“We tune you in and out,” Neil corrected.
“Asshole.”
“What did you find?”
I walked to the register and lifted the pile of now-protected documents. “The lost inventions of William Dickson.”
“Who’s that?”
“To make a long-winded story short?” I held out the papers. “Thisis motive.”
“ARE YOUsure those documents are going to be safe at the Emporium?” Neil asked as he drove us to the Sunrise Film Academy in Midtown.
“Inside a hatbox on the top of a display shelf beside the bathroom is a hell of a lot safer than me holding on to them. Especially if we’re going to see Lee.”
“You honestly think it’s him?” Neil spared me a glance.
“He teaches at the same school the first victim and the unknown assailant attend.”
“And why couldn’t those teenagers be working this together without the influence of a third party?”
“It’s not possible,” I said firmly.
“Are you sure you aren’t merelyhopingit’s not possible?”
I turned my head and glared at Neil. “Really?”
“You were led to believe unsavory narratives about me.”
“That was different.”
“Not really.”
“I know those two kids aren’t doing this alone,” I said again with a tone of finality. “I knowsomeoneis pulling the strings. And Lee visited Marshall’s Oddities just before the revolver went missing, and he was with me when I learned of Mr. Robert’s home address. Just wait until Calvin gets Casey Robert’s transcript. That’ll prove it.”
Neil turned west on Twenty-Fifth Street and made his way through uptown traffic on Third Avenue. “Just remember that this case belongs to Winter and Lancaster.” He parked on the corner of East Twenty-Eighth Street. “I’m not here as an officer of the law. I’m here as your friend.”
“How sweet,” I said dryly.
Neil gave me that charming, annoyed expression I’d never once missed since we broke up. “And unless Lee Straus looks me dead in the eye and says, ‘I murdered the Roberts, please arrest me,’ I can’t do anything.”
I gave him a mock salute. “Understood, Detective Millett.” I climbed out of the car.
Sunrise Film Academy was directly across the street from a Starbucks and a bar, which I thought was pretty excellent planning on the school’s behalf. We walked to the sidewalk and toward the heavy glass doors, where a handful of summer-course students stood smoking. Neil grabbed the handle first and pulled it open, letting me walk in.
“Afraid I’m going to hit you again?” I asked over my shoulder.
“I can never predict what you’ll do next, Sebastian.”
I approached the guard’s desk and set my arms on the counter. “Good morning. I’m here to see Lee Straus. He’s an instructor.”
The guard picked up a sheet of paper with a few lines on it. “Name?”
“Ah, it might not be on the guest list. I was… called… last-minute.”
The guard raised an eyebrow. “Called for what?”
“Seb,” Neil murmured from behind me.
