“Hi, Barbara, how are you doing?”
“I’m terrified, to tell you the truth. I’m afraid to walk through the stacks. Last night I couldn’t even stand to be at home after I left work. I was so glad everyone decided to go to the pub. Lila picked me up and saw me home, but I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I can’t afford to take the car service everywhere.”
“I’m sorry. What were you up to on Sunday, by the way?”
“I didn’t leave my apartment. I was too shaken up by Thorne’s death. Honestly, I’m so scared.”
He said something reassuring and hung up. According to what she’d volunteered, she’d gotten off work and gone straight home, but was there any proof of that? He was glad the police had decided to keep the attack on Sam a secret. Only the killer would know that anything had happened, so only he or she would think to come up with a lie, and lies could be found out.
He continued to make calls to see what the rest of the Ravens had to say. Last night Lila had gone straight from a fashion show to pick up her friends, and then she had gone to the pub. He could verify that, and he did. Lila Hawkins hadn’t left the showing on Fifth Avenue until seven, and based on what Barbara had said, the rest of the timing fit, too. According to her, she’d spent the Sunday at her daughter’s house on Long Island, and he would verify that, too, if need be.
Lou Sayles had picked up her kids, which he confirmed by calling the school. She’d spent Sunday with her family, at a Little League game, and the game checked out, though he would have to do more investigating to confirm that she had been there.
And Eileen…Maybe he shouldn’t have told her about the attempt on Sam’s life at the hospital, but it was too late to worry about that now.
He caught her at her desk. “Hi, Joe. I’ll see you at dinner, right?”
“Dinner? Where?”
She laughed. “Well, I suppose we should all be getting a bit sick of it, but…O’Malley’s.”
“Sure, I guess. Later,” he said. “So are you with Genevieve?” he asked, after satisfying himself as to her whereabouts at the times in question.
“No, she’s out with Adam, and Nikki and Brent.”
Joe winced. His own fault for walking out on the lunch, he supposed. “They would never leave her alone, would they?”
“Of course not,” Eileen assured him. “I thought that you were with them, as well.”
He heard the slight reproach in that, but thanked her and told her that he would see her later.
He called Mary Vincenzo next. Just as he was expecting to get her machine, she answered, sounding as if she had been sleeping. Or smoking dope. There was an odd mockery mixed with sensuality in her voice tone. “Why, Mr. Connolly, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“I was wondering where you were last night?” he asked after the usual pleasantries, opting to be direct with her.
“Jealous?” she drawled.
“If you don’t mind answering…”
“You’re not the cops.”
“I’m just trying to help.”
“Oh, yes, that’s right. You’re everyone’s savior, aren’t you, Mr. Connolly?”
“Mrs. Vincenzo, if you would just—”
“I prefer being called Mary,” she said, interrupting him.
“Mary, if you don’t mind…”
“I was at Jared’s penthouse. If you must know, we were fucking.”
“We?”
“Jared and I.”
“What about Sunday?”
“Let me see…Sunday. Hmm. Oh, we were fucking then, too.”
“He must be quite the Energizer Bunny,” he told her pleasantly.
She was silent for a moment, and he realized with a flash of insight that she hadn’t been sleeping or getting stoned. She’d been drinking.
“Can anyone verify that you were there all day?”
“Are you suggesting that we invite people in to watch us while we’re fucking?” she drawled insinuatingly.
“Can anyone verify you were together at Jared’s penthouse?”
“Maybe we should have people over,” she mused. “I mean, they talk about us already. You talked about us. In fact, you knew about us. When others didn’t. Maybe we should have you over. You could even join us, if you’d like. How big are you down there, Mr. Connolly?”
“Thanks for talking to me, Mary,” he said, and hung up, then put her name right under Jared’s in the “potentially guilty” column.
He didn’t like her, so maybe that wasn’t fair. If it came to that, he didn’t like Jared, either. But the truth was that Jared was the major beneficiary of his father’s death, and Mary benefitted through Jared.
He kept calling and making lists. He was certain the police were making the same lists and decided they ought to compare them.