O’Connell and Alex exchanged looks, clearly surprised at her observation. They shouldn’t be impressed, she thought. Any single girl worth her salt knows the signs of a married man.
“Listen, if I noticed it,” she continued, “other women will too. Besides, he is totally not my type.”
O’Connell turned his palms up and made a huffing noise.
Alex turned to him and finally broke his silence. “Sir, do you mind if Mrs. Evans and I speak in private?”
“Fine, but don’t be long. We are on a short timeline.”
Alex nodded and turned his grey eyes to Sydney. “Come on Sydney, let’s get some fresh air.”
With that he stood up and gestured for her to follow him. Sydney hesitated, looking at O’Connell and then back at Alex. She stood up to follow him.
They retraced their steps down the long grey hallway, Sydney staying silent as they walked. She knew Alex would be preparing to change her mind, perhaps even put her at ease with the idea of him as her date. Truthfully, it wasn’t just that Alex didn’t fit the usual profile of someone she would date; it was more about the idea of a date. She wasn’t ready to have another man taking her arm or doing anything that Jack would have.
Alex pulled open a large glass door leading out to what looked a like a small courtyard within the airport buildings. There was an open grassy area peppered with picnic tables. She could see a couple of airport employees having coffee at the other end of the courtyard. Alex gestured toward a bench off to their right. They sat down next to each other, and Alex turned his body to face her.
“Sydney,” he began, “I know this is a lot to take in.”
She sighed. “You think?” she said with a touch of sarcasm.
“The truth is, this isn’t just about getting justice for your friend, Miss Ortez—”
“Her name was Lizzy.”
“Okay, then this isn’t just about getting justice for Lizzy. If we don’t know who killed her, that means the killer is still out there. We don’t have a motive yet, which means we don’t know if Lizzy was their primary—or their only—target. And if they had access to the plane, they are likely going to be at the resort where the wedding is taking place. Which means Marissa and Ethan are in very real trouble. You would not only be helping us, but you would be helping to keep them safe as well.”
A 747 practically shook their bench as it passed low over their heads and glided down toward the runway. The sound boomed overhead and Sydney held her hands over her ears to dampen the sound.
She knew Alex was right. If the killer was still out there, and if he or she had another target, no one at the wedding was safe.
“So, do you believe that Marissa and Ethan are innocent? That they had nothing to do with this?”
He watched as the plane landed in the distance before turning his attention back to her.
“I believe if you let me come with you, we can find out for sure.”
Sydney looked away, trying to decide what to do. She wasn’t keen on spying on her friends, but if they were in danger, how could she possibly say no? She was going to have to swallow the idea of having to bring a date, which would draw an uncomfortable amount of attention to her, and accept that she was going to have to spy on her friends all in one bitter pill. She pushed a long strand of hair behind her ear before turning to face Alex again.
“Okay.”
“Okay, as in yes, you will work this us?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “But I believe my friends are innocent, and I intend to prove it.”
Eleven
Sydney
Alex walked Sydney back to the interrogation room where O’Connell was waiting. He was standing in the corner of the room, his large bull-like shoulders hunched over as he typed furiously on his phone. She noticed he was pacing in the small corner and wearing reading glasses that made him look like a bespectacled gargoyle. Alex nodded in his direction, indicating the plan was a go. The three of them sat down to discuss what would happen next.
Alex took the lead and laid out the plan for her to assist in the investigation.
“It’s pretty simple, Sydney. I just need you to introduce me to your group of friends and that will give me an opening, to ask a few casual questions that might help the investigation.”
“Oh, like what? Where you from? And oh, by the way, did you murder the bridesmaid?”
“Not exactly. Listen, Sydney, I know this is…frustrating, but going about things this way helps us get a clearer picture of why someone would want to have murdered your friend.”
Sydney sighed. “No, you’re right. I want to help.”
“Great,” he said, pushing his chair back and standing up. “Well, we’ve got a plane to catch.” He turned to O’Connell, who also stood with some effort. “Sir, I’ll be in touch.”
“Right,” he said, nodding. “And remember what we discussed last night.”
Alex gave him a wary look. “Of course.”
Sydney looked back and forth between the two of them as they exchanged looks. She was definitely going to ask Alex about that when they sat down on the plane.
Alex strode to the door and opened it for her. Two officers were waiting to escort them, holding her suitcase and another that must have belonged to Alex. Another officer approached them and handed Alex something. He turned to her.
“Looks like they got it back to you in one piece,” he said, handing her the phone with its jewel-encrusted case.
“Thanks.”
She took it carefully and ran her hand over the front. The screen came to life, and she could see she had a ton of notifications waiting for her, but first she wanted to reach out to Marissa.
Marissa! I’m on my way, my flight was delayed. Are you okay? I heard about Lizzy. Devastating. She finished off the message with a tear emoji.
She held the phone down at her side as they walked, trailing behind Alex and the two uniformed officers. Her phone vibrated in her hand.
Sydney! I’m so, so glad you are okay. I was getting worried. I don’t even know how to describe what happened, it was awful. We need to talk when you get here. I’m so glad you’re coming. I need you.
Don’t worry, Sydney typed as she continued to follow the trio of men. Nothing could stop me from being there.
Alex looked over his shoulder a few times to check on her. Although she had accepted Alex as her date, she still felt the plan was flawed from the beginning. He was just not believable as her date. While he was kind of cute—she’d give him that—he was just not anything like the kind of guy her friends would expect her to date. She lived in the fashionable world of online bloggers. Every man behind the scenes was styled to perfection. Not to mention that if a guy had no sense of style whatsoever, he wouldn’t understand what she did for a living. And therefore, every time she posed in front of a donut shop holding a pink sprinkled donut over her eye, he would be thoroughly annoyed to take fifty pictures.
She suddenly looked around and realized they weren’t in the regular terminal. This area had large glass picture windows that went from floor to ceiling, framing out a large concrete air pad that had several medium-size jets waiting on the tarmac beyond.