She exhaled, forcing a smile to her compressed lips. “Yes. My aunt will be in town for a charity event. She wants to have dinner with me on Friday.” Louisa rubbed the spot between her eyebrows.

“Is that bad?”

“I don’t know. I don’t talk to her very often.” Louisa’s hand drifted to her pearls. There was more to that story. “The situation is complicated. My father passed me off to his sister because he didn’t know what to do with a daughter he barely knew. Unfortunately, Aunt Margaret wasn’t suited to the role. Not that I was easy. Frankly, I resented her intrusion. I wanted my father.”

He took her elbow and steered her toward her building. “None of that was your fault. You were a kid. Jayne and Danny had plenty of resentment.”

Hope lit her eyes. “Would you like to join us? Aunt Margaret is staying at the Ritz Carlton, and we’re dining at the Capital Grille. I’m sure I can extend the reservation to three.”

Let’s see, would he like to have a long, awkward, and fancy dinner with two women in a strained relationship? Not really. Besides, he’d promised Pat he’d cover the bar. “Tomorrow Pat has some open house thing at the kids’ school on Friday. Jaynie’s pregnant and tired. I hate to see her up late.”

“Jayne is pregnant?” Louisa’s mouth turned in a wistful smile. “I couldn’t tell.”

“It’s early.” He glanced sideways. “Tell me about this fund-raiser on Saturday night.”

“It’s a silent auction. There’ll be drinks and hors d’oeuvres. It’s part of my job to help loosen wallets. Damian is coming, most of the museum staff, plus some of the university’s history professors who work with the museum.”

“Sounds interesting,” Conor lied. He’d taken plenty of side jobs tending bar at charity events. The long line at the bar was all about numbing the boredom. But he wished he could be there to get a feel for the people involved in the case, and he’d also like to keep an eye on Damian and Xavier. Jealous much?

“Then it sounds more interesting than it will be.” Louisa’s tone turned wry. “Now that I think about it, the attendees will include several people who knew both Zoe and Riki. I’ll be sure to keep my ears open. I’m sure the case will be one of the major topics of conversation.”

Conor didn’t like the idea of Louisa spending the evening in a roomful of potential suspects. But what could he do? He could hardly charm his way into an invitation. He stopped in front of the Rittenhouse. “I should probably go.”