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He looked thoughtful for a moment but shook his head. “Unfortunately, we didn’t hear any voices. We just heard something being knocked down. We thought Annisa had fallen, so we wanted to make sure that she was alright.”
“I can’t believe this happened to Annisa. She was such a sweetheart.” I looked at Eric, startled by his description. He didn’t notice my reaction, and he continued. “She was so generous. I mean, she gave me these shoes as a birthday present.” He raised a leg and flexed his foot, showing off his camel colored suede loafers. “And, for Derrick’s birthday, she bought him a Burberry wallet.”
At the mention of the designer accessories, Julia and I shared a worried look. She was thinking the same thing I was. Were the shoes and the wallet fake?
“Try some of the macarons. They are delicious!” Derrick said, lifting the plate toward me.
“They look pretty,” I said and took one from the top of the pyramid.
While I enjoyed the burst of lemon from the French cookie, Derrick said, “Annisa’s cousin, Sung, brought me these the last time he visited her.”
I stopped chewing to exchange glances with Julia. “When was Sung here?” she asked.
“Oh, maybe a week ago? I’ve been keeping the macarons in the freezer, and these are the last of them. Now that Annisa’s gone, I don’t know if we’ll see him again,” Derrick said in a tone barely above a whisper.
“Do you know anything about Sung,” I asked, gently placing my hand on Derrick’s arm.
He shook his head, but Eric said, “I think he’s in some kind of import-export business.”
My suspicion turned into confusion when I heard shouting in the hallway.
“What’s that ruckus?” Derrick asked in alarm, and he swiveled his head toward the door.
“I think that’s Tristan and Will,” Julia said, recognizing the voices and rushed toward the entrance.
When Julia opened the door, we could see Tristan frantically trying to get into Annisa’s apartment. “Where’s my wife?” Tristan was craning his neck to look past the female officer.
“Tristan, I’m here,” Julia said, jogging over to her husband, where she laid both hands on him to settle him down.
Once the officer saw that Tristan had calmed down, she relaxed her posture.
When she saw me arrive next to Julia, she jerked her head at us and said, “It’s good that you’re here. Officer Miller and I have some questions to ask you. Follow me.” Then she abruptly turned to go back into Annisa’s apartment.
“What about us?” Derrick and Eric asked at the same time that Tristan asked, “Can I accompany my wife?”
Looking at our anxious faces, the police officer said, “Fine. You all can come in. You might be able to tell us what happened or give us more details about the victim.”
As we followed her inside, a sinking feeling settled in my stomach.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“Who found the victim?” A grim-faced Officer Miller asked us when we came into the living room.
“My friend saw Annisa lying on the ground, but I confirmed that she was dead,” I said and swallowed a few times to clear the feeling of having cotton balls stuffed down my throat.
“What’s your name miss?” the female Officer asked.
“My name is Claire O’Keefe.”
“What’s your relationship with the victim?”
“The victim, Annisa Choi, is—was—a friend of mine.”
“How well did you know her?”
“I’ve known her for several years, but I didn’t know her well. My friend knew her better,” I said, nodding toward Julia.
The male officer followed my gaze and asked, “What’s your full name?” Although the officer asked professionally, Tristan put his arm around his wife’s waist protectively.
