the surface of the river was still and glassy. The stretch of Bury Street that she could see from the west-facing windows was quiet. She was hungry, but tired of eating bread and cheese. In the kitchen she opened the door of the massive, stainless steel refrigerator and stared at its meager contents.
Go outside, she told herself.
And before she could change her mind, she was pulling her boots on over her jeans and grabbing her black-and-white polka-dot jacket. A quick walk around the block, maybe find a place to eat lunch, or maybe even buy something to cook back at the apartment.
It was colder than she thought it would be outside, the air raw and damp. Walking across the courtyard, she buttoned her coat up to her throat, wishing she’d brought her gloves.
There was a man pacing on Bury Street, his own hands deep inside his navy pea coat. As she came through the archway, he looked up, expectantly, and their eyes met. He had medium-length reddish hair that was sticking up at the top, and his eyes behind his wire-rimmed glasses were bruised looking, their surfaces wet and shiny. Kate went to cross the road, pausing for a moment to look for oncoming cars, as the man approached her.
“Hi,” he said, awkwardly. “Hi, hello there. You live here?”
“I do,” she said, her hands instinctively going toward the throat of her jacket, already buttoned up.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to frighten you. I was a friend . . . I’m a close friend of Audrey Marshall, and I’ve talked to the police, and I spoke to your doorman here in the building, and I’m just hoping to get more information.”
“I’m sorry. I really don’t know anything. I just moved here. I didn’t know Audrey.”
The man seemed undeterred. His cheeks were mottled and red and she wondered how long he’d been standing out in the cold, waiting for someone to come out of the building. “Have the police talked with you?” he asked.
“They took a statement. I think just because I’m right next door.”
“You’re right next door? On her floor?”
“I am, but I literally just moved in and don’t know anyone. I’m sorry I don’t have more information.” Kate took a tentative step down the sidewalk in an attempt to escape.
“Do you mind if I walk with you a bit? I need to go get a coffee. I’m Jack, by the way.” He removed a glove, and Kate took his dry, warm hand in hers. “Jack Ludovico. I’ve been friends with Audrey since . . . since—”
Trying to channel her mother, who was always kind, but a master at avoiding unwanted social situations, Kate said: “Jack, nice to meet you, but I’m in a hurry, and I don’t think I can help you at all.”
“You’re not Corbin Dell’s cousin, are you? Audrey told me that he was going to London, and you were going to come and live in his apartment.”
“I am. I just arrived. Audrey told you that?”
“Yes, I know all about Corbin and Audrey. I don’t mean to keep you, but let’s walk. I’m cold.”
They began to walk together, Kate curious that there had apparently been a “Corbin and Audrey.”
“I’m Kate,” she said.
Jack introduced himself again, realized he’d already done it, and rapidly shook his head, embarrassed. “I’m a mess.”
“You were close?”
“Yes and no. Yes, for me, anyway. We dated in college but it didn’t work out, and then, when she moved up here, we got back in touch, just as friends, really, and I can’t believe . . .” He stopped walking, put his face in his gloved hands, pushing his glasses up to his forehead, and began to sob, his shoulders hitching up and down.
“It’s okay,” Kate said, not knowing what to do. She put a hand on his shoulder, and they remained frozen in that tableau for what seemed an eternity. After he removed his hands from his face and wiped his gloves along the thighs of his jeans, he asked: “Who identified her, do you know?”
“No, I have no idea. Let’s keep walking, okay?” Kate said, taking his arm and moving him down the street.
“Okay,” he said. “Sorry about dumping this on you. You must have just gotten here, and now there’s been a murder next door to your new place, and I’m here pestering you.” He laughed, an unnerving staccato rattle, his shoulders hitching again like they had when he’d been sobbing.
“It’s fine,” Kate said. Then asked: “How did you find out . . .