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Leo fell silent and rubbed his jaw, thinking. “Paul told us his version privately. But he was sitting in the room when Chance gave his account. Why didn’t he correct him if Chance got it wrong?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Even if Chance got it right, Paul knows their stories don’t line up. So why not try to get out in front of it?”
“Chance also portrayed the conversation between Grady and Rex as heated, but Grady didn’t suggest that it was unfriendly. Just that Rex needed to talk to him about something personal.”
“Joy assumed that conversation was about her, but it was probably the news that Rex had fathered a child. Right?”
He nodded slowly. “Maybe Grady was killed to prevent him from telling everyone the details of that conversation.”
“Which means someone else knows Rex has a child and doesn’t want the others to find out. You think he told Paul or Chance, and that’s why one of them is lying?”
“Maybe. That also means one of them is the killer, then,” he mused.
There was a light rap at the door. Startled, Sasha started.
Leo gave her a reassuring smile and crossed the room. He opened the door to reveal Paul standing in the hallway with a strained expression and his hands clasped tightly in front of him.
A chilly finger of unease ran along Sasha’s spine. How long had he stood at the door before he knocked? Could he have heard them talking about him?
“I need to talk to the two of you for a minute,” Paul said.
Leo’s gaze darted to Sasha. She nodded, and he gestured for Paul to enter the room.
“Come on in.”
“Thanks,” Paul said, dropping into the chair across from Sasha. “I’ll keep this short, but I thought you should know candied lemon peels weren’t on the packing list from the bespoke cocktail shop.”
“Bespoke cocktail shop?” Leo gave Paul a bemused look.
Paul shrugged. “It’s this place in Bloomfield. Rex gets all his bar items there. He’d had them send over the candied orange peels, the fresh orange juice, the aromatic bitters, and the amaretto. I know that jar of candied lemon peels wasn’t on the invoice because I checked it.”
“Why?” Sasha asked.
“Why what?”
“Why did you check the invoice?”
“Rex could be a … stickler. If something was missing, I didn’t want him to find out at the last minute and ream me out about it. So I figured I’d better make sure everything was there. I saw the extra jar of garnish and figured the shop sent it over as a gift.” Paul stared down at his hands and snorted. “Some gift.”
“We haven’t confirmed that the cyanide was on the lemon peels,” Sasha cautioned, ignoring Leo’s raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, but come on. We all know that’s why the doctor guy insisted Bethany had to wash her hands. But even if the lemon curls were one hundred percent unadulterated, the shop owner must not have known Rex very well. He would never have served an untested drink.”
“Even just substituting the garnish?” Leo pressed.
“No way. That amaretto sour was Rex’s signature drink, and he doesn’t make it with lemon. He makes it with orange juice and orange peels. He wouldn’t have used them. If anything, he’d take the jar home to experiment with later. You know, mix up a batch with lemon juice and candied lemon and see how it tastes. I just thought you should know that Rex didn’t order them. And if they didn’t come from the store, the person who put them with the rest of the ingredients probably expected Rex to take them home, not serve them here.”
“So, Grady’s death was an accident. Is that what you’re saying?”
He shrugged. “Seems like.”
Sasha locked eyes with her husband.Should we ask him about the conflicting stories?Leo read the question in her gaze and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
She nodded. “Thanks for telling us. Is there anything else you think we need to know?”
“Like what?”
“Like anything,” Leo told him.
