Page 114 of Beguiled

“A fucking mess. Have someone watch the place for a day or so, but I doubt the person responsible will be back.”

“And the cat?”

“She’s coming with us.”

He made a couple of phone calls while I toyed with trying to figure out her passcode. After several failed attempts, I was about to let it go when I tried something that seemed as if it would fit her earlier feelings for me.

Assholeforaboss.

Bingo.

All I could do was laugh.

She was an extraordinary woman, truly someone very special.

A Facebook page popped up, a girl’s face smiling for a selfie.

Tawny. Was it possible she’d left just before the second person had come into her apartment? Possible. Depending on how longit was before her computer went to sleep, he could have easily realized how close she was with Tawny.

Another reason to eliminate collateral damage.

With the draft report on the screen, I had all of four minutes to look it over before Roman pulled the SUV to the curb. However, anyone with any financial sense could see her ideas were damn good ones. She’d been thorough in her ideas, concrete in the numbers and had articulated the process, even predicting a financial gain that didn’t seem too farfetched.

“The police are just leaving.” Roman nodded toward the windshield.

There were still two police cars in front of the building, a wrecker in the process of hooking up a vehicle that had its roof crushed in.

My feisty private dancer had seen the body. I could tell by the haunted look in her eyes. While I hadn’t been born a killer, my initial hope at becoming a doctor, the honorable profession had never been in the cards.

“Then we need to be expedient with getting in and getting out. Where is this place?” Given my observation skills, I’d noticed there were expensive cars located up and down the street. While the location held a transitional appearance, mixed use with warehouse-style buildings, the number of trendy restaurants alone were a dead giveaway this wasn’t a low-income neighborhood.

“Morningstar. An up-and-coming area.”

“I’ll say,” I managed. “Any rental controls here?”

He snorted. “Try rentals in excess of fifteen grand a month. You gotta pay to play here.”

That ruled out all possibilities of the girl living here with a marketing salary.

Once again, we moved to the back of the building. Whether or not Tawny’s apartment had been visited would remain a mystery for a little while longer. This time, the door was locked.

I didn’t tell Roman to stand watch; he did so without hesitation while I pulled out the instruments I needed to pick the lock.

Doing so was easy, something anyone with any criminal skills could do. Once inside, we moved toward the elevators, keeping a careful eye on any activity. There was none.

The elevator ride was smooth, no one making an appearance. There was also no noise of any kind. However, the police had done a shitty job of closing off her apartment. There was still crime scene tape stretched across the door. I had no interest in the police possibly coming and knocking on my door, pulling gloves from my pocket.

While most suicides wouldn’t have an additional police presence, it was possible detectives would arrive at some point depending on who her father was. That was the entire key as to how to proceed with this.

Her door was unlocked, the timing such that no one else would dare enter her apartment while the police remained.

Unlike when I’d walked into Saige’s apartment, noticing the feisty girl was frugal in her choices, Tawny didn’t need to be. Between the furniture and lamps, the girl had pricy tastes.

Or a father who could afford anything his daughter wanted.

Being here answered the question about whether her father was important enough to use his daughter as leverage. What if in doing so, he’d pissed off someone else?

We both moved through the apartment, careful not to disturb anything. There was nothing that appeared out of place or as if she’d been arguing with anyone. Which meant she’d either been lured to the roof or had already been there.