"But we want them to take it seriously," I said.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
I jumped and spilled my beverage over my fingers. I glanced at the front door and saw Harrison, standing there looking particularly grumpy.
"Blast! He scared me," Andre said. He grabbed a c.o.c.ktail napkin and dried off his fingers while Nick went to unlock the door and let Harrison in.
"I have a feeling this is going to be unpleasant," Viv said. She glanced at me and I knew she was thinking what I was, that Harrison knew about our field trip to the Carson house.
"What were you two thinking?" Harrison roared as soon as Nick pushed the door open. Harrison shouldered his way into the studio and strode toward us.
"That I really prefer to lap my drink off of the bar, thank you so much," I said. I gave him a dark look as I swabbed up the mess my martini had made when I was startled by him.
He pursed his lips and inhaled through his nose as if struggling to keep his temper in check.
"You know what I"m talking about," he said. He cast a dark look in my direction and then in Viv"s.
"Ava blabbed, didn"t she?" I asked.
"If by that you mean that she mentioned to Tyler that you two dropped by to see if Viv"s hat was there, then yes, she blabbed," he said. "Do you have any inkling of the problems you have caused?"
"Problems?" I asked. "We went looking for a hat, how is that a problem?"
"We didn"t find the hat," Viv said. "That"s a problem."
I had to give her points for trying to keep the faade going.
"No doubt because the hat is safely back on its shelf in the shop," Harrison said.
"There might have been a small oversight in that regard," I agreed.
"Small oversight?" he asked.
His voice was rising in volume again and I noticed that Andre and Nick were watching the exchange as if they had box seats at the theater.
"You don"t need to yell," I said. "My hearing is perfectly fine."
"Really, Ginger?" he asked. "Because I am quite sure that I told you to stay away from this situation, and yet, here you are insinuating yourself right into the middle of a murder investigation."
"I am not," I said. "Viv and I are just trying to help."
"I don"t need your help," he argued.
"Yes, you do," I said. "Your history with Dashavoy makes you a prime suspect. You need all the help you can get."
"You don"t understand me. We don"t know who killed Win, which means the killer is still out there and the situation is dangerous. I don"t want any of you near this mess," he said. "I don"t want you to get hurt."
He was being thoughtful and protective. I should have been touched. I was not. I was furious.
"Well, that"s rich, Harry, since you certainly don"t seem to mind when Tuesday inserts herself into the investigation," I snapped. Yeah, I know, temper, temper.
"Scarlett." Viv"s voice was full of warning but I was too far gone to register it.
"Tuesday"s role in this is none of your business," Harrison said. "She worked with Win, too. She has a vested interest in finding out what happened to him."
"That"s just what she said," I argued. "As if she has more right to help you than we do, when we"re your friends while she is just an annoying ex-girlfriend, which is exactly what I told her."
"What?" Harrison snapped. "When exactly did you speak with her?"
Uh-oh. I glanced down at my beverage just as Viv let out a long-suffering sigh.
"How about a drink, old man?" Nick clapped Harrison on the shoulder. "I think you"re going to need it."
Harrison"s green eyes were like lasers and I could feel them boring into the side of my skull even as I resolutely refused to look at him.
"Best make it a double," Andre said. "We have some news, too."
Once Harrison had shrugged off his overcoat and had two fingers of Jameson on the rocks in a gla.s.s in his hand, we all moved away from the bar and sat on the stylish couch and chairs Nick had insisted on adding to the studio.
Viv and I recounted our conversations with Tuesday and Ava while Nick told Harrison about his information from Ophelia.
Harrison listened without interrupting. I wasn"t sure if it meant he was madder than ever or if he had calmed down enough to hear what we had to tell him without feeling the need to yell at us again.
When Nick finished his tale, Harrison downed his drink in one long swallow. Then he shook his head as if he could make it all go away like a dog shaking rain off his fur.
"Someone strangled Winthrop Dashavoy," he said. "I loathed the man but I never would have wished that on him."
"I"d wager someone knew that there was bad blood between you and decided you would make the perfect scapegoat," Andre said. "But who?"
"My first guess would be a man," Nick said. "It takes a lot of muscle to snuff someone out via strangulation."
"But Dashavoy was very drunk and he"d already sustained an injury," I said. "Honestly, I think I could have taken him out at that point if I were the sort of girl who would do that type of thing."
They all looked at me, and for the first time that evening, Harrison"s mouth moved up in the corner just the tiniest bit but I took it as a good sign.
"I imagine you could do anything you put your mind to, Scarlett," he said.
Why this praise made my heart take flight in my chest, I have no idea, but I really felt as if Harrison meant it and it flattered me, even though, yeah, he was agreeing that I could murder someone. Hmm. I frowned at him and he winked at me, which made it all better. I"m easy, I know.
"Any chance that Deena and Ophelia were at the bonfire?" Viv asked. "That would certainly give us a starting place."
"No idea," Harrison said. "Are they clients?"
Nick shrugged.
"We need a guest list," I said. "Then we can cross-check it to see who might have been buying pills from Winthrop and who might have had a reason to kill him."
"But why would they kill him if he was supplying them with pills?" Viv asked.
"Maybe he ran out or refused or was trying to get out of the business," Nick said.
"Who would know that?" I asked.
"Reese?" Viv offered. "If what Tuesday said was true and the feelings Reese had for Winthrop were not motherly but rather were lover-like, then she might have known what he was doing."
