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Leo went on, unperturbed by the gastronomic ignorance surrounding him. “Meat and cheese board, tapas tray, breads, crackers, and dips. And whatever fruit I find. We’ll open a few bottles of wine and snack our way through the meal. Will that make everyone happy?”
“It sounds perfect,” Sasha told him. She stretched up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned down, and their lips met in a long, firm kiss.
“Okay, you two, keep it sanitary. Remember, this is a kitchen,” Naya said.
After the laughter died, Leo assigned people jobs: cutting, plating, uncorking wine, and otherwise lending a hand to the simple meal prep.
“Everyone has a job except for me,” Sasha pouted.
Behind her, she heard Maisy groan.
“Oh no,” Chris whispered to Daniel.
Sasha’s culinary skills—or, more accurately, lack thereof—were well known among their friends.
Before she could get indignant, Leo picked her up and placed her on the giant island. “Your job is to sit there and look pretty. No one else could do it as well as you.”
Naya mimed sticking a finger down her throat.
“I’m notjustgoing to sit here and look pretty, but I will sit here and summarize the information we have so far.”
“That works too,” Leo told her.
“I wish we had a murder board,” she mused.
With a flourish reminiscent of a game show hostess, Aroostine gestured to the large chalkboard on the wall near the refrigerator.
“Perfect. Do you want to write the notes?” Sasha asked.
Aroostine grabbed a piece of chalk and stood by the board, her hand poised over the writing surface.
“First, we know that Rex Stoddard’s friends didn’t like him much. Or at all.”
“That’s an understatement,” Chris told her. “You should have heard the way they were talking about him. People are so funny. How could they forget I was sitting right there? The piano wasn’t playing itself.”
“We’re going to want to hear about that,” Sasha told him before turning to Bodhi. “You said that he was hit over the head. Can you tell us anything else?”
Bodhi shook his head. “Not with any certainty, not without a proper forensics team. I can’t even tell you if the person who hit him was taller or shorter than him because it depends on whether he was standing up straight, sitting, or crouching. Do we even know why he was in that room?”
“No,” Leo said.
“That might yet come out during the interviews,” Aroostine said in a hopeful voice.
“Don’t forget about the button,” Bodhi said suddenly.
“Oh, right. The button.” Hank removed the evidence bag from his pocket and placed it on the island.
“What’s up with the button?” Aroostine asked.
“Bodhi found it under Rex’s body. It didn’t match his clothes. It’s possible the killer lost it during the attack.”
Aroostine scrawled‘button—killer?’on the chalkboard. Then she and Sasha had the same thought at the same time.
“We shouldn’t make a list of evidence or theories. Any one of them could wander out into the kitchen,” Sasha said. Aroostine was already erasing the words with the side of her hand.
Naya patted Sasha on the shoulder. “Someday you’ll get your murder board, Mac.”
“Promises, promises,” she groused good-naturedly.
