“Why?”
“Because you and I don’t have any history.”
“Smart.” Rona said and stepped aside. “Come in.”
“Thank you,” Dawkins said and cut her eyes toward Kirk. He nodded as she went in.
“Can I get you anything to drink, detective?” Rona offered graciously as she led her into the living room.
“No, thank you.”
“You don’t mind if I do?” she asked, held up a wine goblet in her hand.
“Not at all.”
“Please, have a seat,” she said as she refilled her goblet and Dawkins sat down to begin her game of chess with Rona. “So, what would you like to know about AD?”
“How long have you known him?”
“As long as I can remember. As you said, he was one of my father’s close associates.”
“How much contact do you have with him?”
“Not much. He has his life to live and I have mine and since those lives are worlds apart, I may have seen AD four, maybe five times since the funeral.”
“Can you tell me when was the last time you spoke to him?”
“I don’t know, three or four months, I imagine. He came by the restaurant and we spoke briefly.” Rona picked up the glass and took a sip. “May I ask the reason that you are asking me these questions?”
“I don’t know if anybody has told you, if not, I’m sorry to have to tell you that Andrew Davion was murdered late last evening outside of a night club called The Booming System.”
“Oh my God,” Rona said emotionally.
Dawkins looked on as a teary-eyed Rona put down her wine glass and dropped her head into her hands.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Ms. King. We can do this another time.”
“No, no, I’m all right. It’s just the shock of it.” Rona wiped away her tears. “Living the kind of life AD led, the kind of life that my father and brother led, it’s not surprising that he would end up that way. But I guess that it doesn’t matter how prepared you are to hear something; it is still a shock to actually hear the words.”
“I understand.”
“What, if anything, does this have to do with what Kirk accused me of?” Rona asked as she fought back the tears.
“We have reason to believe that—” Dawkins began as her phone rang. “Excuse me.” She looked at the display and saw that it was Kirk calling. “I need to take this,” she said and stood up.
“If you’d like some privacy, you can take it in my office,” Rona said and pointed toward a room just off the living room.
“Thank you, Ms. King. I won’t be long,” she said as she headed toward the office, swiping talk as she walked.
“What’s up?”
“Get out of there”
“Why?”
“Hawkins is dead.”
“How?”