Page 18 of 25 Alive

Julie’s: “Everyone is the architect of his own fortune.”

She asked me, “What does that mean?”

I knew but couldn’t explain to a sad little girl. I said, “I don’t know, honey. I’ll try the vet again.”

I pressed the buttons until a phone recording asked me to leave my name and number. I left them and clicked off.

Mrs. Rose spoke to Julie for me.

“The nurse is working, darling. She’s feeding all the dogs and cats and changing litter boxes and giving medicine. I know how hard this is, but we’ll hear from the doctor as soon as—”

A ring-back call from the vet’s number interrupted Gloria’s explanation.

“Mrs. Molinari? Hi, this is Margaret, one of Dr. Clayton’s vet techs. I just checked in on Martha. She seems the same as when I came on shift. I’ll call the doctor if there’s any change, and yes, I’m sure she’ll call you in the morning.”

Julie and I went to our place by seven. It sure felt empty without Martha’s barking and tail wagging. I called Joe but only got his voicemail. “I’m not in. Please leave your number …”

I put Julie to bed and read her to sleep. Just as I snuck out, closing her door behind me, a text came in from Conklin:Alvarez and I are at Julio’s. No one recognizes Jacobi’s picture. It’s just “Nope,” “Nah,” “Never saw him in my life.” That goes for the bartender, too.

I texted back,Thanks. You two sign out. See you tomorrow.

I fell asleep in my chair, and when I awoke some hours later, Joe was in his pajama pants, turning off the TV and the lights. He took me to bed and asked me, “How are you doing, Linds?”

I put my arms around him and cried while telling him about Jacobi. He tried to soothe me like I had comforted Julie earlier, but I was too pent up with sadness over Jacobi and fear of the inevitable with my old dog.

“Sleep, Lindsay. I’ve got you.”

Feeling like a little kid, I turned my fears over to Joe and cried some more. When I woke up, it was morning, and he was still holding me in his arms.

CHAPTER28

WHEN I GOT to my desk the next morning, I texted Muriel Roth, Warren Jacobi’s partner, and she called me right back.

“Any news, Lindsay?” she asked me. “Did you get the guy?”

My heart rolled over when she asked me that. I wished I had something promising to tell her, but I only had the same lame comments to offer, the ones we say when we’re at minus square one.

“We have nothing yet, Muriel, but we will find the SOB. Warren’s case is open until we nail his killer.”

She said, “I still can’t believe that he’s gone. Warren and I were planning a trip to LA this weekend. And we had just started looking into taking a big trip—like a month or more in Europe,” she continued. “Warren probably didn’t tell you, but he’d recently had quite a windfall. He got a million-dollar settlement.”

I wonder what that was about?I didn’t press, and she didn’t offer any further explanation.

I didn’t have any response other than to promise Murielagain that we were still investigating. I needed to go through Jacobi’s phone, and knowing him, I suspected he would’ve saved any potentially useful evidence. I asked, “Do you know if Warren backed up his phone to a computer or to the cloud?”

“Gosh, he mainly put photos and things on external drives that he kept in his sock drawer. You want them? Do you think there could be something useful on them?”

“Let me take you to lunch today, Muriel. Tell me where and when, and bring the external photo drives.”

CHAPTER29

MURIEL WAS WAITING for me inside a woodsy café that was hung with baskets of spider plants and stands of foliage acting as curtains at the windows. Jacobi’s beloved partner stood to greet me with a hug. The former TV actress’s features were drawn with grief, but she was still lovely when she gave me a sad smile. We sat at a sturdy table with stocky wooden chairs, our knees nearly touching, and ordered cold casseroles of black beans, kale, cheese, and rice, with a drink order of pale Chablis that smelled like roses.

“How are you holding up?” I asked.

Muriel said, “The worst was last night when I went to bed alone, and this morning when I woke up alone. Warren and I used to hold hands until we fell asleep.”

I thought of my relationship with Joe, and the worry I always felt when he was away. My expression must have changed because Muriel was calling my name, and I only responded the third time she said, “Lindsay.”

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