Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Look, I was really suffering from menstrual cramps, and Vanessa-she's like a freaking pharmacy down there. So I went to her room to score some Midol, and no one answered the door. It was locked, but I was really desperate, you know. So I jimmied the lock and went inside."
"What did you see?" Lara asked.
"A box of Midol in the top drawer of her dresser, so I took two pills. Left her fifty cents. I'm not a thief, you know." She slanted a worried look at LaToya. "You guys aren't going to arrest me, are you?"
"You're fine," Lara assured her. "But are you saying the room was empty? Vanessa wasn't there?"
"Duh. Vanessa and her chubby sidekick were gone."
"Any idea where they went?" Lara asked.
Roxanne snorted. "I don't know. Maybe she went shopping or to get her nails done. She really freaks out if her nails aren't perfect. Or her hair. She's got about fifty different tote bags for her books, so she can coordinate them with whatever she's wearing each day."
LaToya narrowed her eyes. "You don't like her much, do you?"
"Oh, brilliant detective work, Nancy Drew. But if you think I'd do anything to hurt Vanessa, you're crazy. She paid me three hundred bucks to type her papers this semester. I need her." Roxanne grimaced. "And the whole thing kinda freaks me out. The same thing happened last year to Brittney Beckford. She disappeared, and the cops never found her."
Lara exchanged a worried look with LaToya. Brittney had gone missing before they'd arrived in New York. How long had Jack been in New York? "Can you describe Brittney?"
"Typical spoiled rich preppie," Roxanne grumbled.
"English?" LaToya pulled out her notebook and pen.
Roxanne sighed. "Long hair, bleached strawberry blond. Fake tan. Blue eyes due to her contacts. Collagen lips. Fake friends who have forgotten her. The only thing real about Brittney was her low IQ."
"Thanks. You've been very helpful." LaToya stuffed her notebook back into her pocket and headed back to the stairs.
"Fascists," Roxanne muttered as she shut the door.
Lara and LaToya descended the stairs in silence, then strode down the hallway to the dormitory entrance.
"Vanessa seems to worry a lot about her appearance," Lara said.
"She and a million other girls," LaToya muttered.
"Yeah, it sounds like she and Brittney have a lot in common." Two missing girls with red or reddish blonde hair and blue eyes. Lara paused to look at the bulletin board. A pink paper drew her attention. "Look at this." She ripped it free.
LaToya read it out loud. "Do you want to stay young and beautiful forever? Free seminar. Room 4, Student Services Building. Saturday, nine p.m."
"That would be the kind of seminar Vanessa would go to." Lara studied the paper. "Let's check it out."
They located the room where the meeting had taken place, but it was empty except for a few plastic chairs and a dry-erase board. They talked to the building manager, and he checked the schedule.
"Room 4?" His face went blank. "There was no one in that room Saturday night."
Lara gulped. Whoever had run the seminar had erased his tracks. Much like Jack had erased all evidence of him and his friends at the Plaza hotel. Damn! She'd wanted so much to believe in Jack. She'd wanted to trust him.
Her gut churned as they walked across the campus. She couldn't believe he was involved. There had to be someone else with his abilities. "I need to talk to Jack."
"You're in luck." LaToya pulled out her notebook and flipped through the pages. "I have his address right here. That Lexus he was driving was registered to a Roman Draganesti. Upper East Side."
"Then let's go." Lara's heart squeezed in her chest. She'd wanted so badly to see Jack again. But now, she'd have to question him as a suspect.
"What did you learn about Jack in our apartment?" LaToya asked. "You didn't say much about it."
She hadn't wanted to talk about his kiss. It had been too glorious to cheapen with gossip. A vision flitted through her mind—Jack in his jeans and no shirt. His broad chest and strong shoulders. His warm brown eyes that glimmered with gold. Or glowed red when he was turned on.
She swallowed hard. "I'm not sure what he is."
LaToya shook her head. "It's looking bad for him."
"I know." Lara's gut clenched. Please, God. Don't let Jack be a kidnapper. Or a murderer.
CHAPTER 8
It was almost six o'clock when Lara and LaToya ascended the steps to Roman Draganesti's townhouse on the Upper East Side.
"Fancy place." LaToya scanned the neighborhood from the front porch. "Nice and quiet."
"Did you notice how heavily shuttered all the windows are?" Lara had hoped for a peek inside one of the windows, but the place was closed up tight.
She pressed the doorbell. The chimes echoed inside as if they were reverberating around an empty cavern. There was something not quite right here, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe it was just an overactive imagination coupled with her current sense of gloom.
The subway ride and short walk hadn't done much to calm her nerves. A niggling fear had settled in her gut and a sick heaviness in her heart. She recognized the symptoms, having endured this pain once before. Disillusionment. Betrayal.
She had fought so hard after the car accident to rebuild her life and put the pageant days behind her. She'd met Ronny at LSU. She'd thought he understood her need for a new and meaningful life, had trusted him and believed him to truly love her. Until he had bragged to his friends and anyone else who would listen that he'd popped the cherry of a beauty queen. She'd been nothing more than a fancy title so he could mark a notch on his trophy case.
Dammit. She had thought Jack could be trusted. She'd thought he was different, that he admired her for her intelligence and strength of character. She'd thought he might be the one.
"We're being watched," LaToya whispered.
Lara looked up at the surveillance camera. The red light had come on. "Jack works for a company that specializes in security."
"I wonder what they're keeping secure," LaToya muttered.
A crackling sound emanated from an intercom next to the door. "May I help you?" a male voice asked.
Lara pushed the call button. "NYPD. We have a few questions."
"Yeah, open up!" LaToya shouted.
There was a pause. Lara's stomach knotted. Please let Jack have an alibi for Saturday night.
The door opened slowly, revealing a tall young man. The words MacKay S & I were embroidered on the left side of his navy Polo shirt. His khaki pants were belted low on his lean hips. His dark hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. A gold stud gleamed in his ear. He was almost as gorgeous as Jack.
"I am Carlos," he said with a slight accent. "How may I help you?"
"Can we come in?" LaToya asked.
His mouth quirked. "Do you have a warrant?"
"We have a few questions, if you don't mind." Lara gave him a friendly smile. "Is Jack here? Giacomo di Venezia, otherwise known as Jack."
Carlos tilted his head, studying her. "Are you the cop who crashed Ian's wedding? I heard about you."
Lara felt heat creeping up her neck to her cheeks. "I'm Officer Boucher, and I'm here on a professional matter. Jack is a… person of interest."
Carlos's eyes gleamed. "I bet he is."
"This is my associate, Officer Lafayette." Lara motioned to LaToya. "Is Jack here? We need to talk to him."
"He's not available at this time." Carlos's amused gaze swept down to her feet and back up. "Robby said you were pretty, but that's a huge understatement. He must be angry that Jack caught you first."
Lara stiffened. "I haven't been caught by anyone."
Carlos smiled. "I believe the net has been cast."