“But that’s good news,” Jacob said.
“How is that good news?”
“It means that whoever followed you to San Antonio knows you. It means whoever it was knows about the security gate and knew to wait far enough back to not be seen. It means whoever it was is probably someone we know.”
“How is that good?”
“Because we can call the hotel where you stayed and get a list of guests who checked in after you. And then we will likely recognize the name, even if they thought they were being smart and used a false one.”
Jacob pulled out his own phone and began to dial.
“Who are you calling?”
“The hotel.”
“How do you know which hotel it was?”
“You stay at the same hotel every time you go to San Antonio.”
I nodded slowly, my thoughts moving a thousand miles a second. “What if the person who did this, what if they figured out where I was going and checked in before us?”
Jacob just nodded, but the line must have been picked up on the other side, because he began speaking.
“Yes, this is Detective Wallace from the Houston police department. We’re looking for a suspect in a robbery. I was wondering if you would be willing to give me a list of your guests who checked in between ten o’clock and six on Monday night, Tuesday morning.”
He listened a moment, said something about getting a warrant, and then he gestured for a pen. When I handed it to him, he began to write quickly in this shorthand that I’ve always teased Jacob for using. It’s not a sort of shorthand that anyone else can read. It’s something he devised himself in high school that he’s never explained to anyone. He wrote quickly then thanked whoever was on the other end of the line.
He didn’t speak immediately.
That told me more than any words he could have spoken.
Chapter 32
Adrienne
She came back a little less than an hour later.
“This isn’t about the Alzheimer’s drug?”
She ignored me in favor of cleaning up the rest of the oatmeal mess she’d left behind before.
“What is it that you want? Why are you doing this?”
“We have our reasons.”
“You have a reason for torturing your own brother?”
She stiffened, all movement ceasing. But then she just started cleaning again.
“Rachel, I know it’s you. And if I know, I’m sure Lucien is figuring it out right now. Lucien and Jacob.”
“Not necessarily.”
“You followed us to San Antonio. You followed us on the Riverwalk. You were even on the elevator with us, weren’t you?”
Again she stiffened, but she didn’t stop working. She cleaned those cans until the labels were moist and beginning to flake off.
“Do you really think Lucien won’t think back on every moment of time we spent there and realize that was you? If he hadn’t been so focused on me, he probably would have realized it at the time.”
“He doesn’t know.”
“But he will. What will you do then?”
“By then, we’ll have what we want.”
“You’re his sister. Do you think he’ll understand?”
She turned and looked at me, slowly tugging the mask off of her face. Her eyes were wide and red, as though she’d been crying.
“He did this. We asked him over and over…”
“Asked him what?”
She shook her head. “I never wanted to hurt anyone.”
“Then let me go. Let me call Lucien. We can work something out.”
She shook her head. “It’s too late for that. He’s got your father involved.”
“I can handle my dad.”
She just shook her head again even as tears began to spill over her cheeks. “Things were supposed to be so simple. We send a couple of emails, shake him up a little. And then he would do what we wanted. But it wasn’t that simple. And now—”
“Let me go, Rachel. Let me fix this.”
“How are you going to fix it?”
That was a good question. I didn’t know.
“I can talk to Lucien.”
“We’ve talked and talked. He’s not talking back.” She stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t understand what he’s done.”
“Then tell me.”
She studied my face for a long minute; then she just shook her head. “There’s no point in talking anymore. We all understand that now. You should, too.”
“Maybe if I knew what was going on,” I said, dipping my head in what I hoped was a defeated look. But I wasn’t defeated. Another pull and—
“I should go,” Rachel said. “I’m not supposed to be in here.”
She turned just as my wrist came free of the cable tie holding it in place. I jumped to my feet, kicking at the chair until it fell over and my ankles came free from the bottom of the chair legs. I rushed Rachel, grabbing her shirt just as she was about to slip out the door.