My investor returned to the table and we finished our meals, but I couldn’t help but steal glances in Layla’s direction. She sat on a bar stool, her long, toned legs crossed in front of her smiling adoringly at her ‘friend’ and my jealously only grew. I watched as she threw her head back in laughter at something Adam had said, touching his arm lightly and nuzzling her stiletto-clad foot against his leg. I was practically seething with anger.
By the time my meeting was finished, Layla had left the bar. I called her immediately and told her that I’d booked us a suite at the Heatherly Hotel. She met me at the hotel, still in that skin-tight red dress that showed off all of her perfect curves, and I reclaimed what was mine.
The thing is, I can’t stop wondering if Layla knew I’d be at that restaurant. If she showed up with Adam to make me jealous, to lure me into sleeping with her again after things had started to cool off. It certainly would have been easy enough for her to find out that I had an investor meeting on my calendar that evening. Did I walk straight into a trap? And now that I’ve fallen in, how can I get out?
Layla’s hand brushes against mine, pulling me from my thoughts. ‘Layla, I told you. We’re at a work event. This isn’t appropriate.’
‘Not appropriate? I’ll tell you what’s not appropriate, Vince. You sleeping with me while your wife is at home! Making me fall for you when you knew you would never leave her!’
‘Lower your voice,’ I hiss. Layla is drunk and wobbling on her feet. I find it decidedly unattractive. Nicole would never lose her composure like this. Sure, Layla seemed fun and adventurous at first, but now I can’t seem to recall why I ever thought that this was what I wanted. ‘And I didn’t make you fall for me, I was honest with you from day one. You knew what this was, you knew I was never leaving Nicole.’
‘Tell yourself whatever you need to,’ Layla replies, a hardness, an anger in her eyes that I’ve never seen before. She slams her glass down on the bar and walks out.
I see Eric glance in our direction and quickly avert his eyes.
This can’t go on any longer. I’m going to end things with Layla for good.
Chapter 30
Allison
DAY 7
Lanner pulls up in front of the now familiar brick building. We figured that Mindy would be our best chance of identifying the man on the CCTV footage. It seemed that he recognized her, and so maybe she’ll recognize him too.
Mindy agreed to meet us at her apartment on her lunch hour. She’s an executive assistant, she explained, and her office is only a few blocks away. She’d rather meet in the privacy of her apartment, which is fine with me. With the exception of the heat, this building, the one our mystery man seemed so very interested in, is the perfect place to start tracking down his identity.
‘I brought you some water this time,’ Lanner says as we begin to ascend the stairs towards the fourth floor. ‘You know, so I don’t have to rescue you again.’
‘Thanks. You’re a real hero.’ I tease him, but Lanner really is a great partner. He looks after me in ways I don’t even look after myself.
Sweating and embarrassingly out of breath, I knock on Mindy’s door. Lanner, on the other hand, doesn’t look phased by our hike up the stairs in the ninety-eight degree heat. Maybe I should consider Josh’s offer for a membership to Lift after all.
‘Hi, Detectives,’ Mindy responds as she eyes us through her chain-locked door. She unfastens the chain and invites us inside.
Once we’re all assembled on her couch, Lanner produces the photo of the man we saw on the CCTV footage outside of the building.
‘Thanks for meeting with us,’ he begins. ‘We know you don’t have too much time before you have to get back to work, so we’ll try to make it quick. Do you know this guy?’
‘Where did this picture come from?’ Mindy asks, taking the photo from Lanner.
‘We picked him up on the CCTV footage from the bodega across the street. Have you seen him before?’
‘I … yes. I have …’ Mindy seems dazed, the color draining from her face. ‘Did he have something to do with what happened to Layla?’ Her voice is rising, panic setting in.
‘We don’t know yet. Just wanted to see if we can identify him first and then we’ll go from there,’ I explain calmly. ‘Can you tell us who he is?’
‘He’s … his name is Mike.’
‘How do you know him?’ I prod.
