“Dee,” Bill, the anchorman of Channel 9 News cut in. “What about the allegations that Ms. Sumptor is a suspect in other related deaths in Paris?”
Dee smiled to her audience. “Ms. Sumptor admitted to having been in Paris recently, but records will show that she was indeed here in the States when those murders occurred. In her statement, Ms. Sumptor acknowledged that her father, Tony Sumptor – recently released from prison – is now quote ‘out for revenge, and will stop at nothing to bring me down. Including framing me for hideous crimes I did not commit.’ Some members of our listening audience may remember that evidence from Ms. Sumptor brought her father to justice for the murder of her mother.”
“Is she accusing her father of murdering Ms. Sawyer?” Dee’s fellow anchor asked.
“Well, Bill, she wouldn’t go into details with me,” Dee replied. “But she did tell me that she had evidence that there were quote ‘players in this game’ who include city officials and even government officials that she knows of. She went as far as saying, ‘This game will be over soon, and all of those involved will be brought to justice one way or another’.”
“Is that how she thinks of this, Dee? As a game?”
“Ms. Sumptor knows this is anything but a game,” Dee told him. “After speaking face to face with Ms. Sumptor, I can say that she is extremely distressed by what has happened. She says that, to her father, this is a game, and for the sake of everyone, one she does not intend to lose.”
“Thank you, Dee.” The voices on the television faded as Jack turned down the volume.
“Why didn’t you tell me about any of this?” Jack demanded.
“Don’t start.” Lainey’s voice was quiet, but held a warning that Jack heard loud and clear.
“Were you in any danger being with her?”
“No. She would never let me get hurt.” Unless it was by her, Lainey thought sadly.
“Well, maybe it’s a good thing that you won’t be around her anymore,” he told her. “You shouldn’t have to worry about your safety each time you go into work and I shouldn’t have to worry about the mother of my children. Eve was selfish enough to involve you in that mess, and I’m just glad you’re out of it now.”
“Goddamnit, Jack, she was not selfish! She did everything...” She cut off her rant, afraid to say too much, and too tired to fight. “I’m not talking to you about this anymore. Don’t bring it up, don’t speak Eve’s name.”
“Where are you going?”
“To be by myself.” She answered simply, and walked out. She couldn’t be with him, not now, not when she had to think about everything she had just heard.
“Son of a bitch!” The sound of a crash was followed by a string of curse words that would make a sailor blush.
“How long has he been like that?” He had seen the news last night as well, and had known that Tony would not be happy with Eve when he heard about the interview she had given Dee Cummings. He just wished he knew where Eve was.
“All morning,” his companion answered. “Ever since he saw the paper this morning, he’s been scaring the hell out of everyone here. She’s in trouble, man. I hope she knows what she’s doing.”
“She knows.” He was sure of it. Eve Sumptor never did anything without having a plan. He took a breath. “I’m going in.”
“You sure you want to do that?”
“Someone has to.” He lowered his voice. “I can’t get a hold of her but he hasn’t gotten to her yet if he’s still this upset. See if you can find out where she is.”
Then squaring his shoulders, he cautiously opened the door, only to close it again when a crystal tumbler flew towards him.
“Hold your fire, sir!” he called out. “I’m coming in.”
“I want her dead! Do you hear me?” Tony’s chest heaved with frustration. He sat down at his desk and looked at the paper for the umpteenth time this morning. His face was plastered on the front page, and the story wasn’t flattering.
“She’s missing, sir.”
The news only infuriated him more. “What do you mean she’s missing?” he roared. “What the hell am I paying you morons for?” Swiping his arm across his desk, Tony sent papers flying. “Get out of here! I’ll take care of her myself! Get out!”
Tony waited for him to leave before opening the top drawer of his desk. Carefully, he picked up the .22 caliber gun that lay in there, together with a photo of Eve. “You think you’ve won, Little Eve?” he said in a low voice. “Think again. I’m coming after you, and this time, the game is going to end.”