"Oh, no, I can"t see that. He"s like a son to her. Besides I can"t believe she would put the business at risk like that," Harrison said. I could see his jaw clench repeatedly, a sign I had come to recognize as meaning he was highly agitated.
Nick must have sensed it, too, because he retrieved the bottle of Jameson and poured a healthy splash into Harrison"s gla.s.s.
"Well, that"s the rub, isn"t it?" Nick asked. "Do we, any of us, really know what someone else is capable of, whether they be a business partner, a friend or a lover?"
We were all silent and I noticed that none of us were making eye contact, choosing to study our drinks while we contemplated the truth of Nick"s words.
"No, clearly we don"t," Harrison said and he frowned down into his drink, looking forlorn.
The talk moved away from Winthrop Dashavoy"s murder. Nick went to the little kitchenette at the back of the studio to retrieve some canapes he had made while Viv and Andre talked about a mutual acquaintance who was a fashion designer.
Harrison took his drink and walked over to the front window. He leaned against the wide wooden sill and stared out into the night. His dark brown hair fell over his forehead and he gazed down into his drink as if trying to find answers in the ice cubes.
It wasn"t a conscious decision on my part to move to his side. It was just where I knew I was supposed to be.
"I"m sorry, Harry," I said.
He tipped his head to the side and studied me. "What do you have to be sorry about, Ginger?"
"I"m sorry that you"re going through this," I said. "I know it"s uncomfortable to be so scrutinized by, well, everyone."
Despite myself, I shivered. The sticky icky feeling of shame welled up inside me before I could beat it back. My own public humiliation was still pretty fresh and its claws were sharp.
Harrison lifted his left arm and I slid into his side while he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and held me close. I felt him press a kiss into my hair, which made my heart thunder in my chest.
"Shame," he said. "That"s what you felt."
"Yep," I said. "Still do when I think about it."
"I had no idea," he said. "It"s weird to feel shame about something you had no part in other than having an unfortunate a.s.sociation, well, and for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I"m sorry."
"What do you have to be sorry about, Harry?" I turned his question back on him.
My voice sounded scratchy and I kept my gaze fixed out the window and not at him because I felt as if looking into his eyes would make me more exposed than I could handle right now.
"At the moment, I"m sorry I didn"t ask you out before you took that vow of celibacy," he said.
I did not expect that. I glanced up at him and saw the teasing glint in his eyes. It made me laugh.
"Our timing is pretty lousy," I agreed.
"It"s all right," he said. He tucked me in closer and rested his head on mine. "Everything is going to be all right."
Comforted and cared for, that was how Harrison made me feel, and this was the most content I had felt in months. I was pretty sure I could have stayed in the circle of his arm forever.
"Scarlett, Harrison, quit dawdling by the window," Nick bellowed from across the room. "You have to eat some canapes before I eat them all and they land right on my a.r.s.e."
I stepped away from Harry with great reluctance.
"You okay?" I asked him. I hated that our moment had been interrupted and a part of me knew exactly where I wanted to stuff Nick"s canapes. No, that wasn"t nice, but I wasn"t really feeling nice.
"I will be," he said. "It chafes that I"m a suspect, but I know I"m innocent." He glanced at our friends and then at me. "The people who matter know I"m innocent."
"We do," I said. "We really do."
"Walk me out?" he asked. His hand was still on my back and I got the feeling he was hesitant to let me go, too.
"Sure," I said. He retrieved his overcoat and we made our way to the door. I called over my shoulder, "Harrison is calling it a night."
"Oy, so soon?" Nick asked. "But you didn"t eat anything."
"I don"t want it to dilute my alcohol," Harrison joked.
Viv gave him an understanding smile and a wave and Andre nodded and said, "Be good, mate."
I racked my brain, looking for something positive to say that would make it all better, but I was stuck for words. The fact was Harrison looked awfully guilty and I knew it was partly my fault because of the scuffle between him and Win.
Even though we had a solid relationship with Inspector Simms, I knew that my vouching for Harrison was suspect just because he was our business partner and friend. d.a.m.n.
I unlocked the door and Harrison pushed through it. I was about to say good night, when he grabbed my hand and pulled me out onto the sidewalk, letting the door swing shut behind us.
Harrison draped his overcoat around my shoulders and pulled me around the side of the building and into the shadows.
"For the next ten minutes, can you do me one favor?" he asked.
"Sure," I said, thinking he wanted me to listen to him talk. Me not talking was definitely a challenge, but I was game.
"Can you lift the ban on no dating?" he asked.
My jaw slid open in surprise and the word "yes" floated out on a soft sigh and then he was on me. He cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine in the softest greeting possible. It wasn"t enough.
I grabbed his shirtfront and pulled him close. The kiss took on a desperation that sent heat rocketing through my system, short wiring any common sense I may ever have had.
By the time we came up for air, I had his necktie in a stranglehold and I was using it to keep myself from melting into a puddle on the pavement at my feet. His hands gripped my hips, keeping us just far enough apart to keep the kiss from being obscene. Pity.
He rested his forehead against mine and our breath mingled while we tried to ride out the firestorm of hormones flaming between us. Meanwhile all I could think was, What the h.e.l.l was that?
But then, I knew. His kiss had seduced and beguiled but there had been an underlying panic in it and I realized that he had kissed me because the future was uncertain, because he feared he might go to jail and this might be his last chance.
I let go of his tie and threw my arms around his neck. I buried my face in his shoulder and let him wrap me tight against him in a hug that didn"t leave room for even a molecule between us.
"You will not leave me," I said. "No matter what happens, you will not leave me."