TWENTY-FOUR
Alex was sitting in the worn leather desk chair in her father’s first-floor office. It felt like the safest place to be in the house, surrounded by his books and papers, his pipes cold in the ashtray. She was studying the screen of her father’s computer when Dory and Remus returned. She felt an undeniable sense of relief when she heard them shambling through the front door.
‘How was your walk?’ Alex asked.
‘Pretty good,’ said Dory. ‘Cold out there.’
‘Feel better?’
Dory stood in the door to the office, slapping her blue jean-clad thigh with the dog’s leash. ‘It didn’t hurt anything. What are you doing there?’
Alex pointed to the chair she had pulled up beside her. ‘Come and take a look at this.’
Dory came around and sat down on a Windsor chair beside the desk. She frowned at the screen. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s the Ticketmaster site,’ said Alex.
‘Ticketmaster? Are you going to a show?’ Dory asked.
‘I was thinking we’d go together.’
Dory wrinkled her nose in distaste. ‘I’ve never heard of these groups.’
‘It’s a country music line-up.’ Alex sat back in the chair and rubbed her eyes. ‘After you left, I started thinking about Lauren and that guy, Walker Henley.’
‘Why think about them?’ Dory asked in disgust.
‘Those cops who came to see me in the hospital? The ones who are reopening Lauren’s case?’
‘Oh, yeah. Salt and Pepper,’ said Dory cynically. ‘They look at me like I’ve got dog-do on my shoe. Even though the DA dropped the charges, those two still want to make a case against me.’
‘I was thinking,’ said Alex, ‘about what happened to Lauren. The only people the cops seem interested in are the people she knew here in Boston. But what about the people she knew in Branson? Or Nashville? Lovers, colleagues, rivals? She was living a secret life in a way. There had to be some people she pissed off.’
Dory sighed. ‘I guess so.’
‘Well, I Googled this Walker Henley. And among other things I found out that he is on a concert tour right now. He’s going to be at this Providence, Rhode Island theater tomorrow night.’
‘And?’
‘And that’s only a couple of hours from here. So I thought maybe we should go down there and try and talk to him. If I can get a message to him, letting him know that you’re Lauren’s sister, he might be willing to talk with us. Who knows? He’ll surely know more about Lauren’s private life than we do. He might be able to point us in another direction.’
‘We? Us? What makes you think I want to do this?’ Dory protested.
Alex looked at her impatiently. ‘Look, it’s you who’s going to have this murder hanging over your head until they find out who really killed Lauren. I should think that would be reason enough.’
Dory shrugged and then peered at her. ‘What’s in it for you?’
‘Somebody tried to kill me here the other night. I feel like I’m sitting here with a target on my back and I don’t know why. I have a feeling that the attack on me is related to Lauren’s death.’
Dory reared back. ‘Why do you think that? What do you know?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Alex. ‘I don’t know anything. Let’s just say that I don’t believe in coincidences. Call it intuition . . .’
‘There is no such thing,’ said Dory flatly.
‘Fine. Call it what you want. Are you willing to drive to Providence?’
‘I guess,’ said Dory.
‘Good.’ Alex pressed a button on the computer. ‘I just hit “buy,”’ she said.
The Hillman Center, the auditorium where Walker Henley was playing on a bill with three other country acts, was an antiquated facility with a downtown locale and satellite parking. Dory circled the city block several times, looking for a place to park in the neighborhood, but finally it began to look impossible, even though they were several hours early for the concert.
‘I guess I’m going to have to go to the stupid satellite lot,’ said Dory, idling in the vicinity of the double doors at the front of the Hillman Center. ‘You better get out.’
‘I’ll come with you,’ said Alex.
‘No, that’s too far for you to walk,’ said Dory. ‘Wait for me here. I don’t know why I let you talk me into this.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Just get out,’ said Dory.
‘OK. Thanks,’ said Alex, sliding out of the car and standing on the nearby curb. ‘I’ll be in the foyer.’
