First Born(69)

‘You want a water? Something hot?’

‘Water, please.’

His partner leaves the room.

‘Molly, where were you last night between eight and nine p.m.?’

‘Where was I?’

He nods.

‘I was at the cinema. Why?’

‘Who were you with?’

‘I was on my own.’

‘On your own? You saw a movie all on your own?’

‘Yeah, I always do.’

The partner walks back in and places a plastic cup of water down in front of me.

‘Molly was at the movies last night. All on her own.’

‘Really?’ says the partner. ‘All on your own, eh?’

‘I saw The Shining at the Broadway Luxe in Midtown. It’s close to my hostel. I didn’t know what else to do, I don’t really know anyone here.’

Martinez sniffs. ‘That’s OK, you’re not under arrest or anything, relax, Molly. We’re not interrogating you here. We just want to make sure you’re safe is all.’

‘Do you think I’m not safe here?’

The partner shrugs and looks at Martinez. Martinez says, ‘I think you’re safe but we want to make sure. You notice anyone following you, anyone photographing you, anything of that nature?’

I think about the man following me after the dinner with Scott. But I’m pretty sure that was DeLuca. ‘I don’t think so.’ I sip the water.

‘You had any contact with a Eugene Groot, professor of humanities at Columbia, your sister’s teacher – you seen him or talked to him since you been here in the city?’

I swallow. ‘We had dinner together one time.’

They both look at me but they don’t say anything.

‘At his club, the Harvard Club. He suggested it. But I didn’t enjoy the dinner much. He was drinking a lot. I felt uncomfortable so I left early. You don’t think he’s responsible for Scott, do you?’

‘We’re keeping an open mind,’ says the partner.

‘Groot mention Scott Sbarra at the dinner, Molly?’

‘I don’t think so. Maybe, I’m not sure.’

Martinez scratches his chin and says, ‘No hurry, have a good hard think. Try to remember if Groot mentioned him in any way, even indirectly.’

The room falls silent. I glance up at the camera and then down at my hands. ‘I don’t know, detective – I’m telling you the truth. I’m just not sure. He didn’t talk about him much, at least.’

‘But he did a little?’ says Martinez. ‘What did he say, you remember?’

I shake my head. ‘It was such a weird dinner.’

‘How so, Molly?’

‘I’m not used to those places – private clubs. Just felt out of my depth. And then he started drinking too much, expensive wine, you know. He . . . I don’t know, it was like he was flirting with me at the end. Not even flirting, just coming on strong. He told me they had rooms upstairs for members. How I looked like KT. So I left. I didn’t feel at ease. But I did get the impression he disliked Scott. He did seem to snarl a little when his name came up.’

‘Snarl?’

‘A little. Some hostility.’

‘You know anyone else connected to both your sister and Scott Sbarra, Molly? Can you think of anyone, besides Groot, who knew them both?’

I shake my head doubtfully.

‘Nobody?’ says the detective, moving a biro around between his fingers.

‘Well, there’s Violet, I guess. You think she might be in danger as well? Oh, God, we need to call her.’

‘I’ll take care of it,’ says Martinez, calmly. ‘Anything else you can think of? Something Katie told you on the phone earlier in the summertime? Anything she wrote you? About someone threatening her and Scott, about someone jealous, someone angry at them?’

‘I think I told you everything already,’ I say.

‘Think on it some more – you’d be amazed what people remember when they really try,’ says the partner.

So, I try.

‘No,’ I say.

‘Nothing?’ says Martinez.

‘Well, there’s the guy living in her building, I guess. Shawn. He always seemed a little off to KT, like he was angry at the world. She was concerned about him the first few months she lived there but nothing ever happened. Not that I know about.’

‘Shawn Bagby,’ says Martinez.

‘Lives in the basement. I’ve told you about him already. Looks like an athlete.’

‘He have anything against Scott Sbarra you know about?’ says the partner. ‘Any grudges, fights, anything of that nature that Katie might have told you about?’

‘No.’

‘You think of any reason he could be angry with Scott?’

‘Jealousy, maybe. He was infatuated with KT for a while. Used to slip notes under her door, leave flowers outside her apartment – freaked her out in the early days. But that all stopped. He might have been jealous of Scott.’

‘Thanks, Molly,’ says Martinez. ‘You’ve been real helpful. Just so we know how long to keep a protective watch over you, make sure you’re OK, when are you planning on travelling back to England? You booked your flight yet?’