Really, she should just calm down. She was letting her imagination run away with her. Rommie Ramirez was a good guy. A dope, maybe, but not a criminal.
They got to the car, and Rommie took Melanie’s arm with one hand and drew her toward the driver’s-side door, extracting his keys from his pocket with the other.
“ Bern, go around. Melanie can sit in the back,” Rommie said. Bernadette walked unsteadily around to the passenger side of the car.
Reassure herself as she might, when Rommie flipped the seat forward and gestured for her to get in, she felt unbearably trapped. This was ridiculous, she told herself. She wasn’t a prisoner. She could leave if she wanted to. Yet with each passing moment, it got more difficult to find the words to justify her departure. She felt as if she couldn’t breathe.
“Look,” she said, “maybe I could put Bernadette in a cab or something. I don’t have time for this right now. Slice is on the loose, my little girl is home with a baby-sitter. There’s just too much going on.” Her words rang out louder than she intended and bounced off the tunnel walls, fear audible in her voice.
“Come on, now, Melanie, you said you’d help.”
Rommie’s tone, though scolding, was pleasant and paternal, so why did she feel threatened? She looked around desperately. Through the window she saw Bernadette slumped against the passenger door, looking ready to pass out. The entrance to the overpass was twenty feet away. Blood pounding in her ears, she took a step toward it but then looked back at Rommie again.
He smiled reassuringly. “Come on, honey. Be a good kid and help me out here. Get in. Okay?”
It was only Rommie, she told herself, getting ready to climb into the backseat. She was overreacting. He was her boss’s boyfriend, a decent enough guy, kind of a Keystone Kop. Not a threat. She truly believed that. She must be working too hard. Her fight-or-flight response was set on hyperdrive, and it was messing with her head, because somehow all her instincts screamed that she was walking into a trap.
34
SARAH WONDERED WHAT HE’D DO IF SHE JUST got up and ran. There were people in the office, after all. He couldn’t stop her. She wasn’t a prisoner here. She could go call that prosecutor right now and offer to testify. They’d lock Dodo up. That was probably the smartest move at this point, she realized. He was entirely capable of killing her. She knew that. Not that the thought didn’t turn her on.
“I’m waiting,” he said in that quiet, evil tone. It sent a tiny thrill right through her.
“Hey,” she said, “remember that time we did it on your desk while those people from Hudson and Fisher were standing right outside?”
She hadn’t been trying to distract him; it was just what popped into her mind. She knew there was no way to get out of this one in any event.
He came around the desk, looming over her chair. She turned her head away, and he leaned down and grabbed her viciously by the chin, forcing her to look at him.
He spoke in a whisper through clenched teeth. “Where are the fucking tapes you made?”
“What tapes?”
He raised his hand to strike her across the face, then hesitated, thinking better of it. She smiled, seeing that she would win this round. He wouldn’t do anything to her. Not here in the office, with people nearby. She could get away with taunting him.
“What, don’t like the idea of your disgusting fetishes broadcast on the six o’clock news, Dodo? You should see the ones where I paddle your droopy old ass while you beg for mercy. You look completely pathetic. Those were Jed’s favorites, you know.”
The murderous look on his face made her think she’d miscalculated. She stood up and backed toward the door, breathing rapidly. She’d scream if he tried to stop her. But he didn’t. He kept his eyes fixed on her but made no move. She got to the door and stopped, hand on the knob.
“You had him killed, didn’t you?” she asked, more curious than desperate. “Jed threatened you with the tapes, and you had him killed?”
He slumped, grabbing onto the chair she’d just vacated for support.
“Why, Sarah?” he asked, his face old and haggard. “Why’d you do it?”
“Oh, please, as if you’re all pure and I’m the bad one! You knew what I was like, Dodo. It’s why you picked me to work on Securilex in the first place. You knew you could trust me not to blab. Hell, you knew I’d even find clever new ways to dummy up the documents. You love how bad I am, Dodo.”
“You betrayed me!” Sweat stood out on his shiny forehead.
“You’re taking this way too personally,” she said nonchalantly. “Chill the fuck out, why don’t you. It was just a game. I thought you liked games.”
He sat down clumsily, his face an odd shade of purple. She wondered if he was having a heart attack. Wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen. But she didn’t want to witness it and get mixed up in calling 911.
“Look, Dodo, I need some space,” she said, turning the knob. “Okay? So don’t call me. I’ll call you.”
35
“MELANIE! WAIT UP!”
It was Dan, calling to her from the entrance to the underpass. ¡Gracias a Dios! She was so relieved! He strode over to them.
“I thought you were coming back to the hospital, and you’re out partying?” Dan said, smiling. “I should’ve guessed. You’re a wild one, all right.”
“Bernadette roped me into it. I told her we had work to do.”
“Absolutely. That’s why I’m here. I have some information we need to follow up on right away.”
“Oh, okay. Sorry, Rommie,” Melanie said. “I wish I could help get Bernadette home, but the investigation is at a critical point. I know you understand.”
“Sure, no problem. Thanks for helping out,” Rommie said nonchalantly. She must have been imagining things, because if he was annoyed or angry that she wasn’t getting into the car, he sure did a good job of hiding it. She walked around to where Bernadette stood slumped against the front door, eyes closed, complexion ghost-white.
“ Bern, honey,” Melanie said gently, touching her shoulder, “I need to go. Do you want me to put you in a cab?”
She opened her eyes. “No, it’s okay. I just drank too much. I’ll feel better in a minute. Rommie can take me home.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
Rommie came around and opened Bernadette’s door. He wouldn’t meet Melanie’s eyes, but she put that down to the embarrassing scene she’d just witnessed. Bernadette got in, staring straight ahead, looking like she might break down and sob at any moment. Melanie’s heart ached for her boss, but she understood there was nothing she could do. Some things people just had to work through on their own.
“Call me if you need anything, Bern. Doesn’t matter how late,” she said.
Without speaking, Dan and Melanie headed for the street, hearing the sounds of car doors opening and closing behind them. The engine of Rommie’s car sputtered to life. Headlights threw their shadows into relief on the pavement as Rommie and Bernadette drove slowly past and disappeared from sight.
AS THEY EMERGED FROM THE TUNNEL, DAN said, “Jeez, that looked ugly. You seemed like you wanted out of there pretty bad.”
“Yes, I did. Thanks for rescuing me. You’re very good at it.” She smiled at him, and he flushed with pleasure.
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” he joked. “So what was going on? Looked like Ramirez was practically kidnapping you.”
“Yeah, that’s how it felt. Listen to this and tell me if you think it’s strange: Apparently Rommie’s cheating on Bernadette. She was drunk, and they were in the middle of a fight, but then he insisted I leave with them.”