by Sharon Potts
“Not really. He was wearing sunglasses.”
“So he got into the elevator. Then what?”
“We got out on our floor. So did he, but he kept walking. When Tyra opened the door, he like jumped out of nowhere. He grabbed her and held a knife to her throat.”Angel hugged herself. “He, he cut her. He said he’d kill her.”
Jesus. “And you ran away?”
She nodded.
“Did you see anything else? Hear anything?”
Angel slid her feet under her. She was trembling hard.
Jeremy got up and took a pale blue blanket from the closet. He wrapped it around her.
“Thank you.” The tears started up again. “Thank you for being so nice.”
He waited for her to calm down. “Tyra might be hurt,” he said. “I should call the police.”
“No. No.” She pressed herself against the corner of the sofa. “Not the police. Please no.”
“Okay, no police. I won’t call the police.”
She blinked her dark eyes rapidly. Wrapped in the blanket, she looked like a swaddled injured bird.
“Talk to me.”
She shook her head.
“You said you’re afraid the man will come after you. Why? Why would he come after you?”
“The DVDs. He was yelling at Tyra. Asking where the videos were.”
“What videos?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he was in one of them.”
Tyra, Angel, videos? “Did you and Tyra make videos with men?”
“I guess.” She pulled the blanket up and gripped it beneath her chin. Only her face was visible. A small, frightened face.
“I know you don’t belong with Tyra,” he said. “Was she keeping you against your will?”
Angel stared down at the Oriental rug.
“Please. Talk to me. I’m not going to do anything that would hurt you.”
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Let me help you.”
She sank into the sofa. “I’m tired. I’m really tired.”
“Okay. Sleep a while.”
She rested her head on the arm of the sofa and closed her eyes.
Within seconds, her breathing became soft and even. Her brow relaxed. A child’s sleeping face.
What the hell was she doing in this mess?
Chapter 36
Robbie’s world was coming undone. And it had all started with her father showing up at her door. Why hadn’t he stayed away? Her life had been perfectly fine until he appeared and announced she had a sister. A sister who had gone missing. And since then, terrible things had been happening. Kate’s friend’s unexplained death, Brett’s murder, and now Jeremy was under suspicion as his killer.
She wished—oh, how she wished—her father had never come back.
She locked her bicycle to a post near Jeremy’s building. It was early afternoon and very few people were about. A girl walking her dog, a UPS man, a young couple pushing a shopping cart with groceries. Robbie went inside to the large, open lobby area.
She shivered as she waited for the elevator. Why did they keep the air-conditioning so damn cold in here? A middle-aged man and woman in long terry-cloth robes were at the concierge’s desk. The concierge’s arms were folded across his chest. Robbie took the couple to be visitors, since most of the people who lived here were young. The woman’s voice was shrill. Her husband was trying to calm her down.
The elevator door opened.
“Just lying in the hallway,” the woman said to the concierge. “It’s a mess. A bloody mess.”
Someone had probably left garbage out in the hall, but the woman was clearly overreacting. Robbie stepped into the elevator and pressed eight. The elevator took forever. What next, she wondered? Would the police pursue the lead of Kate’s sandal at Mike’s house? Would they change the focus of their investigation away from Jeremy and to someone connected with Mike? Was there even a link between Joanne’s and Kate’s and Brett’s deaths?
The elevator opened.
What should she and Jeremy do next? Waiting here for the cops definitely didn’t seem to be the smartest option.
She went down the hallway to Jeremy’s apartment. She tried the knob. It didn’t turn. That was odd.
If the door was locked, he probably wasn’t home. Where would he have gone? Should she wait for him here? She still had the key to the apartment. Jeremy knew that. When she’d tried to give it back to him after she moved out, he told her to hold on to it. In case of an emergency.
