Клео Коул - Decaffeinated Corpse

“Bree insists I come back with her,” Matt told me upon hanging up.

“Well...” I shrugged, folded my arms. “You have to admit, a king-size penthouse bed with five-hundred-dollar sheets is a lot more comfortable than a narrow antique sofa.”

“Yeah.”

There wasn’t much enthusiasm in my ex-husband’s tone. It sounded more like obligation, and I wondered what was going on in his head. For almost a year Matt had been squiring the woman to launch parties, political fundraisers, and charitable events. Their photos had been splashed in Gotham , Town and Country , and the Post ’s “Page Six.” The publicity was a great boost to Matt’s profile as he expanded our business. Yet, over the summer, he’d told me that he and Breanne were just “casual,” and he had no intention of becoming enmeshed in her life.

As summer turned into fall, however, it seemed to me that Breanne was becoming increasingly manipulative and demanding. My ex-husband may have been using Bree for her connections, but she appeared to be exacting a price.

After hanging up, Matt went upstairs and returned with a small gym bag. He hadn’t bothered to pack a change of clothes, just underwear and toiletries. Obviously, he had no intention of staying very long at Breanne Summour’s penthouse.

“See you tomorrow, hon—” he began, then corrected himself as he pulled open the door. “Sorry. I meant Clare.”

“Matt?” I called.

“Yeah?” He turned, one hand still on the doorknob.

“Does Breanne know about Ric and his breakthrough?”

“Of course, she knows. I introduced them last week.”

“So you invited Bree to Friday’s launch tasting at the Beekman Hotel, right?”

“Her magazine is going to cover it. Trend is very influential. One article can have a tremendous impact.”

Pillow-talk publicity, I thought. “Did she, by any chance, know about Ric coming to the Blend tonight?”

“As a matter of fact, I was with her when I took the call from Ric earlier today. When he heard about my giving you his beans to taste test with our baristas, he said he wanted to drop by and see what they thought. Bree wanted me to go with her to some launch party tonight, but frankly I was happier coming to the Blend... until the mugging, that is.”

I nodded and began to wonder about Breanne. Could she have set Ric up? Sent someone to rob him or worse? What would be her motive if she had?

I gave Matt a halfhearted smile as I considered voicing these suspicions. But I knew he’d blow his top before I finished talking. And he’d most likely be right. Notwithstanding my total dislike for the woman, Breanne Summour just didn’t strike me as a criminal mastermind.

“See you tomorrow,” I told my ex.

The front door closed, and I stepped to the window, watched the sidewalk below until a dark-haired male head appeared. Breanne wasted no time. She threw her burning cigarette into the gutter. Laughing loudly enough for me to hear three floors away, she snaked her long, slender arms around my ex-husband’s neck and began passionately kissing him.

Matt’s body remained tense as she ground against him, but he didn’t push her away. His mouth moved over hers, and I knew what I was missing. Matt was an amazing kisser. A piece of me shifted with regret—but only a very little piece.

When he finally broke it off, he pointed to the Town Car. The two of them disappeared inside, and I watched the vehicle pull away. I continued watching until the misty gray shadows closed like a curtain on the car’s red tail-lights.

Letting go of the sheers, I frowned, trying to guess Bree’s endgame with my ex-husband. As long as he needed her influence, she could pull his strings.

But , an annoying little voice nagged in my head, what would happen if Ric’s breakthrough made Matt a fortune? Would he cut those strings completely? Was Breanne capable of quietly sabotaging Ric, just to make sure her prized boy toy didn’t flee the sandbox?

The hearth’s fire was dying out, and the room had grown colder. I felt almost empty inside, hollowed out and exhausted. Rubbing my arms, I couldn’t help thinking of Mike Quinn.... Was he sleeping now? Missing his wife? His kids? His old home in Brooklyn? Could he possibly be lying in bed, thinking of me?

I cupped my hand against my cheek and chin, where he’d touched me earlier, and wondered if it had crossed his mind to touch more of me anytime soon.

I could certainly push things... but he was a trusted friend, and I didn’t want to lose that. I couldn’t risk misreading him, or—as Matt had advised me about my own daughter—if I pushed too hard, I could end up pushing him away. Then again, maybe Matt was speaking from his own experience with Breanne.

A sudden yawn put an end to my tortuous conjectures. I picked up my bowl, put it to my mouth, and guzzled the last dregs of Matt’s tangy ragout. Then I took the bowl to the kitchen, wiped my mouth on a paper towel, and headed up to bed.

At the top of the staircase, I remembered Ric. Quietly I opened the door to Matt’s room. I stepped a little way into the darkness. The light from the hallway splashed onto the bed pillows, illuminating Federico Gostwick’s ebony hair and handsome profile. I could see he was sleeping comfortably. His breathing sounded even, not labored, and I was glad. Then I closed the door and headed down the hall to my own bedroom.

“Attempted murder...”

Mike’s words came back to me as I stripped off my clothes and pulled the extra-large Steelers T-shirt over my head. I thought again of how much Matt and Ric looked like brothers, and my mind began to worry that fact...

If the person after Ric means to harm him and makes a mistake, could Matt end up in the crosshairs?

The vision of Ric in the cold, wet alley came back to me then. I saw the man’s slumped over body, but this time with Matt’s face. The image sent a sick chill through me.

Matt was my business partner and my child’s father. He and I were no longer husband and wife, but after all we’d been through together, I wasn’t prepared for any harm to come to him. Unfortunately, I’d blown his trust this evening when I’d admitted talking to Quinn.

But I haven’t blown it with Ric yet.

“Tomorrow morning,” I whispered, settling under the covers.

Matt will be at Bree’s, and I can talk to Ric without interference.

“One way or another,” I mumbled as my head hit the pillow, “I’m going to get my questions answered....”

“How about a fresh pot?”

Ric nodded.

When it came to mornings, I didn’t consider myself conscious until I’d sucked down at least one mammoth cup of our Breakfast Blend. But Ric was off caffeine. At his request, I was about to brew up a pot of the Gostwick Estate Reserve Decaf in my apartment’s kitchen. Ric said he’d been researching decaf so long, he’d grown to prefer it.

Since I was going to use a standard drip method this time out, I set the burr grinder between coarse (for French presses) and fine (for espresso machines). I could almost hear Detective Mike Quinn’s voice over the grinder’s noisy whirring— “You know, Cosi, you might want to dial that same setting for your interrogation. Too coarse, you’ll spook the subject. Too refined, you won’t get what you need. Aim for the middle...”

I’d already had hours to think about questioning Ric. I’d been up since five thirty, taking in the day’s bakery delivery downstairs and brewing urns of our Breakfast Blend.

Between six and seven, I’d served about twenty customers when the door jingled and in walked a welcome surprise—Dante Silva. The compact twenty-six-year-old strode right up to the coffee bar, looking a little uneasy. “Good morning, Ms. Cosi.”