‘What? You did?’
Audrey nodded.
‘Why didn’t you say so?’
‘It wouldn’t have done any good. You’d made up your mind you didn’t love him. You wouldn’t talk about him. You avoided him. But I thought – I hoped – that when you saw him, you’d know. And you do.’
Vanessa swallowed hard to prevent tears. No one in the world knew her better than Audrey, except maybe Grace. She wondered what her grandmother would say about this news.
As if reading her mind, Audrey said, ‘It’s time for me to check on Grace. I won’t say a word about the murder. Oh Lord, it gives me chills to say the word murder.’
‘And don’t tell the children, either,’ Vanessa said.
Audrey tilted her head at her, and her eyebrows raised and mouth quirked.
‘Oh, here I am giving orders about children when I’m not a parent and you and Derek are. Is Derek coming by this morning to pick up Sammy?’
‘He said he would but I know he’ll have a lot to do at Nia’s, cleaning up after the party and getting things back in order. I told him Sammy could stay here today. Derek won’t be here until evening.’
‘Good.’ Vanessa didn’t think this was the time to tell Audrey she’d seen Nia at the restaurant and that Max had said perhaps Nia was trying to get back custody of Sam. After all, it was gossip. Besides, if it were true, Derek should be the one to tell Audrey. ‘Wade wants Christian, Libby, and me to be at police headquarters at nine o’clock to give our statements. I’ll call Libby now to make sure she’s awake. Then I’ll pick her up. At one o’clock, Roxy is being released from the hospital and I’ll bring her home. I don’t know how much of what’s happened she’ll already know. I’ll deal with that later.’ Vanessa stood up. ‘I’d better get to work.’
Audrey rose and hugged Vanessa tightly. ‘Sometimes life can be unbearably hard, Nessa, but if anyone can handle it, you can. Don’t forget that.’
Vanessa knocked lightly on the door of room six of the Everly Cliffs Motel. She shifted from foot to foot, then knocked again. Had Libby gone back to sleep after Vanessa had called her? She raised her hand to knock a third time when Libby opened the door. Her hair hung lankly around her alarmingly pale face and her lovely brown eyes looked almost sunken, lost in dark circles.
‘Did I wake you?’ Vanessa asked.
‘No. I just can’t seem to get it together. Could you help me get dressed?’
‘Sure.’ Vanessa stepped into the room, flipped on the overhead light and closed the door. ‘I know what happened is awful, Libby. Devastating. Did you get any sleep?’
‘A little.’ Libby stood in front of her dressed in underpants and a bra, barefooted, her arms hanging limply. ‘I feel like I’ve been beaten up.’
‘That’s understandable. I stopped on the way here and got you some coffee and a warm pastry. I know you think you don’t want anything right now, but I guarantee caffeine and sugar will help.’ She took the coffee and pastry out of the bag and handed them to Libby. ‘What do you want to wear today?’
‘I only brought jeans and sweaters.’
‘That’s fine. I’m wearing jeans and a sweater, too.’ Vanessa sorted through Libby’s clothes still folded in the suitcase. ‘Any particular sweater?’
‘The lavender one. Zane gave it to me.’
‘It’s beautiful.’ Vanessa waited until Libby had finished her coffee, took the empty cup from her hand, pulled the sweater over her head, then found a brush and ran it through the girl’s brown, silky straight hair. ‘Put on your jeans and socks and boots and we’re ready to go.’
The day was gray and rain had started about ten minutes earlier. Vanessa turned on the windshield wipers and Libby murmured, ‘The sky is crying for Zane.’
Vanessa didn’t know what to say. She kept quiet, occasionally glancing at Libby who remained expressionless. The trip seemed longer than it was and Vanessa was relieved when they turned into the parking lot of the city building where the police headquarters were housed.
‘Here we are.’ She turned off the SUV. ‘Ready?’
‘No, but that doesn’t matter.’
They walked into the lobby of the square, shingled building and found Christian waiting for them. He stood and smiled at Vanessa. Libby stared at the floor.
‘Wade wants to take our statements separately,’ he told Vanessa. ‘He wants me first since I was the one who found Zane.’ He glanced nervously at Libby. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive.’
Libby shrugged. ‘What does it matter who found him first? He’s still dead.’
‘You’re right. But it’s police procedure and Wade Baylor is an excellent sheriff. He’s totally professional and dedicated to his job.’