She unlocked the door and pushed it open. She was surprised to see Jeremy standing in front of the sliding glass door, staring at the sofa. His eye was still swollen, his hair mussed, his beard like smudged charcoal covering his cheeks and chin. He seemed to be thinking about something and didn’t notice her. His expression was wistful. She remembered a time when he used to look at her like that.
How she wished they could go back to the way it had been. Just yesterday, it had seemed like they almost had. She started toward him. “Hey.”
He looked startled, then brought his finger to his lips, signaling for her to be quiet.
She didn’t understand. Was someone else here? She stepped around the sofa.
A girl—a woman. Young, but not so young. Blonde, with the face of a child and a body that any female on South Beach would envy. She appeared to be asleep, wrapped in a pale blue blanket—one that was all too familiar to Robbie. The top of the blanket had fallen away from the girl, revealing a bikini-clad body and a sheer cover-up that did anything but.
Robbie wanted to scream. How could you? How could you, Jeremy? That’s our blanket. Ours!
Jeremy seemed to read Robbie’s face. He took her hand and pulled her toward the sliding door. “Shhh,” he whispered. “Outside.”
She was too stunned to speak. He closed the door behind them and they stood on the balcony, the air thick.
“I don’t want to wake her,” he said. “She’s been through a lot.”
“A lot?” Robbie found her voice. “I’m sorry. She’s been through a lot? Who the hell is she?”
Jeremy looked surprised. “She lives in the building. She came by a little while ago, all scared and shook up. This woman she lives with—one of the club girls named Tyra—was attacked at knifepoint. Angel came here. She didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Angel?”
“That’s her name.”
“Why did she come here?”
“I once told her she could.”
“I see.”
“It’s not like that.”
“No, stop. It’s not important. We don’t have any claims on each other.”
“But we do. We have major claims on each other.” He rested his hands on her shoulders and pulled her toward him.
“Please, Jeremy. Not now.” She was overloaded with emotion.
“Okay. Not now, but later.” He kissed her forehead. “Right now, we need to figure out what the hell’s going on here.”
“You mean with this girl?”
“With this girl. With Tyra.”
“The one who was attacked?”
“Yeah. Tyra’s a regular at BURN. I always figured her for being a high-end hooker, or something. But then, I saw her at the pool a couple of times with Angel. And it bothered me. Angel definitely doesn’t belong in this scene. Then she comes by here a little while ago, banging on my door, and tells me someone attacked Tyra, saying he wanted the videos.”
“What videos?”
“I’m not sure. But the way I’m putting it together is that Tyra and Angel brought guys back to their apartment and made videos with them.”
“But why would the man threaten Tyra and ask for the videos?” Robbie thought for a moment. “Unless the videos were made without the men’s knowledge.”
“And then were used to blackmail them,” Jeremy said.
Robbie remembered something. “What does Tyra look like?”
“Tall, skinny, gigantic breasts. A lot of copper-colored ha
ir.”
“Darkish skin?”
“Yeah. You know her?”
“Maybe,” Robbie said. “Last Friday at BURN, I saw the congressman who killed himself on Sunday. He was very drunk, or maybe even drugged. He was with two women. One looked like you describe Tyra.” Robbie glanced through the sliding door at the sleeping girl on the sofa. “The other one looked like her.”
Jeremy pressed his back against the balcony railing. Beyond, the bay was almost perfectly still. A couple of girls were sunning themselves near the pool.
“So let’s say Tyra and Angel brought him back to their apartment and made a video of their evening together,” Jeremy said. “Then, either Tyra or someone she’s working with could have blackmailed the congressman the next day. If the video became public, he’d have a huge amount to lose.”
“Maybe even enough to explain why he committed suicide.”
Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck. “But then, who’s the guy who attacked Tyra? Another blackmail victim?”
“Sounds like it.”
A shrill voice came from the pool area. Robbie looked over. The middle-aged couple in terry-cloth robes who had been arguing with the concierge were talking to a man in a sports jacket. Two cops were standing nearby.
