NINA
Two hours later
The confrontation had gone badly.
Nina sat alone at her desk, trying to write down everything she remembered. But her mind was foggy. She struggled to form words, to make her fingers obey her command. What had happened? Where was Kovacs? He was supposed to escort them out, but he’d disappeared at the critical moment. Called away. Breach of security. Something about a man from earlier tonight—vagrant, burglar, criminal. Urgent. He had to leave. Leave her alone with them. Was she remembering right? Did Kovacs do his job? Was Connor gone? She couldn’t be sure. She was safe in here. Or was she? What about her? That woman. She couldn’t even say her name. She’d write it, instead. Write it, underline it, point them in the right direction.
She threw down the pen. She was wasting precious time. She needed to call someone. A doctor. The police. She looked for her phone. Her vision had doubled. The phone was missing. Or maybe it was here, and she just couldn’t see it. She felt around the desk, then got to her feet, holding on to the back of the chair. Feverish, breathing heavily.
Something was very wrong.
She got lost in time.
Things had started to go bad down on the beach, when they found Connor watching the fireworks display. He looked up and saw her, smiling like things were normal. Kovacs was acting strangely. Lies. Everyone was lying. Hank had lied about the shipping company. Hank must know. He knew everything. The fireworks disappeared into the clouds. A waste of money. A thick, noxious fog settled over the beach. The smell of smoke. Her eyes teared until she couldn’t see. Couldn’t breathe. Felt ill. That was when she first suspected that she’d been drugged. In the confusion of the night, she’d paid little attention to what she ate or drank. So long as it came from a waiter, or from the tables laid out for the guests, she’d assumed it was fine.
Stupid. She was so stupid.
She should have called a doctor right then, when she first suspected. But no, she had a plan and she would stick to it. She pushed the thought from her mind. Nina called them to her office. Connor. Kovacs. Her. Served the papers. Kicked him out. Banished. It was over. She’d won won won won.
Sounds echoed in her mind. They’d laughed. Or cried? She couldn’t remember.
She bent over and threw up in the wastebasket.
She needed help.
She unlocked the door and stumbled down the stairs. Falling, getting up. She couldn’t feel her extremities.
Who could she trust in this house?
“Gloria? Dennis?”
Her voice came out so weak that it didn’t travel. They wouldn’t hear. The room was spinning.
She was in the ballroom but didn’t remember getting there. It was empty, the tables bare, the caterers gone. How much time had passed since Kovacs left? Why hadn’t he come back? She doubled over, the pain in her stomach so bad that she moaned, holding her side. Dragged herself to the terrace. The tent was empty, the bandstand abandoned. Was this real? A dream? She fought her way through flapping canvas. Outside the tent, the winds had picked up. There were lights on in the pool house. Shapes moving. Someone was down there. They would help her.
Could she make it?
Down the path. Was someone behind her?
The light rain woke her up, like Dorothy in the snow. The aqua swimming pool glowed from within. It was luminous—so beautiful that she walked toward it, mesmerized. Heard footsteps behind her. Turned. Hands. Pushing. Falling. She was under the water. She struggled toward the light. Time slowed. Her limbs were heavy as lead. Her lungs burned. Finally, her head broke the surface, and she sucked in one sweet mouthful of air, before the hand pushed her under for good.