I doubled at the waist and tried to suck in air, the hyperventilating threatening to take over. I didn't want to go in and see her again. Once had been enough. I sank to my bottom with my back against the wall and waited.
I held my breath as Sam entered the room. Jake broke away from Matt and pushed past him as I strangled the cry in my throat. I heard the curse escape Matt's lips as he followed Jake.
Seconds later, Jake reappeared, his face dark with anger. I guess I could understand that emotion. I'd be angry if someone had done that to my loved one. He turned to me and glared.
"What do you think you're playing at?" he demanded.
"What?" I whispered. Why was he angry at me? "I didn't do it, Jake. Surely you'd know that I couldn't do…that?"
Sam stepped out of the door as Jake grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.
"Jake, leave her. There has to be some misunderstanding."
Misunderstanding?
Sam turned to me. "Alex, what did you see in there?"
I swallowed the saliva that was threatening to drown me. "Faith!"
"In the toilet?"
"Yes! The cubicle closest to the far wall."
"Is this some kind of sick joke?" spat Jake, his black eyes boring into mine.
"What? No… I didn't do it, Jake. You have to know that!"
"Didn't do what, exactly?" asked Sam.
"Kill Faith," I whispered, looking directly at him.
"But Faith's not in there," he said.
What?
I pushed past Jake and moved back into the toilet, preparing myself for what I was about to see again. Jake and Sam followed me. Moving to the end cubicle, I pushed the door open, ready to see Faith and show them what I'd seen. Not that I really believed they could have missed her, but something was wrong here. Instead of seeing Faith, I saw Matt crouched down, checking the area for evidence.
What the…?
"But…but… She was there. Right there!" I stammered. I took a step closer to Matt, looking for any signs that she'd been there. It's not like she could have got up and left. Could she?
"She was there!" I said again, turning to look at Sam. "She had her feet propped against the wall, and she'd been hit—here," I explained, pointing to the right side of my own head to show them exactly where she'd been hit. "There was a lot of blood on her scarf and…and…" I closed my eyes, visions of Faith filling my mind. "Her eyes were open," I finished, swallowing the bile that had risen in my own throat.
"Did you check her pulse?" demanded Jake. "You said she was dead. What did you do, Alex?"
I looked past Sam to Jake. He had his hands in his hair, pulling hard as his denim shirt rode up, showing the leather belt that I'd given him when we'd been dating. I wanted to answer, but my mind just couldn't keep up.
"Alex! What did you do?" he shouted, panic taking hold of him.
"I passed out," I said lamely.
"And?"
"And when I woke up, she was still there!"
"Surely if she'd been hit in here, there would be blood everywhere?" said Sam, the calmest of the three of us.
"There was. It was on her clothes."
"I can't see any on the floor," said Matt, who up till then had been silent. "There don't appear to be signs of a struggle or a fight of any kind. To the naked eye, the area looks clean."
"Are you sure she was dead?"
I nodded. "Yes. No…I mean, yes. She was just staring at me blankly," I added weakly. "She looked dead, but I didn't check."
"How long ago did you find her?" asked Sam.
"I…I don't know. I got a message asking to meet for a clue. They said to meet immediately, so I left you guys and came straight here."
"You left us at about seven. It's now just after quarter past," said Sam. Jake was pacing behind him. I really wished he would stand still. The movement was making me feel even more agitated. If that was even possible.
"The informant!" I yelled, suddenly remembering I hadn't seen anybody. "I was supposed to meet someone under the stairs. Maybe they saw me running from the toilets and went in, found Faith first, and left to get help! They could have moved her before we got here."
Sam shook his head. "Alex, if that were true, there would be people everywhere. This is a television station. A reporter and camera crew would have been here the second word got out."
"But…but…you're the cameraman. And you were busy."
"There's more than one of us, Alex."
I felt the panic start again as I looked at the men around me. "You do believe me, don't you?" I cried. "I didn't make it up. Why would I make up something like that?"
