April knew that Emma didn't like her and could understand why. Years ago, Ja Jien, April's best friend in high school, had gotten pregnant by a white guy. Her family had been murderously angry, had told Ja Jien she would die if she had an abortion. The doctor would blunder, he'd kill her, or do it wrong so if she lived, she wouldn't be able to have more children. At the same time they'd said—didn't matter if she lived, might as well be dead since she was ruined anyway. Ja Jien had the abortion, changed her name to Jennifer. Afterward she didn't want to see April, who had supported her during her ordeal. The two friends drifted apart. Later, when Jennifer became successful as a beautician and opened her own salon, she made it clear she didn't want to cut April's hair, didn't want her in the shop. Didn't ever want to know her again. April had seen Emma Chapman as a naked hostage, her whole body and face painted, her stomach in the process of being tattooed. Emma would not forget that.
Jason gave April one of his penetrating looks. "You hungry, want something?" he asked.
She was starved. She shook her head. "Not at the moment, thanks."
"Yell when you want something." He took her coat and hung it on a doorknob.
"Emma around?"
"Yes, she's coming." Jason went through the opening into the living room. "How's the investigation going?"
April ignored the question. "Liberty mentioned your name when we went to inform him of the death. I gather you've spent some time with him since."
"He's an old friend."
"From the way he spoke about you, I got the feeling he was your patient."
"He's not."
"Oh, really, then you might be able to help us," April murmured.
Jason nodded noncommittally.
April moved into the living room and picked the chair she'd sat in the last time she'd been in the apartment, sank into it gratefully. Her last visit had been in November before she'd made sergeant. She wondered if Jason knew about her promotion.
Emma Chapman strode into the room, wearing soft black trousers and a black sweater. Looked like cashmere. Probably was. As Emma took the chair opposite, April wondered what it would be like to have long legs, peach-colored skin and blond hair, to wear such expensive things, and walk with such authority and grace.
"Ah, Sergeant Woo, congratulations on your promotion," Emma said with a brittle smile.
"Yes, congratulations," Jason threw in.
"Congratulations to you, too, for your new play. I see your name in the top place at the theater every day. I'm downtown in Midtown North now," April explained.
"Your new phone number confused me," Jason said. "Someone told me you're a supervisor now."
"Yes, it's true."
"Well, you'll have to come and see the play—and bring your friend. What's his name—Mike . . . ?" Emma made a face, trying to remember the name of the cop who'd saved her life.
"Sanchez," April said softly. "He's in Homicide now."
"No kidding? Then who's left to take care of us in the Twentieth?" Emma asked lightly.
April thought of Aspirante and Healy. "No one," she said. Her stomach gurgled. She put a hand over it to silence it. Time to go to work. "I'm sorry about your friends," she began, taking her Rosario out of her purse.
"Thank you." Emma twisted her wedding ring around on her finger. She glanced at the notebook, then at Jason. He had his bland shrink face on. April had her cop face on. The actress had her . . . actress face on. April wondered if she'd be able to get past it.
"Let's start with your relationship with the—uh, with Mrs. Liberty," April suggested.
"I've known Merrill for—a long time. We went to acting classes together more than ten years ago. That's how we met. We both wanted to be actors. Merrill made it first. She got a part in a soap. I did voice-overs for a long time. We were very close, even after she married Rick."
"Rick?"
"That's what Liberty's friends call him."
"So the three of you go way back."
Emma took a bite out of an unpolished thumbnail and spoke impatiently. "We all go way back. Rick and Tor were friends the way Merrill and I were friends. This is a devastating thing. Just horrible." She glanced at Jason, sitting silently beside her, then reached for his hand. "For Rick especially. I can't imagine losing both my husband and my best friend at the same time."
April felt a twinge of jealousy at the way Jason was looking at his wife. It triggered a thought, then she lost it. "Did Merrill and Petersen have any enemies?"
Emma chewed on her nail. "Well, of course. I'm - sure they did. Successful people always have enemies."
"Can you think of anybody in particular who might want to kil them?"
"Tor just fired twenty percent of the people in his company last week. A lot of people were mad at him. He was a charming man, but he could be ruthless, you know."
April wasn't acquainted with people like Petersen, so she didn't know. She waited for Emma to go on.
"Maybe the killer was someone he'd fired. Sergeant, do you think Tor was the target? Or both of them?" Emma frowned.
"Please call me April. Why do you ask?"
Emma shook her head. "It doesn't make sense."
"What doesn't?"
"It was an accident that they were together last night. Merrill and Rick were supposed to come to see me in my new play. I didn't know Rick wasn't coming until after the show when Merril showed up in my dressing room with Tor. I have to admit I was surprised."
"Why?"
Emma smiled weakly. "Rick is a fan."
"Is Tor a fan?"
"Oh, I don't know. I hardly knew him. I don't think he even knew who I was before last night."
"You're too modest. So what changed the plans?" "Rick had to go to Chicago on business. Tor took his ticket. For him it was a last-minute thing. Nobody even knew he was going to be there."
That triggered another question. April made a note.-"What about his wife?"
"Tor's wife? I've never met her. The gossip was they were breaking up."
"Maybe she knew where they were going."
"That's—horrible. How would she even pull it off?" Emma shuddered.
"Maybe she had help," April said softly. "And Liberty knew where they were. Either could have—"
"No!" Emma said explosively. "I know Rick couldn't hurt anybody."
"What kind of marriage did Liberty and his wife have?"
"Devoted," Emma said firmly.
"There must have been stresses."
"Every marriage has stresses," Emma said vaguely.
"Merrill was a beautiful woman. She must have had admirers. Was her husband jealous?"
"Rick?" Emma took another bite of nail, ripped it, and winced. A spot of blood appeared at the quick. She dabbed the blood on her handkerchief, staining it. "I don't think so."
April glanced at Jason. His mask was still on. He wasn't saying. "Are you thinking about it?" she asked Emma.
"Yes! I'm thinking about it. I just don't think he's the jealous type," Emma said firmly.
"Not an Othello," April murmured.
"You've read Shakespeare?" Emma seemed surprised.
"I saw the movie. How did he seem that night?"
"Tor?"
"No, Liberty."
Emma looked confused. "I didn't see Rick that night. He was in Chicago."
"What about the phone call?"
"What phone call?" "He called the restaurant. What was Petersen like?"
Emma started on the other thumb. "We were drinking a bit. Tor was excited—" She stopped short.
April guessed the man had come on to Emma that night, not to his date, Merrill, and that might have been the real reason Emma had left the restaurant before dinner was over and missed hearing the phone call. Maybe she kept looking at Jason now because she didn't want him to know something. April wondered what it was.
"Were Tor and Merrill involved romantically?"
Emma sighed. "Jason asked me that. I—really don't know. I guess they'd spent more time together recently. I know Merrill held his hand whenever he had marital problems." Emma shook her head.