Wicked Games (Deadly Cool #3) - Gemma Halliday Page 0,12

pretty. In fact it had ended in a dead body, but that was a whole other story. "This must be really hard for you," I told her, trying to find the right words to express my sympathy.

Sophia lowered her head and whispered, "Thank you."

She and I sat in a moment of silence while Sam scooped potato salad onto her plate.

Then Sophia raised her head and took off her sunglasses. Her eyes were moist and red, and I could tell she wasn't wearing any makeup. Though, even without it she was stunning, her eyes an exotic pale blue beneath fashionable thick dark eyebrows. She grabbed a napkin and dabbed at the corner of her eyes, clearly a much prettier crier than I was.

"It's going to be so weird without him," she said. Her eyes took on sort of a far-off look.

"You were at the convention yesterday, too, right?" I asked. "I think I saw you there?"

Sophia nodded. "I was there to support Connor. You know, with the new game launch."

"Athena's Quest," I said. "I've heard about it."

"Everyone has heard of it," she said. "Connor was a whiz at publicity." She picked up a brownie but instead of actually eating it, just started crumbling little bits onto her plate.

"I assume you didn't see what happened to him?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I went to the restroom. When I came back, I found him??

I cringed. I'd had no idea she'd been the one to actually find the body. I knew firsthand how jarring that could be. "I'm so sorry," I said for what felt like the hundredth time.

Sophia closed her eyes, as if trying not to picture the scene. "I don't think I'll ever get the image out of my head."

Sam set her fork down, looking like she'd lost her appetite.

"The police were here, you know," Sophia said, her voice soft.

I tried to picture Raley in her pristine white living room. I wondered if Sophia had offered him lunch too. Knowing Raley, he'd probably accepted. And taken a few brownies to go.

"What did they want?" Sam asked.

"They wanted to know about Connor's personal life. Friends. That kind of thing."

"What did you tell them?" I asked, thinking I'd like to know about that too.

But Sophia shook her head. "I told them he didn't have one." She sniffed. "A personal life, that is. I mean, he basically lived online, you know? When he wasn't with me." Her sad smile appeared momentarily again, but it was fleeting. "Anyway, they are saying it looks like Connor was??illed."

That I already knew. I nodded sympathetically. "I heard the same thing."

"Who would do such a thing?" She lifted her eyes to meet mine, and I noticed her lashes were wet.

I licked my lips. "Did Connor have any enemies?"

Her gaze went to the ceiling and she shook her head, as if digesting the question. "N-no. I mean, he was a gamer. It's not like he was in the mob or something, you know?"

"What about professional rivals? Anyone with a grudge? Anyone who might want to hurt him?"

She gave a humorless laugh and shrugged. "No. Why would anyone want to hurt Connor?"

"What about at the company he worked for. VizaSoft?" Sam jumped in. "Did he get along with everyone there?"

Sophia sucked in a long breath, still shaking her head. "I-I guess. I mean, sure Connor could be a little short with you when he was working or snap at people when he was in the zone. But enemies?" She shook her head again. "That's a little dramatic."

So was bashing in someone's head with an Xbox, but I didn't voice that thought.

"Tell me about the new game he was about to unveil. Athena's Quest," I said, taking a bite of brownie.

She nodded, seemingly glad to change the subject. "Yeah, he was really proud of that."

"It sounds like people are eager to play it," Sam noted. "I know our friend Ellen was a huge fan."

Sophia smiled. "Connor had a lot of fans. Every time he'd see another pre-order come in, he'd get so excited. Like a kid on his birthday."

"We saw the line at the con," Sam said. "It was hecka long."

"A lot of girls were waiting to play it," I said.

It might have been my imagination, but I thought I saw Sophia cringe at the word girls. Suddenly I wondered how she'd felt about her boyfriend's many female fans.

"Like I said, he was a genius with marketing," Sophia answered, waving off any emotion I might have witnessed. "It's why VizaSoft picked him