treating the death as suspicious, which is just what the newspaper said.”
A tear bubbled up in one of Jack’s puffy eyes, and Kate decided to not ask any more questions about Audrey. She wanted to leave, but Jack looked lost, reminding her of a child suddenly separated from his parents.
“What do you do, Jack?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“For work?”
“Oh, I work in hospitality.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m an events coordinator at a conference center. It’s not as exciting as it sounds, but I’m busy all the time. The last two weeks . . . I didn’t even have time to see Audrey.”
The tear slid down his cheek, and he wiped it away with the back of his gloved hand.
Kate, trying again to channel her mother’s bluntness, said, “Jack, I really think you should go talk with someone who knew Audrey.”
He nodded, and she continued: “Find that friend of hers, or her family. Where was she from?”
“Her family’s from New Jersey. I never met them.”
“They’ve probably come up here, don’t you think? You should find them and talk with them.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” He stayed rooted to his spot on the sidewalk. A family of tourists, the two youngest kids wearing lobster claw hats, maneuvered around him.
“I think I was still in love with her,” he said. “I don’t think she felt the same way. No, I know she didn’t feel the same way. Because of what Corbin did to mess her up, but . . .” He stopped, his eyes settling on some unknown spot in the middle distance.
“It was nice meeting you, Jack,” Kate said, and they shook hands again. He kept his gloves on this time. “I’m sorry, but I need to get some shopping done.”
She left him on the street corner and walked, at a pace she hoped wasn’t too noticeably brisk, toward the small grocery store she’d been to the day before. She felt guilty, but she also knew that she couldn’t really do anything to comfort him. He needed to find someone else who knew Audrey. She also wanted to be on her own to think about what she’d learned. Corbin had been involved with Audrey. They’d been sleeping together, and it had turned sour, at least in the eyes of Audrey. Maybe in his eyes as well. Kate’s mind spun out possibilities. Audrey becoming possessive and Corbin panicking, trying to get away from her. He accepted the job transfer to London. But, then, on his last night in Boston he thought he’d go and say goodbye to Audrey, tell her that he was leaving town. And maybe she freaked out on him, attacked, and Corbin, defending himself . . .
Kate pushed the escalating thoughts out of her mind and opened the glass door of the grocery store. But with a single look at the narrow, crowded aisles, panic flooded over her, hollowing out her insides. She backed away from the fragrant warmth spilling from the inside of the store, and bumped into a couple in running gear, trying to push past her. “Sorry,” she said, eyeing an empty bench in front of a store that sold vintage prints.
She sat down and did her breathing exercises.
Face it. Accept it. Float with it. Let time pass.
A plane went by overhead, too low, she thought, and the sound of its engine made Kate’s scalp prickle and tighten. She began to tap her finger pads together, then made herself stop, and stood up. She was no longer hungry but knew she had to eat. Across the street was a small, walk-up pizza place called the Upper Crust, where she bought herself a slice of pesto pizza and a cream soda. She went back to the bench to eat. It was cold, but the open air felt better than being inside.
Walking back home, she half expected to see Audrey’s lovelorn friend still at the corner where she had left him, but he was gone. He wasn’t stalking the front of 101 Bury Street either, and Kate was relieved to make it back up to her apartment without encountering anyone else.
Back inside, she studied the walls around her. Was this the apartment of a killer? If it was, would she be able to tell? There was so little of Corbin here. Besides being luxurious and spacious, it didn’t feel like anything. No, that wasn’t entirely true. It felt like a dead man’s apartment. It felt like Corbin’s father’s place. The furniture was beautiful but slightly dated; one of the sofas was upholstered