Recluse (Wolfes of Manhattan 2)

Except they really didn’t. They all hated him.

Still, for family functions. All but Rock had attended Derek’s sixtieth birthday bash at the penthouse a week before the murder. Even Lacey had attended, as his lawyer. For their fingerprints to be there was no big deal, as far as I could see.

But I wasn’t a detective. Or a lawyer.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my purse. Blaine? Again?

“Excuse me,” I said to the receptionist as I left the office to take the call in the hallway.

“Hello,” I said nonchalantly, trying to hide the tension I felt from head to toe.

“Evening, Charlie,” Blaine said. “Are you free?”

“Not really. What do you want?”

“I was wondering if the information I gave you proved valuable in any way.”

“We don’t know yet.” Then I berated myself. Why should I tell him anything?

“I got a phone call today,” he said, “from someone I think you might find interesting.”

“Oh? If it’s important to the case, you should contact Lacey, not me.”

“Lacey and I don’t have the rapport that you and I have.”

I rolled my eyes and said nothing. Denying the rapport would do me no good.

He cleared his throat. “I’d like to meet you again. To give you more information.”

“Why not give it to me now?”

“I don’t want to use the phone. It’s…delicate.”

I rolled my eyes again. But the previous information he’d given me had proven fruitful, so I didn’t want to waste this opportunity.

“It’s late, Blaine. I can’t meet you now.”

“It’s eight-thirty, Charlie.”

“I’m…busy.”

“Tomorrow evening, then. Dinner.”

“Tomorrow’s Saturday.”

“I’m aware of that. Do you have plans?”

I hoped I did. With Roy. But the fact of the matter was Roy and I hadn’t discussed it. “I’m free. What time?”

“Seven-thirty. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“I’ll meet you there. Text me the restaurant.”

“I thought I’d make you dinner at my place.”

Uh…hell, no. “No, Blaine. A restaurant or nothing.”

“I guess you don’t want this information, then.”

Really? He was going to play that game? “I guess I don’t.” I was about to end the call when—

“Fine. A restaurant. I’ll text you.”

“Good enough.”

“Goodbye, Charlie.”

“Bye.” This time I ended the call for real.

Another ten minutes had passed. What was going on with Roy? Before I could enter the office once more, though, my phone buzzed again.

This time it was Lacey.

“Hello?” I said, probably sounding more exasperated than I should have to my boss.

“Hey, Charlie,” she said. “Sorry to bother you on Friday night.”

“No bother,” I said, trying to sound like I meant it. “What’s up?”

“Rock got a call from Father Jim Wilkins tonight.”

“Oh?”

“He said you’d been asking some odd questions.”

“I only called to reconfirm the time for the memorial,” I said. “We spoke for all of five minutes.”

“You’re not in any trouble, so don’t worry,” she said. “Rock hardly knows the guy—hasn’t seen him in forever—but apparently Derek kept his parish going all these years.”

“He’s probably after more money,” I said. “Now that Derek’s gone, he’s afraid his coffers will dry up.”

Lacey laughed. “You sound just like Rock. That’s almost exactly what he said verbatim.”

“He volunteered some information. He told me he’d given all the Wolfe kids their first communion, and he also said Derek doted on Riley.”

“Doted is hardly a fair word.”

“He probably didn’t know about…” I couldn’t finish. Saying the words made me feel…dirty.

“Right. Are you sure that’s all you talked about?”

“It was a short conversation. I didn’t ask him anything. Like I said, he volunteered it.

“Good enough for me,” Lacey said. “Thanks, Charlie. Again, sorry to bother you.”

I walked back into the office and took my seat. The Cosmo still sat on the table. Nearly an hour had passed, and Roy showed no sign of coming out of Dr. Woolcott’s office.

“This isn’t unusual,” the receptionist offered, as I glanced around the room nervously. “These late appointments often go on for an hour or so later because she doesn’t have anyone else waiting.

I nodded.

This was important. I could wait.44RoyThe pine trees were thick in the woods. The needles bristled against my cheeks, prickling me. Though it was daylight, the trees and shadows obscured the light, and I squinted to maintain my vision.

The light ahead seemed just out of reach. Every time I got closer, another tall and narrow pine tree popped out, its branches impeding my progress.

More trees.

More trees.

More trees.

Snakelike roots protruded from the ground. I had to maneuver around them lest I trip over one and fall.

I tripped only once.

Now I had the dance down. The roots—they had a design. Once I figured out the puzzle, I could skate around them smoothly.

The trees, though. They kept popping up.

And I got colder.

The wind whipped through me, leaving icy shards on my skin.

But I wore a coat.

Weird. I didn’t remember putting on a coat. But suddenly it was there, a down parka, and my arms were no longer cold, and the icy shards warmed into coziness.