She sensed he was letting his guard down, and she wondered if he was trying to build trust.
“Like my situation?”
He tipped his chin in her direction as if he was deciding whether to say something more. Instead he just replied with “Yes, you could say that.”
The engine rumbled along, keeping a silent hum in the car that buffered the silence between them. Her eyes drifted out the window, and she thought about why she was there. Lizzy. The loss was still fresh, but having a full night of sleep at the very least let her regain her facilities.
And at this point, she needed control. Because she felt as if her life was spiraling out of her hands. It was hard to believe she had lost her husband and now one of her closest friends within six months. It didn’t seem fair. She blinked rapidly as the tears started to make their way back to her eyes. When Jack disappeared, she wasn’t ready to accept he was dead. There was no body, just a few of his personal items. She hadn’t accepted his demise until she had proof.
And now, with Lizzy, she wasn’t about to let her murder go unsolved. She would do whatever it took to track down Lizzy’s killer.
“We’re here.” Alex’s voice cut through her thoughts. He pulled the door open for her and grabbed her suitcase from the trunk. She logged a few steps behind him as they approached the double metal doors leading into the building. With so many thoughts swirling around in her mind, she preferred to skip the small talk.
As they walked down the hallway, Sydney began to feel anxious again. She knew that O’Connell would be waiting with the results of her phone search, and he might have even more news about Lizzy’s death. As Alex pulled open the door of the room that she had spent much of her afternoon in yesterday, she took a deep, calming breath and stepped inside.
Her sense of calm was quickly shattered as she sat down across from the giant form of Inspector O’Connell to her left. Alex settled in on her right. Most men would been dwarfed by O’Connell’s large frame, but Alex held his shoulders back and straight, making the inspector look like a giant blob. An intense blob, nonetheless.
“Mrs. Evans, thank you for your patience as we sort out this investigation,” O’Connell said. His voice sounded garbled, and he spoke as if he hadn’t slept. His black hair was damp and glistened in the windowless room. He smelled like a combination of cheap aftershave and burnt coffee. “I’m happy to report that we didn’t find anything that would…incriminate you on your phone.”
Sydney sat back, surprised at the word he used…incriminate?
“Okay, well, that’s a good thing, right?”
“It is.” His voice was heavy and slow. “So now we need to discuss what’s next. Your phone was very helpful to our investigation.”
“Helpful? Helpful how?” she said, suddenly feeling off balance. She turned to Alex, but he wouldn’t make eye contact.
“The details are not important right now,” he said. The look he was giving her suggested she ought not to pry further. But Sydney was not about to let him off that easy.
“I think I have a right to know what you found on my phone,” she snapped.
“You don’t have any rights to the knowledge we collect during our investigation, Mrs. Evans, unless we wish to share it with you. This is a delicate situation, as you may have guessed, because Miss Ortez was killed over international waters and now her body lies in a foreign country. So we will do our job the way we see fit, and you will receive pertinent information on a need-to-know basis.”
She leaned forward to speak, her frustration at being kept in the dark turning into anger. But just as she was about to open her mouth, she saw Alex shift in his chair. It was subtle, but the small movement made her rethink her strategy.
“Okay, fine. Well, I hope that anything you found on my phone made it clear that Marissa and Ethan had absolutely nothing to do with Lizzy’s murder.”
“Not exactly.” He cleared his throat, an awful, throaty sound that made Sydney blanch. “At this point, we are still pursuing all options in the case. I know you think your friends are innocent, Mrs. Evans.” He raised his eyebrows at her, scrunching up the folds of skin hanging on his forehead. “And I hope you are right. But there are still a lot of questions we need answers to.”
Sydney carefully considered what he saying, trying to read between the lines. The room was heavy with all the thoughts and words she knew weren’t being said.
“Well, I’m here,” she said. “What questions can I answer for you?”
He leaned back again, peering intently at her.
She felt like she was fumbling around in the dark, trying to listen to words in a different language and understand what it all meant. Why couldn’t he just get to the point? She felt like there was something he wanted to ask her.
O’Connell finally relented and began to speak. “The best way for us to get the answers we need is to get closer to everyone who was on the plane at the time of Miss Ortez’s death. We feel confident that whoever poisoned her had access to the plane. And that narrows down our list of suspects, but…it doesn’t give us any leads as to why someone would want her dead.” He laid his thick hands flat on the table as he continued on. “We need to get close to Marissa and Ethan, as well as their guests, and see how they behave over the next few days. Mrs. Evans, we need to be at that wedding.”
Sydney was floored. “So, you want me to spy on my friends?”
“Not exactly. I want you to attend the wedding as planned.” He took a deep breath and ran his hands across the top of his glistening head of hair. “The only difference is Officer Birch will be accompanying you as your date.”
Nine
Marissa
Jessica Gaines, Ethan and Marissa’s event planner for the wedding, was standing at attention in the lobby looking as though she’d already downed five espressos. There was a quiet morning hum around the space as servers and butlers crossed the marble-tile floors, carrying trays with food domes and coffee. Marissa could smell bacon cooking off in the distance along with the sweet aroma of fresh baked goods. The smells would have comforted her, but today they felt bittersweet.
“Good morning, darlings,” Jessica said with a sympathetic smile as they arrived in the elegantly appointed lobby. She wore thick red glasses and had a sharply cut black bob that made her look a little like a cartoon character. She was always dressed in a freshly pressed black suit with utilitarian black flats that only accentuated her short stature. She wore very few pieces of jewelry; however, Jessica always had an expensive Louis Vuitton or Gucci purse in her hand, as if to signify her success.
Marissa and Ethan had to lean down to greet her as they exchanged a quick hug.
“Sorry we are late, Jessica. We needed to talk this morning…after what happened,” Marissa said, giving a sideways glance to Ethan. He nodded silently, letting her take the lead.
“Oh, I know, I know. I heard about what happened.” Jessica looked down at her hands, as if to convey her sorrow. “Elizabeth was a sweet, kind girl.” She reached for Marissa’s hand and patted it gently. Marissa had to push back tears. She appreciated the gesture, even if it felt a little forced.