LITMIR.BIZ

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but what else do I have in common with them?”

      Marina’s teeth kneaded her bottom lip. “That’s the ten-million-dollar question.”

      With a slight shrug, he accelerated and entered the freeway. “I don’t remember seeing them on campus and I never met either of them.”

      He appeared to be dismissing her arguments. Folding her arms in front of her, she threw him annoyed glance.

      Those impossibly long lashes of his were still as he concentrated on the road.

      Marina turned to stare out the window at the Chicago countryside. Were all men so arrogant or just the ones she knew?

      “Of course I plan to watch myself and stay on guard,” he said, breaking the sudden silence.

      Turning from the window, she met his amused glance.

      “Don’t take yourself so seriously,” he said. “The work we do can be depressing enough.”

      “Don’t you try to diminish the importance of what’s going on here,” she replied without a trace of amusement. “I’d hate to lose you as a member of this task force.”

      “Is that all?” he asked softly.

      Of course it wasn’t all. He was still her friend and she didn’t want to lose him. “Well, you’ve been my friend for how long?” she asked, making eye contact and letting her voice trail off. “I’d hate to lose you period.”

      Something in his rapt gaze made her swallow reflexively. Was he trying to make her say that she still had feelings for him? She did, but they were tangled in a maze of emotions, thoughts and feelings resulting from the choice she’d made. Being alone with him for the first time in ages forced her to see him in a new light and it made her uncomfortable.

      She was relieved when he turned his attention back to the road. Opening some of the files they’d brought along, she immersed herself in the notes the third shift detectives had made while interviewing the hotel staff.

      At the mayor’s home, they flashed their badges and were shown to a library filled with couches and chairs, a large cherry desk and antique shelves of leather-bound books. Marina and Reed took seats in the flower-patterned armchairs in front of the bay window. Sunlight filtered in, warming the air-conditioned room.

      The staff informed them that the mayor was away on business, but due back soon, and that Mrs. Dansinger and Jade would be in momentarily. Then they offered tea. Translating that to mean that Jade would be a while, Marina accepted a cup.

      Ten minutes later, Jade Dansinger and her mother, Laura, entered the library. Poor Jade’s eyes were red and swollen, her aquiline nose pinched and flushed. She hadn’t bothered with makeup. The black silk pantsuit did nothing for her white complexion and slim frame. Her eyes were pale blue. A fall of baby-fine, platinum-blond hair covered her face when she took a seat on the couch next to her mother. Her collagen-filled lips quivered as she answered their questions.

      Elliot Washington had taken a call on his cell phone and left the party on the North End at about midnight to meet a friend. He’d told Jade that it was part of the big surprise he was planning for her and had insisted on going alone. He’d driven himself in his Jag. Marina made a note to look at the cell phone records C.P.D. had undoubtedly subpoenaed.

      “Did Elliot seem upset or worried?” Reed asked, scribbling in his notebook.

      “No, he was happy,” Jade answered in a voice clogged with tears.

      “Did he say or give you the name of the friend he was meeting?” Reed continued.

      “No.”

      Marina added a question of her own. “Do you know if he was meeting a male or female friend?”

      The mayor’s wife shot Marina a warning glance. Laura Dansinger was fiercely protective of her family. She handled the police and press with an iron hand.

      Jade’s eyes widened with shock and outrage. “He wasn’t meeting another woman, if that’s what you mean! He wasn’t cheating on me.”

      With a surreptitious glance at the others in the room, Marina noted that none of their faces reflected the same outrage. Most showed pity. Laura Dansinger’s chin dropped. She slowly brought it back up, meeting Marina’s gaze with pure strength of will.

      “We were unofficially engaged,” Jade continued, showing them the four-carat diamond ring on her finger. “Daddy was going to announce it this week and Elliot was working on a surprise for me.”

      “But you don’t really know who he met, do you?” Reed interjected calmly.

      Jade’s voice cracked. “No.”

      “Did he often spend the night at the Hartford Hotel?” Marina asked carefully.

      Dabbing at her eyes, Jade took her time answering. “We…we went for lunch sometimes and after parties,” she admitted in a low voice.

      Evening haven and afternoon delight? This more or less had been verified by some of the hotel staff’s statements to the police. Marina made a few notes in the little book she kept in her purse and kept her expression bland.

      Reed looked up from his notes. “When he left the party, did you notice anyone else leaving?”

      Jade shook her head negatively. “No.”

      “Do you know if he’d received any threatening notes or letters?” Reed asked.

      “No. Everyone liked him.” More tears fell from Jade’s eyes. She wiped at them with a tissue.

      Marina chewed the top of her pen. “We need a list of all his friends and ex-girlfriends.”

      Jade’s chin came up, her lips quivering again. She’d obviously been hiding something. She chose her words carefully. “His ex-girlfriend was Lissa Rawlins and he dropped her when he met me. She…she was angry at first, but I think she got over it.”

      Nodding carefully, Marina noted it. Then she urged Jade to list the names of Elliot’s friends and note which friends had been at the party. As she and Reed finished the interview, she asked if Elliot had known Colton Edwards. Jade did not recognize the name, but added that Edwards could have worked at Quarter Financial with Elliot or attended MUC with him.

      Respectfully reserving the right to return with more questions if necessary, Reed and Marina left the mayor’s mansion.

      In the interest of getting as much done as possible, they stopped to pick up fast-food sandwiches on the way to their next interview. Eating as they traveled, they arrived at the apartment of Elliot’s best friend, Josh Jones, in Rogers Park.

      Jones was obviously grief-stricken about the death of his friend. Through questioning, he basically confirmed the things Jade told them, except he thought they should check the alibi for Elliot’s ex-girlfriend, Lissa. When Elliot dropped her for Jade, Lissa’d had a hard time accepting it and had been angry enough to stalk him and cause a scene in several restaurants and clubs. When asked about Elliot’s late-night meeting, Jones told them that Elliot sometimes met and slept with other women on the side, and that everyone but Jade knew that was the reason he’d left the party early. Jones knew nothing about the woman he assumed Elliot went to meet.

      Marina and Reed left Jones’ apartment and hurried to the last-known address for Lissa Rawlins. It was a condo near Grant Park. Flashing their badges, they got past the front desk guard. According to the guard and the sign on the mailbox in the lobby, it was still Lissa’s place, but no one answered the bell or the phone number Jones had given them. On the way over Reed had checked with Homicide, and they had not been able to talk to Lissa, either. Marina and Reed decided they would call back in the morning.

      Heading for the office, Reed and Marina agreed to call it a day. Halfway there, Marina’s stomach growled so mournfully that she turned her head in embarrassment.

      On the other side of the car Reed chuckled.

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