Page 54 of Justice for Francesca

“You thinking she was killed somewhere else and brought here?” Cruz asked.

Sucking her lip into her mouth, she stepped closer to Tilly, who still lay in the illusionist’s box. “Yes.” Even to her, the words sounded hesitant.

“That doesn’t sound like you’re convinced.”

“Well, it’s the same thing as Mila. Time was limited. Cosmos did a walk-through last night before he left, which was around two a.m. When the alarm went off, we headed into the elevator. I think it was around seven-ish. I’d have to check Tripoli’s phone.”

Cruz and Calder gave her blank looks. “Sooo… you know Cosmos was wandering around at two a.m., and you and Evans were heading to the elevator at seven a.m.?” Calder asked.

Inside her head, Francesca cursed her stupid mouth. “Not really pertinent or appropriate right now.”

“Oh, we’ll be coming back to that later,” Cruz promised. “Okay, so roughly five hours to work with. Thirty minutes oneither side to be sure no one else is roaming around, which cuts us down to four. Rearranging the stage, Tilly, doing the sword work.” He grimaced. “I smell our infamous bleach and oranges again. The spotlight needed to be turned on. Another hour to ninety minutes. Clean up… Tight.”

Calder moved to the next slat. “Ballsy. But if she was already dead, that part is out of the equation.”

“Still, it’s dead weight to move around, security cameras to strip and reprogram.” Cruz turned to Francesca. “Where was the roommate?”

“No idea. Tripoli was hanging out to head him off at the pass, so to speak, but I never heard if he showed up or not.”

“All right. We’ll need to establish alibis for Cosmos, Triumph, and Michael.”

Francesca winced.

“Something you know, Francesca?”

“Know? I don’t know anything about Michael.”

“Then why that look on your face?”

“Just uncomfortable hearing his name.”

Cruz stared her down. “Uh-huh.” Clearly, he didn’t believe her. “Go question the duo. I’ll handle Murphy after I’m done here with Calder. Check in with me when you’re done, and we’ll meet up and compare notes at the office.”

The conference roomtable at the FBI headquarters was covered from head to foot with folders, papers, photographs, and dinner takeout containers. Cruz had stopped to pick up dinner on his way from Elysium to the FBI offices and was currently on the phone to Mickie, letting her know he wouldn’t be making it home anytime soon. When he disconnected the call, it was witha sigh as he opened the box to his dinner fromMacaws I Said So. There was a grumpy frown on his face as he studied the box’s contents.

“Tonight was supposed to be steak night,” he complained.

“If you want to go, Cruz, you can,” Francesca said. “We’re stuck right now until Calder has a report for us anyway.”

With a grunt, he leaned back in his chair, pulled at his tie to loosen the knot around his neck, and scrubbed his face with his hands. “What? And leave you here to consume this fine dining alone?” He sighed again. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s not. Much as I loveMacaws’food, I obviously would prefer to go home to Mickie, my grill, and a beer, but things are too…”

“Unsettled?” Francesca suggested.

“I was going to say ‘clusterfucked,’ but yeah, that too. How are we doing on the whereabouts of our principals?” he asked tiredly.

Half-eaten cheeseburger in one hand, Francesca searched under a pile of papers for her ever-present notebook. She doubted she needed it, but in case Cruz asked her an oddball question she’d need to reference, the sight of her clean, crisp notes and drawings was comforting. Taking another absent-minded bite of her burger, she scanned through her first page of notes on Tilly’s murder.

Behind her hand and around the bite of food, she summarized her notes. “Triumph says he was at home. He wasn’t even aware that Tilly was missing until Tripoli called him this morning. He left here last night with Cosmos at two-oh-six, according to video surveillance, and this morning, he slept in for the first time in forever. Betting he barely sleeps ever again, let alone late.”

“Yeah. That guilt is going to eat him up for a while,” Cruz said. “So he’s his only alibi. Were he and Tilly actually an item?”

She shook her head as she swallowed her food. “Nope. While he was devastated, as we suspected, he struck me as being more like a parent or much older sibling wracked with grief. Search of their place showed they had separate bedrooms, separate bathrooms. None of their stuff seemed intermingled anywhere in the apartment, including the kitchen. There was one odd thing.”

“What’s that?” Cruz grabbed a cold french fry and shoved it in his mouth.

“Before you arrived this morning, when Cosmos left the room, he made mention of making sure we find the murderer because ‘My Tilly-girl deserves better.’”

Feeding another french fry into his mouth, Cruz turned his head to the notes on the whiteboard. “That’s right. They were an item two years ago, weren’t they?”

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