‘That’s good. Zane deserves the very best.’ Libby clenched her hands and stared out a window. Finally she said, ‘Zane’s parents are dead and he didn’t have any brothers or sisters. There’s no one to notify. His parents died in a fire but before that, they spent their summers at Everly Cliffs. That’s where Zane met Brody and they were friends right off the bat. From the time Zane was sixteen, he lived with a grandfather who couldn’t stand him. He thought Zane was a nut because of all the computer and tech stuff. When he died, he left his house and all his money to charity.’
Libby shut up like a toy that had wound down. Vanessa said, ‘I’m glad he had you, Libby.’
‘Oh, I’m nowhere near as smart as Zane. I know some of his friends wondered what he saw in me, not that he had many friends. Except Brody. And Max. Max was nice. Brody had a kind heart like Zane.’
‘Libby, I’m sure you’re a lot smarter than you think you are. And more importantly, you have a kind heart. I could tell the first time I looked into your eyes.’ Vanessa smiled.
Libby’s eyelids batted away tears. ‘Oh gosh, I sure did love Zane.’
‘And I know he loved you.’
Half an hour later, Vanessa saw Wade after he’d interviewed Christian. She told him about the evening as concisely and exactly as she could remember it, although she omitted her overwhelming fear of the mosgrum. It made her sound crazy. ‘Now tell me what happened, Wade. Please.’
Wade looked at her with his sad, downturned brown eyes. ‘The assailant attacked Felder with a Taser. It incapacitates the neuromuscular system of the victim at a fifteen-foot range. Felder had been hit twice. I’d say he was limp and that’s how the assailant dragged him to the piano and got him on the bench. That would have been fairly impossible if Felder was struggling. Then the attacker used piano wire as a garrote and strangled Felder, cutting the carotid arteries, and finally slashed the jugular veins with a razor-sharp knife with a serrated edge to make sure he bled out.’
For a moment the room swam around Vanessa and she was afraid she’d pass out. But then Grace’s face flashed in front of her. Grace wouldn’t faint. For now, she would pretend she was Grace. ‘I suppose Christian and I are in the clear.’
‘For now. From what Libby said last night, she was in the shower and Zane called in to her that he had to go somewhere. Do you know if he got a text asking him to come to the Diamond Rose?’
‘No, I’m not sure, but he sent a text to Chris to meet him there. Can’t you check Zane’s texts?’
‘We could if we had his phone, but it’s missing. We’ve searched every inch of the Diamond Rose, hard as that was to do. That place should have been torn down over twenty years ago.’
‘Why wasn’t it?’
Wade leaned across his desk. ‘It was owned by Zachary Barnes. He loved that place and refused to have it torn down after a kitchen fire got out of control. He wouldn’t even let the wreck of a piano be hauled away. The city council let him get away with it, which is a disgrace. Anyway, Barnes died eight months ago, his widow sold the land, and the Rose will be torn down this spring.’
‘Who bought it?’
‘Derek Sherwin.’
‘Derek Sherwin?’ Vanessa swallowed, thinking of Audrey. ‘The man who owns Nia’s?’
‘Yes. He’s a developer. He owns Nia’s, the Everly Cliffs Café, some shacks down by the shore, and the Diamond Rose.’
‘Do you know what he’s going to build in place of the Diamond Rose?’
‘An office building. I give him kudos for making plans to tear down that old eyesore.’ Wade paused. ‘And now the scene of a vicious murder.’
After seeing Wade, Libby had decided she was too shaken to drive back to Portland, so a friend was coming to pick her up. Zane’s car would be retrieved when the police released it. Christian went back to the hospital and Vanessa dropped Libby off at the motel, exchanging phone numbers with her. Although neither one said it, they both knew the first call would probably be about Zane’s funeral.
Glancing at her watch, Vanessa saw that she couldn’t pick up Roxanne for nearly two hours still, so she decided to shop for clothes for her. Roxanne was two inches shorter than she and at present, at least twenty pounds lighter than Vanessa. She had nothing to wear, even home to Everly House.
Town wasn’t crowded this morning and Vanessa wasn’t surprised. No doubt news of the murder had circulated and a lot of the population had decided to stay in their homes on this dreary, rainy morning, which made the situation seem even more forbidding. She parked and darted into Jeans ’N’ Things and bought two pairs of jeans a size smaller than she wore, a red and a sky-blue crew-necked cable-knit sweater and a pink turtleneck sweater. Pink had always been Roxanne’s favorite color.
