Wrapped In Shadows (28 page)

“I understand if you can’t say,” I said, trying to mellow my tone. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable position.” Holding Michelle’s gaze, I asked, “How was breakfast with her parents yesterday morning?”

Her forehead wrinkled deeply and I could see her thoughts scrambling.

“What?”

“Kay said you guys were meeting her parents early for breakfast at Morley’s.”

Her eyes widened with fake recollection. “Uh…yes! Breakfast. It was great. Love Morley’s. It was nice to see her parents.”

I let a casual smile persuade my lips, but inside I was breaking to pieces. Of course she would cover for her friend. I’d made that up. Katie hadn’t said what they’d be doing, just that she was meeting Michelle. I knew she’d been lying, and would bet she hadn’t met Michelle at all. Why would she need to lie unless she was going to be with someone she couldn’t tell me about? Josh. Why couldn't she just be fucking honest with me? But then, I’d asked that same question of my wife time and time again. I’d been a fool to trust—to hope again.

She shouldn’t have come to Livy’s recital. Why steal a piece of my little girl’s heart, and a giant chunk of my own? I would rather her tell me up front that she was taking Josh back than be strung along. I didn’t have time for games. She’d once said she had feelings for me, that she wanted to get to know me, but maybe her feelings weren't strong enough to tear her away from Josh. Obviously she still loved him.

Josh was dangerous! Hadn’t she realized that by now?

I blew the breath from my body, hoping to expel the ache gnawing a hole in my chest. I needed to leave. Now. I needed to be alone. Because I was sure I was going to fall apart.

“Thanks for the chat, Michelle,” I said, then quickly left the office.

I was on auto-pilot for the rest of this damn dismal day, running my business like a robot. I was afraid what might happen if I unleashed any emotion at all, afraid of the geyser that might erupt. Things only got worse after my conversation with Carlos. Carlos had someone tailing Josh. During an account of Josh’s activities, he mentioned Josh visiting the Vandercamp Foundation the day after Christmas. Something Katie failed to mention, but further proof of what I already knew. I had asked her outright if she’d seen Josh, and she’d lied to me. Carlos didn’t yet have a report of Josh’s weekend activities, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out who he’d been with Sunday morning.

I was glad I had enough work on my desk to keep my mind occupied. There was a lot of catching up to do after the holiday, plus I’d hoped to reach out personally to some of the clients who still hadn’t returned Steven’s calls. I definitely needed the distraction from the clamor in my head and my black mood. I had no idea letting her go would hurt this much. It was perhaps because I’d stupidly allowed myself to think there could be something between us. But I had to face the fact that she was never mine to begin with. From the beginning she’d said things were
complicated
. I guess she’d been right.

*************************

Katie

I took a deep breath, ignoring the urgent pounding in my chest. Issuing a prayer, I pushed the key into the lock of Josh’s apartment door. I blew out the breath I’d been holding when it turned and I heard the lock release. Slipping inside, I closed the door and melted against it.
Thank God!
I’d been afraid that he’d changed the locks.

It had been hard to figure out his schedule, especially now that he wasn’t working. I remembered, though, that Monday and Tuesday evenings he attended his anger management class. He needed to ask for a refund. If I weren’t so overwrought with jitters, I’d have laughed at the idea. The only thing that would manage this man’s anger was a frontal lobe lobotomy. I’d gone to his class last night and hovered outside just to see if he was still enrolled. The sight of him had made my stomach churn with nausea, but at least I knew where he’d be tonight. I’d waited outside his building for him to leave, then made my way up to his apartment. He lived in a well-maintained elevator building, but thankfully there was no doorman I had to deal with.

Now here, I worried about the soundness of this plan. I knew it was crazy coming here, but it would be worth it if I could find some evidence against him, some clue that could point the police in his direction. I quickly scanned his open living room, then got to work, systematically shuffling through drawers and opening the doors of several desk cabinets. Finding nothing, I checked my watch and then moved to his bedroom. I’d been there fifteen minutes already and my heart was still pounding furiously.

My plan was to be in and out in twenty-five. Josh’s class was forty-five minutes, plus travel time should have him gone for almost an hour. I wanted to be out with plenty of time to spare.