“Tell me again what happened with Angel,” Robbie said. “You said she came here because someone was attacking Tyra at knifepoint?”
“That’s right. Followed them to their apartment.”
“Their apartment in this building?”
He nodded.
Robbie had a nagging feeling, like there was something she was supposed to know, but it just wasn’t connecting. “Does Angel know what happened to Tyra? If the man hurt her?”
Jeremy shook his head. “She ran away.”
The shrill voice rang out again. The woman was pointing to a lounge chair, then gestured toward the building.
Just lying in the hallway, the woman had said. It’s a bloody mess.
The woman hadn’t been talking about someone’s garbage.
“Tyra’s dead,” Robbie said.
“What? How do you know?”
“The woman at the pool. She saw something. That’s why the cops are here.”
“Shit,” Jeremy said.
“What’s wrong?”
“She and that man were at the pool when Tyra started screaming at me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I went down earlier to ask Tyra about some people at BURN. Whether they could be connected to Brett’s death. And she started screaming at me to get the fuck away from her.”
“And that man and woman saw you?”
Jeremy nodded.
Several more cops had arrived at the pool.
“Jesus, Jeremy.” Robbie grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the apartment. “The cops are going to think you did it. We need to get away from here.” She slammed the sliding door shut after them.
The girl shifted on the sofa and the blue blanket fell to the floor. Her shoulders were slender, and the arch of her back swooped down into a perfect rounded butt.
“Come on, Jeremy,” Robbie said. “Wake up your friend and let’s go.” She started to turn away from the girl, but something caught her eye.
At the base of her spine, just above the edge of her bikini was a bluish mark.
Robbie bent closer. It took her a second to process what she saw.
An arrowhead tattoo.
Chapter 37
The girl opened her eyes. She looked startled at the sight of Robbie.
Not possible, Robbie thought. Not possible. Even though the arrowhead tattoo was the same as Kate’s Facebook picture, this girl had blonde hair, eyes the color of slate, full lips and high cheekbones. Nothing like Kate’s high school photo. But then Robbie remembered what Kate had written to Joanne. You were always better than an angel.
This girl’s name was Angel, which could explain—
“Who are you?” the girl asked, pulling up the blanket and covering herself.
“Robbie. Robbie Ivy.”
The girl’s mouth was open, eyes wide, as though Robbie were a ghost.
“Robbie’s a friend of mine,” Jeremy said.
Robbie stared back. Right age, right size. Even the girl’s heart-shaped face was the same as in Kate’s photo.
“Robbie,” Jeremy said. “We need to go.”
“And who are you?” Robbie asked the girl.
The girl hesitated. “My name’s Angel.”
“Your real name.”
“I, I don’t know what you mean.”
If she was Kate, why wouldn’t she say so?
Robbie spoke gently. “Are you sure it isn’t Kate Brooks?”
“Jesus,” Jeremy said.
The girl gasped. “Oh my God. Who are you? Are you the police?”
“No,” Robbie said. “We’re not cops.” She sat down on the edge of the sofa. Was it possible? Could this really be her sister? Contact lenses, hair dye, and collagen injections would explain the changes. She took the girl’s hand. Cold and trembling. The fingers were long and slender and the nails covered the nail bed with almost no white. Just like Robbie’s. Just like their father’s.
“You are, aren’t you?” Robbie said. “You are Kate Brooks.”
The girl began to cry, her shoulders convulsing. “Please—please don’t call the police.”
Was she somehow responsible for her friend’s death like she wrote in the Facebook message? Robbie doubted it, but then why was she so terrified? “We’re not going to let anyone hurt you. I’m—”
The sound of sirens pierced through the glass door.
Kate jumped, clutching the blanket. “Oh, no.”
Jeremy went to the sliding door and looked down. “Cops are swarming this place. I’ll bet that man and woman described me to the cops and they’re going to come looking for me. We need to get out of here.”
