“You bet,” I said, and waved in sympathy. They’d both had unpleasant run-ins with Minka during the investigation of Abraham’s murder.
Lee took off her trench coat and draped it over one of the tall chairs. I couldn’t help but notice she’d put on a few pounds. It looked good on her. And while it was none of my business, she could afford to gain another ten or twenty.
“What’s up, Brooklyn?” she said, leaning back against the counter and folding her arms across her chest. She was Asian-American, tall and pretty, with a throaty voice some might consider sexy, but which I knew came from smoking too much. She had fabulous hair, thick, black, and shiny. And she intimidated the hell out of me.
“Not much,” I lied, kneading my temple where another headache was brewing. “Although to tell you the truth, I’m a little tired of running into dead bodies everywhere I go. How are you doing, Inspector?”
“I’m a bitch on wheels since I gave up smoking,” she said. “Otherwise, life is like a dream. I know what you mean about the bodies, though. I seem to have the same problem. Occupational hazard, I guess.”
“I guess,” I said, chuckling. “Hey, congratulations on the smoking thing.” I guess that explained the weight gain.
“Yeah, whatever. Turns out, my mother was right. Guys don’t like to kiss an ashtray.”
“Really.”
“Yeah, but who needs guys?” She shoved away from the counter and walked to the worktable, where she tested one of my student’s glued pages for dryness. “This your class?”
“Yes, bookbinding.” I glanced around the empty room. “My students are all hanging out in the gallery, soaking up the excitement.”
“Excitement,” she repeated, as she fiddled with the wing nuts on the press, flicking them back and forth a few times. “I hear there’s been a lot of it around here lately.”
“You could say that.”
“Yeah, I could.” She smirked, then seemed to remember she was there to do a job. “So, tell me about the victim.”
I paused, unsure where to start, then figured I’d start at the top. “She was despicable.”
“Hey, don’t sugarcoat it. Tell me how you really feel.”
“I kind of hated her.”
She leaned back and crossed her ankles. “Guess it’s a good thing you have a rock-solid alibi.”
I blew out a breath. “It sure is.”
She splayed her hands out. “So, tell all. Why was she so awful?”
I held up my hand and counted on my fingers. “She cheated, she lied, she came on to all the men, and she ruled this place through fear and intimidation.”
“Sounds like a real piece of work.”
“I had an argument with her two nights ago.” I explained about the Oliver Twist, emphasizing the fact that I had left the book with Layla’s body. “I’m ashamed to admit I went along with Layla’s lie because I was afraid she’d ruin my reputation, maybe blackball me in the community and keep me from working here.”
Lee nodded. “And how did that make you feel?”
“Like I wanted to kill her.”
“Over a book?”
I shook my head. “It was the principle of the thing.”
Lee cocked her head. “Boy, give the woman an alibi and she goes to town. You’re sounding more and more like a suspect, you know.”
“But I’m not,” I said, smiling grimly.
She leaned her arms on the back of the high chair. “I heard some rumors about a situation in Edinburgh.”
“I didn’t do it.”
She laughed. “They should’ve called me.”
“So you could give me a character reference?”
“Of course,” she said, then slapped her hands together. “Well, I should get back to kicking ass and taking names.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“It’s what I live for,” she said. “But first, tell me about the other people here. Did everyone hate this woman enough to kill her?”
I hedged. “Well, some were more enamored of her than others.”
She eyed me sideways. “You giving me a little clue here?”
My lips twitched back and forth. “I hate to be a snitch.”
“This isn’t Scarface, Brooklyn. I need to find a killer. Throw me a bone.”
I gave her a two-minute summation of everything that might relate to Layla’s murder, including Tom and Cynthia’s oddball behavior, Ned’s general demeanor, Naomi’s passive-aggressive ways, Minka’s attack, and the Asian man who stormed out of Layla’s office that first night.
“Sounds like a lot of strong emotions running rampant.”
“You could say that.”
“Are you thinking this angry Asian might’ve snuck back in here and knocked out Minka instead of Layla?”
“It’s possible.”
“Can you describe him?” she asked, writing in her notepad as fast as she could.
I gave it my best shot, then added, “I wish he was the only one she’d pissed off.”
“That would make my job easier. But unfortunately, this seems to be a suspect-rich environment.”
“I hate to think someone I know could’ve done this. Maybe there’s a random psychopathic killer loose in the neighborhood.”