Lainey sat quietly, alone at the kitchen table. Her coffee was cold, and she was still in her pajamas, but she just didn’t care. She had spent the night in the guest room, but sleep had evaded her. She kept remembering the scene at the gallery, the way Eve looked at her as though everything they had done was a joke or an experimental fling. She could still see the cruel smile. All night she had wondered why Eve had had to be so cruel. The story on the news was unexpected, but perhaps that had something to do with Eve’s attitude. She just couldn’t believe that Eve had meant any of it. But, she did, Lainey, she thought to herself, sternly. She doesn’t want you anymore, and you need to just get over it and move on. You have your sons, your husband, forget about Eve.
When the phone rang and she heard Mikey’s voice, Lainey became instantly alert. “What’s wrong?” she demanded.
“I need your help, Mrs. Stanton. The gallery is full of people, and I’m here alone. I don’t know what to do.”
Lainey took a steadying breath. “Mikey, I’m sorry. You’re going to have to call...Eve. I don’t work at the gallery anymore.”
“But I can’t find Ms. Sumptor,” he told her. “I’ve called everywhere, and no one has seen her. I don’t know Adam’s number. I was hoping you would know where she was, or at least could come in and help me for a while until Ms. Sumptor showed up. I’m sorry; I didn’t realize that you had...”
“It’s okay,” Lainey interrupted. She was worried. It wasn’t like Eve not to show up at the gallery. She had to have known that the News last night would have stirred things up. Oh my God, she thought, the News. What if she had angered her father enough for him to have taken some sort of revenge?
“Mrs. Stanton? Are you still there?”
“I’m sorry, Mikey. I-I don’t know where Eve is.”
“What am I going to do? There are so many people here right now. I think a lot of them have come because of the News, because they’re curious.”
“I’ll be right there,” Lainey told him. “Just stay calm and I’ll be there to help you as soon as I can.”
Lainey hung up the phone, only to pick it up once more. Her hands shook when she tried dialing Eve’s phone, and when no one answered, she became terrified that something had happened to her.
Hours passed before Lainey finally had the chance to escape to her office. After everything that has happened, she still felt as though it was hers. Maybe she was just being stupid, but she just couldn’t believe that all of this was over. Lainey had given the task of trying to contact Eve to Mikey. Every thirty minutes, he was to call Eve’s cell and apartment until he got an answer. She had finally let him off the hook as evening approached so he could clean up and go home.
Now Lainey sat back in her leather desk chair and closed her eyes. “Where are you, Eve?” she said aloud. She would know if anything was wrong. Wouldn’t she? The light knock at her door had Lainey’s pulse jumping.
It was Adam. “Where is she, Lainey?” he said, not bothering to even say hello. He looked exhausted in jeans and a slightly wrinkled Harvard t-shirt. “I have to see her.”
“I don’t know, Adam,” Lainey told him. “I’m sorry.”
He fell into the chair in front of Lainey’s desk and held her eyes. “I saw the newscast last night. You knew about all of this didn’t you?”
Lainey sighed. “Yes. I did.”
“Why didn’t she tell me about it? We’ve been together for two years. Why didn’t s
he trust me enough to tell me?”
“She was trying to protect you, Adam.”
“From what?”
“From everything. From her, from her past – her present. She didn’t want you getting hurt.”
He sat up very straight in his chair. “Doesn’t she understand that what she’s doing to me is hurting me more than anything else ever could?”
“Adam, you don’t understand. There are things about Eve that you don’t know. She has gone through things – is going through things - that no one should ever have to endure.”
Adam pushed himself to his feet in frustration. “Why do I keep hearing that when no one wants to tell me what the hell it means? You know don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me. Please, Lainey. I need Eve. Help me.”
I need her, too, Lainey thought sadly. “It’s not my story to tell, Adam. Eve has to tell you when she’s ready.”
“She won’t talk to me. Damn it, Lainey, she won’t even see me.”