Dory did not reply. She pulled away and disappeared into the sea of rush-hour tail-lights in downtown Providence.
Alex slowly climbed the steps and opened the doors to the old-fashioned auditorium. The ornately figured carpets had probably been beautiful when they were installed but they had since been flattened by thousands of pairs of boots and sneakers and high-heeled shoes. The cream-colored walls of the foyer were dingy, and the sconces which flanked the doors had milk-glass shades but were not illuminated. A refreshment and souvenir counter took up the back wall of the foyer. At the moment there was only one person working there, a girl with dyed blonde curls wearing a black vest and tie and a tired-looking white shirt, who was unpacking cartons of candy boxes.
Alex went up to her. ‘Excuse me,’ she said.
The girl looked faintly surprised to see a customer this early. ‘The concession doesn’t open for another . . .’ She peered at the roman numerals on the clock above the front doors of the auditorium. ‘Half an hour.’
‘Actually, I’m trying to find the manager of this place.’
‘He’s here somewhere,’ the girl said vaguely.
‘It’s very important that I get a message to one of the artists who’s playing tonight. Walker Henley? I thought maybe the manager might help me get in to talk to him,’ said Alex.
‘Have you got a backstage pass?’
‘No,’ Alex admitted. ‘I just took a chance that he would see me.’
The girl made a face. ‘They don’t let fans backstage.’
‘I’m not a fan. It’s actually a personal connection. He used to go out with my sister and she . . . died. I just wanted to talk to him . . .’
‘Deirdre,’ an impatient voice demanded from behind Alex. ‘What’s going on here?’
‘This is the manager, Mr Isgro,’ said the girl behind the counter.
Alex turned around and saw a very neat, carefully groomed man in his mid-thirties with narrow eyes and an impatient expression on his face. She stuck out her hand. ‘Mr Isgro,’ she said. ‘I came here looking for you. My name is Alex Woods. I have a personal connection to Walker Henley.’
The man studied her with a glacial glance. Then he turned back to Deirdre. ‘How are you getting on back there? Is the counter fully stocked?’
Deirdre nodded. ‘Getting there.’
‘Hurry it up,’ said Isgro.
‘Excuse me,’ said Alex, digging in her purse and coming up with the note she had written and brought with her. ‘I’m sure you think I’m just some kind of crazy fan but I’m not. I wouldn’t ask you to let me see Mr Henley. But I would be grateful if you would deliver this message to him from me. He can decide for himself if he wants to see me.’
The manager turned on Alex. ‘Do you have a ticket, miss?’
‘Yes,’ said Alex. ‘Well, that is, it’s at the box office. I’ll have it as soon as your box office opens.’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘Get your ticket and enjoy the show.’
‘All I’m asking is that you . . .’
Isgro invaded her space, putting his face so close to hers that Alex could smell his musky aftershave. ‘It’s not my job to pester the talent. It’s my job to make sure that they are not pestered.’ He glanced at the clock over the door. ‘Why don’t you leave and come back in half an hour when the box office is open.’ He turned to the girl behind the counter. ‘Deirdre, I want you to flog these T-shirts tonight. Ask every single person who buys so much as a pack of gum if they want to buy a T-shirt. Got it?’
‘Yup,’ said Deirdre.
‘I don’t want a lot of excuses at the end of the night. I want these shirts gone, or you could be looking for another job.’
Without another look at Alex he strode over to a side door in the lobby that appeared to be cut into the plaster friezes on the wall, and disappeared behind it.
‘Prick,’ Deirdre muttered.
‘He must be tough to work for,’ said Alex.
‘No shit.’
Alex sighed. ‘I shouldn’t be surprised that he blew me off. I guess people will try anything to get face-to-face with these performers.’
‘Usually they say they’re journalists,’ Deirdre commented.
‘I guess it’s too late to try that now,’ said Alex, smiling ruefully.
