What do you think?” asks Britton. “Was this what you were looking for?”
I calmly replace the pages in the manila envelope. “This is exemplary work. You have done a fine job.”
What he cannot see is my racing heart, my insides doing a happy jig. This is so much more than I could have hoped for! The girl has uncouth all over her, practically wears it like a Herve bandage dress from two seasons ago.
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t so easy. Had a friend at the Dallas Rep dig up the report. Said it was research for his role on a teen drama, but the local police weren’t as friendly as you’d think. Guess that ‘Southern manners’ stuff is a bunch of bullshit. But the records weren’t closed, so they had to fork it over.”
“And the transcripts are accurate?”
“Sure thing. Those sorority girls couldn’t wait to talk smack. Did the phone interviews myself! Well, not with any Kappa girls, they were scared—”
“I can see why.”
“—but the others gave me all sorts of dirt. Hey, I could have been a journalist, you think? Maybe I could play one on Law and Order or something, I should have my agent look into that—”
“Britton!” I bark. “Do you want that bonus or not?”
He nods vigorously. “Then how should we get this information, shall we say, in circulation?”
“Done. I got the assistants on it. Hate the boss as much as you do. Lots of them used to have editorial positions before she demoted them.”
“Excellent.” I smile. “Really stellar work. And as for the party itself?”
From our darkened spot in the abandoned lot, we gaze at the enormous aircraft hangar forty feet away.
“How terribly déclassé,” I say.
“Well, a scene for sure. Last count, five hundred people.”
“And the décor?”
“Well, it’s something, that’s for sure. I guess you could say over-the-top.”
“I would expect nothing less.”
“But actually kind of cool.” Then he catches sight of my expression. “For a theme park, I mean.”
“And the performer? Is she holding up?”
“Halfway, maybe, after that drink I brought her.”
“Only half a dose, just as I ordered?”
“Sure thing.”
“Good, otherwise she would be incapacitated. We need her coherent enough to make a spectacle, after all.”
“No worries about that! Last I saw, Miller was trying to restrain her. Saying she couldn’t go on in that state—”
“She must!”
“Yeah, that’s what she was saying. Screaming, actually. Right before she bit him.” The smile spreads despite myself. “Still, I better hurry. Call the cue before Animal Control gets a heads-up.”
“Just wait four and a half minutes. First, I have a text to send.”
He nods. “And, Annalise? I like that dress. You look pretty.”
“I know. Far too much for this monstrosity.”
“Maybe sometime we could—”
“No,” I say. “We couldn’t. Go.”
I watch him jog through the dark, already reaching for my phone.
Where are you? I write.
When we have finished our exchange, he sends a smiley face. I smile right back, having meant every word.
A glance into the lighted compact, a coat of Lip Addict, and a lift to the hem of my black silk Carolina Herrera slip dress; I am ready.
I take long, confident strides toward what is only right.