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She and Theo were sitting at a table in a coffeehouse near the hotel. Ambrose was at the police station having another conversation with Logan. It had turned into a very long day, she thought. Given all the excitement of the morning, it was hard to believe it was only midafternoon.
She had been in the lobby when Theo returned from giving his statement. Determined to apologize, she had invited him for coffee.
“I explained everything to Detective Logan,” Theo said. “It was a classic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I checked out this morning. I was in the garage putting my suitcase in the car when I saw that woman, Margaret Moore, getting into an elevator. Isuddenly remembered that she had bought me a couple of drinks the night you and I had that argument in the hotel bar. It bothered me.”
“Our argument?”
“No, the memory of how that woman had asked all those questions about you.”
“She talked about me?”
“I had a couple of drinks while I waited for you and she insisted on buying me a few more. When I woke up the next morning I didn’t even think about the conversation with her. I just assumed she was a business professional who had been stood up. But when I saw her in the garage with that guy—”
“Hugh Guthrie.”
“Yeah, Guthrie, I started thinking that something seemed off. I remembered the conversation with Moore and I decided to text you to let you know that some stranger had been asking questions about you. But Moore saw me when she and Guthrie started to get into the elevator. I could tell she didn’t like the idea that I had noticed her. She said something to Guthrie. The next thing I know they were both coming toward me. I honestly don’t remember anything after that until I woke up in that damned crypt.”
“Moore knew you had recognized her and that you would be able to place her and Guthrie in the hotel on the day I vanished. They were both unnerved by the way things had gotten out of control. They panicked and decided to grab you as well as me.”
“Like I said, wrong place, wrong time.”
Impulsively she reached out to put her hand on his arm. “You were trying to warn me. Thank you.”
She stopped talking because she realized that Theo had gone still. He stared at her hand on his arm. She let go immediately and sat back.
“Sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay,” Theo mumbled.
“No, it’s not okay,” she said. “It’s never going to be okay between us again.”
He sighed. “Not on a personal level, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do business together.”
“Theo—”
She broke off because the door had opened and Ambrose was walking into the coffeehouse. She smiled and raised her hand to get his attention. He had already spotted her and was making his way to the table where she sat with Theo. When he arrived he leaned over and brushed his mouth lightly across hers. Theo watched with a mix of disbelief and fascination.
Ambrose did not appear to notice. He sat down and nodded at Theo. “How are you feeling, Collier?”
“I’ll live,” Theo said. He cleared his throat. “You two really stirred up some shit in this town.”
“The Lost Night Filesis good at that,” Pallas said. She looked at Ambrose. “Did Detective Logan have any new information?”
“Some,” Ambrose said. “He’s sure now that he can’t pin Fenner’s death on either Moore or Guthrie. Their alibis checked out. The county coroner established time of death as sometime between eight and ten p.m. Moore and Guthrie attended a faculty event that night. Plenty of witnesses saw them. Logan says it’s possible one managed to sneak away long enough to murder Fenner, but he is convinced he can’t prove it, especially since the coroner called it an overdose with no signs of foul play.”
“Someone killed Fenner,” Pallas said.
Ambrose looked grim but he did not say anything.
Theo glanced at his phone, checking the time. “I’d better hit the road. Pallas, my offer is still open. Give it some thought.”
He walked quickly across the restaurant and disappeared through the door.
Ambrose watched the exit with a bemused expression. “He seemed to be in a hurry.”
“I accidentally scared the hell out of him. Again.”
“Yeah?” Ambrose said, amusement flashing in his eyes. “How did you do that?”
