Despite having quit her job twice and no longer wanting any involvement with the school, the murders, or Mick, Gilda called Razi when she got home. "Sensei Mick is at the police station for questioning. You should pick him up."
"That is not what Sensei Mick told me when he called a minute ago."
"What did he tell you?" Her heart sank. Busted. So much for quitting and not being involved. She should have walked, actually run, away from it all. What was wrong with her?
A long pause. Razi must have been trying to choose his words carefully. "He will meet us at Café Beanz once Thayer releases him."
She sighed. "That could be hours from now."
"That is true," he said. "Sensei Mick also asked me to make sure you are well. He wanted to know if you are upset with him."
"Upset with him?" Her anger burst through her carefully constructed dam. "How could I not be upset with him? He never mentioned the missing merchandise. Never told me about Walter's past or the whole mess with Chloe and Gary until I was smack in the middle of things. I could've been killed just for being anywhere near him." She sucked in a sorely needed breath. "How in heaven's name could I not be upset?"
Razi remained silent for a long minute. "Miss Wright, I will meet you at Café Beanz at four. We will sit in a booth near the window, and you can try to convince me you do not care what happens to Sensei Mick. Okay?"
"Huh?"
"I will see you at four," he said. "Please try to think of something constructive to assist us in stopping the murderer."
When he hung up, she stared at the phone with her mouth agape. Razi was right. Even after everything that had happened—the murders, the whack to her head, she and Mick's misguided kisses—the three of them were still a team. Both Razi and Mick needed her to set her anger aside to help them catch the murderer.
Unable to relax, she cleaned house. Her hands wiped away dust while her mind went over evidence and occurrences. Had she missed anything? Was there a suspect she hadn't even considered, someone who had grievances with the school? All her thoughts came back to Yoshida and Mick.
The phone rang, jolting Gilda away from her mental checklist. Her stomach slithered in and out of knots as she let it ring until the answering machine picked up.
"Oh, brother." Marion groaned over the speaker. "Gilda, don't you ever answer the phone? You're not at the school. You're not at home. Where on Earth are you?"
She grabbed the phone. "Cleaning. I didn't hear the phone over the vacuum cleaner."
"You're a bad liar, honey. I'm standing outside your front door. I haven't heard any vacuum cleaner since I got here five minutes ago."
Gilda froze. More slithering knots. She really needed to give up trying to lie to people. It rarely seemed to work. She hung up and let Marion inside. "I should've called when I got home, but I was too wound up. Coffee or tea?"
"Water's fine. I walked here from work. Maybe you're right. I do need to work out with you. Walking six blocks knocks me out of breath." Marion followed her to the kitchen. "I saw Thayer drag Mick into the police station. Do the police think he killed Xavier?"
Gilda poured two glasses of water. "As far as I know, he's the closest thing to a witness they have. They're interrogating him then letting him go." I hope.
"You don't think he killed anyone, do you?" Marion asked.
She leaned against the cupboard then blew out a long breath. The only viable suspects she'd come up with, aside from Mick, were Razi and Yoshida. They each had keys to enter the school. Yoshida definitely had motives and the ability to sneak in undetected. Razi fell short. He had no motive she knew of, and there was no way he could sneak in anywhere without being seen. He did, however, have a military background and was a trained killer.
Marion tilted her head. "Are you okay, honey? You look a little pale."
She glanced at the clock. Almost time to meet Mick and the trained killer at Café Beanz. Right on time, her phone chimed. A text from Razi, who was at the café. Mick was on his way. "Sorry, I have to go."
"Oh." Marion's face fell. "Where are you off to? I'll walk with you."
"That's not necessary. I'm fine."
"I'm going with you." She stood and set her glass in the sink. "I might not be a karate master, but I am intimidating. You have to be worried that you or Mick are next."
The thought had crossed her mind several times since Walter's death, but Mick had managed to convince her otherwise. Until now. Her hand shook when she reached for her house key and purse. "I'm not that worried."
"You're a bad liar, you know." Marion caught her in a hug. "You're scared to death and don't know who to trust, what to think, or what to do next. I'm the only real friend you've got right now. At least let me come and watch your back."
Gilda swallowed back the tears. "I don't want you to get hurt too."
"Me neither, but I'd never forgive myself if I handed you off to a murderer." Marion stood her ground. "Stalemate. What do we do now?"
She never thought she would be forced to think of her friends and coworkers as possible murderers. "We go together and hope for the best."