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“Is the press conference still going?” I say, looking around in confusion.
“I don’t know…” Sandra mimics me in my bafflement.
“Let’s find out,” I say in the tone of an order, and start walking without waiting for Sandra.
But she follows me through. We get to the conference hall, showing our badges everywhere, and I see both Lily and Sweets being massacred by the most indiscreet questions.
“Sandra, put an end to this,” I say.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she darts ahead, the sound of her heels being heard loudly.
Not long after, Sandra enters the stage along with Jonathan, Sweets’ manager. They remove the girls from their chairs, and Sandra takes the microphone while speaking in forced monotone.
“We apologize, but this interview has lasted much longer than we planned. Thank you all for coming.”
Camera flashes go haywire, questions and more questions are tossed in the air, and even I can’t escape. As I walk behind the velvet rope, people jump at me, trying to get a second of my attention, which I promptly deny because I don’t want to cause any more trouble.
And also, I can’t be bothered.
Finally, out of sight, Lily greets me with a hug and a kiss so gentle, they nourish my soul.
“How are you feeling?” she says, her blue eyes full of worry.
“Better. But I need some rest,” I say, the injury starting to hurt.
“Let’s get back to your room,” she wraps her arm around mine and softly pushes me towards the elevators.
Sandra comes running after us, and I lay a hand over her shoulder.
“Why did the police just call me? You’ll never guess what they just told me.” she inquires of me, serious and deadly.
“I gave them your number in case they couldn’t reach me. Why? What happened?”
“Ben was released!” she roars, furious.
I look at Lily, and she seems devastated, a hand in front of her lips holding back the words she really wants to say. “How…?”
“Apparently he has an alibi,” Sandra calls for the elevator. “He was at a watch party of the show in SoHo.”
I now look at Sandra, apprehensive, feeling the chill in my gut grow stronger at each minute. “He’s not alone, then.”
The women look at me, as if expecting me to become an all-knowing detective.
“Could someone else be the stalker?” Lily asks.
“No…” I say as we enter the elevator. “The man in those pictures was confirmed to be Ben.”
Lily looks at me with wide questioning eyes. “Maybe the confirmation was wrong?”
As the elevator goes up, I am deep in thought, trying to make sense of everything.
“I paid a good penny for that analysis. It better have been accurate,” I finally say.
Lily’s grasp around my arm tightens, reminding me I’m not alone. “The police will figure it out,” she says in a hushed tone.
But I shake my head, not so hopeful. “Weare going to have to figure it out.”
The elevator gets to my floor, and Lily and I step out, bidding goodbye to Sandra for the night. Lily doesn’t leave my side until we reach my room. Once there, she lets me be.
