Page 30 of Lorenzo

“Far from it.”

She waits for more.

“Alessio is easygoing. Charming. He likes people, and people usually like him.”

“Any history of violence?”

I don’t answer right away. She meets my eyes.

“Not of the personal variety,” I respond.

She says nothing to that and just continues her questioning.

“Jealousy? Possessiveness?”

“No.”

“Has a woman ever accused him of frightening her, hurting her?”

My answer comes without hesitation. “Never.”

Donna watches me closely, looking for the pause that does not come.

“He enjoys women,” I say. “He does not hurt them. In fact, he is angry at himself for leaving her there alone.”

“What exactly did Julian tell you about me?”

“That you were good and discreet.”

The answer seems to be good enough.

I wonder briefly about the familiarity between Donna and Julian.

There is something in the way she says his name. That familiarity, certainly. Perhaps irritation. Whatever exists between them, it is more than a professional recommendation.

Julian wouldn’t have sent me to her if he didn’t trust her.

Donna reaches for a legal pad from the open box beside her desk, pulls off the plastic wrapping, and places it in front of her.

“You have the footage?”

“Julian has a copy of the hotel recording. We have the footage from the house.”

“Autopsy?”

“Preliminary estimate only.”

“Witnesses?”

“Nothing useful yet.”

She uncaps a pen.

The movement is ordinary, but it changes things. A moment ago, she was deciding whether to hear me out. Now she is preparing to work.

“Tell me everything from the beginning,” she says.

I look at the unfinished office again.