Midnight Betrayal

by Leigh, Melinda

  “Would you mind if I took a look?”

  She lifted a shoulder. “I guess not. They took a bunch of stuff.”

  Louisa walked to the doorway and peered inside Zoe’s closet-size bedroom. The bed was made. A small desk in the corner held books and papers stacked in neat piles. Zoe’s backpack hung by the straps over the back of her chair. “You’re sure she didn’t come home Monday night?”

  “Yeah, I pulled an all-nighter.” Isa walked to the fridge and poured Diet Coke into a glass. “Want a Coke?”

  “No, thanks. Is that normal for her not to come home?”

  “We’ve only been rooming together since the beginning of the semester. So we really haven’t established norms yet.”

  Louisa rephrased the question. “Had she ever not come home before?”

  “No. Not that I’m aware of.”

  “You were here all night? You didn’t run out to the library or to grab a pizza?”

  “I said I was here all night.” Isa’s voice grew irritable.

  “Why didn’t you answer Zoe’s texts Monday night?”

  “My phone battery was dead.” The words were flat, as practiced as a child reading a memorized line in the school play. “I’m terrible about keeping it charged.”

  Louisa could hear Conor in her mind. Lame. Charging a cell phone was as second nature to twentysomethings as brushing their teeth.

  “I feel terrible about it. If I had picked her up . . .” Isa’s eyes watered. She brushed at the corner of one.

  Real or fake tears? Louisa scanned the apartment. No boxes of tissues. No tissues in the trash can. Isa’s eyes didn’t show any signs of previous crying. Louisa just couldn’t shake the sense that something wasn’t right.

  Isa returned the two-liter soda bottle to the refrigerator. “I fell asleep around eleven.”

  “How long had she been dating Heath?” Louisa’s gaze swept the cluttered surfaces. “She said he was new, but how new?”

  “Maybe a few weeks?” Isa opened a white box emblazoned with the pink-and-orange Dunkin’ Donuts logo. She held it out to Louisa. “Doughnut?”

  “I’m fine. Thank you.”

  “When she didn’t come home, I thought maybe she spent the night at Heath’s.”

  “Had their relationship progressed that far?” Louisa hated to think Heath had taken advantage of the younger Zoe. But Zoe was naive, a perfect target for a handsome, popular guy like Heath.

  “I’m not sure. We aren’t really close.” Isa shrugged. “Zoe’s a lot younger than the rest of us. She doesn’t really fit in.”

  Louisa switched topics. “How well do you know Heath?”

  “Not well at all. I’ve seen him around, but he’s in the business program. We don’t have any classes together.” Isa bit into the doughnut and chewed. Her appetite appeared to be solid.

  “How did Zoe meet him?”

  “I don’t really remember.” Isa looked away. “I have to get in the shower. I have a class soon.”

  “Sure. I’ll get out of your way.” Louisa headed for the door. “Thanks for talking to me.”

  Outside, she went back to the car.

  “Well?” Conor asked as she slid into the passenger side.

  “I think she was lying or hiding something.” She slouched down in the seat and recited her conversation with Isa back to Conor. “I could be wrong. She said they weren’t that close, but Zoe was still her roommate. Maybe I expect too much, but her demeanor just felt . . . off. Can we wait a while? I’d like to follow her.”

  Isa came out in less than two minutes, not nearly enough time to have showered.

  “You’d better wait here.”

  “Why? I want to follow her,” Louisa protested.

  He grinned and gave her a deliberate once-over. “Dressed like that, you aren’t going to blend. Plus she already knows what you look like. She may not recognize me.”

  The after-the-boxing-match picture the media had shown of Conor was chosen to make him appear rough, but the bruised and swollen face in the photo barely resembled him.

  Conor flipped up the hood of his sweatshirt to conceal his face. With his jeans, boots, and lean body, he could pass for a student. But he was right. In her suit and pumps, she did not blend in with the student population.

  “All right,” she sighed.

  “I’ll text you if anything interesting happens,” Conor said. “Lock the doors.”

  Louisa slid farther down in the seat. Where was Isa going?

