“Yes. In all my fogginess, I forgot to latch the door. I’m not sure why she found the need to intrude, but she did.”

“And?”

“If you’re asking if I killed her, the answer is no.”

“I know you better than that, but you compelled her—right? Made sure she wouldn’t remember anything.”

“No.”

Lisa fell into her chair. “Why in the world—”

“You know I don’t like to do that, and she won’t say anything.”

Lisa’s posture sagged, and a second later, she was sitting straight again. “Wait. Is this she the same she who’s been hitting on you?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, Christ,” Lisa said, collapsing back in her seat. “So you’re letting your libido make your decisions for you now? Wow, and here I thought men were the only ones with two brains.”

“This has nothing to do with anything other than I saw no need to take her life. I made it crystal clear if she spoke a word of it to anyone, I would kill her, and I have no reason to believe she doubted my sincerity.”

“Were you being sincere?”

“Absolutely,” Bennett said, her eyes meeting Lisa’s. “One word…and she dies.”

Chapter Sixteen

“You’re being awfully quiet today.”

Ruby stuffed the rest of her hot dog into her mouth and held up a finger until she swallowed the food. “Sorry. I’m just tired. That’s all.”

“Are you telling me you still haven’t recovered from Wednesday night? That was two days ago,” Doreen said, gathering the empty sandwich boxes.

“Technically, it was a day and a half ago, and I’ve been having some trouble sleeping.”

Doreen tossed out their trash in a nearby can and then sat back down on the bench. “Why? What’s going on?”

“Um…nothing. Just a lot on my mind.”

“Well, today is Friday, so why don’t you go out with me tonight and we can drink the night away. That should cure what ails you.”

“I doubt it,” Ruby said under her breath. “Besides, I need to get up early tomorrow, so I don’t have to stand in line to get a new phone.”

“I can’t believe you dropped it out the window.”

Ruby faked a smile. “I was propping it open, and I had my phone in my hand. The next thing I knew, it was falling into the alley.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

Doreen angled away from Ruby. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else wrong? You’re acting really weird.”

“I’m fine, Doreen,” Ruby said, swinging one leg over the other. “It’s just been a long couple of days.”

“Okay, if you say so,” Doreen said, aimlessly looking around. “Ruby, is that blood on your shoes?”