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“Apparently he’s engaged to some Russian influencer,” said Maximino. “And they’ve been pestering Astra to invest in this new business venture they’re setting up. Only Astra didn’t want to invest. Thought the whole thing was just a scam from the girlfriend to get her hands on Astra’smoney and leg it back to Russia. But Joonas didn’t see it that way. He was so smitten with the woman he couldn’t think straight. Or at least that’s what Astra claimed. She sounded very bitter.”

“She sounded disappointed with her offspring,” said Ippo. “Which could be why she seemed happy to see you, Dad.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Don’t you remember what she said? Finally someone who doesn’t want something from me and is out to fleece me.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” said Maximino with a faint smile at the memory.

“She called you wholesome, remember?”

“You mean like bread?”

“No, not like bread, Dad,” said Ippo with a grin. “Like recognizing what a great guy you are, and expressing regret she ever left you to go play in a nest of vipers.”

“She seemed sad,” said Maximino.

“Yeah, she definitely was not a happy person.”

For a few moments, no one spoke, then Maximino said,“I hope you catch Astra’s killer, Mrs. Kingsley. We may have gone our separate ways many moons ago, but she didn’t deserve to die like this.”

“Nobody deserves to die like this,” said Ippo.

“I can promise you I’ll do my very best,” said Odelia, getting up. “Oh, one last thing: where were you both last night between three and five?”

“Is that when she…” Ippo blinked. “Well, we were in our room, fast asleep, weren’t we, Dad?”

“Yeah, after we had dinner with Astra, we took in a show at the Zigali. I think we got in around one, then went straight to bed.”

“No nightcap in the bar?”

“No, we’re not much for nightcaps,” said Ippo. “We’re just a couple of country yokels, Mrs. Kingsley. Wholesome and much too nice.”

“That’s what she said, wasn’t it?” said Maximino. “When we said goodbye? That we were much too nice.”

“That’s because Dad had told her she could always drop by the house if she needed a place to stay.”

“Not that I wanted to rekindle our romance, mind you,” Maximino was quick to add. “Just… she seemed so lost, you know.”

“Yeah, she did.” Ippo smiled. “I hope she’s at peace now.”

CHAPTER 19

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The interview over, father and son left the office and Barney Sheffield walked in. Then again, it was his office, so he had every right to come and go as he pleased.

“And? How did it go?” he asked anxiously. “Did you get any closer to the truth,Mademoiselle Kingsley?”

“Please call me Odelia. And yes, I think I’ve gotten a little closer to the truth.”

“So? Who did it? Who murdered that poor woman? It was the cat burglar, wasn’t it? I knew it!”

“I’m afraid I haven’t figured that out yet,” said Odelia, smiling at the manager’s excitement.

“You will see I am right,” said Barney, then frowned. “Oh, I have a couple you need to speak to. They are in the lobby and they are very, very anxious to leave, but I managed to make them stay where they are. I told them they have a moral obligation to find out what happened to Mrs. Jacobs.”

“Who are they?”

“Mrs. Jacobs’s son Joonas Harri, and his very charming fianc?e Olga Leder. A very nice couple, but very excitable and very busy.”

“I’ll talk to them right now,” said Odelia and glanced down in our direction.

“I just wish Marion was here,” Dooley said with a sigh as he glanced at the ceiling, as if hoping Marion would materialize there. “Then at least she could see how we do talk to our human, and that she talks back to us.”

And as we left the office, in Odelia and Barney’s wake, I suddenly thought I heard a sound. I glanced back, and up, and noticed movement behind a vent in the wall near the ceiling. But when I looked closer, nothing stirred. Just my imagination, no doubt. Still, I had the distinct sensation of being watched. So much so I could feel the shiversrunning down my spine—a clear sign.

In the lobby, Astra’s ‘official’ son and his fianc?e were impatiently waiting for us. They did seem in a terrible hurry to leave, which struck me as odd. Wouldn’t they want to help the person trying to solve his mom’s murder?

But then of course we all grieve in different ways. Maybe this Joonas Harri’s way of grieving was to look at his watch every five seconds and dart annoyed glances at Odelia.

“Look, we have a shoot to get to,” he said straight out of the gate. “So I hope this won’t take too long.”

“A shoot?” asked Odelia. “Are you a member of theHearts& Roses crew?”

“I wish,” the woman murmured with an eyeroll. She had the Instagram look down pat: extreme tan, perfectly sculpted brows, too much makeup, provocative cleavage and raven hair that looked about as real as Gran’s dentures. In other words: the woman had had a lot of work done, and now looked like every other influencer out there, as if they came off the same assembly line at Instagram Inc.

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