Chapter 22
Saige
Terror found its way into my system, a devastating chill that created difficulty moving forward.
Fighting panic, the only spot I could find to park was on a perpendicular street a couple of blocks away. By the time I stepped onto the pavement, my entire body was shaking. Something had happened to Tawny. I felt it in my bones.
I jogged to the sidewalk, fighting terror and nerves, a fog visible in front of my eyes accompanying a light buzzing in my ears. Along with the sirens, the macabre symphony left bile in my throat.
Still shaking as I approached, I tried to find anyone I recognized from Tawny’s building. Moving closer was difficult, a couple of policemen actively trying to keep the crowd well behind the swinging tape.
“Stay back, please,” one said. Another siren blasted from behind us.
Backing away, I could see an ambulance making its way toward us. With all the chaos, I was able to find a spot where I could slide in a little closer.
What I witnessed would haunt me for the rest of my life.
Someone had either fallen or jumped, smashing into the roof of a parked car. Whoever it was had been covered with a sheet or a tarp of some kind. There was broken glass on the sidewalk, the roof caved in. I quickly glanced toward the roof, my heart thudding in my chest.
My stomach lurched, sickened from a terrible thought. What if… No, I wasn’t going to go down that road. She was okay. My best friend was just fine.
Someone stepped in front of me before I could make out anything about the victim, the moment jarring.
“Such a shame,” someone said from a few feet away.
“She was so young,” someone mentioned.
“What happened?” I croaked.
“A suicide. Someone said they watched her jump.”
Given the articulated words, I sensed whoever had spoken was close. Turning, I locked eyes with a woman I recognized. She did at the same time, her eyes narrowing.
“You’re Tawny’s friend. Right? You work with her.”
“Yes,” I said, nodding furiously. “Have you seen her? I’ve tried calling but no answer.”
I’d experienced death before, the same look on the woman’s face I’d seen on my father’s when telling me my beloved grandmother had died.
She hemmed and hawed, shifting her weight. “I’m so sorry.”
“No,” I whispered. “There is no way. None. She wouldn’t do that.” Fear and anguish rolled through me, destroying all sense of protocol. Fuck the rules. I had to know for certain. I pushed my way through, crawled under the tape and moved closer just as someone pulled back the tarp covering the body.
The world collapsed around me if only briefly. There was no sound, nothing to strip the horrible vision of seeing my best friend splayed out on the car, both her mouth and eyes wide open. This wasn’t possible. Tawny wouldn’t do this.
“No. No!”
I hadn’t realized I’d continued moving closer until I was jarred into a sudden stop by someone stepping in front of me.
“I’m sorry, miss, but you can’t be here.”
Even though I blinked several times, I couldn’t see clearly for several seconds. I finally lifted my head, staring into the eyes of a young man in a uniform.
“Miss. Are you alright? Did you know the victim?” he asked, the tone of his voice completely different.
He reached out as if he was going to touch me, but I backed away, nodding as I did. “She was my… friend, but this isn’t right. Someone pushed her.”
As he took a deep breath, he looked away briefly. “We’re going to do a full investigation, but right now, it appears she jumped. When was the last time you spoke with her?”
“Jarvis. Over here,” someone called and the officer glanced in the direction of the voice. “Stay right here. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as he moved further into the crowd, I slowly turned my head toward her. She died with a look of terror on her face. My God. She hadn’t jumped. I would yell that to the world if I could.
As I glanced back to the roof, I took a few steps backward, finally spinning and racing to try to find the easiest way to move past the crowd. Once I managed, I slipped around the corner of the building, fading into the shadows so I could take deep breaths.
This wasn’t happening. Yes, she’d been under some kind of duress, but I knew Tawny well enough to know she would never commit suicide. Certainly not after planning on coming to talk with me. That didn’t make any sense. Nothing did.
Still shaking, I held my arms, so nauseous I leaned over.
There were only dry heaves. I didn’t even know how to contact her family.
When I stood, I remained so lightheaded I pressed my head against the brick.
Just controlling my breathing was close to impossible.
After a full minute, another emergency vehicle flew by. The forensics unit.
Unwanted tears formed and I wiped them away furiously with the back of my hand.
