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But now I knew I would be losing a great big chunk of my heart when Derek left. I would miss him more than anything or anyone I’d ever missed in my life.
All this time I’d been worrying that my karma was keeping us apart, when I should’ve been worrying about my karma bringing us together. Because now he would leave and I would be a complete, miserable, slobbering mess.
I sucked in a deep breath of air and pushed myself away from the refrigerator. I couldn’t afford to think about all that right now. I had a job to do, a book to avenge, and a killer to unmask.
Chapter 20
I walked into BABA and was slammed by the wall of sound that greeted me. It rattled my nerves and made me want to turn around and go home. For a few seconds, I wondered if Naomi had hired a live band, but no. It was the same old stereo system, set to an ear-bleeding level. I could take it. I could take anything. I held my shoulders high and plunged into the crowd.
The Sunday afternoon soiree had been Naomi’s idea and it was a good one. The time of day suited the large gallery space to perfection. Sunshine poured in through the wide skylight, casting crystalline shards of color and light over the crowd. And instead of the usual black-clad bodies, many of the women were dressed in jewel tones and even in a few pastels. It made for a lovely, bright palette and lent a lightness and joie de vivre to the normally dour, artsy crowd.
I waved to a few acquaintances and caught snippets of conversation as I made my way across the crowded room. Art, books, music, films, the weather, the environment, climate change, the latest scandal erupting at City Hall. One conversation faded into another until I reached my destination. The bar. Naturally. Where else would I be going?
I cast a glance at the short but impressive wine list, then decided to live dangerously and ordered the party’s signature drink, the TNT. It stood for Tart ’n’ Twisted. Nice that they got that “twisted” thing in there.
I took a sip and found that it was, in essence, an ice-cold vodka gimlet, one of my favorite drinks. They served it in a martini glass with an extra slice of lime. Very refreshing.
Not that I was nervous, but I downed that drink in two gulps and ordered another. I pla
But as I turned from the bar, I spotted Alice on the opposite side of the room and knew what I had to do. She was tight in conversation with Cynthia Hardesty. It was an interesting pairing. I wondered what nonsense Alice was filling the board member’s ears with. Perhaps they were bonding over their shared concerns about Naomi. If Alice weren’t unmasked today, would she try to implicate Naomi in Layla’s death? Or worse, would she eventually kill Naomi, too?
Why not? She’d already killed two people in her quest to take over Layla’s book-fraud ring. The more power she got hold of, the easier it would be to knock off anyone who stood in her way of gaining total control.
Watching Alice from my vantage point, I felt a shiver of anticipation trill across my shoulders. Today was the day that power grab would end. Today, we would take her down.
My thoughts drifted to Gabriel, who at this moment was sneaking in through the back door of the building with Derek. I imagined Inspectors Lee and Jaglom had met them back there, as well. I hoped so. I hoped they’d brought a full battalion with them. My worry was that however many cops made up a battalion, that might not be enough to protect Gabriel from Alice’s malevolence.
Gabriel was my main concern. He was still so weak. Seeing Alice now and knowing what she was capable of, I knew Gabriel would be no match for her if he couldn’t harness his i
I skirted the lower gallery and made a show of studying each item in the silent auction. I wrote my name and the amount of my bid on a few of them. I particularly coveted a leather-handled set of Jeff Peachey knives. The brilliant bookbinder and craftsman had created a set of cryogenic steel-bladed knives that were hand-honed to surgical precision and beautifully beveled to work with the thi
I sighed. Even in the midst of danger, I could geek it up with the best of them.
“That’s a very nice bid,” Alice said behind me. She’d caught me off guard and my stomach dropped twenty feet.
I turned and laughed, hoping I didn’t sound too hysterical. “Hey, you. These are some fabulous auction items.”
She smiled. “I thought those tools might appeal to you.”
“Peachey is a genius,” I murmured, nodding. Abruptly, I reminded myself I was here on a mission and shook myself out of my daydreams. “This party is a real hit, Alice. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Much as I hate to admit it, Naomi gets most of the credit.”
“That’s got to hurt.”
We shared a laugh despite the wave of depression ru
She leaned closer and said in a teasing tone, “So, where’s that hunky British dude who can’t stay away from you?”
I tried to giggle along with her. “Derek should be here in a little while.”
“He’s a lucky guy,” she assured me.
“Aw, thank you.” I gritted my teeth and gave her a hug. “You’re so sweet.”
Her gaze wandered off. I tried to follow it, homing in on Cynthia Hardesty as the board member grabbed another glass of champagne off the tray of a passing waiter.
“I saw you talking to Cynthia earlier,” I said, lowering my voice. “What’s going on?”
Alice continued to stare across the room, then finally looked up at me.“She wanted to talk about Naomi. She thinks Naomi killed Layla, but frankly I still have my doubts. Cynthia could be trying to deflect attention from the fact that she did it herself.”
“I hate to say it,” I said, “but I’m not sure I can blame her after seeing how Tom reacted every time Layla walked into a room.”
“I know,” Alice said, shaking her head. “He’s kind of disgusting. But can I confess something to you?”
I blinked. “Okay.”
“I’m not really sure about Karalee anymore, either. She’s been acting so weird lately, and I caught her in Layla’s office earlier today. I could swear she was about to steal something.”
“You’re kidding.” I couldn’t take much more of this. I placed my empty glass on a nearby service tray. “Tell you what, I’ll keep an eye on her and let you know if I notice anything odd going on.”
“Would you?” She gripped my arm. “Thank you. I hate to be so suspicious, but I can’t help it. Sometimes I work late at night and I’m so worried there will be another attack.”
“You poor thing,” I said, patting her hand. “You must be under a lot of strain.” What with the unbridled murder and mayhem and all, I added silently.
“Oh, don’t worry about me,” she said bravely. “I’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.” And I hoped she’d get a lovely cell with a nice view of her neighbor, Big Beulah. “I’m going to run to the ladies’ room. Then maybe I’ll grab another one of those TNTs. Have you tried one yet?”
“Just a taste. I figured I’d better stay sober.”
“Too bad, because they rock. I’ll be back in a few.” I waved and headed for the bathroom. Once inside, I sagged against the door and exhaled in relief.
I should’ve been exhausted, but my outrage energized me. The fact that she could keep up the pretense so easily made me realize we were dealing with a true sociopath. She was perfectly willing to implicate anyone—Cynthia, Naomi, Karalee, to name a few. I had to wonder if she’d brought my name up to the others as a possible suspect. It wouldn’t have surprised me.