‘We … went out. Like, on a date.’
‘Did you go out with him more than once?’ Maybe it was Mindy he was watching, not Layla. But I don’t want to frighten her, not until we know for sure.
‘No, it was just the one time. I thought we hit it off and then he never called again. Typical. Men are so immature … No offense, Detective.’ Mindy smiles at Lanner, her cheeks glowing a rosy red.
He winks at her. ‘None taken.’
‘Can you tell us Mike’s last name?’ I ask, getting this interview back on track.
‘Gentry. I think.’
‘When did you two go out?’
‘Mid-August, I don’t remember the exact date, but hold on. I’ll check my texts.’ Mindy scrolls through her phone. ‘Ok, it looks like we started talking on the night of August fifth, and then we met up for drinks on the following Saturday; August seventeenth.’
August fifth. That was the same day that this man spotted Mindy in the early hours of the morning.
‘Where did you meet him?’ Lanner asks.
‘Date Space,’ Mindy says, blushing again. ‘I told you how Layla recommended I give it a try? Well I did, and I met Mike there. We talked in the chat space for like, hours, and it seemed like we were really hitting it off. I remember that he wanted to meet up pretty much right away, but I was being a little cautious, so I just kept talking to him in the chat for a while. But after a week or so of chatting in the app, like, all the time, I agreed to meet him for a drink and we exchanged numbers so we could meet up.’
‘Where did you two go?’ I ask.
‘This bar down the block. It’s called The Saloon. We hung out there for, like, three hours, and I thought it was going really well, but I never heard from him again after that.’
‘Did you two talk about Layla at all?’
‘Come to think of it, yeah, we did. A little. We were talking about Date Space and how we met there, and I told him that my neighbor and good friend, Layla works for KitzTech who developed Date Space, and she was the one who recommended I try it. Looking back, I thought he was just really into technology, but I guess he sort of did ask a lot of questions about Layla and her job. He was asking a lot of technical questions about what she did and stuff, and I really don’t know the first thing about computers and so I said I’d ask her next time I saw her, and … oh God, I mentioned that I had plans to go to dinner with her the following Friday, that would have been the twenty-third, the day before she … died. Did I do something wrong? Was this my fault?’ Mindy begins to cry, gulping, wracking sobs that shake her tiny frame.
‘No, Mindy, you didn’t. We don’t even know if Mike had anything to do with what happened to Layla. And even if he did, you couldn’t have known.’ I rub her back gently. Was that the right thing to do? I’m not a very emotional person in general. I’m not prone to crying, and I find that I have no idea what to do when other people break down in front of me. You’d think after so many years on the job I’d have this down by now, but I never know if I’m doing the right thing. Should I offer comfort? Should I give people space? I feel like I’m always tripping over my feet in these situations. Thankfully Lanner steps in and saves me.
He gets down on one knee in front of the sobbing Mindy and hands her a clean tissue from the box on her end table.
‘Here, it’s ok,’ he tells her. ‘We’re going to find out what happened to Layla, and when we do, it will be because of all of the help you’ve given us. You’ve been a great friend to her.’
‘Thank you,’ Mindy says, lifting her eyes and dabbing at her tears. ‘I just really miss her.’
Mindy scrolls through her phone again and rattles off the number. Lanner types it into his own phone and presses the call button. He’s greeted with an automatic message:
‘The number you have dialed is no longer in service …’
‘Damn,’ I say.
More helpfully, Lanner asks if we can look at their text exchanges instead. Mindy readily hands over her phone.
‘There’s not much here except your arrangements for when and where to meet.’
‘I know,’ Mindy explains. ‘We mostly talked through the app, so the messages wouldn’t be on my phone.
‘Can you log into Date Space and see if Mike’s account is still active?’ I ask. ‘Maybe we can track him down that way.’
‘Sure.’ Mindy rushes off to grab her laptop off of her tiny, round kitchenette table. She flips open the top and begins to type.
