Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
As I got into my aunt's white Subaru, I checked the surrounding area to make sure no one was watching me, waiting for me to leave the theater. But it was very quiet in the parking lot behind the theater, and no one else was around.
Before I started the engine, I called Colton. I needed to tell him what I'd learned and also find out what was happening with him. He didn't answer right away, and I was about to leave a message when he suddenly picked up.
"Tessa," he said. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes. You sound breathless."
"There's a lot going on," he said.
My heart jumped at the excitement in his voice. "What's happened?"
"The trap worked. The car that Morgan saw yesterday showed up at Hale's house."
"His house? Why there?" I asked with surprise.
"I needed a location that would make sense to whoever was following you, somewhere you might have gone."
"Oh, right. Was Hale there?"
"We didn't go near his house. I left the car on the street. I had a team of officers strategically positioned, and we got our guy."
"Who was it? Someone I know? Someone Paige knew?"
"No. He's most likely a hired gun. We've ID'd him as Steven Williams, a thirty-eight-year-old with a long rap sheet of criminal activities.
He's not talking, so information is still being gathered.
I believe someone hired him to kill Vincent and probably to burn down your apartment building.
Maybe he was also responsible for the close call you had with that car several days ago. "
I felt both happy and disappointed at the same time. "So, we have him, but we still don't know who's behind this?"
"We'll know soon. We'll be able to run through his bank and online accounts. We'll figure it out. It won't take that long, even without his cooperation."
"It has to be someone with money. Did Hale come out of his house at any point during this operation?"
"No. I haven't spoken to Hale today. His house looked closed up, no open blinds or curtains."
"He's not here at the theater, either. Do you think he took off?"
"We'll find him. And when we do, we'll bring him in for formal questioning. This is almost over, Tessa."
"I like your confidence. Hale seems like the most likely person to have hired someone to do his dirty work."
"Agreed. The rest of you were kids back in the day. Although, I do have Ray sitting in an interrogation room, so I don't want to make too many assumptions yet. Let's see what happens with him and Hale, and then we'll move on."
"Ray seems like someone who might also have contacts with a hired killer. I don't know what his finances are now, but he might have the ability to hire someone to clean up whatever mess he might have made back then."
"We'll see. I have to go, Tessa. Just sit tight. Stay put. I'll be in touch as soon as I know something."
"Good luck," I said as I ended the call.
Despite his suggestion to sit tight, I couldn't just do nothing.
I couldn't talk to Hale or Ray, but I could talk to Sloane.
If Nate had lied about talking to Sloane, maybe he'd lied about other things.
It would be good to know when he actually went to the lake, and who was the last person to talk to him.
Starting the engine, I pulled out of the lot, needing to put some distance between myself and Nate as I had an odd feeling that I'd misread him.
As I drove to Sloane's house in Glencoe, I kept an eye on the rearview mirror.
There were a few times when I thought someone was following me, but just as I was about to panic, they turned or changed lanes and passed me, just ordinary people going about their day.
I really needed to get a grip on my imagination.
On the way, I got a call from Alina, but I let it go to voicemail. While I had promised to stay in touch with her, with Ray talking to the police, I didn't want to take the chance of compromising the investigation in any way.
As I neared Sloane's block, I gave Morgan a call and filled her in on what Colton had told me and what I'd learned from Carrie and Nate.
"I want to talk to Sloane once more," I finished.
"She can tell me what she knew about Nate's weekend plans.
I feel like maybe he's someone that is sliding under the radar. "
"The boyfriend is usually always the first suspect."
"It was the first time he expressed to me how poorly Paige was treating him, how he felt like she cared about Hale and the theater more than him."
"It could have been a crime of passion. But maybe you should let Colton handle it."
"I'll let him handle Nate. But if I can get more information from Sloane, that might help clarify some things."
"So, you'll talk to Sloane and then you'll come back."
I hesitated. "I don't know. It depends on what she says. I've also had this weird feeling about Liam, like did he point me to Ray because he wanted me to look in a different direction?"
"I think you're starting to overthink, Tessa. There's nothing that links Liam to Paige's death."
