The Killing Edge (10 page)

She’d noticed things about him that were simply part of who he was. He stood when a woman entered the room; he opened every door. She didn’t actually think that much about such things generally. While it was nice to have a door opened for her, she was perfectly capable of opening a door herself and was quick to do so when she saw a woman with a baby carriage or someone on crutches, for instance. But she liked his courtesy, and they did seem to be getting along now that they were partners in the search to find out what had happened to Colleen Rodriguez.

“So, how was your day?” he asked her once they were settled in his car.

“Brutal. How was yours?”

“Interesting.”

“Oh?”

He cast her a quick glance before concentrating on the road. “You might not like where I’ve been,” he told her.

“Really? Now I’m intrigued. Where have you been?”

“The Everglades.”

Chloe mulled that over for a moment. “I have nothing against the Everglades. People go there every day. Care to elaborate?”

“I went out to the site where they found the two men who tried to kill you and murdered your friends,” he said bluntly.

Chloe couldn’t have been more stunned. She was silent for several long moments, amazed at his interest in the so-called Teen Massacre.

Ten years was a long time, but in some ways, for her, it could have been yesterday.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. The case just…I don’t know. There’s something about it that doesn’t sit right.”

“You’re looking at something that’s over ten years old, just because it doesn’t sit right?” she asked, shocked that this man had the same feeling about the case that she’d had ever since the police had officially closed it.

He shrugged but didn’t explain further.

Chloe felt at a disadvantage. She still knew almost nothing about him, and even though she agreed with him, she wasn’t pleased with this turn of events. She wanted to be wrong. She wanted to think that the men who had killed her friends were dead.

“Don’t worry—I don’t want to hypnotize you and look for repressed memories,” he said.

“Good. Because you’re supposed to be working on the Colleen Rodriguez case.”

“And you’re
not
supposed to be working on it. Not actively, anyway.”

Chloe exhaled. “Look—”

“Sorry. Truce.

“But, seriously, if the people who committed those murders are still walking around somewhere, wouldn’t you want them stopped?”

“Of course. But they’re not,” she said wearily, ignoring all her own misgivings. “Didn’t you hear? There was a suicide note. And the one guy was definitely one of the killers. I saw him. I’ll never forget staring him in the eye, not as long as I live.”

“And someone who commits murders like that doesn’t just stop, yeah, I know,” Luke said. “Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“No. If you did it…I’m glad you told me.”

He glanced at her sideways. “Then I guess I should admit I also went out to the house on the beach.”

She felt tension streak through her. “I see.”

“I’m sorry if that disturbs you.”

“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this.”

“I told you, something about the case… Forget it and let’s move on.”

She sat silently as they drove onto the highway that would bring them to the causeway out to the beach. She was oddly glad, and yet seriously unnerved, that he was taking such an interest. She was afraid, she realized. Afraid that she was right, that there had been more behind what had happened ten years ago.

Ten years ago, when so many of her friends had died.

“Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t. I’m fine.” And she
was
fine at the moment, she realized. It was scary to think that she felt oddly secure at his side. She wanted to have him near her, an ever-confident and assured rock, more often.

Not to mention that she wanted to find out what those hands would feel like touching her flesh.

Somehow they managed to make conversation after that, mostly consisting of her telling him things she thought he needed to know about fashion. Before she knew it, they were moving down the street where the mansion stood. “Just pull up to the gate,” she told him, “and I’ll hop out. You can’t actually reach the call box from the car.”

Given how polite he was, Chloe thought, he probably wanted to hop out himself, but it really wasn’t practical.

Chloe got out and hit the button, belatedly realizing that maybe she should have checked with Myra to make sure it was okay to just show up. Then again, she was trying to make it look like a casual thing.

Myra’s assistant answered the call and told Chloe that their arrival was a pleasant surprise. The gates opened, and they drove in.

Tonight, if there were any guards around, they weren’t apparent. They left the car and walked to the door. Myra herself was there, and she kissed Chloe’s cheek, then looked over at Luke. “Mr. Smith, how nice to see you. I wasn’t really expecting to go over the final details of the shoot with you for a few days.”