‘His username was “MGentry123” but our chat space is closed, so I can’t get into any of our old messages. They all delete after you close out the chat, which I did when he never called after our date. Let me look up his profile though.’ Mindy continues clicking away at the keyboard. ‘Um, it looks like he deleted his account. I’m, like, so freaked out. Was he stalking Layla or something? How could he just disappear like this?’
‘He didn’t disappear,’ I say. ‘He’s out there somewhere and we’ll find out where.’
‘Alright, where to now, boss?’ Lanner asks as we walk back out onto the sidewalk. He mops the sweat on his brow with the back of his hand.
‘Let’s take this photo around to some of the local shops. It’s a long shot, but maybe he stopped in at one of these stores and someone remembers him.’
We start at the bodega and work our way down the block. We stop in at a convenience store, a florist, a deli, and a barber shop, but no one seems to recognize the man in the photo. Our last stop is to the coffee house on the corner called Coffee Clutch.
‘Excuse me,’ I say, approaching the young woman behind the counter with a black apron tied neatly around her waist. She looks to be in her early twenties, her honey-blonde hair twisted back into a messy bun. ‘I’m Detective Allison Barnes with the NYPD, and I just had a quick question for you.’
‘Of course, Detective. What can I help you with?’ The woman wipes her hands on her apron as she walks around to the front of the service counter. I notice that her name tag reads ‘Beth’.
‘We wanted to know if you recognize this man.’
Beth takes the photo from my hand and examines it closely.
‘Actually, I might. It’s hard to tell because the photo is a little blurry, but there was guy that came in here a few times this month. I remember him because he always ordered a cappuccino, which is, like, kind of a pain to make when it’s busy in here. Not that I mind, it’s like, my job and all. But I remember him specifically because he always seemed so jittery that I thought to myself that maybe he didn’t need the extra caffeine. And then he’d sit in here, like, forever, always looking out the window like he was waiting for someone, but he never met anyone.’
‘That’s really helpful. Did he ever tell you his name?’
‘I don’t really remember, but I could maybe find his credit card information for you if you know what days he might have been here?’
I give Beth the dates that we know Mike Gentry, if that is his real name, was in the area based on the CCTV footage, and the approximate times. She hustles into the back room and a few minutes later brings us back a box full of receipts.
‘I called my boss, the owner, he said it would be okay to give you guys all of our receipts for those four dates you gave me, but he’d like them back for his records and stuff after.’
‘Sure, no problem. Please tell him we appreciate it.’
We thank Beth for her help and leave, with the box of receipts tucked under Lanner’s arm.
‘Gonna be another long night, isn’t it?’ he says, rolling his eyes.
‘Sure is,’ I agree.
Chapter 31
Vince
DAY 7
I woke up this morning with a sense of foreboding hanging over me like a fog. I don’t know for certain why I’m feeling this way, but I tossed and turned in bed in the early hours of the morning, perspiration breaking on my brow. I know something is coming my way, a dark storm looming on the horizon.
Now I’m sitting on my back patio, sipping my morning coffee, waiting for the ground to fall out from under me. Nicole walks out of the house, a warm breeze blowing around her. She has her favorite tea cup in her hand and I can smell the peppermint mingling with the fresh morning air. I feel myself relax in her presence. Maybe that’s what has been bothering me, sleeping away from Nicole, being so distant from her, both physically and emotionally. I feel unmoored without her. She’s been my anchor, my constant, for so many years.
‘Good morning’ I offer. I feel as though I’m approaching a fawn in the wild, treading gently so as not to frighten her away.
‘Good morning,’ she replies, her tone clipped.
‘I missed you last night.’ Was that too much? Too far?
‘Did you see my note? I was at Kathy’s. Got in late. You were already asleep.’
‘You and Kathy have been seeing a lot of each other lately.’
‘She just broke up with Shawn, so she’s been a mess. She’s really going through it.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. I liked Shawn.’
