Chapter 6 #2
"I think the hotel is booked up. You should check with the front desk sooner rather than later."
"I'll do that tonight."
"Good luck."
As she left, I stretched out my leg, wincing a little at the pain, but grateful that my injuries hadn't been worse. Morgan and Cassidy walked into the suite a moment later, and as soon as they saw my bandaged leg, the questions rang out.
I held up a hand as they sat down across from me. "First, I'm fine. I was almost hit by a red-light runner on my way back from seeing Liam. It happened down the street. I have a few bruises and scrapes, but that's it."
"A red-light runner?" Cassidy echoed with a frown. "This is not good, Tessa. Are you sure it was an accident?"
"I've been trying not to let my mind go in another direction," I said. "A policeman stopped and took my information. He said he'd look into it, but I'm sure it's not a high priority."
"I'm glad you're not hurt," Morgan said. "Or at least, not badly hurt. Where did you get the first-aid kit?"
"Rachel, my old friend, who works as the concierge saw me come in bleeding and brought the kit up here and bandaged my knee."
"That was nice."
"We had a somewhat informative chat, too. She told me some of the people from Paige's life who are still in Chicago. That was helpful."
"That's good. What about Liam?" Cassidy asked. "How did that go?"
"Even worse than I expected. He was cold and angry.
He made it clear that he wanted me to leave town, to drop the investigation, to mind my own business.
His reaction felt a little over-the-top," I said, not quite sure how to describe it.
"We didn't part on a great note, but it has been nine years.
I didn't think everything would feel so raw after all this time. "
"I'm sorry," Cassidy said. "You've had a rough day."
"I wasn't the only one. You two had to deal with Ray MacIntyre."
"He was unpleasant. But your meeting with Liam sounds worse."
"Well, Liam and Ray are on the same page with wanting this whole incident to stay in the past."
"Maybe they each have a reason for wanting the case to stay closed, because both their reactions sound like a little too much," Morgan commented. "Also, Cassidy and I ran into the twins when we got back, and they talked us into having drinks with them."
"That's interesting. What did they have to say?"
"They clearly wanted to talk to us about Paige," Cassidy said. "Their theory is that Paige was killed because of a love triangle."
"Between who? You better not say me."
"No. They mentioned that you hated Paige, but they didn't think you killed her."
"Oh, great. At least the twins don't think I'm a murderer."
Morgan smiled. "They thought that Paige's boyfriend had another girl on the side, that Paige found out and went ballistic.
They also said Paige had been drinking a lot the last few weeks of her life, so much so that Ella thought it was affecting her performance in rehearsals.
That created a lot of tension between Professor Hale and Paige. "
"He was concerned about her performance," I said, thinking back to those rehearsals. "He was on her a lot. To be honest, it kind of made me happy that he was finally seeing her flaws. That doesn't put me in a very good light, does it?"
"Your reaction is relatable," Morgan said.
"Anyway, the twins want us to make a short guest appearance on their podcast tomorrow morning at eleven.
Actually, we think they really just want you, but since we're a team, they included all of us.
Since they went to school with you and Paige, they think they could add some color and context.
If we both share the podcast, that could generate more interest in the case.
Cassidy and I thought it was a good idea, so we agreed to it.
But we can still cancel if you hate the idea. "
"It's not a bad idea. It gives us more content to post, and we can cross-pollinate our audience. Let's do it."
Morgan gave a nod. "Great. I also spoke to the front desk. Unfortunately, the hotel is sold out tomorrow night through the weekend with a new convention. We have to check out tomorrow as planned. You and I will need to find another place to stay. Cassidy will be heading back midday."
"I feel bad for abandoning you two," Cassidy said, a regretful look in her gaze. "I can try to help from afar."
"Don't feel bad. I want you to enjoy Finn's grand opening. And I know he'll appreciate you being there."
"Thanks for understanding. I think we should film a very short video now, tease our chat with the twins tomorrow," she added. "Are you up for it?"
"Sure, I can do that." I paused as my phone rang, my aunt's number running across the screen. I sighed. "It's my aunt. I have a feeling she's figured out I'm in town."
"You didn't tell her?" Cassidy asked in surprise.
I frowned, letting the call go to voicemail. "No. We were only going to be here for three days, and I didn't think there would be time to see her."
"I thought you liked your aunt."
"I do. It's complicated." I glanced at my phone, relieved she hadn't left a message, but then she called again.
"You better talk to her," Morgan advised. "It could be important. We'll set up. You answer your phone."
"Fine." I got to my feet and hobbled into my bedroom as I answered her call. "Aunt Vivienne, how are you?"
"Wondering why you didn't tell me you were in Chicago," she said crisply.
"I'm only here until tomorrow. I'm at a conference. It's a quick trip, and I didn't think I'd have time to meet."
"How are you leaving tomorrow if you're looking into some girl's death?"
My stomach clenched. "You saw my podcast?"
"You know I don't go online, but a lot of other people do. And I've been hearing from them all day, asking me what's going on. Why you're suddenly looking into Paige's accident? This is not good, Tessa. Why are you doing this?"
"Alina asked me to."
"Who's Alina?"
"Paige's younger sister. She begged me to put the case on the podcast, generate public interest, and hopefully get the police to reopen their investigation."
"This is a terrible idea."
"Maybe, but I have to see it through."
"If Paige was killed, then this could get dangerous, Tessa. Did you think about that?"
My knees stung even more at her words, and the memory of that car speeding toward me made me wonder if it had been just a random red-light runner.
"Tessa," she said sharply. "Are you there?"
"I'm here. Who told you about the podcast?" I asked curiously.
"They were all talking about it at rehearsal."
"Rehearsal?"
"Yes, I have a production opening in two weeks, and some of the actors and crew members went to school with you. You know I've been hiring from the drama department since I leased the theater two years ago."
"I hadn't really thought about it," I muttered.
I'd had to put distance between myself and my former acting aspirations after my dismal results in the New York theater world.
And that was another reason I'd also put some distance between myself and my aunt.
She'd been my aspirational person growing up.
I'd wanted to have an acting career just like hers.
But I'd never been as good as her. And that realization still hurt. "Who exactly is involved?"
"Professor Hale is a consultant. Jay Loomis adapted the play and is directing. Carrie Dunsmuir is one of my leads. Sloane Delano designed some of the set pieces, and Nate Gardiner runs the ticket office. All people who knew Paige very well," she added.
I couldn't believe the names she'd thrown out.
Professor Hale was the one I'd accused Paige of flirting with to get the lead role.
Jay Loomis had been the professor's TA. Carrie Dunsmuir had been two years younger than me and had become my understudy after I took over for Paige.
Sloane was Paige's former roommate, and Nate Gardiner had been Paige's boyfriend.
"I can't believe all those people are connected to your theater production. "
"If you'd stayed in acting and remained in Chicago, you'd be connected, too. Some people don't need the bright lights of New York to enjoy acting and creating an experience for others to enjoy."
"I know you didn't agree with my decision to go to New York, Aunt Viv."
"It's not that I didn't agree with you going; it's that I don't understand why you quit. You were talented."
"Not according to the New York casting directors. I was too bubbly, too blonde, too one-note, and those are just the nicer things they said about me."
"You could have kept trying. Or come back to Chicago."
"We don't need to rehash all that. How are you doing otherwise?"