“Come on, let’s get some air,” Sully said. He looked at Ian and said, “I’m taking Lindsey outside for air if Emma wants her.”

Ian glanced at Lindsey and gave her a sympathetic smile.

“We’ll come get you.”

The side door to the theater let out into a narrow alley. A cold breeze blew in from the water; it was damp and heavy, and she sucked in big gulps of it, grateful for its bracing effects. It lifted the hair off of her hot neck, and she pressed the heels of her hands against her eyes, trying to keep from crying.

Sully stood quietly beside her. He didn’t say anything but his presence was strong and sure and she knew she could lean on him if she needed it. Knowing this steadied her.

“I can’t believe he’s dead,” she said. “I can’t believe I watched him die.”

“Come here,” Sully said.

He opened his arms and just like that, she fell into them. He rested his head against her hair and Lindsey soaked up his strength, not caring that they’d been at odds for months. She was just grateful that he was here now.

“Emma’s a good cop,” he said. “She’ll figure it out.”

Lindsey leaned back and looked at him. “You don’t think it was a random heart attack, do you?”

Sully blew out a breath. “No.”

“Poor Violet,” she said. She stepped away from him, wrapped her arms around herself and began to pace. “He was like family to her. I can’t even imagine how Charlene is going to take it.”

“Badly, I would guess,” Sully said.

The side door opened and Mary peered out. “Emma wants to talk to you, Lindsey.”

“Oh, all right,” she said. She turned back to Sully and rested her hand on his arm. “Thanks.”

“Anytime,” he said.

Lindsey would have liked to have said more, but things had changed between them. They weren’t dating and they’d been too distant with one another over the past few months to be friends, so she was left not knowing what to say.

With an unsatisfactory nod, she took a deep breath and went back into the theater. She tried not to look at the place where Robbie had fallen but of course that’s exactly where her gaze went.

There was no sign of Violet. In fact, the only people in the theater were Emma and what appeared to be some crime scene techs, who were investigating the stage where Robbie had fallen. Emma was sitting in the front row, and she gestured for Lindsey to join her.

Lindsey took a seat and turned slightly to face Emma. “How’s Violet holding up?”

“She’ll be all right,” Emma said. “Right now I’m worried about you. How are you doing?”