“How do you know what my place is like?”

“Duh,” said Juliet, “people talk. I’ve heard your place is worth millions.”

“That’s none of your business,” said Zoe. “This is about Conner, isn’t it? You’ve had it in for me ever since I went out with him.”

“Get over yourself,” said Juliet as she turned and marched away.

Walking up beside Zoe, Sean caught the last few words of their exchange and shouted, “You don’t have to be so mean, Juliet. Maybe if you weren’t such a miserable wretch you’d still have a job.”

Without turning around, Juliet held up her middle finger and continued walking. Tears welled up in Zoe’s eyes.

“She’s only taking it out on you because she’s upset. Forget about Juliet.”

Zoe let out a breath and shook her head. “You’re right. She didn’t mean it. She’s just upset. I get it. People don’t understand about my apartment. I grew up there, it’s my home. Everything I make goes into it. It may be worth a lot but…”

“I understand. You don’t have to explain to me,” said Sean. “Let’s try to be happy right now. We still have our jobs.”

Zoe nodded, bit on her thumbnail and stared off into space.

“Hey, remember, we have more important things to worry about today,” said Sean. “There’s only two days left to stop that man’s murder.”

Sean’s sober words snapped Zoe out of her funk. “You’re right. Time is ticking. We’ve got to stop them from killing him.”

29

Minutes after the Villa d’Luna meeting ended, Sean and Zoe went to Zoe’s apartment to make phone calls to Blue Crest Financial. First order of business—trace the origins of the Blue Crest Financial white canvas tote bag carried by the masked woman on Monday. After that, they would head downtown to the Lower East Side and hunt for the woman and her unsuspecting husband in what they believed was the couple’s home neighborhood turf.

Breezing by Zoe’s doorman, the two amateur detectives rode the elevator to the third floor. Once inside the apartment, Sean ripped his mask off. “I can’t breathe in this thing,” he said, gasping.

“Join the club,” said Zoe, taking off hers but keeping her distance from her friend. “I’ve seen people running and biking in the park wearing masks. I don’t know how they do it. You can’t get enough air in your lungs when you’re wearing one.”

She poured them each a glass of iced tea and they settled on opposite couches in the large living room to make phone calls. Zoe started with Blue Crest’s HR department while Sean tried to get hold of someone who worked in Blue Crest’s merchandising and promotions group. After an hour’s worth of dead-end calls, Sean got lucky.