Page 41 of Lorenzo

They shake hands.

Alessio gives her the smile that has opened doors for him since he was old enough to understand what charm could accomplish. It is weaker than usual today, but still there.

Donna takes the open chair beside him and places the folder on the edge of Julian’s desk.

“Thank you for meeting with us,” I say. “Did you find anything?”

Donna opens her folder.

“I wanted Alessio here because I need to hear his account directly,” she says. “Before that, I have a few things to go over from the hotel.”

Julian’s gaze sharpens slightly. “You went inside the hotel?”

“A little hard to investigate it from the sidewalk.”

Alessio leans forward, his forearms resting on his thighs. “You found something?”

“A few things that raise questions. None of them clear you on their own.”

“I’ll take questions.”

“So will the police,” Julian says. “Provided they point away from you.”

Donna pulls out the first sheet.

“I looked into the emergency call that brought the police to the Halston. It came in shortly after 2:00 in the morning.”

I glance at Julian. “That’s confirmed?”

“I confirmed when the call was received,” Donna says. “I’m still working on who placed it and exactly what was said.”

Alessio frowns. “2:00?”

“Yes.”

“But they think she died between 12:30 and 1:00.”

“That is the preliminary estimate.”

“And their footage shows me leaving at 1:30,” he says.

Donna nods. “Which means the call was made approximately thirty minutes after the time the footage claims you left.”

The room goes quiet.

Julian folds his hands on the desk. “Was it placed from inside the hotel?”

“I don’t have that information yet.”

“Genevieve could not have made it,” I say.

“No,” Donna agrees. “She was already dead.”

“And Alessio did not make it.”

“I was home,” he says. “I didn’t know anything had happened until the police came for me.”

“There was no obvious reason for hotel staff to call either,” Donna says. “According to what I learned, the police arrived and went directly to Genevieve’s room. This does not sound like housekeeping found her during a routine service or a guest complained about something happening next door.”