The Wife Who Knew Too Much(30)
Hank had a long history of smearing people, and the story of Connor’s missing college girlfriend matched that MO perfectly. There was no actual evidence. There were only insinuations too vague to be refuted. It was perfect that way. This girl and Connor had broken up when he dropped out of college, years before she disappeared. Her body had never been found. She might not be dead at all. But there was just enough to leave a bad taste in the mouth. They were both living in New York at the time of her disappearance. She’d been seen with a man matching his description not long before she went missing. In short, there was enough to make Nina worry that this time, it was for real—that her young lover might actually be a murderer.
She had to find out the truth.
Nina had brought Hank’s dossier on the trip, moving it from one safe to another, making sure Connor never laid eyes on it. She wanted to send it to her lawyer for follow-up, but the puzzle was how to do that securely. The information contained in the dossier was potentially damaging, not just to Connor but by association to Nina herself, and even to Levitt Global. She couldn’t risk scanning and emailing it or sending it via courier service. It needed to be hand-carried by someone she trusted. A few key members of Nina’s staff had accompanied her on this trip, keeping a discreet distance but there when she needed them. Juliet. Dawn Forest, her yoga instructor. And Steve Kovacs, her security consultant. Of the three, Juliet was most easily spared. Nina quietly dispatched Juliet back to the States to carry the dossier to her lawyer and instruct him to look into the allegations.
In the meantime, Nina and Connor continued with their travels. She was Nina Levitt, after all. If it pleased her to vagabond around the world with a gorgeous man who spoke French and Italian, knew wine, looked incredible in clothes and made love to her like a gigolo, then she’d do that. And it did please her, like nothing ever had.
In late August, Nina and Connor were lounging on the flybridge of Nina’s boat anchored off Monte Carlo, sipping pisco sours and watching the sunset, when the tender pulled up, and Juliet stepped off. She was carrying one of those slouchy, no-name leather bags that millennials bought for a hundred bucks off the internet. Seeing the bag, Nina felt a stab of fear, because she knew that the completed investigator’s report was inside. She looked at Connor, his handsome features bathed in golden light, and decided not to read it tonight. Juliet waved from the lower deck. Nina ignored her, burying her face in the warmth of Connor’s neck. Tomorrow was soon enough to face reality.
But she couldn’t sleep that night, worrying about what it might say. Connor slept like a rock, but Nina tossed and turned, anxiety weighing on her. What if he was a killer? Around four, unable to stand it any longer, she pulled on her red silk kimono and went knocking on the door of Juliet’s cabin.
Juliet opened the door within thirty seconds, eyes widening when she saw Nina.
“Oh. Mrs. Levitt.”
“Were you expecting someone else?” Nina asked.
Hair down, in a slip of a nightgown, Juliet looked pretty. You’d never know it, during the day.
“I wasn’t expecting anybody, ma’am. Please, come in.”
Juliet stepped back and let Nina into the cabin. While small compared with the lavish master suite that Nina and Connor occupied, it was elegantly decorated, with a king bed, a picture window hung with raw-silk drapes, and a small seating area with a single armchair and coffee table. Juliet gestured at the chair. Nina took a seat.
“Can I ring for coffee?”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I assume you’d like to review the materials Mr. Barbash sent?”
Mark Barbash was Nina’s lawyer.
“Please.”
Juliet touched a panel in the built-in dresser, which sprang open to reveal a hidden safe. She punched in a combination, retrieved an official-looking manila envelope, and brought it to Nina. The envelope was marked CONFIDENTIAL and sealed with tape, but was otherwise blank, with neither address nor sender noted.
“Have you read it?” Nina asked.
Juliet’s mouth dropped into an O of surprise. “Uh—was I supposed to? It’s sealed.”
“Just checking.”
Nina hesitated with her hand over the flap of the envelope, throwing Juliet a meaningful look. The assistant grabbed her bathrobe and phone.
“I’ll give you some privacy. Text me when you’d like me to return.”
Once alone, Nina opened the envelope. Her hands were shaking. There were two files inside, one labeled INVESTIGATIVE REPORT, the other PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENT. She opened the file containing the report.
The first page was a summary, stating that the investigator had verified Connor’s involvement with a young woman named Lissa Davila during his first two years of college, and Lissa’s subsequent disappearance under mysterious circumstances eight years after their relationship ended. No evidence was found linking Connor to her disappearance. While the police case remained open, and the NYPD considered it unsolved, the investigator had uncovered new evidence suggesting that Lissa Davila had moved overseas, meaning that her “disappearance” had an innocent explanation.
Nina breathed out in relief. Everything was fine. She could have stopped reading right then. But curiosity got the better of her.
The next item in the file was a transcript of an interview with Lissa’s college roommate, Sharla Jenkins. Sharla described Lissa as brilliant but troubled. Lissa had grown up in foster homes and had finally been adopted in her teens. The adoptive mom had died, and Lissa had no other family that Sharla knew of. Sharla stated that Lissa and Connor had an “obsessive” and “unhealthy” relationship that interfered with Lissa’s friendships and schoolwork. When Connor dropped out of school, Lissa attempted suicide. She was hospitalized and withdrew from school. Sharla tried to keep in touch, but Lissa cut off contact.