  Conor shoved his hands in the kangaroo pocket of his shirt and strode down the sidewalk. Even at a seemingly casual pace, his long legs kept pace with the girl hurrying a block ahead.

  Two blocks later, Isa turned at the corner and broke into a jog as the rain increased. Conor followed as she cut through a service alley. Three houses down the next street, she was running up onto the porch to ring the buzzer of Heath Yeager’s place.

  There was a bus stop at the corner. Conor ducked into the clear three-sided shelter. He sat down on the bench and pulled out his cell phone. Pretending to text, he kept one eye on the door to Heath’s building.

  Isa wasn’t long. In barely ten minutes, she retraced her steps.

  Conor texted Louisa: WATCH FOR ISA.

  A few minutes later, she texted back: SHE’S HERE.

  He watched Heath’s apartment another half hour, but the door didn’t open. He returned to the car and slid into the driver’s seat.

  “She’s still inside,” Louisa said.

  Conor brushed the hood off his head. His shirt was damp. “Heath hasn’t gone anywhere either.”

  “What now?”

  “I’ll take you back to work.” Conor started the car and pulled away from the curb. “At least we know they’re both lying. They know each other much better than they’ll admit.”

  “What could they be lying about?”

  “They’re up to something.” Conor turned back toward Center City. “I’d love to get inside Heath’s apartment.”

  “That’s illegal.”

  “Yes, it is. And I have to work tonight anyway.”

  Louisa chewed on her lip. “I’d hate for you to get into more trouble with the police.”

  “OK. We’ll shelve that idea for now.” But eventually he might need to get into Heath’s apartment and find out why he and Isa were lying. He glanced in the rearview mirror and picked out a dark-blue American sedan four cars back. He was probably already in more trouble with the police. But what choice did he have? Even when the DNA results came back on the blood and confirmed it wasn’t Zoe’s, Damian had flat-out told him he could still be arrested and convicted. The hair was hers, and Conor had admitted she’d been in his apartment. Either he solved his own case, or he went on trial for murder.

  18

  “Have a nice evening, Dr. Hancock.”

  “Thank you, Gerome.” Friday evening, Louisa walked through the open door to meet her aunt. She hadn’t seen Conor since lunchtime the day before, but he’d texted her a few times. They’d both been busy with work. She’d spent the day moving artifacts into the Celtic Warrior exhibit cases. The exhibit wasn’t finished, but guests at tomorrow night’s fund-raiser would get a sense of how the display would come together. Conor had been tied up at the bar handling deliveries.

  Neither of them had any ideas on how to look for Zoe. The Finches had done several heart-wrenching interviews begging for their daughter’s return. The DNA tests had not come in. Did the labs work on the weekend, or would Conor be safe until Monday?

  “You’ll call if you need the car later?” the doorman asked with a polite smile.

  “I will. Thank you.”

  A cool wind sent dead leaves scurrying in the gutter, and the moon shone with spectacular clarity through a few wisps of thin clouds. If only Aunt Margaret’s intentions were as clear as the nigh
t sky. Would her aunt give her news that would unravel her life? Louisa pulled her cashmere wrap tighter around her shoulders as she crossed the pavement. A black town car waited at the curb. It seemed silly to ask for a car to drive her the half mile from the Rittenhouse to her aunt’s hotel, but she’d had too many creepy being watched sensations in the past couple of days. Walking alone at night didn’t appeal.

  The driver stood by the open rear door. Louisa eased into the back. The silk of her simple black sheath dress slid across the seat, the leather chilling the backs of her thighs.

  The car dropped her in front of the Ritz Carlton. Louisa climbed the granite steps and went through the glass doors. Situated on the prestigious Avenue of the Arts section of Broad Street, the hotel was located in the former historic Girard Bank building. The rotunda building was modeled after the Pantheon in Rome, complete with a soaring domed ceiling and neoclassical columns. More than a hundred feet in the air, the night sky darkened the glass oculus in the dome’s apex. Voices and utensils echoed in the cavernous space as Louisa crossed the white marble floor.

  Margaret would not be lingering by the door. She would wait for Louisa to come to her.