‘Shawn was a jackass.’ Nicole’s icy blue eyes go cold. ‘Turns out he was cheating on her. Figures you two got along.’
Shit. I really put my foot in my mouth, but I couldn’t have known. Nicole used to keep me in the loop about all the gossip amongst her friends, and even her clients. We used to talk into the late hours of the night catching up on all the tiny details about each other’s lives. When did that end? I can’t remember now.
‘Sorry. I didn’t know.’
‘So as it turns out Kathy and I have had a lot to talk about these days.’
I can’t seem to get out of my own way.
‘So where were you yesterday?’ Nicole asks. I’m grateful that the topic has moved away from cheating spouses, but I hate having to lie to her again.
‘I was scrambling to line up some last minute investors for KitzTech. I thought maybe I could reach out to some old connections to see if I could save the video game branch.’
‘Did it work?’
‘No. Unfortunately not. And so now I really am going to have to leave it in Darren’s hands.’
‘It’s probably for the best right now. I thought you said you were taking some time away from KitzTech anyway?’
‘I know. I just had to give it one last try.’
Nicole’s phone buzzes on the table, her screen lighting up.
‘It’s a client,’ she says. ‘Hang on.’
‘Hello, Claudia … Oh, I’m so sorry to hear you have to cancel your session, would you like to reschedule? I’m available—Oh. Right. I see … No, I didn’t see that … Yes, I’ll go look now. Thank you for calling.’
‘What was that about?’ I ask.
‘Claudia Mumford. Do you remember her? She’s one of my regular clients and she just canceled the remainder of her sessions with me. Evidently there’s a new World View article out this morning.’
I feel my hands begin to shake. I wedge them between my knees to steady them.
Nicole clicks around on her phone and I watch her jaw fall as she scans the screen, her eyes growing round.
‘I can’t … I can’t even read this,’ she says with disgust as she shoves the phone across the table at me, tears filling her impossibly blue eyes. She pushes away from the table and storms into the house.
Alone once again, I pick up the phone with sweaty palms and begin to read.
Murder Victim Accuses Vince Taylor of Sexual Harassment
By Kate Owens for World View
As first reported by World View, Vince Taylor (age 39), CEO of the popular technology development company, KitzTech, was allegedly involved in an illicit affair with his young intern, Layla Bosch (age 23), in the months leading up to her death on August 24, 2019. Taylor is now the prime suspect in the investigation into Layla’s murder and has been questioned by the police on multiple occasions. An arrest has not yet been made.
For those who have not been following this high-tech scandal, World View previously reported that Layla Bosch kept a diary detailing her affair with Taylor and her fears that his feelings were becoming too intense for her liking. World View is now in possession of what we believe to be, a never before seen page from the young victim’s diary. It was provided to World View by an anonymous source, and reads as follows:
‘August 22, 2019,
Well, I finally did it. I told Vince that I wanted to end things. I wasn’t comfortable with what was going on between us anymore, and I told him that it had to stop. He’s become so possessive, so jealous lately, and his angry outbursts frighten me. I don’t want to live in fear of him anymore. But it seems like I have no choice.
When I told Vince it was over, he went totally insane. He said if I wouldn’t be with him, he would ruin me. He’d make sure I never found another job, and he’d tell everyone about how I made inappropriate advances towards him. ME! After he’s the one that’s been pursuing me for months! I never would have thought he was capable of something like this, but now I know that he is. I’ve seen a side of Vince lately that I never knew was there; a dark and dangerous side.
I really need this job. I spent my last dime moving to New York to work at KitzTech and I can’t afford to leave now. I have nowhere else to go … especially if I don’t leave KitzTech with a glowing recommendation from Vince, which he’s very well aware of. But Vince said if I want his stamp of approval I’m going to have to earn it. He told me to meet him at a hotel this Saturday to prove to him how badly I want this job. I don’t know what to do.’
If what Layla wrote in her diary is true, then it seems that she was planning to meet Vince Taylor the very night she died.
The Guilty Husband Page 15