a loud voice and a hot temper. I'm not sure how he'll react to your visit."
"Thanks for the heads-up. Once he realizes I'm just looking out for her interests, that should help," I said.
"I hope so. If he can look far enough beyond his own nose to see that. Can you update me later?"
"Sure. I'd also like to speak to your work crew, especially David. I'm told he was the man who discovered Sophie."
"Yes, I think so. If you call Manny, he'll tell you where to find David."
I thanked Austen and disconnected, redialing Manny's number. Manny told me to come by the house, adding they had resumed work in the kitchen.
I shot Solomon a text, telling him where I was going before I switched my heels for sneakers and jogged downstairs to pick up the pool car again.
On my way to the Takahashis' Westmount house, I thought some more about Sophie's fall. Austen said she avoided heights but I figured that probably didn't extend to the upper level of their house. However, it could signify her aversion to getting close enough to the edge that she could risk a fall. It was a weak assumption to make and I dismissed it as quickly as it popped into my head. I had to remain objective.
I pulled into the driveway, parking next to Manny's truck. As soon as I stepped out, I followed the sounds of power tools to the back of the house. I crossed a spacious patio area and knocked on the open door. Manny looked up and nodded at me before setting down his tools and pulling off his protective goggles.
"Come in," he said, waving to the man installing shelves. "This is David."
"Hey," said David, casting me a small smile. He put down the shelf he was working on and tucked a level into his belt before pulling off his gloves. Crossing to the door where I waited, he shook my hand, allowing me a moment to glance over him. Shorter than Manny, younger too, and stockier, but with a warm smile. "Manny said you wanted to talk to me. I'm not sure there’s anything new I can tell you."
"Let's step outside," I said, coughing at the amount of dust in the air.
Both men followed me and we sat on the small stone wall that bordered the patio. "Manny said he thought he heard someone scream. Why don't you start from there?"
"We were cutting the marble countertop," replied David. "It's a big job and we had to be very precise. Manny stopped the saw we were using and said he thought he heard a scream. We waited, I don't know, maybe thirty seconds? But we didn't hear anything else."
"Did you hear the scream too?"
David shook his head. "I was concentrating on the marble. I never cut it before and I didn't want to get it wrong."
"Go on."
"We finished cutting the slab and Manny sent me out to check, just in case. I didn’t know what I was looking for so I went out of the kitchen and called Mrs. Takahashi’s name. I didn't hear anything so I figured she might be upstairs and I walked to the entryway. I saw her body right away. She was just lying there," he said, sweeping his hand towards the floor.
"Can you describe exactly what you saw?"
David glanced at Manny, and Manny nodded. "She was lying on top of the banister, holding onto it, and her face was down. There was blood everywhere. I thought she was dead. I yelled for Manny and took her pulse. Then Manny made sure she was breathing before he called 911. We stayed with her until they came."
"She was holding onto the banister?" I asked.
"Her fingers were wrapped around it," said Manny.
"It was awful," said David, his brow furrowing with worry. "I can't stop thinking about it, wondering if we did the right thing."
"I think you did," I said, standing up. "One more thing, was anyone else around here that day?"
"Just us two," said Manny. "I sent the other guys into town to pick up supplies."
"You didn't notice anyone else at the house? A visitor for Sophie maybe?"
"No," said David, "but we probably wouldn't have heard anyone’s arrival what with all the noise we were making."
"Thanks for your time," I told them.
"Are we in trouble?" asked David.
I shook my head. "No," I answered but he didn't look relieved. I thanked them again and walked to my car. Hopping into the driver's seat, I plugged Sky Outdoors into