***
“This is bullshit!” Hugh snarled. “Get out of my face, Detective Morgan!”
Bennett just leaned closer. “You told me you had this phone with you all night. Then explain to me,” he ordered, “about the phone call that Ivy got less than thirty minutes ago. A call from the killer…from the guy I heard confess to stabbing the councilman.”
Hugh’s face went slack with shock. “Wait…what?”
“If you had the phone, then you made the call.”
“No, I didn’t!” Hugh denied. His gaze swung to Ivy. “Hell, I swear it! You know I’d never do anything to hurt you!”
No, just the rest of the world.
“It wasn’t Hugh.” And Ivy shoved around them both as she hurried up the stairs. “And you two are wasting time. He’s up there!”
Bennett glared at Hugh even as he carefully put that phone in his coat pocket. He’d run the phone for prints and see what they turned up, and in the meantime, he’d keep Hugh in sight.
Hugh tried to push past him, hurrying after Ivy.
Bennett grabbed him and barked, “You do anything to hurt Ivy, and you are a dead man.” Ivy might trust her brother, but Bennett recognized the guy for exactly what he was.
Trouble.
He locked his hand in Hugh’s collar and pushed the guy up ahead of him. Ivy was at the top of the stairs now, and she glanced back, glaring at them both.
She didn’t see her brother for what he was—she had her blinders on with him. Always had. But Bennett wasn’t blind.
“I-I need to find Shelly,” Hugh mumbled. “I was going upstairs to get some air when I saw you come in.”
Bennett’s eyes narrowed at those words. So Hugh wanted him to believe that he hadn’t been on the balcony.
“Shelly was upstairs when I saw her last,” Hugh said, hurrying his steps as they neared the landing. “When we find her, she can clear everything up for me.”
Bennett wasn’t seeing Shelly, though. He also wasn’t seeing anyone else that could have been the killer. Just Hugh. The other men they passed didn’t match the guy’s description. A few moments later, Bennett followed Ivy out onto the balcony. There were only couples out there. One man with red hair was embracing a blonde. A balding guy was slow dancing with his partner. A fellow in Navy dress blues held hands with his date.
Where is the bastard in the mask?
“He’s not here,” Ivy said. She hurried past him and ran back into the hallway. “We should look—”
Hugh reached out and grabbed her arm. “If the killer is here, then I want to find Shelly, now.” A new urgency had entered his tone.
Ivy searched his gaze, then she nodded. She pulled out her phone and dialed quickly. “She answered me before. I’ll get her again.”
Hugh nodded, appearing relieved.
But…
“No answer,” Ivy said as she began to walk. She kept the phone at her ear, no doubt listening to it ring, as she said, “there’s another balcony around back, let’s search it.”
Bennett yanked Hugh after her. Bennett assessed every man they passed. He paused at the top of the stairs, his gaze trekking down below, looking for that taunting bastard. The men at this party weren’t wearing masks, though. The bastard had probably just taken it off once he’d left the balcony, and then he’d blended right in with the crowd.
The thick crowd truly did make for a perfect hunting ground.
He turned away from the stairs, ready to check that other balcony. Hugh was at his side, Bennett made sure of that with his grip on the guy. They took a few quick steps forward—
Hugh froze. “That’s her tone.”
Ivy kept walking. She still had the phone at her ear.
“That’s Shelly’s ring tone!” Hugh yelled.
Ivy whirled back around.
Hugh jerked free of Bennett’s hold. He put his head next to the door on the right. “I can hear it.” He glanced back at Ivy. “You know she loves Katie Perry.” He grabbed for the door knob and twisted, but the door didn’t open. “Shelly!” Hugh called. He knocked his fist on the door. “Shelly, open up! I need you to talk with the jerk Morgan! Tell him that I’ve been with you.”
Ivy put her phone down. Her worried gaze met Bennett’s.
“Shelly?” Hugh knocked on the door again. “Come on, baby. Open the door. This isn’t funny.” He laughed, the sound rough and awkward. “I’m sorry that I didn’t come back upstairs right away. It’s just…I needed a break. The crowd was pressing in on me. I felt like everyone was staring. Watching. You know the way gossip follows my family.”
There was no response from within that room. Bennett put his hand on Hugh’s shoulder and pushed him back. Bennett tried the knob—definitely locked.
“Maybe it’s not her,” Ivy said as she approached them. The phone on the other side of that door had stopped ringing. “I’m sure Katie Perry songs are real popular ring tones.”