  Louisa circled the space, admiring the red-and-purple color scheme, strings of beaded glass, and art deco accents popped against a backdrop of gleaming white marble. She spiraled inward, spotting Margaret in a high-backed chair by the bar. A long-sleeved belted column of deep crimson hugged her aunt’s thin frame to just below the knee. Her platinum-blond bob was freshly colored, and a flute of pale, sparkling liquid dangled from her bony fingers. At fifty-five, Margaret fought aging with military ruthlessness, but her obsession with maintaining the slimness of her youth had left her skin crepe-papery and her limbs skeletal.

  “Louisa.” She set her glass down, stood, and extended both veiny hands.

  “Hello, Aunt Margaret.” Louisa briefly clasped her aunt’s fingers and turned her face for an air kiss. Margaret didn’t come from wealth, but she’d learned to appreciate—and spend—her brother’s income.

  “Sit.” Margaret waved to the chair next to her, then signaled the waitress. “Would you like a glass of champagne?”

  “No, thank you.” Perching on the edge of the chair, Louisa held her clutch on her lap and ordered a sparkling water.

  Her aunt frowned but recovered quickly. “How are you, dear?”

  “I’m well. Thank you.”

  “Your new job?” Margaret asked, but what did she really want?

  “Satisfying.” Louisa would rather they went to dinner without the cocktail-hour delay. Unless her aunt got to the point early, which was doubtful. “What time is dinner?”

  “We have an eight-thirty reservation.” Irritation thinned Margaret’s gaze. “Are you in a rush?”

  Louisa checked her watch. Eight ten. The Capital Grille was right across the street from the hotel. They had fifteen minutes to kill. Damn. “Of course not. I’m simply hungry. How was your charity event?”

  “The usual.” Margaret’s eyes sparkled. “I have a surprise for you.”

  Louisa’s spine tensed as the server set a tumbler of ice and a small bottle of Perrier on the table. “Oh?”

  “Yes.” Margaret drained her flute and handed it off to the waitress. She clasped her hands together. “We aren’t dining alone.”

  There was only one person Margaret could have brought with her. Warmth flooded her. Maybe her father had changed his mind about waiting till the holidays to visit. Or maybe his news couldn’t wait. “But I thought Daddy was in Stockholm.”

  Margaret craned her neck and waved discreetly. Louisa turned in her chair.

  “Your father is still in Sweden,” Margaret said. “This is even better.”

  “This isn’t about Daddy?” Confused, Louisa scanned the lobby but saw no one she recognized. Maybe it was one of Margaret’s friends. Could her aunt have a man? Why she’d never married was a mystery. Margaret was an attractive woman, if a little predatory looking.

  “And here he is.” Her aunt’s eyes gleamed with mischief.

  “Hello, Louisa,” a man said from behind the high back of her chair.

  No. Louisa stood and whirled.

  “Did you get my gift?” Blaine stepped around the chair. He was holding two flutes of champagne. He extended a glass toward her. His gaze pleaded with hers. “Please, don’t make a scene. Have a drink. Let’s put our past behind us. I miss you. I’m sorry we surprised you, but I had to see you. There didn’t seem to be any other way.”

  Louisa stepped back. Shock and anger rippled through her like an avalanche. She turned to Margaret. “How could you?”

  Margaret was the only person who knew. The only one she’d trusted all those years ago.

  Her aunt’s eyes steeled. “Nonsense. You need to get over yourself.” Her voice dropped to a reptilian hiss. “You both made a mistake. Blaine loves you.”

  Louisa backed away. “I’m leaving.”

  “Oh, enough with the drama,” Margaret snapped, closing in on her. “You were both young, and young people do foolish things. I don’t know why you can’t see that he’s the perfect man for you. It’s not like you have men lined up waiting to marry you. He’s the only one who’s still interested. You have the personality of a textbook.”

  “Don’t call me again. Either of you.” Louisa’s lungs tightened as if a heavy weight lay on top of her, crushing her chest, constricting her breathing. She turned away, barely hearing Margaret calling after her.

  “Don’t blame me if you spend your whole life alone.”

  “Louisa, wait!” Blaine called. “I love you.”

  Blood rushed in her ears. She rounded the corner that led to the lobby. Her heels slid on the slick marble. Catching her balance, she covered her mouth, suppressing the sob trapped in her throat.