“We were just going out to dinner and thought we’d stop by. Actually, Jack was hoping for a chance to talk to Rene. Is she here?” Chloe asked.

“Up in her room,” Myra said. “I’ll call her.”

“If it’s all right, I’ll just run up and get her myself,” Chloe said.

“Certainly. Mr. Smith, can I get you something to drink?” Myra asked.

She was leading him to the kitchen as Chloe bounded up the stairs. She tapped on Rene’s door, and the girl called, “Yes?”

“Rene, it’s Chloe.”

“Chloe? Oh, Victoria’s friend.”

The door opened.

Rene was a stunning young woman. Her eyes were huge and deep brown, adorned by thick lashes. Her lips were beautifully shaped and generous, and the gods of perfection had given her a wasp waist and natural curves, all in a petite package.

She didn’t need airbrushing.

“Hi, Chloe. Nice to see you. What’s up?” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re not with the cops, are you? I actually called them today to assure them I’m not a missing person. My parents were driving me crazy, leaving messages all the time.”

Chloe shook her head. “No. I’m with a friend who’s going to be doing his own shoot alongside the calendar shoot. Everyone has told him that you’re perfect for what he’s looking for. He’d like to meet you.”

“He’s not some weird old guy hoping to cop a feel, is he?”

Chloe laughed. “No. I think you’ll like him.”

“Oh, my God!” Rene’s eyes widened. “I think I know who you’re talking about. They were telling me about him. I was sorry I ran away the other night—I thought he was a cop, or someone my father sent after me. I knew he was at the party—and I knew he had followed me upstairs. Later I heard he was a designer and wicked hot.”

Wicked hot. Yes, that pretty much described Luke.

Rene was always beautiful, whether she wore an oversize sweatshirt and boxers, or was dressed to the nines. Tonight she was wearing leggings and a silk tunic, comfortable, but more than presentable.

She followed Chloe downstairs and joined Myra and Luke in the kitchen, where they had settled comfortably.

“Rene, this is Jack Smith, Mermaid Designs,” Chloe said. “Jack, Rene.”

“Hi. Nice to meet you,” Rene said, offering a hand. Her almond eyes were alight.

“The pleasure is mine,” he assured her.

“We’re on our way over to the beach for a casual dinner. Do either of you want to join us?” Chloe asked.

“Thanks for asking, but count me out,” Myra said. “I’m still worn-out from the party, and there’s a lot coming up that I have to prepare for, and I was in meetings with Harry Lee all day, so I didn’t get any of it done.”

Chloe hoped Rene would go with them and found herself breathing a sigh of relief when the other woman said, “Actually, I haven’t eaten yet. That sounds wonderful.”

Luke suggested a few places, but everyone was in favor of something light, so they wound up at a little sushi place on Washington, family owned and operated. Rene ordered sashimi and steamed vegetables, making Chloe feel guilty about the sushi rolls she ordered.

“You’re so lucky,” Rene told her. “You can eat all that and still look fine, athletic, like you’re ready for a game of beach volleyball or something. Not fair.”

“Great. Now I feel like a prizefighter,” Chloe said, then realized that Luke was grinning appreciatively at her, apparently not obsessed with women being bone thin.

“Well, you kind of are a prizefighter. You do all that tai kwan fu stuff all the time,” Rene said.

“Mixed-martial arts.”

“I loathe exercise,” Rene said. “But I do love living at the mansion, and even though it’s a lot harder than anyone ever realizes, I love modeling, too.”

“That’s great,” Luke said. “And from what I’ve seen, the camera loves
you
.”

“So am I going to be in your catalogue?” Rene asked Luke.

“Of course,” he told her.

Chloe thought it was too bad there wasn’t actually going to be a catalogue. She also wondered how and when Luke was going to convince Rene to phone home.

“Has modeling always been something you’ve wanted to do?” he asked Rene.

“Since I was a little girl. But I come from one of those old-fashioned families where I was supposed to marry well, raise a pack of children and be a good wife,” Rene said. “And I do want to get married one day and have a family. Two children. Manageable. But I don’t see anything wrong with having a career, as well. Look at Heidi Klum.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage everything. And I’m sure your family must be thrilled with your success,” Luke said.

