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What is it like to go on a date with a murderer?
As Linzer chewed the aromatic food in her mouth, she unwillingly put a footnote next to the word murderer—well, suspected murderer with considerable suspicion.
They were seated in a fancy restaurant recommended by Crème Brûlée. The midday sun poured in through the enormous glass windows, spreading warmth across their feet. The scent of the food mingled with the restaurant’s incense, brewing a drowsy comfort in the air. Crème Brûlée had requested a piano piece performance for the girl sitting across from him, and Linzer tilted her head to listen. The melody flowed gently through the space—soft, cheerful, perfectly suited to a date.
He’s good at this, Linzer thought. In the honey-colored pupils of the man’s eyes, she saw the reflection of herself: a young girl with flushed cheeks and perfectly curled lashes that shimmered every time she blinked.
“Darling, you seem a little… distracted?” said Crème Brûlée.
Linzer blinked. “Do I? I was just thinking—the pianist here is clearly far inferior to you.”
The man seemed genuinely pleased by her praise, his eyes curling into a smile. He was already handsome, but when he smiled, it was disarming.
“I’ll make sure to save you a concert ticket, Miss Linzer,” he said softly.
Linzer popped the last piece of sauce-coated meat into her mouth while Crème Brûlée had begun to wipe his fingers meticulously with a napkin. She watched his hand, and, sure enough, this drew the pianist’s attention.
“What is it?” he asked.
Linzer said, “You have beautiful hands.”
That hand was immediately offered to her, wrist flipping gently in a gesture of invitation.
“You can touch them, if you’d like.” Crème Brûlée blinked slowly, his tone like that of a flirtatious young man teasing his beloved.
Linzer paused, then obediently placed her hand over his—and was immediately held tight.
The man curled his fingers around hers, gazing into her eyes, his lips lifting in a calm smile.
“You have a good eye, Miss Linzer,” he said. “These are a pianist’s hands, after all.”