"Because you hate me," spat Jake, pushing past Sam and getting into my face. "You're still angry about me dumping you years ago. Or maybe you were the one who hit her."
"What?" I shouted. Shock wore off as anger kicked in. "Oh my God, Jake, you moron. I wouldn't do something like this! Why would I hit her? And why would I run to you saying I'd found her dead if I had? Someone had to have found her and moved her. Or maybe she wasn't dead. Maybe she got up and left."
Sam rubbed his chin, and I heard the scratching as his hand ran over his stubble. "Maybe. But if she was bleeding the way you said she was, she would have dripped blood everywhere. I've seen accidents like that—and they are not tidy."
"Well, where is she?" yelled Jake, jabbing at his phone, turning his back, and storming out of the room. Silence followed him.
"Do you believe me?" I asked Sam quietly, forgetting Matt was even there.
I heard his sigh. "I believe you wouldn't make something like that up. But I don't know what the hell is going on."
The tears stung my eyelids as the adrenaline wore off, and the cold crept in. I didn't want Faith to be dead, of course. In fact, I was hoping she had gotten up and walked away. After all, I never did check her pulse.
Sam pulled me into him as tears escaped my lashes. His body heat seeped through my thin jacket, and suddenly, the world felt safe. He shouldn't have this effect on me, but right now, I wasn't questioning it.
"I think we should call the police," said Sam.
"Let's call Rachel first," suggested Matt, pulling his phone from his pocket and jabbing at it. "She might know something about it." As he spoke, the PA pinged to life, and Rachel's voice announced the entrée was being served in the marquee. After a few seconds of listening to his phone, he shut it down and put it away. "No bloody signal. Let's go to the marquee and find her."
"Do you think it's just part of the game?" asked Sam, his expression turning to curiosity.
My heart skipped as hope flooded in. "Could it be?"
"Are you sure she was dead?" Matt asked, looking at me.
I straightened up and tried to clear my mind enough to remember exactly what I'd seen. "No." I shook my head, hoping that would reboot my brain. It didn't help. "She looked dead, but I didn't touch her to check. I had no reason to think she could be faking it."
"Well, Rachel did tell us to sabotage our opposition."
"But Faith was on our team."
Sam sighed. "Let's go and find Rachel. We can ask her. If she knows nothing about it, then we'll call the police."
Sam and Matt looked at each other seriously. As the lights dimmed from the power drop-outs caused by the storm, I couldn't tell whether they believed Faith to be dead or not.
CHAPTER FIVE
Lightning flashed, and the rain fell in heavy sheets as we ran toward the marquee. The storm was definitely getting closer.
The marquee erected for tonight's dinner wasn't one of those gorgeous white ones you saw at weddings. This one was dark blue vinyl and advertised the Westport Television Network from the days long gone. I initially thought whoever erected it was being sentimental, but maybe they were just being cheap.
The vinyl sides didn't quite reach the ground, so the pouring rain splashed in, making the grass floor wet. And with fifty or so pairs of feet walking over it, it hadn't taken long for it to become muddy.
As
the thunder rumbled, I looked around for Jake, but he was nowhere in sight. However, I did spot Georgie. She sat with her teammate Todd, smiling up at him as if he were a god.
I ran over to her. Matt and Sam followed me. "Georgie!" I squealed, grabbing her and pulling her in for a hug.
"Oh," she said, surprised. She wasn't used to my show of affection. I promptly burst into tears.
"I'm so…so…g…glad to see you."
Georgie pulled away and looked closer at me. "Have you been drinking?" she asked.
"No! Oh my god, you have no idea what's happened." I wiped at my tears, sniffed in a very unladylike way, and quickly brought her up to speed with the events of the last hour or so. As I spoke, I noted Matt scanning the room. Georgie's face paled as I told her the news of Faith.
"Who would want to hurt Faith?" she asked, her big gray eyes filling with tears. "She's so lovely."