In his bedroom, a partially open drawer caught my eye, and I recalled that he’d used it to store receipts and things he thought were important. I hurried over and opened the drawer fully, my eyes growing wide at what I saw inside. There were stacks of newspaper clippings and articles reporting Ms. Carmen’s death. It was mixed in with accounts of Luke’s arrest and the charges he’d faced. In fact, there were articles about Luke, Davenport Advertising, and a chronicle of his life going back many years.

My brows furrowed as I dug deeper into the pile, and my teeth knocked together when I found a newspaper clipping about the body found on an early Sunday morning under the Brooklyn Bridge. My hand flew to my mouth to stifle my jerky breaths. What the fuck?

There were numerous photos of who I guessed was Roslyn. Torn ads, head shots, and glossy pages displayed the dark haired beauty, and I couldn’t help the brief spike of jealously. She’d been a gorgeous woman. I remembered Luke saying she’d been a model. There was so much stuff, the drawer was almost overflowing. This was more than a mere interest in these events. Each article had sections underlined and highlighted as though they’d been painstakingly combed through, even the articles about Roslyn’s death. Luke had said there’d been a similarity between the recent murders and that of his wife’s. Why would Josh have accumulated all this if not to learn about Roslyn’s murder? Had he been plotting something all along and the perfect opportunity arose that night at
Sensations
? I knew Josh hated Luke and he’d seemed bitter about Luke’s relationship with his father.

I had been in this drawer a few times and had never seen any of this. I wondered when Josh had started collecting his data and where he had hidden it. Glancing at my watch, I cursed and started shoving the articles back inside. I needed to get out of there. It had already been a half hour. I’d leave everything as it was, preferring for the police to find it. Lord knows what else they’d find if they did a thorough search of his apartment, and the authorities were about to get an anonymous tip.

A loud noise shattered the quiet of the room and my heart rammed my ribs so hard I feared they would fracture. I gasped, then realized the noise was coming from my purse. It was my cell phone.

Shit!
I reached a hand in and snatched the phone, my hand so shaky I almost dropped it. Seeing it was Michelle, I sent the message to voice mail. Swearing, I turned off the ringer. I’d almost jumped out of my skin when my phone had rung. I knew Michelle would keep calling. My friend had been leaving voice messages since yesterday, and I hadn’t had a chance to get back to her. Honestly, I’d been avoiding Michelle. I didn’t want her finding out about this desperate plan. Closing the drawer, I made my way quickly back to the living room, the sudden urge to quit this apartment rushing my steps. Goosebumps prickled my skin in warning as my palms grew cold and clammy. I was just a few feet from the door when I heard the lock engage and saw the door push open.

Too late. It was too late for me to find a place to hide. My body froze and my lips parted as a terrified breath flooded my lungs and shivered out of my throat.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

I stood staring into cold blue eyes, again questioning the soundness of my plan.

*************************

Luke

Tuesday night, I exited the cab on Fortieth and Lexington, right in front of Meyer’s Investigation Agency. The evening was cold and damp, and there was a frenzy in the air as commuters rushed to get home. I turned up the collar of my coat and huddled inside, making my way to the door. I’d been working late at the office when Carlos called to ask if I had time to drop by. Carlos had come across a few things about Josh he thought were interesting, and wanted to get my feedback. I still had some things I needed to finish up, but curious about what information Carlos had gotten, I decided the rest of my work could wait until tomorrow. Plus, it wasn’t as though I had plans tonight anyway. I hadn’t spoken to Katie since Saturday. I’d been hoping that work would fill the void she’d left in my life and the gulf she’d dug into my heart.

I shook Carlos’s hand as he entered the office. Carlos introduced me to a few of his colleagues and then ushered me into a smaller office. Carlos was a short, thin man with an animated mustache. On first glance he appeared unassuming, almost too diminutive to be in his line of work, I mused, but the man had come highly recommended. His desk was littered with paper, newspapers, food, and used coffee cups. I wondered vaguely how he could find anything in the mess.

“Have a seat,” Carlos said, sinking into the chair behind his desk. “I won’t keep you. I just have a few questions.”

