Page 68 of Little Empty Promises

My mother pressed a hand to her chest.“Oh, dear.I wonder if that’s what she wanted to talk to me about.She stopped by the house yesterday, but I wasn’t home.I’ve had so much going on, I haven’t made time for much else.I’ll pop over later on and speak with her.”

“When I spoke to Seth, he told me he was friends with Cordelia.”

“Friends?That’s a stretch.”

“He said he checked in on her from time to time after Marlon died, and Cordelia gave him books to read.”

“I wouldn’t know anything about it.”She paused, then added, “Come to think of it, I saw him leaving her house … oh, I guess it would have been three or four weeks ago now.”

“Did he see you?”

“Sure did.I waved.He waved back.Wasn’t much more to it.He did have a book in hand, so I suppose she could have been loaning books to him, as you say.Still, it seems to me he was more of an acquaintance than a friend.”

Octavia leaned over, smiling up at me as she said, “You’re welcome to attend the fundraiser tonight as my guest.It’s at the Balenciaga House.”

“Oh, yes,” my mother said.“The food they’re serving will be top notch.”

It was a tempting offer, but I’d had a long day, and there was still one more stop I wanted to make before heading home.

“I appreciate the invite, but I still have a bit more work to do,” I said.

“You get so caught up in your cases, you don’t take enough time for yourself,” my mother said.

“I have one more item on the agenda for today, and then I plan on stopping for the rest of the night.”

“Good, a little rest goes a long way.I’m glad I ran into you.I’ve been meaning to thank you for looking in on your sister.”

“When did you talk to Phoebe?”I asked.

“Last night.As soon as she gave me the news about the miscarriage, I wanted to drive straight over.She said she wasn’t up for visitors, though, and she just wanted to relax.It took everything in me to honor her wishes, but I did.”

My mother grabbed a tissue from her handbag, blotting her eyes.

“She’s going to be all right, Mom.”

She reached out a hand and grabbed mine.“I know she will, because she has us, and she’s strong, just like you were when it happened to you.”

The conversation was taking an uncomfortable turn.Going down Unwanted Memory Lane had no appeal to me.

My mother seemed to pick up on it, and she said, “We best get going.Tell Giovanni I said hello and give Luka a big hug from me.”

“Will do.”

“Best of luck on your investigation,” Octavia said.“I hope it will all be over soon.”

She put the car in gear, and as they headed down the street, my mother leaned her head out the window, blowing me a kiss as she shouted, “Tootles!”

28

“It’s like I told your work partner, Simone—my wife doesn’t want to see anyone,” Mack said.

Samantha’s husband was a tall fellow.His skin had a leathery, sun kissed look to it, and he had a thick accent I couldn’t place, perhaps German.

“I understand Samantha hasn’t wanted to leave home ever since the night Cordelia died,” I said.“I stopped by to see if she’s all right.”

“She isn’t.She feels responsible for what happened to Cordelia.”

“Why?It’s not her fault.”

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