I finished my sip, and then put the glass back down. “I know you were just expecting to house one Stone, so we’ll find a hotel in Raleigh.” I knew that my Uncle Barton owned the Royal Hostelry in Raleigh, and I had a standing reservation there, along with all of the other hotels he owned, whenever I wanted it. I’d told Jenny a little about my long lost uncle, but I’d purposefully left out the fact that he was rich beyond my ability to describe it.
“Nonsense. I’ve got plenty of room. Besides, it will be good to see that big bear of a husband of yours again, even if it is under such rotten circumstances.”
“I know he’ll be happy to see you, too,” I said. I looked around her place, a beautiful home in one of the nicer sections of Raleigh. “You’ve really done well for yourself, haven’t you?”
“It beats the place we had on High Street, doesn’t it?”
“Your kitchen alone is bigger than our entire apartment,” I said. “But we still managed to have fun, didn’t we?”
“We did at that. I love my life now, except for the present cloud hanging over it, but we had some good times back then, didn’t we?”
“The best.”
As we moved into the living room, I admired the elegant Queen Anne style of her furniture. “My, my, my. Your style has certainly improved over time.”
“Don’t kid yourself. I’ve always had elegant taste. It’s just that I’ve only recently begun to be able to afford it. I’m not sure how long I’m staying in this house, though.”
“What’s the matter? Do you need something bigger to impress your partners?”
“Just the opposite. I don’t have to care nearly as much now. I’m thinking about getting a condo downtown. Think how nice it would be to walk to the office and the courthouse. My idea of heaven is not having to drive to work every day and fight traffic.”
There was a lull in our conversation, and not the comfortable one we usually shared. I knew we were both thinking about Derrick’s murder, and the fact that I was involved in it, but neither one of us would say anything about it.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”
The great thing about our friendship was that I didn’t have to explain any more than that for her to understand.
“I won’t lie to you. It’s not good.”
“Zach seems to think he can help,” I offered.
She paused for a moment, and then said, “Maybe he can. To be honest with you, I’m glad he’s coming. I’m sure he’ll have more luck getting something out of Murphy than I would.”
“Did you two ever go out?” I asked, noticing the hint of something in her eyes when she spoke his name.
“Savannah Stone, have you been spying on me?”
“You mean I’m right? It was just a stab in the dark.”
“Well, you hit what you were aiming at,” she said as she stood. Jenny walked around the room, her fingers lightly trailing over furniture as she moved. It was clear that she’d be more comfortable without direct eye contact, and that was fine with me. After a few moments, she said, “Two years ago, he asked me out. I figured, what could it hurt? He’s a nice-looking man, and he’s very good at what he does. We went out for a while, but there just wasn’t any spark there for me, you know? I finally turned him down when he asked me out, but he kept asking, all the while I kept saying no. Persistence is an excellent trait in police detectives, but in unwanted suitors, it’s not so wonderful. I finally had to tell him bluntly that I would never go out with him again under any circumstances, and what should have faded away into oblivion suddenly became a barrier to my work. I made it a point never to date another cop or lawyer since, and I haven’t regretted the decision.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said.
“I’m the one who should be apologizing. It’s going to make things a little tougher on you.”
I smiled at her. “I’m a big girl. I can take it. Besides, I shouldn’t be the only suspect on his list. There were other folks there today who had just as much motive as I did to want Derrick dead.”
“So you said. Hang on a second, I want to start digging into that. Let me get a legal pad so I can take some notes.”
“Are you billing me for this?” I asked.
She grinned. “I’m officially on vacation, so this isn’t any of the firm’s business. Besides, I’ve got some pro bono work figured into my workload.”
“Seriously, I can afford to pay you.”
She mentioned her current hourly billing, and I whistled under my breath. “Okay, I might have to do it in installments, but I can still handle it.”
Jenny frowned, and then suddenly brightened. “Do you remember back in school that you loaned me money whenever I needed it without a word about me ever paying it back?”
“You were on scholarships and student loans. Anything I had was yours, and I was glad to do it.”
“Well, consider this return payment in full.”
I stood and approached her. “Jenny, we both know it couldn’t have been more than five hundred dollars altogether.”
“So, think of it as compound interest. It might not sound like much now, but it saved me back then. Let me do this, Savannah.”
I grinned at her. “Well, if you insist.”
She hugged me, and then said, “I’ve really missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
“Before we get started, I’ve got something you’re going to want to see,” she said as she reached into one of the drawers of an end table.
“What is it?”
She produced a photo album, and the second I saw the cover, I knew what it held. “You still have that?”