Lainey watched Adam pace her office, dragging his hands through his hair. Obviously he was just as miserable as she was. “I’ll help you,” she said rising. “I’ll tell you when she gets back. Then you can talk to her about all this. Adam, there’s more there than she wants you to see. There’s more there for her to give than even she knows. Be there for her.”
“I want to. I’ve wanted to for a long time, Lainey, but she always pushes me away.”
Lainey struggled to keep her uneasiness hidden from Adam. How could she tell him that no one knew where Eve was? “Then don’t let her,” she said quietly. “Push back, Adam. Eve needs to know you’re not going to run. Now I’m sorry, but I have to get this work done. I have two sons and a husband to get home to.”
“You’ll call me when she gets back? Thank you, Lainey.”
He really was made for Eve, she thought miserably as he turned to leave the office. It only meant that her relationship with Eve was indeed over. “Adam,” she called out before he closed the door. “Don’t judge her. Later you’ll understand.”
Somehow Lainey knew that he would, if Eve would only give him a chance.
As Lainey began packing up to go home after the long day the phone on her desk rang. But, it wasn’t Eve, as Lainey hoped. Detective Carter was on the line, demanding to speak with Eve. He was a police officer, but deep down, Lainey felt she couldn’t trust him. How much could she tell him?
“I’m sorry, she’s not available,” she said cautiously.
“This is police business, Mrs. Stanton. I need to speak with her now. Could you just tell her that I’m on the phone?”
“I’m sorry, Detective. Eve’s not here.”
“Do you know where she is? Is she at home?”
“No, I’m sorry, I don’t know. No one has heard from Eve since yesterday afternoon.” The pit of Lainey’s stomach churned with sickness. Nothing happened to her, Lainey, she assured herself.
“Who was the last person to see Ms. Sumptor?”
His tone put Lainey on edge. Had Eve talked to anyone after Lainey had left? Mikey had mentioned that he hadn’t seen Eve leave the building. “I’m not sure,” Lainey said. “I guess that would be me.”
“You? You were the last person to see Ms. Sumptor before she disappeared, Mrs. Stanton? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Was he accusing her? She couldn’t comprehend how he could even think she could do something to Eve. “Yes, I suppose I am.” She would be honest with him. She had nothing to hide. “We had a disagreement,” she confessed.
“You had a fight? And, now Ms. Sumptor is missing?”
“Are you accusing me...?”
“What did you quarrel about?”
“I told you, I don’t know where Eve is. How dare you accuse me?”
“Have I accused you of anything, Mrs. Stanton? Just where did you go after this ‘fight’ you had with Ms. Sumptor?”
“Home.” God, was this how Eve felt everyday knowing that people accused her of crimes she didn’t commit?
“Is there anyone who can confirm that?”
“Yes, my husband. I went straight home after leaving Eve here at the gallery.” It wasn’t quite the truth, but driving around aimlessly didn’t technically qualify as going somewhere else. She just took a very long way home.
“What was your disagreement with Ms. Sumptor about?”
Lainey’s fists clenched. She had never liked this detective, though she couldn’t have said why before. Now, she despised the way he had treated Eve and how he was treating her now. “That’s none of your business.”
“We’ll see about that.” Was there a hint of a threat in his voice? First he demanded to know where Eve was without giving her any reason and then he somehow managed to twist things around to imply that she was responsible for Eve’s disappearance.
“You’re right, we will. I’ve done nothing wrong, Detective. Next time you want to question me, you can do it through my lawyer.” Lainey hung up with a snap. “Son of a bitch,” she whispered. She was not going to let the police intimidate her. But, he did frighten her, no matter that she had put up a brave front. With trembling hands, she picked up the phone and dialed.
Eve woke up in her living room where she had passed out hours before. Her neck ached from her position on the couch, and the smell of alcohol and cigarettes filled her nostrils, making her sick. But, instead of getting up to clean the mess, Eve sat up and picked up the pack of cigarettes. She didn’t have to look to know that pills, bottles of liquor and cigarette butts littered the expensive coffee table. She didn’t care. Lighting a cigarette, she inhaled deeply, letting the sting of the tobacco fill her lungs.
