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“I guess I didn’t think it was that important.” Alexia waved a hand dismissively. “If I’d let every crackpot out there bother me, I’d never have succeeded in politics for as long as I did.”
“So the calls didn’t scare you?”
“Not really. Maybe a little. But I never took them too seriously. Till now, that is. When Sally Hamlin described the voice Billy was so afraid of, I knew at once. It was the same bastard who called me. I’d bet good money that the voice is our killer. And he’s still out there.”
“You think he killed Milo Bates?”
“Yes.”
“And Jennifer Hamlin?”
“Yes.”
“What about Billy? He doesn’t exactly fit the pattern, does he?” said Lucy.
“No.” Alexia looked away. “I don’t know what happened to Billy.”
Part of her wanted to tell Lucy the truth: that it was Teddy who had ambushed Billy at his London flat and stabbed him to death. She’d told her everything else, after all. What difference would one more gruesome secret make? But something in Lucy’s tone made Alexia hold back. She couldn’t bear the thought of alienating Lucy, her one remaining rock and only support. Besides, she had promised Teddy she would keep his secret about Billy, and Alexia De Vere honored her promises. This wasn’t her confession to make.
Lucy scraped the last of the creamy lobster sauce off her plate with a small sigh of satisfaction. “I take it you’ve gone to the police with this new information?”
Alexia’s silence spoke volumes.
Lucy dropped her fork with a clatter. “You haven’t, have you?”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Alexia! You just said yourself you might be in danger from this ‘voice’ person. He’s still out there. Why wouldn’t you report what you know?”
“Because I have no proof. No recordings, no phone records. Nothing. And because the police already decided they don’t believe Billy’s testimony. And because I fly to London tomorrow. I don’t have time for statements and interviews, especially when I know they won’t be followed up anyway. It’s not as if I’m still in office. Nobody cares what happens to me.”
“I care,” Lucy said angrily. “I don’t like this at all.”
They ordered dessert—sticky toffee pudding for Lucy and a simple sorbet selection for Alexia. No wonder she looks so thin, thought Lucy. She eats like a bird. And after a few minutes, they fell back into their usual friendly banter. Alexia paid the bill and the two women walked outside together to hail separate cabs.
“Is it strange,” Lucy asked, “being back in New York after so long in England?”
The city lights twinkled around them like the lights of a giant Christmas tree. Manhattan felt alive tonight. Both women sensed its pulse in the warm summer air, the throbbing heartbeat of a living, breathing city.
“You know the strangest part?” said Alexia. “And you’re the only person in the world I can say this to. But for the first time in forty years, I feel connected to Toni Gilletti. To the girl I used to be.”
Lucy said, “Is that right?”
“I’ve spent most of my life telling myself Toni was dead and buried. But she’s here.” Alexia touched her chest. “She always has been. Teddy knew that, and he forgave her. More than that, he loved her, despite everything. Maybe that’s why I can forgive him now. I’m not condoning what he did. But I’m trying to hate the sin, and not the sinner. If that makes any sense.”
A single yellow cab pulled over.
“You take it,” said Lucy. She seemed distant all of a sudden, as if tiredness had finally caught up with her.
“Are you sure?” Alexia asked. “You have further to go than I do.”
“Positive. You have an early flight in the morning. Go. I’ll get another one in a minute.”
The two women kissed on the cheek and went their separate ways.
Back at her hotel, Alexia found herself too wired to sleep. Her theories about Milo Bates, running around talking to Billy’s old contacts, her surprise dinner with Lucy, and reflecting so much on her own past had all set her mind racing. Then there was Teddy’s sentencing to think about. Returning to England after so long, and in such difficult circumstances, was nerve-racking. Alexia still didn’t know whether Roxanne would agree to see her, or whether she could face visiting Michael. Just the thought of the media frenzy that would accompany Teddy’s hearing was enough to send her adrenaline levels into overdrive.
More in an attempt to distract herself than anything else, she switched on her computer and began cataloging the information she’d gathered from today’s interviews. There was something soothing about the logic of data, the way facts stacked up, one on top of the other, eventually revealing a conclusion—a truth. Human truth was so elusive and illusory. There was a comfort in the solid, predictable world of facts and figures. Alexia felt the edge coming off her nerves and her brain starting to clear as she typed away.
