Page 80 of Deja Who
“Kid stuff,” he replied, feeling uncomfortable. He didn’t likethinking about this, and not just because their focus should be on Leah. It brought back painful memories. Because therehadbeen a time he thought he was different because he was a clean slate. Not a cripple, not someone so stupid in all their lives they could never see them. “Like I said. Fairy tales for grown-ups.”
“I don’t think so,” was Cat’s only response, and to his relief she appeared to get back on track when she added, “And I don’t think you’re a bum. And d’you know how often Leah takes to a guy under the best of circumstances?”
“I have no—”
“Years. Okay? As in, shenevertakes to a guy right away. Never mind one working for her mom. Never mind one who’s been stalking her while he works for her mom. But she didn’t chuck you out the back door, which I think is interesting. Just stabbed you.”
“‘Just,’ huh?”
“And then forgave you. My point, get it?”
“Yeah, she took to me right away but chucked me out the back door in under a month, so it’snotinteresting. And speaking of her mom, getting back to what I said earlier, why’d the killer decide to kill her mom first? He would have known he was killing the wrong woman, right? All he or she did was bring attention to himself or herself. The cops know something’s up, Leah knows he’s close now. Pretty dumb. Pretty obvious and dumb.” It was strange to be discussing such things while walking down a beautiful street in sunny Chicago, where almost everyone was smiling and enjoying the day.
Sad and scary how much bad shit went on when everything else looked great.
“What happened? What’d Ms. Nazir do to make him losehis shit and kill her? Not just kill her. He didn’t shoot her, didn’t stab her, choke her... he or she picked up Leah’s Emmy and whack-whack-whack.”
“I get it, I get it, stop drawing that mental picture.” Cat paused and swallowed. “If you knew that, you’d probably know who did it. And maybe it wasn’t anything. Because, you know. Psycho killer. That’s for the cops to figure out. They’re checking alibis, all that behind-the-scenes stuff, right? Canvassing the neighborhood, and even B-list celeb deaths make the news, so people are talking about it, thinking about it... Again, he’s exposed. He’s gotta kill Leah quick and get out.”
“Yeah. Not that there are many alibis to check. Leah and I are each other’s alibis, so I’m not sure how that works. And Leah’s old agent, what’s-his-face. You should have seen this guy, Cat. He looks like he’s always on the verge of hay fever, or sobbing uncontrollably. Big watery eyes, runny nose.”
“Yeah? Why’s he even a suspect?”
“He was there when Leah blew off her mom for the tenth time. At the McMansion.”
“Huh. Doesn’t make sense for an agent to kill his client, though. Much easier to just drop ’em. Like there’s a shortage of B-list actresses in Hollywood?”
“Right. Anyway, he was on a plane to L.A. when Ms. Nazir got iced with Leah’s Emmy.”
“Oh.” A short pause, then: “How d’you know?”
“Leah figured it out, and the cops were gonna follow up. They’ve probably verified by now.” Archer shuddered, recalling the crime scene (the McMansion had never seemed more bleak, or more sinister) and Leah’s white face and tight, clipped voice as she explained how she could have killed It while knowingdamned well she didn’t kill It. “Beaten to death with Leah’s Emmy. I didn’t know Leah even had an Emmy. But then, you know. Known her less than a month.”
“Yeah, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy.” At Archer’s stare, Cat shrugged. “Okay, I was a fan. I loved the stuff she did in the nineties. Recognized her straight off when one of her clients chased her through my park.” He was still staring, so she elaborated. “Her eyes are the same. It’s why they always cast her as the smart-ass kid who acts tough but is a big sweetie inside. And don’t worry. Leah knows I was a fan. She decided we’d be pals anyway.”
“Okay, well, when this blows over and Leah’s pregnant with my twins—”
“Whoa!”
“—I’ll need to borrow some of your DVDs.”
“Okay, I can’t think about your weird twins right now, or the fact that you think I have a DVD collection stashed somewhere. So how did you know her agent was in L.A.?”
“Leah’s mom told Leah.”
“Leah’s mom.”
“Uh. Yeah. Problem?”
Cat was walking faster, a frown spreading across her broad face. Archer knew there were two kinds of people in the world: the ones who slow down when they’re thinking hard, and the ones who speed up. Almost jogging, he tried to match her pace. “Told Leah when? Over the phone?”
“Yeah. I was right there; I heard Leah’s whole side of it. Did you know her mom’s ringtone is ‘no wire hangers’? Creepy as shit.”
“So you weren’t at the house. Neither of you. You didn’t actually see the agentnotbe there.”
Archer was having trouble figuring out the source of her growing alarm. “No, but Cat, it’s like I said, Nellie cleared him, even if she didn’t know she did at the time.”
The mayor shook her head so hard, Archer got sympathy dizziness. “And you believed her? Jesus!”
