A Chip and a Chair (Seven of Spades, #5)(7)
“I’m glad you called,” Judd said to Dominic. All around them, the room was filled with quiet chatter, rustling, and scraping chairs as the GA meeting broke up.
“I’m glad you could make it,” said Dominic.
“That’s what I’m here for.” Judd was a big guy, as broad across as Dominic though not quite as tall, with a wild black beard and a taste for leather vests. “Did you tell Levi you were struggling today?”
“Yeah.”
“How’d he take it?”
“Same as always-calm, supportive.”
Judd eyed Dominic shrewdly. “But you still hated telling him, right?”
Dominic heaved himself out of his chair, folded it up, and carried it over to stack with the rest against the wall of the church rec room. “You don’t understand. I know he loves me, and I know he supports my recovery. We broke up because I lied and manipulated him, not because I relapsed. But Levi is the strongest person I’ve ever met, and it’s embarrassing to have to expose this weakness to him over and over. There’s always a part of me that’s worried this will be the time he gets sick of it and decides he’s had enough.”
“Addiction is a disease, not a weakness,” Judd reminded him. “From what you’ve told me, Levi understands that better than you do. And you said he’s got his own issues with anger management. There are some similarities there, so he’s in a better position to empathize than most people. All he wants to see is that you’re putting in the work-which you have been.”
“I know all of that intellectually,” Dominic said. “But I don’t feel it yet.”
Judd clapped his shoulder. “You’ll get there. Just keep working the steps.”
They parted a few minutes later, and Dominic headed home with his gambling cravings in check. He slung his messenger bag over one shoulder as he jumped out of his pickup truck and then climbed the stairs to the new apartment.
Rebel rushed to greet him the moment he stepped inside, her wagging tail swaying her hundred-pound body as she butted up against his legs. Dominic knelt to scruff her ears and kiss the tip of her nose.
“Hey, sweetheart. Did you miss me?”
He laughed when she licked his face. After her despondent behavior that first day, he’d worried about how the move would affect her-but she’d bounced back the very next day, returning to her usual cheerful, energetic self without a hint of distress. She’d been loving her explorations of the new complex, immediately taking to the agility course in the fancy on-site dog park.
“We’re in the spare room!” Levi called out.
Dominic walked through the open door to find Levi stretched out on the carpet and Martine sitting at the desk chair, both of them surrounded by takeout containers of Thai food. His heart swelled with the same warmth he’d felt every night this week upon seeing Levi safe and comfortable in their home. He was sure the novelty would wear off eventually, but he’d never lived with a romantic partner before, and he was enjoying every moment of this honeymoon phase.
The room’s double-door armoire stood open to its full extension, exposing walls papered with photographs, maps, and newspaper articles, as well as a shelf of overflowing folders crammed with their Seven of Spades research. Levi had been conducting this independent investigation on his own last year until Dominic discovered it over the summer and offered his help; they’d looped in Martine after Carolyn Royce’s murder.
Once Dominic had greeted them both, Levi said, “I put your food in the refrigerator.”
“Thanks, but I’m good for now.” Dominic dropped his bag on the floor and settled next to Levi; Rebel cuddled up to him, and he slung an arm around her. “I had a few too many doughnuts at the meeting.”
He left it at that. Martine was like a sister to Levi, and well-aware of Dominic’s compulsive gambling-but Dominic found the issue difficult enough to discuss with Levi, let alone anyone else.
“How’s your side project coming along?” Martine asked.
“Finished, actually.” Dominic watched as Levi stiffened and dropped his fork into his panang curry. There was a reason Dominic hadn’t shared that news in advance-Levi would have stewed in his anxiety about it all day.
Dominic withdrew a thick stack of folders from his messenger bag and passed them to Levi, who hurriedly wiped his hands on a paper towel before accepting them.
“You were right,” said Dominic. “Leila doesn’t have a concrete alibi for a single one of the Seven of Spades murders. There are a few where she has a vague alibi, but those could all go either way. And during the week in December when Grant Sheppard was murdered in Philadelphia, she was out of town-ostensibly with her family in St. Louis.”
Levi closed his eyes for a second, then leapt to his feet, shoved the folders into Martine’s hands, and began pacing the room. Martine and Dominic looked at each other.
She and Levi had asked Dominic to investigate Leila’s movements and behavior over the past year because legal access to much of that information would have required warrants-which would have alerted Leila to their suspicions. Thanks to his years as a bounty hunter, Dominic knew how to subtly break the rules, and didn’t mind doing so when necessary.
“In Leila’s defense, she wouldn’t have an alibi for most things,” Martine said. “Her job has little oversight, she lives alone, and she has few social ties.”