Cat Nap полностью

The girl looked a little embarrassed. “It’s the first time I ever saw it happen. Mom opened a bottle of wine—and finished it. I had to put her to bed. She was out like a light”

21

Sunny returned to the office feeling a little bit lighter and definitely more stylish. Her stylishness factor declined considerably when she saw Jane sitting behind her desk. The office furniture might be on the beaten-up side and the computer was definitely last generation, but Jane looked high-fashion and perfectly groomed in spite of missing out on her weekly beauty fix.

“I’m back,” Sunny announced as she opened the door. “Please tell me that Ollie didn’t stop by.”

“Nobody stopped by,” Jane told her. “The phone didn’t ring. This was the quietest hour and change I’ve spent in I don’t know how long.”

“I’m surprised,” Sunny said with a grin. “With you in the window, I’d have expected our foot traffic to go up a couple of hundred percent.”

Jane gave her a skeptical look. “When you start spreading it that thick, I know you’re setting me up for bad news.”

Sunny shrugged. “It looks as if Trumbull isn’t playing head games. The police did talk with the Venables family, and Kristi did indeed give her mom an alibi.”

Jane slumped in the desk chair, her hands clasped together way too tight. “That means he’ll be coming after me again. I guess the only thing that’s slowing him down is that he can’t put me in Portsmouth at the time of the murder.”

“Maybe that’s because you weren’t,” Sunny pointed out. “Your car—”

“Do you know that he’s had people out at Sal DiGillio’s checking the repair records on my BMW?” Jane interrupted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he got his hands on the tire, trying to prove that I gave myself a flat to create an alibi.” She shook her head. “This guy is relentless, Sunny. Sooner or later, he’ll find something he can twist into a reason to bring me back to that station again, and Tobe won’t be able to stop him.”

She shuddered. “And even if Trumbull doesn’t succeed, I still have Dani and Olek busily trying to ruin my life. It’s as if everywhere I look, I’ve got someone coming after me.” Jane got out of the chair. “I have to talk to Tobe.”

Sunny watched her friend go out the door. She seems to be seeing a lot of Tobe lately.

*

Business picked up after Jane left. Sunny spent the afternoon looking at e-mails, answering the phone, and booking several B&B reservations. The shadows were getting pretty long outside when the phone rang and she found Will on the other end. “I’m just on a break,” he said quickly. “Would you like to grab a bite this evening? There’s a new place that’s supposed to be like a New York restaurant.”

“Sure,” Sunny replied. Since it was a school night, they set an early date. Sunny finished her work, closed up the place, and went home to check in with her dad.

Mike was delighted that she was going out. “I can make myself soup and a sandwich,” he assured her. “Have a good time.”

Sunny put on a nicer sweater than the one she’d worn to work, a soft wool number in a purplish tweed. Then she put on some makeup and waited for Will.

The place he was talking about turned out to be up in outlet-land, which should have been a warning. When they got there, Sunny realized it had formerly been a burger place that failed. Now it had a new sign, HOLLBECK’S NEW YORK DELI.

Oh yeah, she thought wryly, very New York.

The interior hadn’t changed very much from the joint’s burger-slinging days, a lot of white tile and stainless steel with very bright lights. It was also pretty loud, even though the weeknight diners didn’t crowd the place.

A waitress gave them a menu that would have looked more at home in a diner. But there were deli foods that Sunny remembered from her time in New York. “I’ll have the brisket platter,” she decided. Will went with corned beef and cabbage. When the food arrived, Sunny found that her brisket had been cooked in tomato sauce—not necessarily bad, but definitely not New York style. On the other hand, the beer—Sam Adams—was decent, and cold.

Will took a long pull from his bottle. “I’m worried about Jane and this Phillips guy,” he abruptly said.

Sunny tilted her head, a little taken aback by the dinner conversation. “You put them together.”

Will winced at her response. “I put them together professionally. But they seem to be hanging out a lot. Ben Semple saw them in a café, acting awfully friendly.”

“Well, friendships have been known to come out of professional connections,” Sunny pointed out. “They did know each other years ago. They could be catching up from old times.”

“Uh-huh.” Will took a forkful of corned beef. From the look on his face, Sunny would have thought it was rancid.

“And Jane has been under a lot of stress. It’s not surprising she might lean a little on the guy who’s helping her out.”

Will nodded, conceding the point, but he still looked discontented. “Yeah, but—”