AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thanks so much for reaching out, Lilly’s note says.I’m doing okay, putting photography on hold for a while. If you have any time, I’d love to meet you for coffee or a drink. There’s something I want to ask you, woman to woman.
Emma’s brow wrinkles. She can’t imagine what kind of question Lilly could have for her since they’ve only met a few times. Does she want Emma to share any wisdom she’s gleaned for dealing with the sudden loss of a husband? She’s the last person who would have anything worthwhile to contribute on that front.
But it would be cruel to rebuff the request. She writes back saying that she hasn’t any plans to be in the city in the near future, but she would love to speak by phone or FaceTime, and gives Lilly her cell number.
Emma tries after that to refocus her attention on work, but her thoughts are constantly dragged back to Tom and all she’s learned about him. She’s desperate for reassurance. There’s no other way she can think of to confirm whether Tom was at the Harvard Club panel discussion, but, she realizes, shecanat least suss out more information about the Stowe weekend and make sure he was fully present. Justine would be the best source because she would have organized the event, but considering their weird exchange this past weekend, she doesn’t want to get into anything with her. Soshe’ll reach out to Taylor. Maybe by asking the right questions, she can feel confident that Tom was in Vermont for the entire weekend, and therefore not anywhere near New York. Grabbing her phone, she shoots Taylor a text message.
Do you have a couple of minutes to spare this morning? I’d love to drop by and ask your advice about something. Won’t take long.
The reply comes almost immediately.
Sure. Now? I’m free for a while.
Great, should only take me fifteen minutes to get there.
Want to give me a hint so I can prep?
Thanks, but no need to prep.
Emma leaves immediately, telling Dario she has an errand to run.
At Halliday, Emma enters the building through a side door and approaches Taylor’s cubicle from the rear, where she finds the chief of staff typing on a PC whose monitor is festooned with a dozen multicolored Post-it notes.
“Morning,” Emma says quietly.
“Oh, hi,” Taylor replies, spinning around. “Come with me. I thought we could talk in one of the conference rooms.”
Snatching her phone with one hand, Taylor motions with the other for Emma to follow her down a hall. She’s looking preppy as always in a white cotton top, a hot-pink and white Lilly Pulitzer–style skirt with a starfish pattern, and black flats with gold buckles. Dressy compared to the rest of the crowd at Halliday, but that’s her style.
As soon as they enter the small conference room, Emma grabs a seat with her back to the door. She’s not worried about Justine seeing her because she must be in Chicago with Tom, but she’s trying to avoid being spotted by his executive assistant, Janice. There’s a chance she’d mention it to Tom, and Emma then will have to concoct a lie to explain her presence.
“So what kind of advice are you looking for?” Taylor asks in her typically crisp manner.
“I want to plan a surprise ski trip for Tom during the Christmas holidays, and I was hoping to enlist your help.”
Taylor straightens in her chair. “Gosh, I’d love to be of assistance, Emma, but I haven’t skied in a couple of years.”
“That doesn’t matter. What I’d like is to find out a little about a client event in Stowe, Vermont, a while back. He raved about it, and I thought I’d see if the hotel that was used had availability. Do you remember where everybody stayed?”
Taylor frowns. “I can usually pull anything recent about Tom’s schedule off the top of my head, but that goes back at least, what, two years? I’m pretty sure they stayed at the Cedar Pine Inn—though I’ll have to double-check. Justineactually put the whole thing together with the event planner she uses.”
“Thank you, but it’s not important enough to bother Justine about.”
“Okay, I can probably find all I need in the event file.”
“That would be terrific. I know the holidays seem far off, but I heard these resorts book up really early.”
“Makes sense to act now, then.”
Emma pushes on. “Could you also see if there are any notations about the restaurants the group ate at? There was one that Tom absolutely loved—I think it was where they went Saturday night.”
She feels a spasm of shame as she speaks. What a cheap trick for trying to determine whether the man she adores could be a cold-blooded killer. And she doesn’t even know what she’ll do with the information once Taylor provides it—call the restaurant and ask the manager if they remember whether a group that dined there years ago included a dazzling, silver-haired man in his forties? But she’s hard-pressed to think of another way to produce the results she needs.
She’s glanced off for a moment, and when she looks back, Taylor’s expression is bemused.
“What’s so funny?” Emma asks, more sharply than she intended. She doesn’t have the patience today for coyness.
“Oh, sorry,” Taylor says. “I was thinking how sweet it was of you to go to so much trouble.”
