“Mind if I join you?”
“Please do.”
I pour my own cup and take the chair beside her. Outside, the rain pounds steadily, muting the world. I can’t pinpoint why, but I feel Stella’s absence in the house.
“Thanks for joining me,” she says softly. “It’s nice. Not being alone in a storm.”
The lamplight reveals her eyes, steady and searching.
“You’re not,” I tell her.
She holds my gaze for a moment, then looks away, back to her book. But she’s not reading. I can tell by the way her eyes don’t move.
I settle into the chair, coffee in hand. The rain is hypnotic—steady white noise that soothes.
“Can I ask you something?” I say after a minute.
Her eyes lift. “Of course.”
“Matthew Delacroix. Hudson said he was on your board when you started Morgan & Company.”
Her expression doesn’t change, but something flickers in her eyes. “He was. Briefly.”
“Why’d he leave?”
“Creative differences.” She takes a sip of coffee. “He wanted the firm to focus on corporate damage control—oil companies, pharmaceutical litigation, that kind of thing. I wanted to work with individuals.”
“So you parted ways.”
“Yes.”
It sounds plausible. Professional. But there’s something she’s not saying—I can feel it in the careful way she’s choosing her words.
“When’s the last time you spoke to him? Before the conference.”
“A year, maybe longer.” She meets my eyes directly. “We didn’t stay in touch after he left the board.”
“But you recognized him immediately at the symposium.”
“It’s a small industry.”
I nod slowly, watching her. She’s good—answering every question without volunteering extra information. It’s exactly what I’d do if I were hiding something.
But I’m not going to push. Not today.
“Fair enough,” I say, leaning back.
She relaxes slightly, sinking into the cushions. “Are you asking because the police asked you? Or because you’re curious?”
“Both.”
“I didn’t kill him, Noah.”
“I know that.” And I do. Whatever secrets she’s keeping, murder isn’t one of them. “But the police are going to dig into every connection he had. You should be prepared for them to come back with more questions.”
“I will be.” She sets her mug down. “This is what I do, remember? I prepare people for hostile questions.”
“Yeah, but usually you’re on the other side of it.”