"And I feel sorry for you."

We were at a standoff.

Finally, he said, "We shall agree to disagree."

"Fine with me." We headed for Cherise. "By the way, do you know who your father's accomplice was?"

"I do not know."

So much for that.

"Like most everyone else, I knew nothing of the heist until after the fact. My life was fairly normal for a Crafter until that day," he said quietly as we headed up the walkway. "Then it wasn't."

Cherise stood up, dusted off her pants, and handed me back the folder. She looked expectantly between us.

Andreus bowed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, ladies."

With a sharp pivot, he climbed the stairs and went into the house.

"Well?" Cherise said.

"I'll tell you all about it on the walk back."

As we started up the sidewalk, Cherise said, "Is it wrong that I find Andreus sexy, broken nose and all?"

Here we go again. She and Ve would be playing tug-of-war with Andreus before he knew it. "Yes," I said.

She laughed. "You're right, but I can't help it."

"Ms. Merriweather?" Andreus called out. He'd come back out of the house and stood on the front steps.

I turned back to face him.

"Those photos . . ."

I held the file close to my chest. "What about them?"

"If it's no trouble, could you make duplicates? I-I have no pictures from back then."

That look was back. The hollow one.

I nodded.

As we started back on our way, Cherise poked me with her elbow. "You're a big ol' sap, Darcy Merriweather."

She probably wouldn't be surprised to learn that it wasn't the first time I'd heard that.

Chapter Twenty-nine.

When I arrived back at As You Wish, Ve was sitting at the kitchen counter, a half pitcher of margaritas at her elbow. I'd spent the past hour with Harper, telling her all about my day so far, starting with Andreus and ending with Andreus.

Her reaction to Ve's new relationship had been the same as my own. Ew.

And we'd debated who killed Raina for a while.

We both kept coming back to Noelle or Calliope.

They were the only ones with no alibi.

Both had very different yet strong motives. And opportunity to commit the crime because both knew Raina's propensity to be early, the lockbox code, and knew the crime could be framed on a treasure hunter.

Noelle could have easily identified the Myrian charm as a piece possibly made by Andreus, especially if she had learned he and Calliope were siblings. It would have been easy enough to try to pin the crime on him, knowing his father had stolen the diamonds.

I was stumbling a little with trying to come up with a reason why Calliope would frame her brother, unless she was using it as a diversion, knowing he'd be cleared.

I doubted Calliope would be amenable to police questioning, but it was inevitable that she would have to sit down with Nick. I wished him nothing but luck with that. He'd probably have a better chance with loose-lipped Finn.

"Rough afternoon?" I asked Ve, eyeing her glass.

"You don't even know," she said, topping off her drink. "My day's been hell. My morning? Just . . . surreal. Then, do you know where I just came from?"

I shook my head.

Ve gave me a wry look. "From apologizing to Dorothy. I might never recover."

"Drink up," I said, wishing Cherise was here in case a calming spell was needed. She'd had errands to run, however, then promised to come back to take a look at the photos.

"Exactly." She gulped her drink.

"Maybe just a little bit slower than that," I said, crouching down to pet Missy.

"I ran into Godfrey today," Ve said. "He told me all about your visit last night. I remember Scott Abramson. Nice kid."

"Nice guy," I said. "An FBI agent."

Ve straightened. "Not a TV show producer?"

"That was a ruse. He has no connections to TV business at all."

Suddenly, she came to life, sitting up straight, her eyes bright. "Can I tell Dorothy?"

"If it helps speed your recovery have at it," I said, setting the file on the counter.

"I am feeling better all of a sudden."

I slowly took the photos out, laying them side by side on the counter.

"What have you there?" Ve asked.

"Hopefully a clue in a haystack."

"Either I'm drunk or that made no sense."

I smiled. "A little of both, I think," I said, explaining how I hoped to pinpoint who the elusive accomplice was.

"These are like a trip down memory lane," she said, examining the photos.

"Do you recognize anyone at the funeral?" I asked, handing her the picture.

"Oh, how sad Andreus looks."

I knew where I got my sappiness from.

"Lots of people," she said, listing names. "Stacey, Mark, Harold . . ."

Missy went to the back door and scratched to be let out. We tended to keep her dog door closed more often than not. It limited her escapes. I pulled open the door and saw Nick coming through the gate.

It was as if Missy had a sixth sense about him, I swear.

Nick stepped in, gave me a kiss.

"And Carla, Trevor, Matthew, oh, there's Godfrey!" Her words had started to slur, syllables running together.

He said, "Do I want to know?"

"Alcohol-fueled trip down memory lane," I said, heading into the kitchen.

"And William, and Phillip, and Marcia."

Wait. What?

Phillip?

"Ve!" I cried.

Looking startled, she said, "What? What'd I do?"

"You said Phillip. Which one is he?" I asked, leaning over her shoulder.

She shook her head. "I didn't say Phillip. I don't know a Phillip. Which is kind of strange when you think about it. I know a lot of people and not one named Phillip? It's not an unusual name. Isn't there a Prince Phillip?"

I pushed her margarita glass toward Nick. "What did you say, then?"

"When?" she asked.

Oh dear God. "A minute ago . . . William and Phillip and Marcia?"

She stared at the photo, pointing as she went along. "William, Phillip, Marcia."

"You said it again," I cried. The man she tapped as Phillip looked familiar.

Confused, she looked at me, her forehead dipped low. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I glanced at Nick for help.

Smirking, he said, "I'll have what she's drinking."

"Big help." I pointed at the photo again. "This guy, Ve. Who's he?"

"Phillip," she said. "Took me on a date once and tried to go all the way with me." She giggled. "I let him."

"I'm going to need a memory cleanse after today," I muttered.

Nick was trying hard not to laugh. "I don't think Ve's saying Phillip. It just sounds that way because of the slurring."

"Spell his name," I said.

Looking at me like I was an idiot, she said slowly, "F-L-I-P."

Flip. I wanted to bang my head against the countertop. "I'll never get those five minutes of my life back."

"Did I tell you he took me on a date?" she asked.

"Yes!" I said quickly.

Nick patted my shoulder.

"Flip," she repeated. "Turned out he was a flop. A big ol' flop." She eyed her lap and wiggled her eyebrows.

"You're going to need to make that two memory cleanses," Nick said.

I dropped my head against his chest and nodded.

"Felix. Feeeee-lix," Ve said in a hoity-toity tone.

"Who's Felix?" I asked, suddenly on high alert. It was Andreus's middle name. The name that had been nagging me.

"Flip!" she said. "Aren't you paying attention?"

I wished I wasn't.