“No, trust me, they’re not,” Rene said. “They want me to quit the agency and come home. All they talk about is how worried they are about me.”

“Can you really blame them? After all, Colleen Rodriguez did disappear,” Luke said.

A clouded expression filled Rene’s beautiful almond eyes. “We’ve been friends since we were kids. She should have told me what she was up to.”

“Aren’t you worried that something bad happened to her?” Luke asked.

Rene sighed. “I’ve been over this so many times with so many authorities. As far as I knew, she was seeing what’s-his-face—this cute guy on the island. Mark Johnston. I just can’t believe anything bad happened to her. It’s making my parents crazy, though. It’s just easier not to talk to them.”

“I bet they’d be grateful to hear from you,” Luke said.

Rene looked uncertain.

“He’s right,” Chloe said. “Come on, Rene—what can it hurt? If they start to give you a hard time, hang up. But you ought to give them a chance.”

“Chloe’s right. Hang up if you have to. But…remember what you told me? That you want kids yourself one day. Think how you would feel if your kids stopped talking to you,” Luke added.

Rene stared at him suspiciously for a moment, but then, to Chloe’s surprise, she pulled out her phone and, still staring at Luke, punched in a number. “Mama?” she said a moment later. “It’s me.”

They could hear her mother’s joyous response. Tears sprang into Rene’s eyes, and she looked away quickly.

The rest of the conversation was in Spanish, but they
could tell when her father got on the line because they could hear his gruff voice.

When she hung up, Rene was smiling.

But then she looked at Luke again and asked, “Who are you really?”

“Jack Smith, Mermaid Designs.”

Rene still looked suspicious, but she leaned across the table and kissed his cheek.
“Gracias,”
she told him.

Chloe was shocked to feel an immediate surge of jealousy. No, not jealousy, she told herself. That would be ridiculous.

She forced herself to focus on how glad she was that Rene had called her parents.

“My pleasure,” Luke was saying to Rene. “Now, be honest, aren’t you at least a little bit worried about Colleen?”

Rene sighed. “Yes, of course I am. But I have to believe she’s playing some kind of publicity stunt.”

“Can you tell me about the day she disappeared?” he asked.

Rene nodded. “We were done shooting for the day, and we went back to my room and talked for a while. Then she was supposed to see Mark, and I was meeting up with some of the others.”

“Who were you meeting?”

“Um, let’s see. Lacy and Maddy and Lena. We were drinking at the tiki bar down by the dive shack.”

“And Colleen said that she was meeting Mark?”

Rene nodded. “But she didn’t. He came to the bar looking for her. He was upset because she hadn’t shown up.”

“Did they fight a lot?” Luke asked her.

“No, not really. They disagreed sometimes, but who doesn’t?”

“Was he ever violent?” Luke asked.

“No! Colleen wouldn’t have tolerated that.”

“Did she have any enemies?” Luke asked.

Rene frowned. “Enemies? Everyone loved Colleen. I mean, I suppose some people might have been jealous of her because she was doing so well, but she was—
is
—so sweet. That’s why I think she planned her disappearance—no one on that island would have hurt her. And definitely not Mark.”

“Perhaps,” Luke agreed. “Still…how much time passed between when she left to meet him and when he showed up at the tiki bar?”

“Maybe ten or fifteen minutes.”

“So you were the last one to see her?”

“I suppose. She had her purse with her when she left. And…here’s another reason why I think her disappearance was a stunt. We’d been talking about how hard it was to make it to the top. There are so many girls, really young girls, who are so pretty, and some of them are pretty ambitious, too. She was saying how she was afraid she might never make it to the top. Look at all the press she got from this, and think about how much more she’ll get when she shows back up. That’s why I think it has to be a stunt. But I’ll be careful anyway, I told my parents that.”

“It’s always good to be careful,” Luke assured her.

Rene looked at Chloe. “You’re going, too, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Chloe told her.

“Good. I’ll stick to you and Victoria like glue.”

“That will be fine,” Chloe promised.