That definitely seemed to be the general consensus. I, for one, hadn't bought into it though. There was something about Faith that didn't sit well with me. However, I still didn't understand why someone would want to hurt her so badly.
"There's Rachel," said Matt, pointing toward the food table. "Let's go and talk to her."
Georgie left Todd and followed us. "I can't believe it," she said to me as we all crossed the room. "I just can't believe it. Are you sure that's what happened?"
"I don't know, but that's what I saw. Honest."
"I believe you," she said, linking her arm through mine and squeezing it tightly. I just can't believe someone would hurt her. Where's Jake now?"
"I don't know. He was really upset, yelling at me and saying I was lying."
"I guess you can't blame him for being upset," said Georgie.
No, I couldn't.
Reaching Rachel, it didn't take a genius to figure she had consumed more alcohol than a regular person. The smell of Scotch hit me the second we stepped into her zone. I watched her closely as Sam filled her in on what had happened.
"Well, that's not part of the murder mystery," she said, annoyed. She then turned to me. "Are you sure that's what you saw, Alex?"
I was getting tired of that question already. "Yes," I answered.
"And she's not there now?"
"No."
"And nobody else has seen her?"
"Umm…"
"Well, have you asked anyone else?"
I shook my head. What did she want me to say: Hey, everyone, has anybody seen Faith's body lying around?
Rachel sighed. She then turned and stood—sorry, swayed—onto a chair, dinging her glass to get everyone's attention. "Excuse me. Has anyone seen Faith at all?"
"Who's Faith?" shouted Marty.
"Jake's wife. She's blonde, skinny, gorgeous."
Immediately everyone nodded then they shook their heads. They hadn't seen her.
Katie swallowed the mini-quiche she'd popped into her mouth and put her hand in the air.
"I saw her in the toilet earlier this evening," she said.
"How long ago?"
"Ummm, about an hour maybe."
"Why?" called Brent. "Why are you asking?"
"It seems she's missing," explained Rachel, probably not wanting to scare people with the fact there was possibly a murderer amongst us. "Alex says she found her in the toilet, dead, but her body seems to have disappeared."
Okay, I guess we weren't going with the not wanting to scare everyone bit. I heard the small screams and murmurs speed around the makeshift room.
"Don't worry," said Rachel, smiling. "Alex is just trying to sabotage the rest of you and distract you from finding the real murderer here tonight!" She laughed. "Well done, Alex!" She lifted her glass and toasted me.
What? I wasn't trying to sabotage anybody.
"So if anybody sees Faith, let me know, okay?" Rachel got down from the chair and smiled back at me, swigging the remaining alcohol in the glass. I got the impression she didn't believe my story. I looked around the room to see if anybody was taking this seriously. Not too many people seemed concerned about Faith but more than a few were glaring at me accusingly.
"I'm not lying," I hissed, turning to Rachel. "We need to get the police."
She sighed. Wes, who was standing close by, stepped over to us. "Rachel, we should call them. Just in case this is real."
"Wes, Alex is clearly making this up."
He looked at me skeptically.
"Think about it," continued Rachel. "Why would anyone murder Faith? No one even knows her. And where is her body? Hmm?" Rachel put her hand on her hips and glared at Wes, daring him to argue.
"Okay, but maybe we should look for her."
"Where's Jake?" asked Rachel. "Shouldn't he be the one looking for her? She is his wife."
"He walked off," explained Sam, who, like the rest of our group, stood silently assessing the situation. "I think we should go and look for him. I can only imagine what he's going through right now."
Sam grabbed my elbow and pulled me away from Rachel. Which was a good thing as I was about to shake her.
"Come on," he said to me. "Let's look for them both."
As we made our way toward the exit, Sally stepped over to us. "I'll definitely keep my eye open for Faith," she said, touching my arm soothingly. "She's a sweetie, but she gets a bit jealous sometimes. I wouldn't worry too much about her, Alex. She's probably stirring you up, giving herself some time out after finding out about the history you and Jake share."