‘Excuse me,’ she said to a young female clerk, ‘do you have shoes, socks and underwear?’
‘Nope. You have to go down the street to Tanya’s for underwear and Fordman’s for shoes and socks.’
‘I haven’t shopped downtown for a long time. I’ve forgotten where everything is.’
‘Well, there’s not much of anything to choose from if you ask me,’ the girl said glumly, reminding Vanessa of Roxanne eight years ago.
Vanessa walked down the street in the drizzle and bought underwear in Tanya’s. Roxanne had been busty since she was thirteen and Vanessa chose two lace-trimmed bras along with five pairs of matching panties. Next she hurried to Fordman’s for athletic shoes and socks. Finally she dashed into a discount store and bought a big, cushioned doggie bed for Queenie.
As Vanessa left the discount store, the vision of Zane Felder’s body hunched over the piano flashed in front of her out of nowhere. She suddenly felt weak and disoriented, and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, drawing in a deep breath. A flashback. An aftershock so strong it left her trembling. She knew if she didn’t sit down, and have something to eat and drink, she’d be lying flat on the sidewalk.
She was afraid she wouldn’t make it back to her car with her purchases. A few feet ahead of her hung the blue-and-white awning of the Everly Cliffs Café. Vanessa forced herself to walk steadily into its cheery interior of pale oak floors, blue-and-white striped booths against the walls, dark tables with cane-back chairs lining the middle of the restaurant, and glowing globe lights dangling from the ceiling. Vanessa sank down at one of the tables, piling her bags and Queenie’s bed as close to her as possible so no one would fall over them. In a moment, a smiling dark-haired woman appeared beside her with water and a menu. ‘Do you still have apple strudel?’ Vanessa asked.
‘Yes, ma’am. We have a fresh batch, as a matter of fact.’
‘Oh, bless you. I’ll have a double order and a large coffee with milk.’
‘Coming right up, ma’am.’
Vanessa searched in her purse for her public cellphone. Earlier she’d given her private phone to Wade Baylor. She’d told him about the two anonymous phone calls she’d received – the first the night Roxanne was found and the second last night. She’d explained about the two phones – one for everyday use and the other strictly for communication with Audrey and Grace. She’d assured Wade that Audrey had protected Vanessa’s phone number with her life and Grace probably couldn’t even remember it. Wade had taken the phone, assuring Vanessa he would trace the number of the anonymous caller. ‘He talks in a mechanically altered voice,’ Vanessa had told Wade, ‘but he remembers that I used to really like the George Michael song “Praying for Time”. I don’t know who could possibly recall that after all this time.’
‘Do you ever listen to it when you’re on set?’ Wade asked. ‘I mean in your trailer or wherever it is that you dress and wait for your takes.’
‘Maybe. I listen to a lot of music, but I don’t remember that one in particular. People give me playlists with more recent songs. I have to admit I’m fonder of the older stuff than rap or hip-hop though. Anyway, I should have told you after I got the first call, but I was so shocked about Roxanne’s return that I forgot.’
‘I understand,’ Wade had said kindly. ‘I’ll get to work on it immediately.’
Now Vanessa called Roxanne to reassure her she would come to the hospital at one o’clock to collect her and that she was bringing clothes for Roxy to wear home. She was putting away the phone when a striking woman with long blonde hair stopped by her table and asked in a slightly cooing voice, ‘Are you Vanessa Everly of Kingdom of Corinna?’
‘Yes, I’m on the show.’
‘I don’t mean to intrude’ – the woman said, pulling out a chair and sitting down, showing she had every intention of intruding – ‘but I’d love to have your autograph, if it’s not too much trouble.’
She slid a notepad and pen toward Vanessa and looked at her with eyes like Sammy’s. ‘My name is Nia. Please make it out to Nia.’ Vanessa wrote, Best wishes to Nia, Vanessa Everly. The woman took back the notebook and frowned. ‘I’d hoped it would be a bit more personal, but this is all right.’ Vanessa stared at her, not offering to rewrite the note. ‘I’m Nia Sherwin. I saw you last night at the Christmas party at the restaurant. My husband Derek owns it and he named it after me.’ She smiled brightly. ‘You looked lovely.’
