The soft candlelight didn’t ease the discomfort Audra felt as she stared at her food.
The oppression weighed on her, making her wonder how much more she’d be asked to bear. She prayed it wouldn’t be much.
“Hey.” Robert reached across the table and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead. “I think it’s time we changed the subject. Tonight we’re supposed to relax.”
“Do you think Dalia got the night off too?”
“Maybe. But don’t know that she’d choose to be a guest at our hotel.”
The realization bothered Audra. “Guess I’m not as savvy as I thought.”
“You’re still pretty spectacular.”
Her cheek throbbed as the aspirin she’d taken wore off. “I really appreciate dinner, but my cheek hurts as much as my mind’s spinning. Can we stroll back to the Winecoff?”
“Before dessert?” His smile faltered. “I’m sorry I’m boring you.”
“It’s not that. I’m just exhausted.” And she needed distance from the man her heart longed to love. The thought made her head pound. She could not live in the city that murdered her sister. It wasn’t an option.
“Let me pay, and we’ll get on our way.”
“Thank you.” She closed her eyes, trying to block the pain reflected in his. She felt the attraction he did but didn’t have the freedom to chase whether they could have a future. Surely he understood that. Yet, when she opened her eyes and found herself drowning in the depths of his blue gaze, she knew he didn’t.
A few minutes later Robert helped her from her chair and then offered his arm as they exited the restaurant and walked down Peachtree.
“Did Rosemary mention Rachel more than that first time?” Robert’s words startled Audra from her thoughts. He must have decided discussing the murders was safer than broaching their relationship.
Audra wracked her mind, trying to think if Rosemary had ever talked about a roommate or Rachel. “Yes. She mentioned her in passing once, but never as a roommate. Instead, she always painted a picture that things were good in Hollywood and improving. Maybe she wouldn’t have mentioned a roommate if she thought she would sound like a struggling actress.”
“Pride?”
“Maybe. I know she wanted to show Mama and Daddy she could make it. They weren’t supportive of her cross-country move.” Unfortunately, they’d been right. Didn’t Rosemary know she could share her struggles with Audra, if not with their parents? Audra had let another sibling down. The weight of that burden overwhelmed her. Her steps must have slowed because Robert stopped and turned to her.
He reached up and stroked her cheek, comfort flowing from his touch. “You can’t carry this, Audra. Your sister made choices, like you and your brother did. But you can’t walk under the burden of what-ifs and what-might-have-been. It’s too heavy and not yours. They each made their own decision.” The sincerity in his expression touched her.
“But I could have done something.”
“What? Rosemary had to make her own choices, and you were more than half a country away. If my sister had come to Hollywood, I’d hope to steer her away from trouble, but even then she’d make her own decisions. How could you do that from Indianapolis, even if she shared the truth with you?”
“Am I supposed to ignore the pain? Pretend it doesn’t exist?”
Robert looked across the street toward a small park. He studied it for a moment. “Don’t you think that’s a weight God is better equipped to handle?”
“Along with all my tears.” She nodded, trying to give the words time to soak deep. “Yes.” Could she throw the burden on God’s strong shoulders? She tipped her face toward the sky, staring at the few visible stars. The God who hung the stars in the heavens and called her by name could carry the burden of her grief and shame.
Father, please do this in my heart. Help me trust You completely. I turn it all over, surrender it to Your care. Please help me leave it at Your feet. Slowly she felt a bit of peace replace the numbness she’d walked in since identifying Rosemary. Thank You.
Audra took a breath, letting the humid air settle in her. It felt like an embrace as every fiber of her being was coated.
“Watch out.” Robert’s words caused her eyes to pop open. “You look like you’re at peace.”
“Working on it.” She smiled at him. “I’m sure God and I will have more to talk about.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Robert started walking again, and she hurried to match his stride. “The connection we have between the three women is Artie and that movie.”
Audra wrinkled her nose. “What do you think of Artie?”
He stared down the sidewalk at nothing in particular. “He’s got a good reputation in Hollywood as a man who can spot talent. I don’t like all his tactics or the way he pressures some of his clients to enter the escort service. I hate to think about what has happened to some of them.” He turned to enter the hotel but paused to wait for people exiting. “I don’t see how he’s involved, though, since he wasn’t on the train.”
“Unless he hired someone to kill Lana.”
“That would mean someone on the train is a hired killer and not just an actor.”
Audra fought the urge to lash out at the horrible nature of the mess. Her peace threatened to evaporate again. “We’re right back to who would want to kill Lana.” She pulled away from Robert and stalked down the sidewalk, only to bump into somebody. She shook her head and looked up. “Mark?”
The man’s usually immaculate look had given way to a disheveled appearance with his shirttail pulled out of his khakis. Even his shaggy hair looked like he hadn’t brushed it with anything more than his fingers. He held a paperback in one hand and a satchel in the other.
“You kids enjoying your time?”
Robert caught up and tucked her protectively to his side. “It’s been nice. What are you doing?”
