11:02 a.m.
“JUST SIT back and relax.”
“I am perfectly relaxed.”
“Oh, and you can take your sunglasses off.”
“I know I can. I prefer not to.”
“Um, is it too early for a nice glass of wine? We have red and white.”
“Red and white, huh. Tempting, but I don’t like to drink while I’m working.”
The girl in the disposable face mask and nitrile gloves smiled. Or at least, her eyes smiled. “But are you working right now?”
“I don’t know. Are you?”
Veena Lion knew that was probably too much, but the young nail tech had lost all credibility with the wine thing. Red or white? Then again, maybe she was expecting too much from a random Korean nail joint on this end of Chestnut Street.
Veena liked to change things up, rarely visiting the same salon twice in a season. Mostly because she resisted the idea of having a regular place where people could easily find her. That ruined the indulgence of having her nails done in the middle of the morning.
Said indulgence lasted for another seventy-five seconds before Veena Lion’s phone alerted her to an incoming call. She lifted a hand from the manicurist’s table and tapped the bud in her ear twice.
A haughty voice spoke. “This is the district attorney’s office. Is this Veena Lion?”
“What is this concerning?”
“You’ll have to speak with the district attorney about that.”
Veena sighed. “Why don’t you spare me the suspense.”
“As I said,” the voice continued, barely containing the speaker’s annoyance, “you’ll have to talk to the dis—”
Veena tapped the earbud, ending the call. She exhaled slowly, letting the tension leave her body. The girl in the mask raised her eyebrows. Veena held up her index finger: Wait for it. Her phone buzzed again.
“Apologies, Ms. Lion—please don’t hang up!”
“Who is this?”
“It’s the district attorney’s office! This is about Archie Hughes. Might you have a moment or two to speak with Mr. Mostel?”
“Let Mr. Mostel know that I’ll stop by his office at my earliest convenience.”
“Couldn’t you spare a moment now?”
“Right now,” Veena said, “is not convenient.”
Veena ended the call. Waited. The phone did not buzz a third time. The girl in the mask raised her eyebrows again. Veena shrugged. The girl in the mask resumed her work. “You know what? I believe I will have some wine.”
“Red or white?”
“Consider what you know about me, then follow your instincts.”
The nail girl’s mask twisted up, barely hiding the wry smile beneath. “I thought you didn’t drink while you were working.”
“Sometimes it’s absolutely necessary. And sometimes happens to be right now.”
While Veena waited for her beverage, she tapped her earbud three times.