Deirdre looked over at the door where Isgro had disappeared. Then she beckoned to Alex with a scarlet-nailed finger. ‘My boyfriend is an electrician here. That’s how I got this job. Go around to the door beside all the trash cans on Sunnyside Row. It’s halfway down the next block. Knock on the door and ask for George. When he comes around, ask George to slip your note to one of Henley’s roadies. Tell him I said so.’
‘Thank you so much,’ said Alex.
‘I’m not promising anything,’ said Deirdre.
‘I understand,’ said Alex.
‘You better get out. I don’t want Isgro seeing me talking to you.’
‘Thanks,’ said Alex. She pulled her coat tight around her and headed out of the lobby of the auditorium.
Deirdre’s George, a burly guy with a Van Dyke beard, accepted the note with the terse words, ‘I’ll see.’ Then he closed the rear stage door behind him.
‘Now what do we do?’ Dory asked. ‘Wait here?’
‘I don’t think so,’ said Alex. ‘Walker Henley’s got my number on that piece of paper. I guess we go to the show and wait to hear from him.’
‘I don’t think this is gonna work,’ Dory said.
‘Well, what do you suggest we do?’ Alex asked as they descended the steps and started down the alleyway back to the main street. Suddenly the end of the street darkened as a pair of black SUVs with tinted windows pulled in and began moving toward them.
Alex and Dory hopped up on the narrow walkway as the SUVs rolled slowly past them and stopped near the stage door. All the car doors began to open and men in boots, cowboy hats and faded jeans descended.
‘Is one of them our guy?’ Dory asked.
Alex looked anxiously at the men who were mounting the steps to the stage door. ‘I’m not sure,’ she said.
‘I’ll go ask,’ said Dory.
‘Dory, wait,’ said Alex as her phone began to buzz. She looked at the caller ID. ‘I have to take this.’
Dory headed resolutely toward the SUVs as Alex answered the phone. ‘Seth?’
‘Alex, finally,’ he said.
She felt herself tingling at the sound of his voice. ‘How are you? How’s it going?’
‘Where have you been? I must have called you twenty times.’
She hesitated. She didn’t want to alarm him, but she also didn’t want to lie. ‘I had to go to the hospital unexpectedly. I didn’t have my phone.’
‘The hospital? What for? Are you all right?’
‘I’m fine. I’m OK now.’
‘Are you home?’
‘Actually, I’m in Providence, Rhode Island at the moment. I’m here with Dory.’
‘I guess you are fine. What are you doing there?’
‘We’re at a concert. Trying to track someone down. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when you get home. I can’t wait to see you. How did they take it when you told them you were leaving your job?’
‘They weren’t too happy. But they won’t have any trouble replacing me. There’s a lot of PhDs out there and not a lot of academic jobs.’
‘So you haven’t changed your mind,’ she said cautiously.
‘Never,’ he said.
‘I can’t wait till you get back,’ Alex said.
‘Me neither. I want to take up exactly where we left off.’
Dory rushed up to Alex, waving her arms. ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘That’s him in the white hat and he says he’s willing to talk to us.’
Alex looked past the dumpsters and the SUVs at the man in a white cowboy hat, standing at the foot of the steps, peering at them curiously.
‘Seth, I have to go . . .’
‘I love you,’ he said.
Too taken aback to reply, Alex was silent.
Sounding sorry that he had jumped the gun, Seth quickly said, ‘’Bye. See you soon.’ And ended the call. Alex stared at the phone in her hand, hardly believing what she had heard. He loved her. And she had said nothing.
‘Alex,’ Dory demanded. ‘Hurry up. Let’s go. This guy hasn’t got all day. He has a show to do.’
Alex hesitated. She wanted to call him back, to say she felt the same and to tell him everything. But Dory was wide-eyed with impatience. ‘OK,’ said Alex. She slipped the phone into her pocket. Then, she followed her sister down the icy, slippery stones of the dark alley.