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 planned to nurse the second one for the next hour or so, though I was sorely tempted to get tanked up and pass out on one of the office couches. Derek would wake me up when it was over and we could drive off into the sunset.
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 inner forces to make up for his lack of outer strength.
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 thinnest calfskin.
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 running through me. Alice and I could’ve been such great friends, if only she hadn’t turned out to be a stone-cold murdering bitch. I forced a smile back onto my face, knowing I needed to maintain illusions for a while longer.
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.”