Gloria stirs, opens her mouth, but Jamie shakes her head and puts a finger to her lips in a signal to stay quiet. She releases a long breath and gets to her feet.
“I’m going to leave now. Anything I heard here this evening is protected under the client/attorney privilege. I have to ask Anna and David to respect that. If the police determine Gloria played a part in a staged suicide attempt, they will bring charges. Gloria, I advise you to remain silent.” She picks up her briefcase and turns to David. “Did the doctor tell you when she can go home?”
David hasn’t taken his eyes off Gloria. He drags them away now to look at Jamie. “Tomorrow morning.”
“Will you pick her up?”
He hesitates and for a minute, I’m afraid he’s going to refuse. “Yes,” he says finally. “I’ll be here.”
Jamie closes the door quietly behind her. When I look at David, he’s staring again at Gloria, his face clouded with anger. He sees it now. All of it.
Gloria feels the shift, too. She looks up. “I didn’t kill O’Sullivan,” she says quietly. “You have to believe that.”
David shakes his head slowly and pushes up from the chair. “I don’t have to believe anything,” he says.
He has a hand on the door. “Anna, I’ll take you to your car. I’ll wait for you outside.”
Gloria watches him go. “He must know I couldn’t have killed anyone. You believe me, don’t you, Anna?” She’s crying, making no attempt to wipe away the tears.
“I do. I think, deep down, David does, too. But Gloria, I don’t think it matters to him anymore.”
I let a heartbeat go by.
“You and Jason. You two have been in contact since the beginning. You wanted us to meet. What would you have done if I hadn’t been able to track him down?”
Gloria is still looking at the door. Her voice is soft, wistful. “I knew you’d find him. I’ve watched you and David in the office. Tracking people down. It’s what you do, isn’t it?”
“And if I hadn’t?”
She shrugs. “He would have called you.”
Of course he would have. I can’t believe I fell into Gloria’s trap.
I feel like a fool. I watch Gloria, still staring at the door, still waiting for David, her David, to rush back in and make everything all right.
I let myself out.
Not happening, Gloria.
DAVID IS WAITING FOR ME AT THE END OF THE HALL, slumped on a bench, his head in his hands.
I was an idiot to think he could get over his obsession with Gloria this fast.
He doesn’t notice my approach and when I place a hand on his shoulder, he jumps.
I sit down beside him. “You can go back to your cabin. I shouldn’t have brought you here. I’m sorry I did.”
He swivels on the bench to look at me. “What? An apology? You must really feel guilty. Good. When this is over, you’ll owe me. Big time.”
He crosses his arms and leans back. “No. I’m glad you brought me back. I needed to see Gloria the way you evidently have since the beginning. She’s so selfish she’ll draw anyone into her web if she thinks it will benefit her—even a fourteen-year-old kid. God, what was she thinking?”
I shrug. “She was desperate and scared. Honestly, I don’t believe she killed O’Sullivan.”
“You sound as if you’re going to keep digging. Are you?”
“I guess I am. She’s paying me two hundred an hour plus expenses. May as well earn a few bucks I don’t have to split with my partner.”
He smiles and stands up. “Let’s get you back to your car. I have a date, and I want to go home and shower first.”
“A date? So soon? Is this a rebound thing?”
“Don’t know yet. It’s our first date.”
We’re walking toward the entrance. A tremor of uneasiness slithers along my spine. “Who is this mystery woman? Have I met her?”
“In fact, you introduced us. This afternoon.”
I stop, grab his arm. “Tamara? You’re going on a date with Tamara?”
He looks down at my hand on his arm, then up at my face. “What’s the matter with you? You look sick. Is there a reason I shouldn’t go out with her?”
A reason? Jesus. I could give him ten, the first and foremost being his new friend Tamara happens to be a fucking werewolf.
CHAPTER 49
THOUGHTS SPIN AROUND MY HEAD. WHAT CAN I say to convince David that a date with Tamara is not just a bad idea, it might be a fatal one?
I panic when I realize I’m not coming up with anything that makes sense. The panic grows when we step outside and the first thing I see is a huge moon rising over the city like a silver balloon.
The second night of the full moon.
What is Tamara planning for tonight? I remember how she looked at David. I remember how few men were with the pack at Culebra’s. Frey’s book said werewolves have the right to take and turn a mate. Does the rule apply to female weres as well? Is that how she sees David?
We’re at the Hummer. I don’t know how we got here and I don’t realize David is standing in front of me holding out his hand for his keys until he clears his throat.
“What is it with you?” he says, taking the keys I hand him. “You’re pale as a ghost.”
He uses the remote to unlock the doors and opens the passenger side for me before crossing to take his place in the driver’s seat. He takes a minute to readjust the seat and steering wheel. While he’s doing that, he says, “Is there something I should know about Tamara? She’s not married, is she? Or divorced with ten kids? Not that I mind kids but I don’t know what kind of father I’d be. I’ve had friends with stepkids and it doesn’t always work out well. ’Course, that—”
“Jesus, David.” My voice is high-pitched and screechy. “This is a fucking first date. You don’t even know the woman. I haven’t known her for long. What if she’s a flake? Don’t you think you should go to lunch maybe or coffee before taking her out at night?”
David looks over with an expression that makes me want to smack him. He’s trying hard not to laugh. “Go to lunch or coffee before taking her out at night? What are we, twelve? You want to come along to chaperone?”
Not a bad idea. Well, not coming along to chaperone exactly, but I could follow them. Make sure Tamara keeps her skin on.
David is eyeballing me again. “Come on, Anna. Spill it. You have something against Tamara? I suppose if you do I should hear it. You certainly had Gloria pegged.”
Now that I’ve decided on a course of action, I relax and smile over at him. “No. Get me to my car and you can go on your date. It’s a block or so from the Four Seasons. I’ll direct you.”
David drives with one eye on the road and one on me. I don’t reverse myself often. It’s amusing to feel his confusion. What wouldn’t be amusing is Tamara turning into a werewolf and attacking him. I’m not sure how I’ll tail them since he knows my car, but I’ll figure something out.
We’re about a block from my car when David slows the Hummer. “Holy shit. Is that the Jag? What the hell happened to it?”
His tone snaps me from my reverie. I follow his gaze.
I can’t believe what I’m seeing.
The Jag is parked where I left it. Under a streetlight, a block from the hotel.
It’s been trashed. The paint is scored with thousands of scratches, every inch of the body scraped and cut. Not even the windows escaped. The ones not shattered outright bear deep nicks and abrasions.
David’s voice is hushed. “It looks like it was attacked by a pack of wild dogs.”
I’m too stunned to respond, words just won’t come, but I know he’s right. It was attacked by animals.
Not dogs, though.
Wolves.