"The unanswered texts, and he was home alone."
"You were home alone with an unanswered phone call."
"But I know I didn't do it."
"I thought you were starting to trust Liam."
"I was. Maybe I am overthinking. Anyway, I'm at Sloane's house. I'll call you before I go anywhere else."
I parked in front of Sloane's home. There was no car in the driveway, but, hopefully, she was home.
I put my phone in my bag, then headed up to her front door.
A moment later, she answered my ring, looking far different from the sophisticated woman in a stylish dress and full makeup that I'd seen the last time I was here.
Today, she was dressed more like the girl she'd used to be in jeans and a T-shirt and with sneakers on her feet.
There were dark circles under her eyes, and a hollowness to her cheeks, which aligned with her thin frame.
She might have everything she'd ever wanted, but she didn't look all that happy, at least not today.
"Tessa," she said, a mix of weariness and anger in her voice. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to talk to you. Can I come in?"
"The baby is sleeping. Garrett is working, and my nanny had to leave early. I just got Grace to stop crying and take a nap, so…"
"I promise not to wake her up. I'm not leaving until we talk. It won't take that long."
"Fine." She sighed and waved me into the house. "Let's go into the backyard. I don't want to disturb Grace."
We went back to the gazebo where we'd spoken before.
After taking a seat on the bench, Sloane said, "I listened to your podcast from this morning. I can't believe you found that video of Paige talking about the play. It made her feel so alive to me. And that made me so sad."
"It was hard to see her full of joy," I agreed. "And to notice that as the pictures went from early in college to the last few weeks of her life, she really changed."
"I don't think I realized how much until I saw the photos." Clearing her throat, she added, "I can't believe that detective is dead. Do you think Professor Hale killed him?"
"I don't know, Sloane. He certainly had motive."
"Why are you here, Tessa? I don't know anything. You know more than me."
"I have a couple of things I want to ask you. First, Liam…"
"What about him?"
"He told me he never cheated on me with Paige. Do you know if that's true?"
She sucked in a breath. "I didn't expect you to ask me that."
"Did Paige ever tell you how close they actually got?"
"Does it matter anymore?"
"Only to me."
"As far as I know, Liam told her to go back to her boyfriend, which is what I told her, too.
I knew she was trying to do something with Liam.
I didn't know if it was just to get back at you or if she was mad at Nate, but it was wrong.
She didn't want to hear that from me or from Liam.
That's when she started spending more time with Carrie. Does that help?"
"It does." I felt a small measure of relief.
"Something else came up this morning that I wanted to ask you about.
You told me you weren't worried that first night when Paige didn't come home, because you thought she was with Nate.
But Nate told me you knew he was going to be away that weekend.
That you had promised to watch out for Paige, because she was basically falling apart. "
"I—I didn't think he was leaving until Saturday," she said quickly. "That's why I didn't realize she wasn't with him until the next day."
She was lying. I could tell in the way she wasn't looking at me anymore, in the way her hands were twisting together in her lap.
"That's not true, is it?" When she didn't answer, I said, "Sloane, look at me. Tell me the truth."
The air seemed to go still with my words. Then Sloane said, "You need to leave, Tessa."
"You know something. What is it, Sloane?"
"Nothing I can say." Her voice was barely above a whisper now.
"You can talk to me."
"You're the last person I can talk to. You shouldn't have opened all these old wounds, Tessa. You don't know how many people will be hurt."
"What happened to Paige, Sloane?"
The question hung between us for a long moment.
"I'm so tired," she said. "I can't do this anymore."
"Do what?" I felt like I was standing on the edge of a precipice.
I thought I knew what was coming, but I wasn't sure.
"Did Nate hurt Paige? Was he angry with her because she was trying to get with Liam?
Or was it Hale, who was afraid she was going to ruin him?
" When she didn't answer, I continued, "Was it Liam?
He got tired of her throwing herself at him, getting between us?
" Even as I threw that suggestion out there, I knew that wasn't a likely conclusion at all, because I knew Liam.
"Sloane," I pressed. "It's going to come out. The truth will be known."