Carlos shuffled through a precarious stack of papers then opened a folder on his desk.

“There was a deposit made recently into Josh’s personal accounts from a M.W. Industries.”

“That’s Josh’s father’s company.”

“Yes. I realized that. It wasn’t much, but I found it interesting because I went back several years and couldn’t find any other such deposits.”

I frowned. Matt must have decided to help his son out. I wondered why. “Josh just lost his job at my company. I think his father probably gave him a stipend to live on.”

Carlos nodded and scribbled onto a note pad. “Josh just purchased two one way tickets to the Caiman Islands for two weeks from now. You have any idea why he’d want to go there indefinitely?”

I shook my head, surprised at the information. My brain started to hurt as I tried to make sense of it all. Was Katie going with him? I pressed my fingers to my temples and skimmed my gaze over the desk, trying to guess what it could mean. There was an open folder labeled Roslyn Davenport on Carlos’s desk and my gaze immediately fixed on it, my heart starting a slow romp in my chest. In it was a picture of the murder scene, a desolate open space, the abandoned taxi, police tape everywhere, people milling in the background.

Memories came rushing back, branding painful images into my brain. My brows furrowed as I leaned forward to take a closer look at the grainy picture, and I felt the blood drain from my face. The shadowy figure lurking in the crowd was shockingly familiar, and like a giant puzzle, the pieces started interlocking. Roslyn’s murder scene, Ms. Carmen, my arrest, Katie’s earring, role playing with Katie…

“
Oh my God!
” I rasped, grabbing Carlos’s attention.

“What’s the matter?”

I stared numbly at the detective, my body starting to vibrate. “
Oh my God!
I know who committed the murders.”

“What?” Carlos’s mustache jumped.

I sprang from his seat. “I need to see the surveillance video from
Sensations.
Now.
”

Carlos stood, flustered. “It’s at Mason’s office. I don't think he’s returned it to the court yet.”

“Let’s go! Katie’s in danger.” I was already sprinting through the door before the detective had a chance to respond.

*************************

Katie

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

My feet pedaled backwards, easing me away from Carol’s steady approach. The woman had nothing but contempt in her eyes as she tracked me. I tried to grope for an excuse, any reason for being there. Why would a girl break into her ex’s apartment?

Think! Think!

My hip connected with a coffee table, rattling a small crystal bowl I’d given Josh on some special occasion. I wrapped my fingers around it and waived it in Carol’s face.
I could play the little actress too!

“I’m here to collect my shit, that’s what!”

“
What?
”

I squared my shoulders and painted attitude all over my face.

“I left some sentimental things here—things that belonged to
me
! And I’m here to get them back,” I said, depositing the small bowl in my bag.” I moved to brush past Carol, praying to God that I sounded credible, that my voice had more sass than shake.

“You can’t just come in here and start taking shit!” Carol shrieked.

“I can, and I did. This stuff belongs to me!” I shot back. “He can buy his own shit with the money he’s extorting from me! Now, get out of my way!”

“You’ve got some nerve, bitch!”

I tried to leave again, but Carol blocked the door. I needed to get out of there before Josh came home. He might not be so quick to believe my excuse.

“Get out of my way!” I ordered again, but it had the opposite effect and Carol got right in my face. Anger replaced my nervous jitters. I was so sick of this woman, this piranha that had made my life miserable for years.

Something inside me snapped, switching to survival mode. Before I knew what was happening, all the anger, despair, and eviscerating helplessness I’d felt since Josh’s visit coiled into one fluid motion and released in the fist that connected with Carol’s face.

She jumped back with a startled cry, holding her nose and howling in pain. I took the opportunity to quickly scoot around her toward the door.

“Guess I’m not as dumb as I look after all, bitch!” I couldn’t help tossing over my shoulder as I fled from the apartment.

My heart was still hammering my ribs when I slipped into a cab outside of Josh’s apartment building. I exhaled the anxious fear from deep in my belly and let my head fall back against the seat. Pulling out my gold keychain, I brought it to my lips and then to my nose, hoping to inhale the scent of sandalwood. But no, there was only one source for that wonderful aroma.