“He loved his sister. Her death gutted him.” She thought about Mark and his past. “Because of her, he’s going to want to help. He won’t hold back. You don’t need to treat him like a perp. That isn’t what he is.”

But Layla only smiled. “Didn’t you notice? I treat everyone that way. Part of my charm.”

“I did notice,” Piper confided.

Layla’s smile lingered a moment. When it disappeared, she seemed to study Piper with a softer gaze. “You want to watch?”

“What?”

“The interrogation? You want to watch?”

Hell to the yes. “Simon said that was against the rules.”

Another eye roll from Layla. “I make my own damn rules.” She yanked open the door.

Piper hurried to follow her.

“Besides, I’ll reveal that you’re there. Things will be on the up-and-up.” Layla paused in the corridor. “Mostly.”

Um…

Layla turned back to her. “Before we go in there, I want you to know—full disclosure— there is someone that I’m having trouble locating.”

“Who?”

“It’s not an ex you had listed as a lover, but an artist you’ve been working with. Didn’t you just get back from a trip to see some of Dante Fallon’s work?”

“Yes—I mean, not immediately. I went about six weeks ago.”

“Yeah, that’s what your travel records showed. I wanted to talk to the guy. Looked like you spent the weekend with him—”

“I spent the weekend at a bed and breakfast in Savannah. Not in Dante’s bed.”

Lopez smirked. “Settle down. I thought maybe you hadn’t wanted to reveal info about him to Eric.”

“And why wouldn’t I tell Eric about him?” She had—she’d told the team at Wilde about Dante when they’d asked for a list of artists who worked with the gallery.

“Because maybe the guy is a recent lover and you didn’t want Eric to know about him?”

“Dante has never been my lover.”

“Okay then.” She inclined her head. “I’ve been trying to contact the guy. Especially since your exes seem to be fair game for our perp.”

“Dante is a client. Nothing more.”

“He’s a missing client.” An exhale from Layla. “I asked the Savannah PD to visit his house. They said it appears to have been closed down for days. A neighbor said Dante had a habit of disappearing, though, of unplugging and going away to paint. That he’d been doing that for years.”

“He’s…eccentric.”

“Let’s hope that’s all he is. Like I said, I wanted to give you fair warning.” She tapped her chin. “After the interrogation, I’m gonna want to hear exactly how he’s eccentric.”