Page 111 of Caper Crush
I stare at the picture of our Edmund with Lena.
That links Edmund to Lena at the party.It’s Edmund. I knew it was Edmund.Did he hide the paintings in their cart? Is Vinnie in on it too? They said Vinnie was in the kitchen with them.How to ask?
William grips my thigh.
“Is Lena going to join us with Edmund tonight?” I ask.
“No, I think they’ll just head over to his place,” Miju says. “In the beginning, we all hung out a lot, but since Lena has shows most nights, I don’t think she gets to see him that much. And she said he only wants to see her. Which she thought was romantic, but I think it’s unduly possessive. I’ve barely seen her since they started dating.”
That was very much Edmund. He did not want to share Annabelle when we were growing up.
“I hate when I lose my best friend to the guy she’s dating,” I say.
“Yeah, especially when I’m not sure the guy is worth it,” Miju says.
“Why don’t you think he’s worth it?” I ask.
She winces, but she shakes her head. “No reason. It’s nothing.”
If she doesn’t like Edmund, we may have an opening. Was Edmund in the kitchen when Vinnie was there?
“I met with that lecherous art dealer Vinnie.” I grimace and shiver in revulsion. “He rubbed my back inappropriately. Did he do anything like that to you?”
William turns his head sharply toward mine.
Miju’s eyes widen. “He did that to me too! I told Lena that.”
“Did you tell the host?” Did they tell Edmund? Edmund does not like sharing. How can I get Miju to admit that Edmund was in the kitchen with them?
“No.” She shakes her head.
“I wished I’d brought William with me when I met with Vinnie.” I link my arm through William’s. “William can look quite fierce when he’s being protective.”
“Shush.” She puts her finger to her lips and peers into my face. “That’s what we did. Edmund was at that party, so Lena told Edmund, and then he hung out with us in the kitchen.”
“Did Edmund know the people throwing the party?” I force myself to relax.
William is tense next to me, leaning forward, but he’s not stopping me.
Miju nods. “They recommended Kimberly’s Catering to him.”
I’m stuck. I don’t know what to ask. William gives me an encouraging nod.
“I hope he helped with cleanup.”
Miju nods. “He did.”
Did he disappear into the storage room and come back with some paintings that he then stuck into your food cart?is what I want to ask. My boss at Christie’s always said,Think of it like an onion and peel away each layer. And keep it light.
“Did he man the kitchen and do the dishes? William is the cook in our relationship and I’m the dishwasher.”
“He left.” Miju laughs. “I don’t think Edmund is the dishwasher type.”
He’s definitely not.
“But he met Lena on the street outside with the cart. He waited with the cart, like you did, while Lena got the car and drove it around to the front of the building.”
Lena never mentioned to Officer Johnson that Edmund helped her with the cart. I sip my wine. She felt the need to hide that.