What should I do? Something was very wrong.
I needed to go somewhere and think. As soon as I pushed away from the wall, I noticed someone standing over a block away.
From a distance, it was hard to tell anything about who it was and they’d likely popped outside because of the noise, but my nerves were instantly on edge.
Very slowly I moved closer to where the sidewalk met the road, peering down the street. The stranger was standing close enough to a streetlight I could tell a couple of things. By the size it appeared to be a man and whoever it was had dressed in all black.
The little voice inside my head told me to get away from the area.
To be able to make it to where my car was parked, I’d need to cross the road either in front of him or backtrack toward the crowd, risking the police officer seeing me.
Even with their belief Tawny had died by suicide, now that I’d admitted I was a friend, he would want to talk to me.
Thoughts of the asshole in the subway flitted through my mind. With my nerves on edge, I now regretted not asking for Stash’s personal number.
At least the man on the street wasn’t moving, standing with his hands in his pockets. When there was a shout from someone, I took the opportunity to cross the street, trying to keep my head down. As soon as I stepped onto the sidewalk on the other side, I took a quick glance over my shoulder.
He’d disappeared.
Instead of making me feel any better, my stomach dropped. My instinct was kicking in, screaming to get the hell out of here. After scanning the street, I jogged down the sidewalk, my nerves remaining on fire. I was caught in a bubble of not knowing what I should do or who I should trust.
Although there was one person who could try to help me make sense of this.
Stash.
I’d no sooner made it to the end of the block when a sound caught my attention. As if something metal had been popped against another metal piece. Without hesitation, I backed against the building and into the shadows, cursing under my breath since I hadn’t thought about bringing a weapon with me.
Even my can of mace needed to be replenished. Very cautiously, I leaned forward, searching the area where I’d just come from.
There was no one there. No one waiting to take me away. Just the ugly lights in the distance indicating my best friend, the only woman I’d truly connected with had lost her life in a horrible, tragic fall.
Another police car with flashing lights rolled by, cutting the sirens only as he reached where I was standing. With my stomach still aching, for a few seconds I couldn’t move. I was turning this into something it might not be, but I had to know for certain. Right now, I didn’t want to go home.
Was I afraid? Maybe.
Was I in shock?
Absolutely.
My feet heavy, I searched the perimeter. Whoever the stranger had been, he’d left. I was all alone and I’d never felt so much so in my life. I had the sudden urge to catch a flight home.
After all the work I’d done on the presentation, I suddenly couldn’t stomach the thought of working on numbers or pretending as if everything was alright.
Because it wasn’t.
Ugly tears fell again and I continued holding my stomach as I walked to the car. This just couldn’t be real. It couldn’t be.
As soon as I was inside the car, I slumped in the seat and finally allowed myself to become emotional. No matter how hard I tried to put everything into perspective, I knew without a doubt Tawny’s fall hadn’t been accidental. She’d been pushed to her death.
By whom?
If the Irish mob had wanted to kill her, why wait until she returned to her apartment? And why hadn’t she taken the subway straight to my house? Because she’d wanted to show me something. Whatever it was, she hadn’t wanted to take it with her to the club. That was the only plausible reason.
Unless she’d been kidnapped and brought to her apartment.
I squeezed my fists in front of my eyes. This was a nightmare. With a little additional heavy breathing, I was able to start the engine.
It was after two in the morning, for God’s sake. I couldn’t just show up at Stash’s house no matter how close we’d been hours before.
The physicality of our relationship was amazing, but that’s all it was.
“Breathe, girl. You’ll be okay. Go home. Lock the door and think.”
Sadly, the mantra didn’t seem to be working.
I rolled away from the curb, leaving the horror behind me. When the chilly glow of the sky from the number of emergency lights began to fade, my grip on the steering wheel eased.
But my pulse remained skyrocketed, much like the scattered breaths I was taking. My crazy mind told me to take the long way back to my apartment, one that would allow me to see if I was being followed. The conspiracy theory had decided to stay with me.
I barely remembered taking the turns on the road, constantly checking the rearview mirror to ensure I hadn’t been followed. When I was close to where I lived, another sickening feeling settled into the very core of my being.
What in the hell had Tawny gotten me mixed up in?