“All of my students,” I said, then frowned. “No, wait. Cynthia Hardesty had left to make a phone call. And Alice had to run to the bathroom. And Gina . . . no, Whitney. No, wait. They’re both in the room. They scream and huddle under the table.”

“What else?”

“Kylie isn’t there. Did she go to the ladies’ room? And I can’t see Jennifer. But she’s probably there. She’s quiet.” I sighed. “That’s all I can remember.”

“So, to recap,” Derek said, glancing at his own notes. “Cynthia, Kylie, and Alice were out of the room when the gunshot went off.”

I closed my eyes and tried to picture the classroom at the precise moment. “Yes, I’m pretty sure.”

“You hear the shot and run down the hall,” Derek continued. “There you see the body. Who’s with you?”

“Mitchell,” I said instantly. “He wouldn’t stay in the room.”

“Who else?” Derek asked, pacing a few feet in each direction as he peppered me with questions. “Where is everybody now? Who do you see next?”

I went down the line, picturing Alice and Gina at the gallery end of the hall. I remembered Mitchell saying he’d assigned Ned to watch the other hallway. But I never saw Ned that night.

I related Tom Hardesty’s display of grief and Cynthia’s contempt for Layla. And I told them about Minka stomping over and Mitchell forcing her to stay away.

“All right, darling,” Derek said soothingly. “Now, where is Naomi?”

I opened my eyes and stared at him. “She wasn’t there. She showed up a few minutes later. Said she’d had to run an errand. She went berserk when she saw Layla. She tried to get closer and I had to hold her back, she was so out of control.” I hesitated, then added, “It seemed over the top, but I won’t judge her on that score.”

“What else do you remember?”

“I remember you walking in with Gunther. He was angry, arguing with Inspector Jaglom.”

“Yes, I remember that, too.”

I looked over at my three friends on the couch, all in a row, riveted to their seats.

“This is so cool,” Suzie said. “Keep going.”

“Okay,” I said, grinning. I looked up at Derek. “If we assume that the same person attacked Minka, then it can’t be Gunther. He wasn’t in town on Monday.”

Derek folded his arms across his chest as he pondered that for a moment. “But he was. He arrived Sunday night with three of my men. They drove him by the book arts center. He had managed to evade my men twice and I was livid. That’s why I flew in late Monday.”

“So Gunther was already in the city?”

“The plot thickens,” Robin murmured dramatically.

I looked at Derek as something dawned on me. “But Gunther couldn’t have killed Mr. Soo because he was in jail.”

“Yes, that just occurred to me, as well,” Derek said, and we smiled at each other. Were we smiling too much? Were my friends thinking, Get a room?

To distract myself, I picked up the legal pad, sat back in the chair, and perused the list again. “So it could still be anyone.”

“Not you,” Robin said.

“Nope, not me,” I said with relief, and made a third column of people who absolutely didn’t do it. I put my name on that list, then added Derek’s.

After a few fortifying sips of wine, Derek and I went through the same exercise for the night of Minka’s attack.

I thought back to the classroom Monday night, then named the people who left the class, one by one. I remembered trying to sneak out to talk to Layla, but being stopped by Kylie, who asked for an explanation of some technique. Threading? Stitching? Something.

“So Alice and Cynthia and Whitney are out of the room during the time Minka is attacked,” Derek reiterated.

“Yes,” I said.

“That means that Alice and Cynthia are now the common denominators for the two attacks at your workplace,” Vinnie said.

“Very good,” Derek said, winking at Vinnie, who preened with pleasure. I couldn’t blame her.

“And Naomi,” I added. “She was supposedly in her office with the door closed when Minka was attacked. She acted perfectly dumb when she finally opened the door.”

“She’s my guess,” Suzie said, and Vinnie patted her leg in encouragement.

“Where did Alice go off to?” Derek asked.

“The bathroom, probably,” Robin said, smiling.

“No doubt,” I said, thinking back. “She’s always in the bathroom. Or off texting Stuart.”

“Is she?” Derek said.

Robin laughed. “You couldn’t possibly think Alice had anything to do with this.”

“I’m not eliminating anyone yet,” Derek said thoughtfully.

“You’ve seen me pass out over blood, right?” I said. “Alice is ten times worse than that.”

“She is quite sensitive,” Vinnie allowed.

“She couldn’t even lift a gun, let alone shoot it,” Suzie said, amused. “The noise alone would probably cause her to faint.”

“But she was in Dharma when Gabriel was shot,” Derek persisted.

“Oh, come on,” Robin said. “The girl is a wimp.”

“Besides, she was at the spa when it happened,” I said.

“Was she?” Derek asked, one eyebrow raised in doubt.

“And don’t forget,” I said.“The killer would have to know how to break into a hotel room and hide those books.”

“Can’t you just see her breaking into a hotel room?” Robin said with a laugh.

“She is pretty thin-skinned,” Suzie noted. “She was in tears half the night we met her.”

I looked at Derek. “It’s kind of silly to have her on the list. I mean, where would anyone as young and innocent and sensitive as Alice learn about breaking and entering?”

“Oh, she’s not so young,” Vinnie said, sitting forward. “Her earlobes are those of a much older woman.”

“What?” Robin laughed. “Come on.”

“It is true,” Vinnie insisted. “My mother, Padma, is a cosmetic facialist with the soul of an artist. She has studied facial structure, bones and skin, and passed the knowledge on to me.”

“She wanted Vinnie to open a spa with her in Mumbai,” Suzie revealed.

“Really?” Robin asked. “Do you know how to do all that spa stuff?”

“Yes.” Vinnie shivered delicately. “And I cannot tolerate it. Can you imagine cleaning toe jam and waxing hairy upper lips all day?”

Suzie snorted with laughter.

“But what were you saying about earlobes?” Derek persisted, bringing us back to the key topic.

“Ah, yes.” Vinnie sobered. “If earlobes could talk, they would tell you that your young Alice is no spring chicken. I calculate her to be at least forty years old.”

Chapter 18

My mouth gaped open. Robin stared dumbly back at me. We both looked up at Derek, whose eyes were narrowed in speculation.

We all turned to Vinnie, who sat quietly sipping her wine.

“Is that really possible?” Robin said finally.

“This is a well-known fact in my country,” Vinnie said offhandedly. “The headband she wears may be an aid to keep her skin taut. It is an old trick.”

Could it have been true? Was Alice really that old? Not that forty was all that old, but she didn’t even look thirty. And now that I thought about it, her sweet, genteel wardrobe added to her youthful appearance. Was it all an act?

And even if she was older than we thought, why would Alice kill Layla?

“What’s her motive?” I asked. “She just started working at BABA a month ago. Layla was so nice to her, it was spooky. She was almost maternal toward her. I never saw any animosity between them.”

“Perhaps Alice was holding something over Layla’s head,” Derek said.

“Blackmail?” I said. “So Layla had to be nice or Alice would reveal something? It’s outlandish.”

“Don’t forget Gabriel,” Robin said. “What could she possibly have against him?”

“Maybe we should ask Gabriel,” Derek said, staring out the window at the moon cresting over the Bay Bridge.

“Maybe.” I rubbed my temple where a headache was starting to throb. The idea that Alice could be a cold-blooded killer was hurting my head. I glanced at Derek. “You’re playing devil’s advocate and I appreciate that, but you don’t know this girl. She’s sweet and thoughtful. Sensitive. I just can’t see her in the role of killer.”