“I’ve been drinking tea and reading a book and luxuriating in a cashmere blanket.” Rina smiled. “How aristocratic is that? Your grandmother is lovely, Tyler. It’s so nice of her to put us all up.”

“We’re doing her the favor.” McAdams looked around. “Where are Bonnie and Kate?”

“Bonnie went home about an hour ago. Kate is in the back doing the laundry. She didn’t want to leave me alone at first. I don’t know if she fully trusts me.”

“That’s just Kate.”

Decker looked around. “Where’s Greg Schultz?”

“He and Nina went out for a bite to eat.”

“He left you alone?”

“No, I have Kate.”

“She’s over sixty and has a limp,” McAdams said.

“You’re not helping me,” Rina said.

“I’ll kill him,” Decker muttered.

“Peter, I’m fine and I’m armed. Besides, this place has better security than Fort Knox. I insisted they go out.”

“He shouldn’t have listened to you. What’s the matter with him?”

“He’s a volunteer, remember? His brain needs to turn off. It’ll make him more alert in the long run.”

“She’s right,” Oliver said.

“Who asked you?” Decker was still standing.

McAdams looked at Rina. “Are you comfortable here?”

“Are you kidding me?” She tousled his hair. “Come on, guys. I’ll show you where Nina has stationed us.” She turned to McAdams. “Do you need help getting up to your room, Tyler?”

“Nope. The place has an elevator.”

Rina laughed. “Nina didn’t show me that.”

“And I bet she didn’t show you the secret passage that leads to a secret room. It’s where my grandfather entertained his mistresses when his wives were out, leaving no evidence of the deed. All that ended when Nina came along. She boarded up the space. Then she opened it back up after he died. Lord only knows what she uses it for.”

“Maybe if I behave, will she rent it out to me?” Oliver said.

“Maybe if you don’t behave, she’ll rent it out to you.”

Oliver laughed. Decker said, “Where should we meet to talk?”

“The breakfast room. We can spread out.”

Decker looked around. “Where is that?”

Rina said, “I’ll show you. I think I’ve got the lay of the land.”

McAdams opened a door and wheeled himself into an elevator cart. “See you in twenty.”

It was more like thirty before everyone came down. By that time, Greg and Nina had come back and the oversized apartment hummed with activity. Kate had fixed finger sandwiches and there were also preopened bottles of sparkling water and port with small, crystal glasses. Nina had gone upstairs to get comfortable—whatever that meant—and Greg Schultz, revitalized from his hour on the town, showed the group a map of the area complete with alleys and hiding places. He had done such a good job that Decker didn’t reprimand him.

Schultz said, “I also have the doormen looking out for anything strange. They know more about the area than I could ever hope to learn. Anyway, I hope you aren’t mad about me leaving Rina alone. She and the lady of the house ganged up on me.”

“I’m sure they did,” Decker said. “You’re off duty now, Greg. I’ve got it from here.”

“Thanks. See you all in the morning. ”

The boys replenished their fuel intake with the sandwiches while Rina sipped sparkling water and nibbled on fresh fruit.

Nina came down in sweats and flats. Her face was perfectly made up and her blond hair was still coiffed. “Anyone for coffee or tea?”

Tyler grinned. “You’re pouring?”

“No, I’m offering. Kate will do the actual pouring.”

“You were scaring me for a moment, Nina.”

She gave him a grandmotherly pat. “Silly boy.”

“I’ll take coffee, if you wouldn’t mind, ma’am,” Oliver said.

“It’s Nina,” she said. “And you are way too old to ma’am me.”

“I am old, Nina, but in dealing with such a beautiful and charming woman, it’s better for me to error on the side of respect.”

Nina stared at him. “You’re very good. Are you married?”

“Nina . . .” McAdams said.

“Hush up.” She smiled at Oliver. “Not that marriage has ever stopped anyone.”

“I’m not married.” Oliver grinned. “And I have a lot of war stories from my days at LAPD if you’re interested.”

Decker rolled his eyes. Nina caught it. “So the stories aren’t true?”

“No, they’re true,” Decker admitted. “He left the force because he was shot.”

“Well, you’ll have to tell me all about it,” Nina said. The coffeepot beeped. “Kate, the coffee’s ready.”

“Coming.”

McAdams said, “I think we can take it from here, Nina.”

“You’re kicking me out?”

Tyler stood up with a cane. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Yes, I am. But thank you for everything. You’re a first-class woman.”

Nina was speechless. A tear trickled from her eye. “That was gracious—so unlike you.”

“It’s just because I’m weak, Nina. Very weak.”

She wiped her cheek “Good night to all.” A brief smile and then she left. After Kate poured coffee, she disappeared as well. The ensuing silence was awkward. Rina asked how it went with Lance Terry. Decker gave her a synopsis of the conversation with the two young men.

Rina said, “Interesting that Livingston just happened to be there.”

“It looked suspicious at first,” Decker said. “But I believed Terry when he said he called Livingston down.” A pause. “I still think he’s holding back.”

“Totally,” Oliver said. “I’m wondering why he really left the school. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d have a breakdown even if his ex-girlfriend was murdered. Furthermore, it was his final year of college.”

McAdams said, “Maybe someone threatened him?”

“Yeah,” Oliver concurred, “I think someone spooked him good.”

Decker said, “We know that Terry didn’t kill her. His alibi checked out. So did Sobel’s. But were they involved in the murder?”

“Don’t see it,” Oliver said.

“Why not?” McAdams said.

“Just a gut feeling based on experience. Do you disagree?”

“Not necessarily. I’m just trying to figure out your conclusions logically.”

“That’s a mistake,” Oliver said.

Decker said, “I believe Sobel when he says he hadn’t seen Angeline for a long time. For now he’s out of the picture. Terry’s another story. I think something scared him enough to drop out of school and come running to the safety of home.”

“At least they didn’t shoot him,” McAdams said.

“True. If someone had, he would have phoned the police.” Decker sipped coffee. “We have a recent link of Lance to Angeline. The Petroshkovich book. But did he know that she was razoring out the prints?”

“He seemed genuinely surprised,” Oliver said. “But the point is, even if Terry didn’t know what she was up to, maybe someone saw them go into the library together. Maybe that someone thought they were up to mischief.”

“So you think the murders had to do with the Petroshkovich book?” Rina said.

“No,” Decker said. “The murders had to do with something very big and I don’t see the Petroshkovich book as being that big. But it does point the finger at another forgery that Angeline was involved in.”

Oliver said, “How did she reproduce the pictures if she never checked out the book? She would have had to have seen the originals, right?”

“Of course,” Decker said. “The book was coowned by Pretoria College in Marylebone. If we checked out the reference library there, do you think we’d find John Latham’s name on a sign-up sheet?”

Oliver said, “He took the plates, gave them to her, and she put the phony ones back when Terry checked the book out for her.”

“I’ll call Pretoria in the morning,” McAdams said.

“Let’s roll with that for a moment,” Decker said. “Angeline and Latham now have some original Nikolai Petroshkovich plates. What’s their next step?”

“To find a dealer,” Oliver said. “What about that Goddard guy you were talking to in Boston? The shootings happened right after you two came up to visit Summer Village.”