What Have You Done(26)
Liam walked out of the hospital toward his car, which was parked in a lot adjacent to the main entrance. He thought about his fingerprints at the scene, the scratch down his chest, his rare blood type found under Kerri’s nails, and her phone being in his trunk on top of the clothes he’d been wearing the day she was killed. He thought about the animal Gerri had described in her office while profiling the type of person who could commit such a crime. A man who was capable of doing such savage things was foreign to him. There was no way he’d be capable of the kind of violence he’d seen at the hotel. So then why was there suddenly so much evidence to the contrary? Why was everything pointing to him and no one else? He tried desperately to think about events from the night she was killed. Still, there was only blackness. Why couldn’t he remember?
18
“Hey, sorry I’m late.”
Liam walked through the maze of tables as he approached Vanessa and Joyce. Joyce was Don’s age, tall and thin, and had mesmerizing eyes that seemed almost iridescent. She was a kind woman and had become as much a part of their lives as Don had. She always dressed nicely and today had on an aqua-colored dress and radiant red heels. Vanessa was in her scrubs, as she’d be heading straight to work from lunch. The two of them were sitting at the small table for three and couldn’t have looked more opposite, yet their friendship was a strong bond.
Joyce rose from her seat and kissed Liam. “If you’re working the same hours as my husband, it’s no wonder you’re late. What they got you involved with that takes up all your time?”
“Everything,” Liam replied. “And all at once.”
“Up and gone Saturday night. Up and out last night. Always running around, that man.”
Vanessa kissed Liam. “I had no idea what you were in the mood for, so I told the waiter you’d decide when you got here. We started without you. I gotta get back for my shift.”
Liam looked at the half-eaten salads and sandwiches spread out on the table. Nothing looked appetizing. His stomach had been in knots all morning.
“Take a load off,” Joyce said. “Tell us about this mega case you and Don are working on.”
Liam poured himself a glass of water but remained standing. “I am on a new homicide, but not with Don and Sean. They’re working something else. And I’m sorry, but I can’t stay. I just stopped by because I knew you’d be waiting. If I wasn’t already in the area, I would’ve called and canceled, but I figured I’d see you for a quick hello.”
Vanessa stared at him for a long time, then turned away and began playing with the napkin on her lap. “You can’t stay? You said you’d join us for lunch.”
“I’m sorry. And for the record, I said maybe.”
“Can you at least have a sandwich or something? You have to eat.”
“I can’t. The day is already getting away from me.”
“But you shouldn’t work on an empty stomach. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Vanessa, I can’t.”
Vanessa looked back up at him with a combination of sadness and anger in her eyes. “You promised.”
“I didn’t promise. I said I’d try, and I did try. Things are too crazy today.”
There was an awkward silence that fell between them until Joyce spoke up. “It’s okay,” she said. “Go do what you have to do. We understand. I’m going to finish eating with my favorite girl here, and we’re going to take a walk around Independence Plaza to chat. Just us ladies.”
Liam placed his water back on the table. “Okay.”
Joyce pointed at him. “But let the record stand that you owe her. If you promised lunch and there’s no lunch, then it goes on the ledger as an IOU. You got that?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good, then go. We got some gossipin’ to do. Can’t talk behind your back when you’re standing right there in front of us.”
Liam looked down at Vanessa. “I really am sorry. If there was a way I could make more time, I would. It’s just one of those days.”
Vanessa nodded. “You can make it up to me later.”
“I will.”
“I love you, you know. You realize that, don’t you?”
“Of course. I love you too.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
As Liam walked back through the maze of tables, he could hear Joyce start talking about one of the women they were friends with from a cooking class they used to take together. Something about her oldest son going to rehab after an overdose. Their voices faded with distance, yet in his mind’s eye, he could still see the look of disappointment on Vanessa’s face when he had told them he couldn’t stay. He hated that this case was taking him away from a marriage that needed to be cared for and cultivated. But there was a truth out there that he had to find before others within the department discovered their own version of it. His freedom depended on it.
19
The outside of the art museum was packed with people. Tourists sprinted up the famous steps and leapt in victory as Rocky Balboa had done so many years before. Although Rocky’s statue was gone, the treads of his sneakers were cemented into the concrete, and those same tourists took their time snapping pictures and posting videos because, as everyone knew, if you couldn’t post it, it didn’t really happen. Others walked past the fountains and beneath the oversized stone columns to get into the museum itself, more interested in the works of art inside than what pop culture offered outside. It was the perfect place to meet, surrounded by so many strangers.