“Last-minute details for tomorrow night. There’s always something to wrestle down.” He scanned the street as if searching for a trolley or cab. “Say, you might be interested to know Artie’s on his way to town. Decided he wanted to observe his clients working together. And check on you, Robert, after what happened to Lana.”
Robert’s arm tightened around Audra, and he pulled her under the hotel’s green awning. “That’s quite an endeavor for someone who’s never flown.”
“Sounded like he wanted to get out of Hollywood.” Mark waved for a cab, and one slid to the curb. “Don’t forget rehearsal first thing tomorrow.” He stepped into the cab and closed the door.
Robert stared after him. “That was odd.”
“Maybe. I don’t know Mark well.” And didn’t want to really. Audra nudged Robert as another group exited the Winecoff and walked around them. “Ready to get inside?” The cool air that flowed out of the open door felt wonderful to her heated skin.
Robert stared after the cab as it pulled from the curb. “Sure.” Once inside, he led her to a vacant couch. “Do you mind if we sit here a minute?”
“All right.” She gave him a moment then couldn’t contain the question. “What’s bothering you?”
Robert rubbed his face. “It’s probably nothing, but Artie hates the idea of flying. I imagine he’d be even more anxious up there than you.”
Audra bumped her shoulder against his. “Thanks.”
“I can’t see him flying out here to check on us or follow up on Lana. He’s much more likely to wait for a full report when we get back.”
“Mark wouldn’t have any reason to lie.”
“And Artie doesn’t have any reason to come.” Robert shook his head then straightened the pleats of his trousers. “This whole situation has me second-guessing everything. I’m seeing issues and motives where they don’t exist.”
“And we can’t find the ones right in front of us.”
Robert shook his head as if clearing his thoughts, then he clutched her hand and squeezed it. “Thanks for dinner.”
“My pleasure.” She tilted her head up, memorizing his face. “Wait until the girls find out how much time I spent in your presence.”
“Don’t you want to reconsider where your home is?” He kept his expression neutral though his tone betrayed his hope.
“I think there are a few things I have to resolve first.” She stilled as he leaned closer. “Not here.” The words scraped from her throat in a raw whisper. “What if there’s a photographer around? Can’t have our photo taken together, can we?”
“Why not? That’s already happened.” He held his pose a few inches from her face, his breath warm on her cheek.
The memory of their escape from the photographers at the Roosevelt during the USO fundraiser made her lips curve. He closed the distance between them, brushing her mouth with a kiss. She held herself from leaning in and lengthening the kiss. When he leaned back, Audra pressed a hand to her lips and stood before the electricity of that night in Hollywood reappeared.
“Good night, Robert.”
He winked at her, bringing a rush of heat to her cheeks. “I’ll see you up. Even Detective Franklin said you shouldn’t be alone.”
“I don’t think he meant I’d need an escort in a hotel like this.”
“Lana probably didn’t think she needed someone...”
As the intensity between them increased, Audra knew him taking her upstairs was a terrible idea. Especially since Victoria wasn’t around to serve as accountability and chaperone. “Good night, dear Robert.”
Audra slipped toward the elevator, but not fast enough to avoid the satisfied look on Robert’s face. Did she really call him “dear”? More evidence showing she needed to leave. Soon. The doors opened and she stepped inside the elevator.
“Floor, miss?”
“Twelfth please.” Audra stood against the back wall of the elevator and felt the swoosh of its ascent. It chugged through the floors without stopping before sliding to a stop at her floor. “Thank you.”
Even though she’d assured Robert she didn’t need him to escort her, she scurried down the hall toward her room. She slipped the key from her purse and into the lock. Once she’d entered the room and locked the door, she took a deep breath. Her nerves jangled, and she placed her purse on the small writing desk. She scanned the room and the bathroom to make sure she was alone then settled onto the chair.
A pad of paper and pen rested on the desk and she picked them up. She tapped the pen against the paper. Doodling three circles, she then placed each murdered woman’s name in a circle. Drawing lines between them, she stared at the image. Rachel and Rosemary were aspiring stars. Lana had already reached B status, with A in reach. She wasn’t sure where Rachel was from but doubted that connected them, since Rosemary and Lana hailed from different states.
Next, Audra pulled out her list of names from Rosie’s book. As she studied them, nothing new came to her. Many had joined the caravan, but that didn’t mean anything. Even if Rachel had lived with Rosemary, Audra knew Lana hadn’t lived with her. There was no way Rosie would have kept that quiet, and Audra had visited the star’s apartment. It was nothing like Rosie’s small space.
No, all that connected the three was Artie Schmaltz.
She studied the name. Her time with the man hadn’t been long, but he didn’t seem the type to hurt anyone. And strangulation? It was an intensely personal and physical act of violence. If Artie were to kill anyone, she thought him more likely to use a gun or other weapon that provided distance. That also didn’t get around the fact he wasn’t physically here to kill Lana.
A yawn stretched her jaw again, and she threw the pen down.
She didn’t know enough.
She lived with a killer she couldn’t identify, and there was nothing she could do to stop him.