Bombshell Part 8

Delsey shook her head, regretted it, and held perfectly still. "Not me in particular." And Griffin laughed, since she'd echoed the other women at Salazar's house.

"Nope. Professor Salazar really wants Anna, not Gabrielle."

"Anna, as in your best friend?"

"Yep, but he better pray he doesn't get her, because Anna's tough, doesn't put up with any guff."

"Sort of like you?"

Delsey laughed. "Anna says Professor Salazar's a talented lush with a cool name and an exaggerated accent, but I know he wants her; I'm only a stray guppy, an afterthought. She's the one who told me she'd read he and his twin Dr. Hayman were separated as boys and it was Rafael the mom took back to Spain. He is always waxing eloquent about his upbringing in Barcelona and his training at Queen Sofia College of Music in Madrid, studying under the famous Natalia Bron."

She sighed. "I guess I was drunk."

"Sounds like it. That's weird for you, Ms. One Drink." He turned toward the door. "Ah, here he is, your friend and neighbor, Mr. Stoltzen. He asked if he could come see you." Griffin nodded to Henry. "Mr. Stoltzen."

Henry didn't quite meet his eyes. He whispered, "Please, Agent Hammersmith, call me Henry."

"All right," Griffin said, and watched Delsey smile with affection at him.

Henry was different, Delsey knew it when she'd first met him, and she really liked him-impossible not to. She took his hand, shook it. "Hey, dude. You found me and called the paramedics. Thank you."

Griffin had met music nerds before Henry, and when Stoltzen had stopped him in the lobby, Griffin knew he fit the bill nicely. He was on the short side, his shoulders stooped, his skin vampire-pale and soft-looking, like he'd never thrown anything heavier than a wadded-up piece of paper into a wastebasket. He wore a long goatee, blacker even than his s.h.a.ggy hair, meaning he probably dyed it. Still, all six inches of it was a pure distraction, an excellent affectation for him. Even though Griffin had read the statement Dix took from Henry, he thought it was a good idea to let him visit with Delsey. Perhaps he would help her remember something.

He watched Henry slink to Delsey's bedside, and stand looking down at her knees, not her face, shifting his feet back and forth. "It was really bad, Delsey," he said, finally looking at her face. "I came by earlier to speak to Agent n.o.ble. Then I wanted to see you, but the deputy outside your room wouldn't let me come in-"

"You didn't recognize Deputy Claus?"

"Sure, and he recognized me, too, but he said I still needed permission, but Agent n.o.ble was gone and there was no one to give it to me." He turned to Griffin. "Delsey talks about you a lot."

"Not all bad," Delsey said.

Griffin said, "Why didn't you go to the party, Mr. Stoltzen? Henry?"

"I wasn't invited. I'm not pretty enough."

Delsey said to her brother, "Professor Salazar's parties always have more women than men."

Both Griffin and Delsey heard spite in Henry's voice when he said, "According to what I've heard, Salazar doesn't like compet.i.tion."

Then where's the harm in inviting you? Griffin said, "I know you already told your story to Sheriff n.o.ble and Agent n.o.ble, but please humor me and tell us both again, from the beginning, Mr... . Henry."

"Yeah, okay, I can do that." He looked down at Delsey. "I heard you pull in at about one o'clock and looked out the window, saw you unlock your door and walk in. I admit it, Delsey, I did wonder if you'd had too much fun at Salazar's party. You looked like you were weaving around a bit."

Delsey said, "And I'll never do that again for as long as I live, so help me G.o.d."

"Good," Griffin said, then turned to Henry again. "You said you heard something come from Delsey's apartment and it worried you? How long was this after she came in at one o'clock?"

"Maybe about ten minutes before she walked in. I thought I heard some b.u.mping around, like there was someone in her apartment, a visitor maybe, but then I didn't hear anything else, and so I thought I imagined it. Until Delsey screamed. I banged on the floor and called 911, and then I listened some more, and then I walked down."

"Do you remember what time it was?" Griffin asked.

Henry's eyes darted to Griffin's face. He popped his knuckles. "You know, it took me a while to decide there really was a problem, Delsey. I didn't know for sure until you screamed. But I thought maybe you had a guy staying with you, and I didn't want to intrude."

Was that a hint of jealousy in his voice?

Delsey snorted. "Come on, Henry, when was the last time I had a guy over for the night?"

"Well, now that I think about it, maybe never."

"It's sad," Delsey said. "Anna's always telling me to get rid of the bushel."

"Bushel?" Henry asked.

"As in hiding your light under-"

"Hey, that's funny, Delsey." Henry beamed at her.

Griffin said smoothly, "How long did you wait after you called 911 before you went downstairs and through Delsey's front door, Henry?"

"I heard some more noises, and I banged on the floor again. I was going to wait for the cops to arrive, but after a couple of minutes I didn't hear anything, and like I said, I went downstairs."

Griffin said, "Better you waited a bit, Henry, or you might have been hurt. You didn't see anyone? Hear anyone or anything other than the b.u.mping sounds?"

Henry shook his head. "Nope, not a thing-well, I did hear a car engine when I was already on my way to check on Delsey, but that's it. I was thinking about her."

"Did you happen to glance out a window, see the car?"

"No, sir, I'm sorry, but I didn't."

"What did you do next?"

"Your front door wasn't locked, Delsey, so I stuck my head in and called your name. When you didn't answer, I went on in."

Griffin asked, "Was anything out of place, Henry?"

Henry said to Delsey, "Yeah, that little Persian carpet you're so proud of was all crumpled against the table you have for your mail."

Like someone had dragged a body over it or was in a big hurry.

"I can't remember anything else out of place. When I looked in your bathroom, there you were lying on the floor, on your side, your clothes in a pile beside you. You weren't moving, and I thought you were dead at first. It scared the c.r.a.p out of me, Delsey. It looked like you'd slipped and fallen, hit your head, maybe, because there was blood in your hair and on the floor. I didn't see the blood in the bathtub until a paramedic pointed it out, said it was way too much to all be yours. I guess one of the paramedics called Sheriff n.o.ble, because he came right away and asked me about it. He let me follow the ambulance to the hospital, but they wouldn't let me near you since I wasn't family, so I finally went home.

"I did go to bed, but I couldn't sleep, not a wink, so I spent most of the night listening to Anton Rubinstein's Cello Concerto in A Minor. You know, the piece I'm going to perform in February. What I really wanted was to actually practice it, but I know Mr. McGibbs would be p.i.s.sed since it was the middle of the night-" Henry shrugged. "Mr. McGibbs lives a good fifty feet away from us but he still b.i.t.c.hes if I play too late. I guess I finally fell asleep, since I didn't wake up until about nine o'clock this morning. I called the hospital, but n.o.body would tell me anything, so I went to Maurie's Diner for breakfast. Anna was there. Since she's your best friend, I told her what happened. She was really upset. I saw her walk over to the restrooms and make a call on her cell phone. When she came back with my bacon and eggs, she spilled coffee on me."

Who did she call? Griffin wondered.