Last night’s binge did nothing to clear her conscience of what she had done to Lainey or Adam. It only served to make her feel worse. Lightheaded and nauseous from the hang-over, she went to the wall opposite of her, removed a small but charming landscape by Bazille from the wall and opened the safe behind it.
Her hands shook as she removed her three prized possessions from the safe and took them back to the couch with her. Setting the letter and journal aside, Eve held the locket close to her heart before opening it.
“I can’t do this anymore, Mama,” she said, looking at the picture of the lovely, familiar face. “I’ve lost everything. Everything I’ve ever loved has been taken away from me, and I just can’t take anymore.”
Laying the locket on the table, she picked up the leather bound journal. It had always brought her peace or strength when she read it. That’s what she needed right now. The strength her mother had promised her. As she flipped through the book, her fingers brushed against a bump in the back that she had never noticed before. Balancing the cigarette on the ashtray in front of her, she picked at the edges until she found an opening, and then gingerly took out a folded piece of paper.
My dearest Eve, her mother had written. My hope is that this letter will find you when you need it most. Don’t let him win, my Eve. He beat me, in more ways than one. Please, don’t let him beat you. Do what I could never do. I love you, my sweet Eve, and I am there with you, always.
Love,
Mom
The tears she failed to shed for her mother years ago, finally came. “I love you, too, Mama,” she whispered. “I don’t want to let you down.”
When the phone rang, she ignored it. This moment was too precious to share. But then she heard Lainey’s voice and a flood of joy and sorrow washed over her.
“I – I know you don’t want to speak to me,” Lainey said, “but I didn’t know what else to do. God, I can’t even believe this is happening. If you get this message, please call me. Call anyone. It doesn’t even have to be me. There are people who are - damn it, I’m sick with worry about you, Eve.”
Eve felt hope when she heard Lainey’s words. Maybe when this was all over, Lainey would forgive her for everything she had put her through.
“I think I’m a suspect in your disappearance,” Lainey went on. “If I were
n’t so worried about you, I think I’d be laughing at Detective Carter right now. Please, Eve, call. I don’t understand anything that’s happening or why you treated me so horribly...”
Eve heard Lainey’s small sigh and felt a pang of guilt go through her.
“At least call Mikey and let him know you’re okay and when you’ll be back at the gallery. I can help him for now, but not for long.”
She heard the chill creep back into Lainey’s voice, and couldn’t blame her for it. She deserved it. It was her fault Lainey was in this mess. And it was her responsibility to get Lainey out.
“You think you’re a clever boy, don’t you, Carter?” She smiled slowly, coldly. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”
Eve’s strength was back. She felt it inside her. Her determination to bring Tony and those who worked for him down was more intense than ever now. As was her determination to get back everything he had taken away from her. She looked around her in disgust. This is what you let him do to you, Eve, she scolded herself. Now, you need to set things right.
She walked out of her bathroom, still naked from her shower. The hot water and stinging spray had helped clear her head, and she knew what she needed to do now. Picking up Adam’s shirt from the foot of her bed, she held it close for a moment, remembering how Adam felt, how he looked. She missed him more than she ever dreamt was possible.
Lainey had reassured Eve that Adam would understand, that he would not judge Eve for her past and she hoped that that was true. She also hoped that, in time, Lainey would forgive her for the despicable things Eve had said to her. Although she was certain now that she needed Adam, she realized she needed Lainey as well. When her cell phone rang, Eve slipped into the shirt before answering.
“Hello?”
“Where in the hell have you been?” he demanded.
“Excuse me?” No one spoke to her that way.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “It’s just that Tony is on a rampage, Eve, and everyone has been trying to get a hold of you, with no luck. We’ve been to your apartment, but there was no answer. I thought something had happened to you.”
Something About Eve (An Eve Sumptor Book 1) Page 43