Sally's words should have settled me, and to some extent, they did, but I knew the anxiety swirling in the pit of my stomach would only settle once we'd found Faith alive and well.
Once we'd moved away from the crowd, we stopped in a huddle to argue a plan.
"Whatever happened to Faith, we need to find her. I'm also worried about Jake. He shouldn't be alone at a time like this," said Sam.
I pulled my jacket closer around my body as the wind picked up and whipped under the marquee. "Yeah, but where do we start looking?"
We were standing around scratching our heads, trying to come up with a good plan, when Wes stepped up.
"Excuse me," he said, tapping Sam on the shoulder. "I was just chatting with Rachel, and we've decided to call in the police and get them to come up and have a look around. See what they can find. I'm not sure if what you think you saw was correct or not, Alex, but as Faith clearly isn't here, something is going on that Rachel and I know nothing about it, so it obviously isn't anything to do with tonight's event."
"Do you think someone is trying to sabotage us?" I asked.
"I have no idea. But if the police get here and find nothing, then no harm has been done." Wes shrugged and gave me a small smile. "Don't worry. I'm sure this is all just a prank."
God, I hoped so.
Wes turned and walked out of the marquee. Matt watched him until he was out of sight then pulled his notebook from his pocket and started to scribble.
* * *
"Before we start our search, I'm going back to the production booth for my camera. I'm grabbing something to eat on the way though," said Sam.
I looked at him, my eyebrows arched.
"What?" he asked, looking at me curiously.
"How can you eat at a time like this?"
"Well, I didn't see her, did I? Anyway, I'm a news cameraman, so not much ruins my appetite anymore."
I sighed. "Be quick then," I replied. I stood back on my heels as Matt followed Sam, obviously agreeing with him. Personally, I wondered if I'd ever be hungry again.
See? There is an upside to everything. At least my arse might get smaller.
Georgie gave me a quick hug. "Come and get me before you go, okay? I'll help you look for them." With that, she went back to Todd.
I think she also thought Faith was pulling a prank. I looked around the room, wondering if I could get a cup of hot cocoa. I wasn't hungry, but I needed something warm in my stomach. Maybe that would stop the shaking that had taken hold of me. I spotted the hot beverage stand on the opposite
side of the marquee and pushed my way through the crowd toward it.
People whispered among themselves as I passed. Some snippets of their conversations included: What kind of person makes something like that up? and She just wants to put us off our game. My personal favorite and the one that made me want to scream was: Of course she's making it up. They were the rules of the game, remember? Anyway, Alex was always competitive, so I'm not surprised.
Tears stung my eyes as I tried to ignore them and stared ahead, keeping the cocoa in my sight. I knew I hadn't worked with these people in a long time, but I would have thought they had a higher opinion of me than that.
I swiped at my lashes as a flash of clothing slipping through a gap in the vinyl tarp caught my eye. I could have sworn it was the station manager Bernie, but why would he be hanging around the edges of the room? Why wasn't he in the mix of people? He was a pretty big personality, and attention was something he loved, but maybe I'd just missed him being here, my mind preoccupied by Faith.
I was just adding two heaped teaspoons of sugar when Katie, the woman I didn't recognize but who obviously knew me, stepped up next to me.
"Oh, that looks good," she said, smiling. "I think I might have one of those too." She picked up a plastic cup and dropped two spoons of cocoa into it. As she poured in the milk, she looked over her shoulder at me.
"Sounds like you've had an eventful evening," she said.
I nodded and took a sip of my steaming drink. Ouch, too hot. "You could say that. Even though it seems Rachel doesn't believe me. But then, she never liked me much."
Katie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she never liked me much either. Honestly, I don't think she likes anybody. Unless you're a guy. Then she's your best friend."
I smiled for the first time since finding Faith.
"Not much has changed then," I said, referring to how Rachel was now hanging off Brent's arm, pushing her ample bust into him.
"Actually, if I remember correctly, I think a lot about her has changed."
"Really? Like what?" I asked, intrigued.
Invitation to Murder Page 5