Mark put down the phone and looked over at Chris. “That was a Police Detective, from the city.” He took a deep breath, he couldn’t lie to Chris, but he knew Chris would freak. And they hadn’t divulged much to him anyway.
“He said they’re investigating a break-in, and want to come out and talk to us.” The detective hadn’t been very forthcoming. They’d only called him because they wanted to confirm the identity of C.A. McLain, and present location, and Mark was the only one who could give it to them. When he asked why, the detective evaded the question.
“Why us? That makes no sense.” Chris looked at Mark curiously.
“He didn’t say, Chris, just wanted me to verify who you were, and whether you were here. That’s all I know.”
“Well I certainly haven’t left your house except this morning and I don’t even know anyone in the City. Except Annie,” he paused. “You don’t think it’s Annie do you? She hasn’t called me back you know. I’ve had my phone on the whole time.” Chris jumped up and started pacing around the Sunroom where they’d been relaxing earlier.
“Maybe you should call Jen. She’ll know if something’s happened. I mean we just can’t sit here and do nothing. What if it is Annie and maybe she’s hurt? Or worse?” Chris’s mind started reeling with possibilities and none of them were good.
Mark quickly dialed Jen’s number. “Voice mail,” he said to Chris.
“Hey, Jen, Mark, give me a call will you?” Mark disconnected and looked over at Chris.
“I guess we’ll just have to wait. Maybe this guy will tell us.” Mark tried to remain the calm one, but he was nervous. This whole thing could blow up into a PR nightmare. Though that was the last thing he cared about at the moment.
“Why do they need to talk to us, anyway? Or me. I don’t get it. Though now of course I want to talk to them. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Whatever happened, whoever it happened to, something is linking it to you. I don’t know what that is. Fact is, Chris, I have no clue about any of this. When this Detective gets here we can find out more. For now, let’s just have a drink and relax. There’s not much else we can do. I have a feeling they called when they were already halfway here so shouldn’t be long.”
Just then, Mark’s phone buzzed, looking down, he spoke aloud. “It’s Jen, hang on, I’ll put it on speaker.”
“Jen? Mark, what’s going on?”
“Someone broke into Annie’s, don’t worry she’s fine, and we’re not sure what’s going on but Luce called me and we raced right over there. We waited down in the lobby, they finally asked us a bunch of questions and then told us not to talk to anyone.”
“So you called me,” Mark had to smile at that. “Thanks Jen, the cops are on their way here, I don’t know what for, but at least now we have something to go on. And glad she’s ok. We’ll talk later, thanks.” Mark disconnected, and saw Chris almost in panic mode.
“Relax buddy.”
“Relax? Yeah right. Annie Porter,” he held up his hand to stop Mark from saying anything, “is being terrified by someone, or something, which somehow seems to involve me, and you want me to relax.”
“Yeah. Or at least try to.” Mark looked apologetically at his friend, knowing it didn’t make a difference what he said. Chris was wound tighter than a drum. But one thing was now for certain. From the look on his face, Annie Porter was the missing piece of Chris’s life. No doubt.
When the bell rang, Chris jumped up to answer it. Mark put out a hand to stop him. “My house, remember? I’m supposed to answer the door. Just settle down,” Mark said as he gently pushed Chris back towards the living room.
Chris waited, hearing whispering in the foyer. Tapping his fingers on the arm of the sofa, he began running it all in his mind. Rewinding the events of the past two days. What if it wasn’t coincidence that Jen had brought Annie. Or even that she knew Annie. Maybe Jen knew who he was already. But how? The writer’s conference? Mark certainly would never betray him. Annie? Did she know? Maybe she’d read the book, figured it out. No way. If she had, she’d have found him come hell or high water just to make him suffer for writing it. She’d never been timid about expressing herself.
But why was her apartment broken into? And how could it possibly involve him? Suddenly he stood up and strode toward the foyer. He wasn’t going to sit and wait anymore. Maybe the cops wanted to question him, but he had questions of his own.
“Mr. Gregory? Detective Andy Holman, NYPD.” Holman stuck his hand out as Chris approached and grasped his in a firm shake. The two men paused, sizing each other up.
Mark spoke up. “Look, why don’t we go in and sit down, get comfortable.”
“Good idea,” the Detective replied quickly, and followed them into the living room.
“Julie?” Mark called out. “Can you bring some iced tea? Please?” Almost got into trouble on that one.
He turned to the detective. “Can I get you something to eat? I’m guessing you missed lunch.” Mark had read enough cop novels to know that they’re much more agreeable on a full stomach.
“As a matter of fact, I’m starving.” Detective Holman smiled at Mark, putting him at ease. “Look, I know you’re both wondering what all this is about. I need to ask you both some questions. Some fairly personal. We’re investigating a break-in this morning. It was a pretty nasty one. And, a connection has been made to the victim and you, Mr. Gregory, as well as you Mr. Simeon, in a roundabout way of course. I just need to clarify some issues, that’s all.