‘Thank you.’ Vanessa studied her pretty face that didn’t look as young as it had last night under the flattering lighting. ‘I saw you, too. I thought you were Derek’s ex-wife.’
‘Oh, yes. I always forget to say ex. You were with Max Newman?’
‘Yes, I was.’
‘Max is so handsome. It’s a shame he doesn’t have a wife or at least a steady girlfriend.’ Her perfect eyebrows rose slightly. ‘Unless you two are dating now?’
‘No. We were only out for one evening.’
Vanessa’s order of coffee and double apple strudel arrived. ‘My goodness!’ Nia exclaimed. ‘Are you going to eat all of that?’
‘Every single crumb.’
‘I’ve always thought it would be so nice to not worry about one’s weight.’
‘It is. I couldn’t care less when I’m not filming.’
‘Well! Aren’t you a wonder! Of course, you look like you’re naturally slender. Tall and naturally slender. Elegant. No wonder they chose you to play Queen Na’dya.’ Vanessa wondered where this compliment fest was leading. Then she knew. ‘I know you’ve met my husband, Derek Sherwin.’
‘Yes, I’ve met your ex-husband. And Sammy.’
‘Oh, Sammy, my little darling! Isn’t he the sweetest?’
‘He’s a fine boy. Derek is doing such a good job raising him.’
‘He’s doing the job I started. Sammy and I weren’t separated until he was nine,’ Nia returned with an edge in her voice and color rising along her high cheekbones.
Vanessa took a sip of her coffee. ‘Everything is really good here. Aren’t you going to have anything?’
‘I had a blueberry muffin. Well, half of a muffin. That’s all I allow myself.’ There was criticism in her tone as she watched Vanessa start on her second piece of strudel. ‘I wanted to spend the day with Sammy, but Derek told me he’s at Everly House with his little friend …’
‘Cara Willis.’
‘Cara … Cara Willis. I don’t believe I remember a Cara Willis from Sammy’s elementary school.’
‘Maybe they weren’t friends back then.
She’s Audrey Willis’s daughter.’
‘Audrey Willis. I think I remember her. Auburn hair?’
Vanessa nodded.
‘Who is Cara’s father?’ Nia inquired.
‘He’s out of the picture. Audrey is a single mother. Do you have a problem with Sammy being friends with Cara instead of a little boy?’
‘Heavens, no! I want Sammy to have lots of friends. It’s only that I didn’t know until Derek told me that Sammy is a frequent visitor at Everly House. I hope he hasn’t been a bother.’
‘Just the opposite. We all think he’s delightful.’
‘Do you suppose anyone would mind if I pop in to see Sammy?’
‘My grandmother has a broken hip. We try to keep visitors limited, so today probably wouldn’t be a good time.’
‘Oh.’ Nia’s lids dropped down and Vanessa expected to see tears. Either Nia couldn’t work up any or she knew that would be a step too far. ‘I think I know what’s going on. Derek has enlisted you to keep Sammy away from me.’
‘I don’t know of any such plan.’
‘You wouldn’t admit it, of course. You’re doing it for Derek. You think he’s a saint and I’m a whore.’
‘I don’t know much about either one of you.’
‘Then you don’t know that I had good reasons for leaving. Derek Sherwin isn’t what he seems.’
Vanessa looked at her. ‘What is he?’
‘I prefer not to malign my son’s father.’
‘How very discreet of you.’ Vanessa dabbed at her mouth with her napkin. ‘Well, I’m full and I have somewhere to be, so I must hurry.’ She stood up. ‘I hope you enjoy your visit to Everly Cliffs, Nia.’
‘I thought you’d forgotten all about me!’
Roxanne sat on the side of her hospital bed, her legs dangling over the side, her feet bare, her blonde hair hanging messily. But she was smiling.
‘It’s only twelve thirty-five! Your release time isn’t until one o’clock.’
‘I know, but I can’t wait to get out of here and go home.’ She glanced at the bags Vanessa was carrying. ‘Are those clothes for me?’
‘No, I thought we’d save money and just wrap you up in a blanket.’ Roxy made a face at her. ‘Of course they’re clothes for you. Not a lot – I’m not sure about sizes. If they don’t fit or you don’t like them, I can exchange them.’
Praying for Time Page 14
