Page 7 of Caught
“Come on up.”
She buzzed them into the building.
As they waited for the elevator, Leilah asked, “What’s her story?”
“Juno? Her father and Natsuo’s dad are brothers. She works for the World Bank and travels a lot. I’ve only met her a handful of times.”
The elevator car arrived, and they rode in silence to the sixth floor.
Juno ushered them into the light-filled condo. The space was as Ryan remembered it. The Ito cousins were both fans of bright colors. While the walls were a neutral shade of white, the furnishing, fabrics, and wall hangings skewed toward loud colors that popped.
“I’m so sorry about Nat,” Ryan said as soon as Juno had closed the door behind them. “I only found out last night.”
She frowned. “I’m sorry. I kind of dropped the ball on contacting his friends. I was in Malaysia when … it happened. It’s all been a blur.”
He offered her a hug and then gestured toward Leilah. “Juno, this is Leilah Khan. Leilah, Juno.”
Leilah gave her a sad smile. “I’m sorry for your loss. Thanks for seeing us.”
“Let’s sit in the living room,” Juno suggested, leading them to the blue couch. She perched on a bright yellow chair and peered at Leilah through her choppy pink-streaked bangs. “Did you work with Natsuo, too?”
Leilah shook her head. “No.”
Juno threw Ryan a curious look. “So, you said on the phone you needed to talk to me about something important. Something Nat was working on?”
“Right. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it. Grover died last night.”
“Grover Anderson?”
“Yes.”
She whistled softly. “First Nat, then Grover. Your old workplace must be cursed.”
“Grover was murdered. And someone’s trying to kill me.”
Her eyes widened. “What?” Then she inhaled sharply. “Wait. You think Nat’s death wasn’t an accident?”
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs, and eyed her closely. “You know Nat better than anyone. Did you ever see him falling-down drunk?”
“Never,” she said immediately.
“Me neither.”
They both fell silent for a moment. Then Juno shook her head and spoke slowly. “A part of me wondered, you know. By the time I got back to the States, the police had already closed their investigation. You really think he was killed?”
Ryan and Leilah exchanged a long look before he answered. “We don’t have any hard proof. But it sure seems suspicious.”
“It does,” Juno agreed.
“Did Nat keep any work papers here?”
Juno shook her head slowly. “Not that I know of. Sorry.”
“He probably didn’t,” Ryan hurried to assure her. “We weren’t supposed to. But, you know, sometimes, to get the work done, people bent the rules.”
“If he did, they’re gone now. The agents took everything.”
“Agents?” Leilah asked. “Police investigators.”