“What do you mean by nasty? And we are talking about Annie, aren’t we? I already know we are. Is she ok? I need to know that she’s ok!” Chris stood and paced, waiting for the detective’s response.
“Yes, we’re talking about Annie Porter. And just how you know that is something we’ll get to in a moment. Her apartment was ransacked this morning, Mr. Gregory. Totally destroyed almost everything she owned.” The detective watched his face, and his body language, for any reaction.
Chris was stunned, even though he’d expected it. The confirmation threw him.
“But she’s OK? She wasn’t hurt, was she?” Chris demanded.
“She’s shaken, but fine.” He paused, carefully considering how much information he should feed him. “She wasn’t home at the time. She came home and discovered the place trashed.”
“And?” Chris knew there was more.
“And I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you. Now it’s my turn to ask questions, okay?” He tried to smile and soften the harsh tone. He couldn’t be sure about Chris yet, but he could turn out to be a key to the whole investigation. Better to keep him calm.
Julie’s interruption with the drinks, and thankfully for the Detective, snacks, was welcome. Gave Chris a chance to breathe. And relax, if only slightly.
“First, just to clarify, for the record, you are acquainted with Annie Porter, correct?”
Chris nodded, rolling his eyes at the stupidity of the question. Obviously he was, or the cop wouldn’t be here.
“How long have you known each other?”
“I don’t know, 15 years, maybe more? We met in college. Her freshman year. It was a long time ago.
“When was the last time you spoke to her?”
“Yesterday, detective, but that was the first time in about 5 years. I guarantee it won’t be another 5 though.”
“Did you have some sort of falling out? 5 years is a long time.”
“Let’s just say our signals got crossed.”
“Cryptic, but we’ll move on for now. I’ve already confirmed with Mr. Simeon that you are in fact, C.A. McLain. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” Chris replied. “Why?”
“Just confirming the facts, Mr. Gregory.”
He could see that Chris was agitated. And it would only get worse. But he could also see that Chris didn’t appear to be involved with the break-in at all. In fact, his gut instinct was that this guy would jump in front of a train for Annie Porter. And whatever signals got crossed, it looked like they might be uncrossing. One last thing though.
“Can I see your phone, Mr. Gregory?”
“Can I ask why?”
“Just want to verify a few things, if that’s all right with you. You don’t have to. Your choice.” He made it clear in his tone, that if this guy wants to help Annie, he’ll hand it over, and so he did, unlocking the screen first so the Detective could scroll through.
After checking the phone’s log and the number, Holman was fairly certain Annie’s mystery text didn’t come from there. But he did notice one detail worth noting. The area code matched the threatening text messages. Ohio.
“Where do you live Mr. Gregory?”
“I split my time between Ohio and New York.”
He questioned Chris for over an hour. Then Mark, then Julie too. By the time he was done, it was all coming together. The book was the focus. That was clear. He had read it actually, and grinned as he drove away from the Simeon’s house. It was a great book, and now that he could place the characters, it was even better. And he was betting he was one of the few people in the world who now knew who C.A. McLain was. And who the muse was for his latest heroine.
Of course Gregory hadn’t come right out and said it, but it was right there in his report, Ann “Jade” Porter. He wasn’t a big believer in coincidence. And while the author had also insisted they’d been nothing but friends, it was clear after meeting and interviewing both Annie and Chris that their feelings went far deeper. And someone, in their past or present, isn’t happy about it.
It had been tough to keep information from Chris Gregory. He knew the guy was probably totally frustrated. In fact normally he would have questioned him alone, and provided no information at all, but he knew that there were too many moving parts in this scenario and containing the flow of information was up to him. So far, all the alibis were checking out and his gut told him Chris could be removed from the suspect list.
Didn’t mean he wanted him anywhere near the victim for now. In fact, Chris practically exploded when he informed him he couldn’t try to get in touch with Annie yet. Ironically, it had been tough to get the normally reclusive author to agree to drop out of sight for a while. He’d had to convince him that his hanging around would endanger Annie. No calls, no texts and definitely no personal contact. Not easy to do, since he couldn’t divulge any of the circumstances. The poor man seemed completely baffled by the whole thing. This was going to take time to sort out. And whoever was behind this was emotionally invested, and therefore, dangerous.
Now he’d have to sort through the list of people Luce talked about. Or the lack of a list. He needed to meet with her, and it looked like he’d need to stop by her place tonight to do it. At least Annie would be there too. Just the thought of he and Luce trying to cooperate with each other was a joke. Hopefully Annie could mediate. This was not a typical B&E and for Andy Holman, there was nothing better than a good mystery. Even if Luce Porter were involved. Especially if Luce Porter was involved.