  “Are you all right, miss?” The doorman held the door for her.

  She didn’t answer as she escaped the building onto the sidewalk. The cool evening air rushed over her clammy skin. Swallowing the salty wedge in her throat, she walked and breathed. A block later, the sounds of traffic gradually drowned out the rush of blood in her ears. Her heart slowed. Of all the terrible things she’d expected of tonight, this hadn’t made the list.

  How could Margaret have invited Blaine to dinner? Even for her, that seemed excessively cruel. Granted, she didn’t believe Louisa’s story, but still . . .

  Her toes protested her rapid pace. She slowed her strides, letting her heart rate return to normal, but the pressure beneath her sternum didn’t abate. In ten minutes, Margaret had wiped out all the progress Louisa had made in the months since she’d moved to Philadelphia. Margaret was wrong about Blaine, but her assessment of Louisa was painfully accurate. She dated but never got close to anyone.

  Conor’s face flashed into her head. The piercing gaze that elicited emotions she didn’t know she possessed. The need to see him welled inside her. But if she went to him in this state, he’d demand to know what had happened. Conor would see right through any excuse she could imagine. She’d go home. Kirra wouldn’t ask for an explanation.

  She stopped at the corner. She’d walked farther than she’d thought. She skirted a news crew giving a report outside the Academy of Music. A show had just let out, and people poured from the nearby Kimmel Center. She threaded through the theater crowd, working her way to the curb where pedestrians queued up for taxis.

  She stepped into the line. A hand shoved in the center of her back. Her body was flung forward, and she sprawled into the street. Her knees and palms burned as bare skin skidded across asphalt. On her hands and knees, she raised her head and froze. Bearing down on her was the front end of a SEPTA bus.

  Ears still ringing from the band’s last set, Conor set a Guinness in front of a regular. Patrons turned back to the hockey game playing on all three TVs. The Flyers were winning, and a celebration was in full s
wing. Two plainclothes cops sat in a corner booth drinking Diet Coke and watching the game, forced inside because they couldn’t see both exits of the bar from the street. Conor didn’t mind. In case anything else happened, he couldn’t get a better alibi.

  Jayne swung by, a tray loaded with beer, hot wings, and nachos balanced on her hip. Her face was whiter than its usual Irish pale, setting off dark shadows under her eyes.

  “You shouldn’t be carrying anything that heavy. Where does this go?” Slipping out from behind the bar, he took the tray from her hands and delivered it to the table she indicated.

  “I’m fine, Conor,” she said without enthusiasm.

  “Have you heard from Reed?”

  “Yes, Scott is out of surgery, but they put him in intensive care.”

  “I’m sorry, honey.” Conor wrapped an arm around his sister. “Why don’t you go home? Or go take pictures. That always takes your mind off your troubles.”

  Jayne was also a freelance photographer.

  “I don’t want to be alone.” She rested her head on his shoulder.

  He kissed the top of her head. “OK. Then you can help Ernie behind the bar, and I’ll take care of the tables.”

  At least she wouldn’t have to carry trays. Conor made a mental note to hire another waitress. He turned to take an order. A buzz from the TV overhead signaled another goal. Conor glanced up. The Flyers scored again.

  “Whoot!” Phil, the cable repairman, leaped from his seat and high-fived the guy next to him. He turned, tripped, and dumped his beer on Conor. The nearly full glass soaked him from neck to knees.

  “Oh, man. I’m sorry, Conor.” Phil grabbed a handful of napkins and pushed them at Conor.

  “It’s cool.” He backed away. “I’ll just go change.”

  “Be back in a few minutes,” he called out to Jayne and Ernie. He hurried toward the back door, dropping the order ticket in the kitchen on his way through. He jogged up the stairs into his apartment. Coming home to his empty place last night had sucked. He’d slept better the night before on Louisa’s couch, and he could get used to the whole breakfast together thing. He’d kissed her—twice. Yes, despite being a murder suspect, things were looking up, and Conor was in a pretty damned good mood. If only the cops could find Zoe alive. Then maybe he and Louisa could spend some real time together, time not overshadowed by worry and death.