As soon as I reached my apartment, I did a quick search about asthma on the Internet and then staggered into a hot shower. It was while I was toweling off that the cold virus staged a sneak attack on my system, which sent me to Landon’s for over-the-counter cold remedies and sustenance. He always seemed to have both.
“Does it bother you?’ Landon asked me quietly. “That you couldn’t save her?”
“Yes,” I said, sniffling. “Though I probably shouldn’t care—she thought nothing of turning me into a big, ugly splat on Amsterdam Avenue. You know, I just read on the Internet that cold air can trigger asthma. Whitney had obviously started to have an attack when we were in the apartment, but she was in such a rage about me threatening to tell Cap that she clearly wasn’t thinking straight. She made her situation worse by luring me outside.”
“Did her inhaler just malfunction?”
“The bottom was punctured, which must have caused all the medication inside to seep out. But I’m not sure how that could have happened. Some sharp object in her purse maybe—like a pen?”
“You don’t think Cap did it, do you? That he got wind of what she was up to and decided to secretly off her?”
“No, that’s not Cap’s style. If he knew that Whitney had killed his star client, he would have just throttled her.”
A few minutes later I nearly crawled back to my apartment. I threw myself onto the couch and pulled an old throw blanket up to my chin. As I was dozing off, Jessie called. I suspected by the silence behind her that she was probably safely sequestered in a conference room at Buzz.
“I can’t believe you didn’t call me,” she said. “You’ve got to tell me everything.”
“Oh God, sorry—I planned to call you. I’ve just got a bitch of a cold right now.” I took her quickly through an abbreviated version of what had happened.
“Gosh, how weird and sad and everything else. I feel sorry for Cap, actually. He seemed like an okay guy.”
“Yeah, I don’t think he had any idea how unbalanced Whitney really was. She clearly loved the life she had with Cap. She’d said that they’d had a whirlwind courtship, and my guess is that she saw right away what the possibilities could be—a big fancy apartment, furs and jewelry, a ranch in Texas someday. And as long as everything was on an even keel, she probably seemed fairly normal. But then, to help preserve that lifestyle, she ended up giving Devon her eggs. And when she learned what Devon had done, she just snapped.”
“If she hadn’t gone off the deep end today, do you think she would have been arrested?”
“I honestly don’t know. The fertility doctor Devon used might have confirmed that Whitney was the donor, and there would also be the confirmation of Whitney’s call to the gyno. But unless they could have traced the Lasix to her, it would have been hard to prove she doctored the water.”
I told her then that Nash had left me a few messages.
“I assume he’s calling about Whitney’s death,” I said. “I’m sure it’s eating him alive that I’m at the center of this whole thing but no longer on his payroll.”
“You better believe it. Plus, one of the lawyers was down in his office earlier. I have a feeling they now realize that Whitney must have put Sherrie up to this.”
“Whitney never came right out and said it, but it’s clearly the case.”
“So you’re going to call Nash, right?”
“Sure. I want my name cleared.”
“But what about the magazine? Are you going to write the story for Buzz?”
I hesitated. The answer was forming in my mind right then and there, and it caught me a little by surprise. I should have seen it coming, but I’d been so preoccupied, I hadn’t.
“You know, I don’t think so,” I said. “I can’t ever go back there after what Nash did to me.”
“Oh, wow,” Jessie said. “Though I can’t blame you. Just promise me you won’t make any rash decisions. Talk to Nash, see what he has to say. I don’t think I can face this place every day without you.”
“Thanks, Jess. Lets talk more tomorrow.”
I had just laid my head back down on the pillow when Beau called. It felt so good to hear his voice. I gave him the same short version I’d offered Jessie because now my throat hurt so much I could barely talk. He said he wanted to come by, but I explained I was conked out, almost in a coma.
“I don’t care, I want to see you,” Beau said. “You shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. Why don’t I come over and let myself in, so that way I won’t wake you. Later I can fix you something to eat.”
It was a tough offer to refuse. After I hung up, I forced myself off the couch. Better to be in bed, I thought. As I staggered to my bedroom, I kept thinking about how much Beau had been there for me over the past few days. Not so elusive after all.
I fell into a deep sleep, waking only briefly when I thought I heard Beau come in the front door of the apartment. What seemed like hours later, I stirred again to find Beau sitting on the edge of my bed, dressed in jeans and a black pullover sweater.
“Don’t get too close,” I muttered. “This is brutal.”
“How about something to eat? I could make you an omelet.”
“Yeah, I am kind of hungry.”
He returned a few minutes later with tea, toast, and a cheese omelet. I couldn’t eat much of the omelet in the end, but the toast and tea definitely helped me to rally. I scooted up even higher in bed and mustered a smile at Beau. He was now sitting in the armchair at the foot of my bed.
“Thanks for the food,” I told him. “I feel vaguely human now.”
“The sleep probably helped, too. I checked a few online sites for you. This story has exploded. Lots and lots of speculation, of course, because most people don’t have any clue what really happened. I bet a ton of outlets are trying to reach you to interview you.”
“I should probably deal with that in a minute. There’s just so much to think about right now.”
“Do you still have unanswered questions about the case?” he asked.
“A few. I don’t know who the guy in the gypsy cab was or how Whitney put him up to the job. But maybe the police can figure that out by going through her phone logs. One thing that does keep bugging me is the hole in the inhaler. Landon asked if Cap could have done it.”
“Do you think so?”
“No, but it seems unlikely it could have happened accidentally. You would think those things were almost fail proof. If it wasn’t an accident, then someone put the hole there.”
“I think I’ll hang around for a while, just to keep an eye on my patient. Do you need anything else right now?”
“Um, just my phone. It’s in my bag, out in the living room.”
“Sure,” Beau said and started to rise from the chair.
“Wait, one second, though, would you?” I said. “There’s something I want to say off the topic of murder and mayhem.”
Beau came from around the bottom of the bed and sidled up next to me.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I know it seems crazy, but in the midst of all this nightmare stuff, I’ve had a chance to do some thinking. Remember what you said to me the other day about me being the one with the commitment issues? Well, you’re not the first person to say that to me. You’re not even the second. I’d like to have another chance with you. And now that I’m aware of what’s going on with me, I think I can handle things differently.”
“Great, Bailey. I’m happy to hear that.” He laughed. “Besides, a friend of mine just invited us to his amazing ski house over Christmas, and I need to give him an answer by tonight.”