complete unsuitability, maybe he was low on them
too.
Henri wouldn’t have been happy about our desertion, and even
less so once he found out we’d taken some of their money on the way out. But
what had happened after, the murder and our framing, had been both brutal and
quick. The message was clear. Return to him or be hunted down. Assassination by
cop. It was one of his finer ideas, really.
In the minutes after we had left his apartment, Luke had
called. Then again, ten more times. Well, sure, he had just promised to produce
the lead suspect in a murder investigation. Naturally he would be concerned
after finding us gone.
I should delete the handful of messages from him without
listening. I couldn’t.
The first one was frantic, out of breath: “Damn it, Shelly,
where did you go? Come back.”
The second was more thoughtful, pleading: “I know you saw
the news. It looks bad, but we can fix this. Whatever happened at the hotel, we
can fix it. Just come back. Call me.”
By the third, he had realized his error: “Did you hear me on
the phone? Is that why you left? I had to keep them from sending guys out.
They’re going crazy at the station, trying to find you, but they haven’t yet.
They’re keeping me out of the search after…but I know that much. I’m not going
to help them. You know that, don’t you? I wouldn’t. You know me. Right?”
Then the last:
“I don’t—you don’t have to come back. I just want to know
you got somewhere safe. If you can, let me know you’re safe.”
The message clicked off, and I closed my eyes, letting the
silence and the sorrow envelop me. I couldn’t trust Luke, but I still wanted to
throw myself at his feet. The pendulum of my indecision was never ending where
he was concerned, but Ella was my new and trusty lodestone. Her safety trumped
my quasi-suicidal desire for malachite eyes and gold-spun hair.
A commotion erupted outside, and with selfish relief, I heard
my best friend’s voice demanding, “Where is she? I swear, if you’ve hurt her…”
I slipped into the hallway, only to be caught in a crushing
hug. I sagged against her for a brief minute, basking in the ache of contact,
until she reluctantly released me.
“There you are. Damn it!” Allie swiped at her eyes. “What
happened? I’ll kill him.”
I laughed, surprised to find myself a little watery as well.
“Kill who?”
“The guy who hurt you. God, I know you’ve already taken care
of him, but I don’t care. I’ll kill him again.”
First Philip believed I’d committed murder in retaliation
for some imagined offense, now Allie. Did I really come across so bloodthirsty?
“I didn’t kill anyone, sweetie. And no one hurt me.”
She glanced pointedly at my eye, her disbelief clear. “You
can tell me the truth. I already know, and I don’t judge you. Seriously, it’s
about time. The only thing I’m surprised about is that you didn’t start with
this one.”
She nodded at Philip, and I realized we had an audience.
Philip was stone-faced, as he tended to be around Allie; exuberance made him
nervous. Standing behind Allie was her fiancé, Colin. Though he filled the
hallway, his stillness and stoicism caused him to blend into the background. I
had always liked that about him. He was the blackness behind Allie’s bright
star, each one vital to the other.
“Oh hey, Colin. Where’s pip-squeak?” I asked about Allie’s
little girl. Bailey wasn’t Colin’s real daughter, but that didn’t stop him from
doting on her.
“At preschool,” Allie said. “She goes two days a week now,
which you’d know if you came by anymore. Nope, you’re not going to distract me.
Tell me what happened and how we can help. Here, let’s go someplace private,
where the guys aren’t glaring at each other.”
Colin also happened to be Philip’s brother, and last I
heard, the two siblings weren’t speaking. They’d had a little falling-out last
year when Philip had tried to kill Allie. I was surprised
too.
Henri wouldn’t have been happy about our desertion, and even
less so once he found out we’d taken some of their money on the way out. But
what had happened after, the murder and our framing, had been both brutal and
quick. The message was clear. Return to him or be hunted down. Assassination by
cop. It was one of his finer ideas, really.
In the minutes after we had left his apartment, Luke had
called. Then again, ten more times. Well, sure, he had just promised to produce
the lead suspect in a murder investigation. Naturally he would be concerned
after finding us gone.
I should delete the handful of messages from him without
listening. I couldn’t.
The first one was frantic, out of breath: “Damn it, Shelly,
where did you go? Come back.”
The second was more thoughtful, pleading: “I know you saw
the news. It looks bad, but we can fix this. Whatever happened at the hotel, we
can fix it. Just come back. Call me.”
By the third, he had realized his error: “Did you hear me on
the phone? Is that why you left? I had to keep them from sending guys out.
They’re going crazy at the station, trying to find you, but they haven’t yet.
They’re keeping me out of the search after…but I know that much. I’m not going
to help them. You know that, don’t you? I wouldn’t. You know me. Right?”
Then the last:
“I don’t—you don’t have to come back. I just want to know
you got somewhere safe. If you can, let me know you’re safe.”
The message clicked off, and I closed my eyes, letting the
silence and the sorrow envelop me. I couldn’t trust Luke, but I still wanted to
throw myself at his feet. The pendulum of my indecision was never ending where
he was concerned, but Ella was my new and trusty lodestone. Her safety trumped
my quasi-suicidal desire for malachite eyes and gold-spun hair.
A commotion erupted outside, and with selfish relief, I heard
my best friend’s voice demanding, “Where is she? I swear, if you’ve hurt her…”
I slipped into the hallway, only to be caught in a crushing
hug. I sagged against her for a brief minute, basking in the ache of contact,
until she reluctantly released me.
“There you are. Damn it!” Allie swiped at her eyes. “What
happened? I’ll kill him.”
I laughed, surprised to find myself a little watery as well.
“Kill who?”
“The guy who hurt you. God, I know you’ve already taken care
of him, but I don’t care. I’ll kill him again.”
First Philip believed I’d committed murder in retaliation
for some imagined offense, now Allie. Did I really come across so bloodthirsty?
“I didn’t kill anyone, sweetie. And no one hurt me.”
She glanced pointedly at my eye, her disbelief clear. “You
can tell me the truth. I already know, and I don’t judge you. Seriously, it’s
about time. The only thing I’m surprised about is that you didn’t start with
this one.”
She nodded at Philip, and I realized we had an audience.
Philip was stone-faced, as he tended to be around Allie; exuberance made him
nervous. Standing behind Allie was her fiancé, Colin. Though he filled the
hallway, his stillness and stoicism caused him to blend into the background. I
had always liked that about him. He was the blackness behind Allie’s bright
star, each one vital to the other.
“Oh hey, Colin. Where’s pip-squeak?” I asked about Allie’s
little girl. Bailey wasn’t Colin’s real daughter, but that didn’t stop him from
doting on her.
“At preschool,” Allie said. “She goes two days a week now,
which you’d know if you came by anymore. Nope, you’re not going to distract me.
Tell me what happened and how we can help. Here, let’s go someplace private,
where the guys aren’t glaring at each other.”
Colin also happened to be Philip’s brother, and last I
heard, the two siblings weren’t speaking. They’d had a little falling-out last
year when Philip had tried to kill Allie. I was surprised
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