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fender of his car. Xavier pampered his Mazda, his pride and joy that he washed and polished weekly. Any scratches or dents were new, or she would have heard him rant about them.
    "What happened to your car?" she asked.
    At the same time, he said, "We should close the school for a few days."
    "Yes." She even answered him at the same time.
    "An accident," he said.
    "Were you hurt?" Was it her imagination he hid his left hand slightly behind him? She brushed off the thought, hating the sudden suspicions that had sprung up with Walter's death.
    "How long are we closing for?" he asked.
    The diversion irked Gilda, but she didn't let on. "Until after the funeral. I'm keeping in touch with everyone on Facebook and e-mails. At least I can still do some work from home."
    "Have you…?" He hesitated. "Have you noticed any discrepancies in the books? Money missing? Supplies not in inventory?"
    Her ears tingled, and she failed to keep her mouth from falling open. "Do you think someone's been stealing from the school?"
    He turned away. "Just wondering if there was a motive for Walter's death. Maybe he caught someone stealing."
    "Are you serious? Is that what the meeting at Café Beanz was about?"
    Xavier shrugged. "It was just a thought."
    "I know a couple of the guys want to start their own schools, but I can't believe anyone would stoop low enough to steal from Mick and Shihan Yoshida." Gilda had the impression he was trying to justify Walter's murder out of grief. Or remorse. Xavier seemed to know a lot of ways to kill someone. She shivered, glad she hadn't invited him into her house. She clutched her coffee cup so tight the paper dented. "Mick would've noticed."
    "Maybe—if he wasn't so preoccupied with Chloe and his new business."
    "What new business?"
    "Well, not his exactly," Xavier said. "He and a bartender friend are flipping houses. I hear they bought a place on Oakland Drive last week. It's already half gutted, and some cute blonde he knows from the gym is doing the decorating."
    Why hadn't she heard about that new business? That was probably why Mick was more distracted than usual lately. Well, that and Chloe wasn't a cute blonde—more like a sour-looking brunette. Was he cheating on her?
    "I'd better go." He glanced at his watch. "I told Walter's wife I'd stop by. I think their kids are coming today."
    "Sure." Gilda brought the cup to her lips, her gaze on Xavier as he walked to his car and waved over his shoulder. She'd never known him to be chummy with Jade Levy before. Quite the opposite, actually. In the past, he walked on the other side of the room seemingly to avoid the Dragon Lady, as he called her. Him going to see her now just seemed wrong, but death had an odd way of pulling people together.
    She sat up with a sudden thought. "Hey, Xavier, are you missing a ring?"
    "Why?" His face darkened with a frown, and his step faltered.
    Gilda hesitated. "I found one with a karate symbol on it, but I don't know who it belongs to. You don't happen to know who owns one, do you?"
    "No. Sorry."
    "Okay. Thanks. Just thought I'd ask."
    Once he left, it occurred to her he never asked what kind of karate symbol was on the ring. Did he already know which ring and who it belonged to, or was he just distracted?
    Gilda zipped her coffee cup into a sandwich bag and carried it to the police station, hoping to see Fabio and avoid Thayer, if at all possible. Fabio grew up with Mick in Detroit, and the two trained together until Fabio became a cop. Rumor—well, Happy actually—said he settled in Sandstone Cove for the peace and tranquility of a small lakeside town after taking a knife to the back during a drug raid. He probably started to second-guess that idea after being saddled with Thayer.
    Fueled by fear, her mind bounced from thought to thought. She had enough money tucked aside to leave town and rent a cottage on a beach along the East Coast. For years, she'd thought of vacationing near the ocean. Maine seemed like a