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A sh I am perhaps the only one who feels it I close my eyes for a few seconds and feel the sun and I briefly feel more connected to the earth than I ever have

I relish these smallon borrowed time

My private-eye instincts kick into high gear, and so I ask, “What does Jewel have to do with Olivia’s disappearance?”

Eddie answers casually, as if he is talking about the weather, “Teeks ago, Jewel committed suicide”

The words hit ard Eddie For the stoic Nigerian, this is akin to a cartoonish double take

“What do the police say?” I ask when I’rief that his on-again, off-again mistress took her own life He dips his head away froain, his expression is neutral

“I haven’t mentioned Jewel’s suicide to the police yet”

This surprises y for my next question “Why not?”

Eddie takes in a lot of air and leans forward I can tell he doesn’t like leaning forward Leaning forward puts him just that much closer to me He lowers his voice when he speaks, “Lately… Olivia’s been pretty vocal aboutJewel anymore, even as friends”

“Do you bla but he doesn’t catch it

Eddie shrugs He doesn’t like talking about it I honestly think Eddie thinks cheating isn’t a big deal God, hoas I ever even friends with hiodsend that he’s not in my life anymore

He says, “I guess not”

“Had you been cheating with her?”

“No Not for a few years”

“So, what proe of heart?”

“I really don’t know”

I wait There’s more to the story, I can tell Numi waits, too Numi can outwait a polar shift

Eddie’s knee continues to bounce Perhaps faster than before Finally, he adds, “Well,out more often than usual”

I know Eddie well enough to guess, but I ask anyway, “Did you sleep with her?”

Eddie shrugs, clearly a defensive gesture that I hadn’t known about esture Perhaps now he had so to be defensive about “Yeah, I did”

“Did Olivia find out?”

“I’ she did”

“But you don’t know for sure?”

“No She never ”

“Do you think Olivia killed Jewel, that it wasn’t a suicide?”

Eddie shrugs and seems to consider this for the first ti “I don’t know I don’t know anything, Jimmy That’s why I’m here”

I nod, or I think I nod “So what do you want me to do?”

“Help , or for me not to hear from her”

I know Olivia has left Jimmy before I know this because on one such occasion she stayed with me Eddie hadn’t liked that, but Eddie didn’t have a choice I had been a perfect gentleain, shared soether

I think about my words carefully before I say, “Do you think there’s a possibility that Olivia left you because you’re a lying, cheating scu?”