No time now. They’d talk later. Robbie glanced at Jeremy—several days’ beard growth, long hair, swollen eye, jeans, andT-shirt. “Is that what you were wearing when the couple saw you with Tyra?”
“Yeah. But I had sunglasses on.”
“Change,” Robbie said. “I’ll find something for Kate to wear.”
“Good idea.” Jeremy rummaged through the closet, pulled something out, and went into the bathroom.
Robbie opened a drawer where she used to keep her clothes. Shoved in the back, she found a pair of worn jeans, a crumpled tank top, and a baseball cap, all splattered with paint. Work clothes from when she and Jeremy had first moved into the apartment. Had she left them behind deliberately? She handed the clothes to Kate. “Try these.”
Kate slipped on the jeans over her bathing suit. Their bodies were so similar Robbie could have been looking at herself in the mirror. Her sister. She found her sister. She wanted to rush across the room to hug her, but the police could be coming for Jeremy at any moment.
Robbie found a pair of her old sneakers in the back of the closet.
A buzzing sound came from the bathroom.
Kate put on the sneakers and pushed her hair up into the baseball cap Robbie had given her. “Thank you. Thank you for helping me.”
The door to the bathroom opened. Jeremy had shaved his face and trimmed his hair. He was dressed in a suit and open shirt. It took her back over a year ago when they’d both worked together at the CPA firm.
“I don’t think they’ll be looking for someone in business clothes.” Jeremy checked out Kate. “Good. That’s good. ” He held out his sunglasses. “Should I wear them?”
“Yeah,” Robbie said. “You’re more conspicuous with the swollen eye.”
He pushed them on. “Okay. Let’s go.”
“Is it safe to take your car?” Robbie asked.
He paused at the door. “Probably not. The police are very likely setting up a perimeter around the building and the garage.”
“But how would they know the guy arguing with Tyra at the pool was you?”
“They wouldn’t. Not by name. But they’ll definitely be checking everyone who leaves the garage or goes through the front and back entrances of the building.”
“So how are we going to get out of here?” Robbie asked.
“You’ll see,” Jeremy said.
They left the apartment and followed Jeremy to one of the stairwells.
Kate pulled down on the bill of the paint-splattered baseball cap, shadowing her eyes. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked.
Her sister. Robbie had found her sister.
On the second floor, Jeremy pushed open the exit door, took a quick glance into the hallway. “Okay. All clear.”
He led them down the empty hallway.
“I see what you’re doing,” Robbie said.
SOBE Grande consisted of three buildings. To an outsider, they appeared to be separate, but they were actually connected by a corridor that led from one building to the next, so people could get to and from the parking garage without getting wet if it rained. Jeremy lived in the north tower.
They continued down the hallway until they reached the center building. This corridor had windows on both sides and was visible from the outside. Jeremy put his arms around Robbie and Kate and the three of them walked through. When they reached the south tower, they hurried down the hallway to the stairwell that led to the back of the building and the loading dock.
They ran down the steps to the first floor. Robbie pushed open the exit door and stuck her head out. The outside door was propped open. A couple of men were moving furniture into the elevator. They got the last piece in, and the elevator closed behind them.
Robbie, Jeremy, and Kate stepped into the vestibule. Jeremy rubbed his clean-shaven cheek. The skin was pale compared to the dark tan around the bridge of his nose and on his forehead. “Let’s hope they haven’t extended the perimeter around all three buildings,” he said.
“I’ll check.” Robbie walked out of the building and scanned the loading area. There was a trail of furniture leading from the moving truck, a few parked cars, a couple of shopping carts. A security guard was leaning against a column near the loading dock eating a candy bar, his gun conspicuous against his dark pants.
Robbie stepped back into the vestibule and spoke to Jeremy and Kate in a low voice. “There’s a guard, but I don’t think he’s been alerted to anything. Let’s just walk like nothing’s wrong.”