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He entered the micro-foyer, and I went ahead and led him up the stairs to my apartment. Luckily, I’d tidied up after going on my honey-cake baking spree, and so the place was in fairly decent shape.
“Iced tea?” I asked him after I’d closed the door behind us. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some caffeine.”
“Sounds great.”
“Go ahead and sit down in the living room,” I said. “I’ll meet you there in a sec.”
He headed toward the couch. I couldn’t help but notice that Archie had positioned himself in an opportune patch of sunlight by the French doors that led to the balcony, but I decided not to try to shoo him out. Doing so would only end badly — and besides, I figured it couldn’t hurt to get his input on Boden’s story once the cat and I were alone.
I had a big pitcher of sun tea in the fridge, so it didn’t take me very long to fill a couple of glasses with ice, then pour the tea over it. In less than a minute, I was in the living room, handing my unexpected guest a glass before settling myself in the armchair that faced the couch.
“Thanks,” he said.
“How are you doing?” I asked. Yes, he looked tired and strained, but I couldn’t see any real grief in his expression. Maybe the shock of Lilith’s death hadn’t quite hit him yet.
Or maybe it hadn’t affected him all that much because he really didn’t care.
Unease swirled through me, and I made myself take a sip of tea. Yes, Calvin had said Boden’s alibi was iron-clad…but what if it really wasn’t? What if he looked relatively unconcerned about Lilith’s murder because he was the one who’d actually committed it?
“I’m okay,” Boden said. He also swallowed some tea, then pushed a few strands of limp black hair behind one ear with his free hand. “I mean, I think I’m just still processing all this. I can’t believe she’s gone.”
No, say what you wanted about Lilith Black, but she’d definitely been a larger-than-life presence. When someone like that had their existence snuffed out, their passing did seem to leave a hole in the world.
“I can’t, either,” I said. “How’s Tansy?”
“She’s a mess.”
I didn’t find that too difficult to believe. Although I’d never heard the girl speak a single word, it seemed pretty obvious to me that she practically worshipped the woman who’d been her boss. “And you left her alone?” I asked.
Although I hadn’t meant the question as an accusation, Boden stiffened. “She didn’t want me around. She said it was my fault that Lilith was dead.”
About all I could do in response to such a comment was blink. “Why would she say that?”
Boden’s glance slid away from mine. He swallowed some more tea, and wrapped both hands around the glass, its surface now sweating slightly despite my apartment’s more than adequate air conditioning. “Because I wasn’t with her when — when it happened.”
“Where were you?”
Was that a trace of a flush along his cheekbones? I thought it might be; in keeping with his overall goth look, he was very pale, with not even a hint of a tan to hide his natural skin tone.
“I was with a girl I met at the ritual. We went back to her house after it was over.”
Ah. Well, that must have been what Calvin had meant by Boden Marsh having an iron-clad alibi. I had no doubt that he’d interviewed the girl involved as well, and she’d confirmed his story that he’d been far away from the scene of the crime when the murder occurred.
And I didn’t understand why Boden would look so hangdog. His personal life was his business. Maybe hooking up with random women at Lilith’s various “events” wasn’t the most socially responsible behavior, but as long as they were safe, who cared?
A flash of his aura — now dark blue tinged with purple — gave me a bit of a clue. He was embarrassed because he liked me, and he didn’t want me to think he was a man-whore.
Honestly, I tried not to judge people’s personal lives. As long as everyone involved was a consenting adult, have at it.
I didn’t think it would be very politic to tell him that he didn’t have a chance in hell with me, and so there was no point in being embarrassed. Instead, I said quietly, “Well, I can see why Tansy might be upset, but unless Lilith hired you specifically to be her bodyguard, I don’t think anyone could blame you for what happened.”
A look of relief passed over Boden’s angular features, and he sat up a little straighter. “No, that definitely wasn’t in my job description. She used me to fetch and carry, and to scout locations for her and handle some logistics, but she never felt she needed personal protection.”
Misplaced confidence, obviously, although I didn’t bother to comment on that.
Before I could say anything, he went on, “Actually she told me she wanted to be alone after the ritual, so I thought it was fine to leave.”
I nodded, then said, “Why don’t you tell me exactly what happened? Maybe then I can start to get a sense of what might be going on here.”
