Page 34 of Witness To Murder
As they approached the intersection of West Chestnut and North State Street, the towering buildings edged out everything else. The trees disappeared, save for the small ones sprouting from carefully planned squares of earth revealed along the sidewalks. Traffic lights and streetlamps took the place of the larger trees. The narrow, barely two-lane side street became a wide city passageway with turning lanes and crosswalks and ever-present traffic.
“Just on that corner.” She pointed to Tempo. The lovely one-story painted building with its arched natural-wood windows was neatly tucked in amid the towering skyscrapers. The petite structure sat on the corner, the East Chestnut side flanked by an outdoor-dining space.
This was another one of the things Leah had enjoyed about living at Chestnut Place. There were so many shops and restaurants within a short walk. The hum of the city energized her. She refused to allow the betrayal of the past few days to take that away from her. This was home, and no one was robbing her of that feeling.
She would just have to see about taking over the lease and getting herself a new, trustworthy roommate.
They passed Leah’s favorite coffee shop. She and Isla—Alyssa—had been there together many, many times.
A sickening sensation settled in her stomach when she considered how thoroughly she had been fooled. Pushing the thought away, she smiled and thanked Owen when he opened the door to Tempo. The café wasn’t so busy, since the lunch crowd had diminished. Getting a table and ordering was quick.
Once the waitress had taken their order and drifted away, Owen asked, “Have you given any thought to where you go from here?” His blue eyes searched her face as she scrambled to figure out how to answer his question, since she really had no idea. “I mean, I’m sure you’ll be finishing at the university. But will you be staying in the same apartment, or do you feel a change is in order?”
“Good question.” She hadn’t gotten that far with any sort of plan. “The lease hashername on it, so I’ll have to see how or if I can change that.”
“I imagine the rent is fairly steep for a student with only a part-time job.”
“I have some savings.” Actually, what she had was the remainder of the trust her father had left her. Not exactly enough, but something. But she really wanted to save that for anything her mom might need. “I would probably need to find another roommate.”
She’d used the larger portion of her trust for her mother, and she did not regret doing so. With her whole heart, she was confident her father had expected his wife to be well cared for. The problem was, he hadn’t noticed that the payment information hadn’t been updated on the life insurance policy he’d purchase years ago to take care of her if something happened to him. In part, Leah had blamed the life insurancecompany for not trying to call a longtime customer, but there was no changing that sad fact once her father was gone. Instead, the policy had lapsed, and there was nothing for her mother. The savings her father had accumulated had already been established as a trust for Leah. He’d changed their will and set up the trust since, at the time, their only daughter had appeared determined to screw up her life. The trust only allowed for the withdrawal of a certain amount each year. Except for medical needs—which was how she had managed to use the money at a faster pace for her mother’s needs.
“I have a friend,” he said, “who owns a building not so far from where you live now who has great studios for really good prices. I can put in a word, if a move to something smaller and less expensive would help.”
“I should do that,” she agreed with a resounding nod. “The idea of looking for a roommate is…” She made a face. “Not something I really want to do.”
“Understandable. I’ll give my friend a call. We can go have a look when you’re ready.”
We.A rush of warmth gave her goose bumps. The very best part of this conversation was the idea that he anticipated seeing her even after this investigation was finished. As foolish as it sounded since she hardly knew him, she really hoped that was a possibility. Maybe it was the hero-worship thing, but it felt like something more.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I really appreciate everything you’re doing.”
The smile he flashed back at her made her heart beat even faster. She really had to slow down. She was getting far too accustomed to having this man around.
They both ordered a cheeseburger and fries, which hit the spot. Leah added a vanilla milkshake to hers. She hadn’t inhaledthat many carbs in a while, and she desperately needed the boost they provided—however temporary.
Maybe it was all the sugar from that milkshake, but the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them: “Do you have siblings?”
She instantly bit her lip. In all the discussions about her personal life, he had never once offered any details of his own. Maybe it wasn’t allowed. Whatever the case, the question was out there now.
“Two sisters,” he said without hesitation. “Both older. I’ve spent my entire life being bossed around by them.”
Leah laughed. “I thought you were going to sayprotecting themorscaring off boyfriends.”
“That too,” he admitted. “But mostly I’ve always done whatever they asked. Lauren got married three years ago and has the first grandchild on the way. Madilyn is engaged. But both still call me first when they’re worried.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “I love that they respect your input so much.”
He inclined his head toward one shoulder. “Lauren is a psychologist, and she has told me many times that I’m far too calm and steady for a man just turned thirty-two. Madilyn insists that I take after our mother, and the wild child that never developed will appear when I least expect it.”
“I’m not sure I want to know what that means.” Leah grinned when he turned up his hands. “Wait, yes, I have to hear it!”
“The story goes,” he explained, “my mother and father married very young—which is true. She was eighteen and he was twenty and still in college. By the time Mother was twenty-five, she had three kids. Our father had graduated by then and was working as an engineer in a coveted government position. So all was good financially. But then, at thirty, Mother suddenly experienced an early midlife crisis and took off for Paris.”
Leah’s jaw dropped. “Paris as in France?”
He nodded. “She said she’d never gone to Paris the way she always wanted. Father was forever too tied up at work to take any real time off, so she decided to just do it alone. She landed in Paris and then spent fourteen days traveling around Europe as if she hadn’t a care or an obligation in the world. Both grandmothers were appropriately appalled and came to take care of the children. For the three of us, it was like a trip to Disney World. The grandmothers spoiled us entirely during her absence. On day fifteen in Europe, Mother woke up, spent the whole day in tears and trying to get the fastest flight back home.”
“What a story.” Leah grabbed another french fry from her plate. “What happened when she got back?”
