A TORRENT OF NEWS outlets waited at the hospital exit. More met me at Penn Station. A few followed me home. The next morning, a single crew remained outside my building. I bought them coffee from the bodega on the corner and let slip that I was on my way to meet with Zora. The reporter looked like she might hug me, then offered to give me a lift to Brooklyn. I accepted, though I wondered how appropriate it might be.
It felt surreal stepping into the same coffee shop in which we’d first met. Like a lifetime had passed in the span of less than a week. Adding to the overall effect, I found Zora waiting for me. She waved, then glanced over my shoulder at the reporter and camera operator following me in. I shrugged, as if to say it was my cross to bear now. She nodded and rose. I almost fell over when she gave me a hug.
“You okay?” I asked her.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. You seem different.”
She smiled like I’d never seen her smile before. “We all have a part to play.”
That confused me. I sat, slowly, looking into her eyes. I leaned forward. I wasn’t sure if the camera was rolling, so I spoke softly.
“I wonder. Was he playing me from the beginning?”
“Jasper?”
I nodded. “I’m trying to remember. I know he led me on a wild chase. He kept me off-balance on purpose. But … did I feel okay, even then? I wasn’t myself, definitely. That whole Bender thing …”
“Did he know about that?”
A hiss escaped my lips. “He mentioned it the second time we spoke.”
Her head shook. “I think he chose you. He knew you were on the ropes. More pliable. More likely to take chances. Follow his lead without vetting every step. He’s the worst I’ve seen.”
“Yeah,” I said. “He marked me right away, didn’t he? Saw me as an easy target. He already had the strings attached.” I lowered my head to the table. “I feel so stupid.”
“Theo, he played me too.”
I almost laughed. In many ways, Zora was my opposite. Her confidence hovered between us like a giant magnet. At once it drew me into her influence yet repulsed any good feelings I might have been harboring about myself.
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I guess he did.”
Casually, I looked over my shoulder. The reporter and her crew were being ushered out of the café. I let out a sigh, then turned back to Zora.
“Are they on you still?” I asked.
“Not since you were released.”
“It’s unbearable—”
“Stop it,” she snapped. “You know you love this. You know this is what you’ve always wanted. Feed on it, Theo. Because, tomorrow, it might all be gone.”
“Wow,” I said. “I guess the real Zora just woke up.”
“Look, I’ve laid it on thick. I’ve hoisted you up into the stratosphere. You’re a hero now. A genius.” She shook her head as if the very idea repulsed her. “You saved our lives. I’ll give you that. And I owed you. That’s why I played their game. I told them the story they wanted to hear. That you figured it all out. You got Miracle to safety and faced Jasper to protect her. The perfect promo for your film.”
Zora’s words, both on the TV and as I sat across from her, were not adding up.
“She was there. At the outhouse.”
She did not blink when she said, “No, she wasn’t.”
“But you said—”
“I said nothing. Theo, it’s all good now. Let it go. Let it all go. Your story has basically written itself. Put it in the can and you’re set for life.”
“Are you forgetting something?” I leaned forward. “There’s someone still out there. Someone had to be helping him. Not just the escape, but everything else. Planting that Cassandra story. Disconnecting my phone. He couldn’t have done all of that alone. We—”
“Not my problem,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m done.”
“Come on,” I said, incredulous. “You have to be joking. You can’t walk away from this kind of money.”
“Look, I think you’re right. Someone was helping him. There are a lot of batshit crazy people out there. A lot of prison trolls. Fame chasers. Star fuckers.”
“Wow,” I said.
“Am I wrong? It’s the oldest story out there. Some woman falling in love with an inmate. Getting caught up in a dangerous plot that they misread as a romance novel. Or maybe it was a guy … who knows? But I do know one thing for certain. Those whackos are utterly harmless without Jasper pulling the strings.
“The Halo Killer is dead. His story is finished. And I’m finished with it.”
“Come on,” I said. “I know you’ve heard. About the deal with Netflix. It’s the top story on Variety right now.”
She sighed. “I thought you of all people would understand that this was never about the money. You won, Theo. Enjoy it. But it’s time for me to set out. Get back to work. On something else.”
“On something for Cassandra?”
Her eyes closed slowly. “Please take this as me trying to help you. That comment is exactly why no money in the world would ever, ever convince me to work with you again. Good-bye.” She rose from her seat. “And good luck.”
All I could do was stare, dumbfounded, as she walked out of the café.