—
While Allison was being transformed by Giovanni’s team, Jud Bronsky was waiting to be interviewed.
An extremely unattractive man with a personality to match, Jud was built like a gorilla, a fact he was proud of because he believed his size and shape made him look more threatening, and in his line of work, that was an important requirement. Jud had long arms and legs and hair growing out of his knuckles and his ears. He wasn’t much for grooming. He did shave because he thought he looked younger than his thirty-two years without a beard, but that was as far as it went. Showering was only done when he was in the mood, which wasn’t all that often, but he believed his cologne was better than soap any day. His friends, what few he had, called him Tarzan, and Jud liked the nickname because it made him feel cocky.
He wasn’t feeling cocky now. He was sitting in an interrogation room sweating bullets while he waited for the FBI agent to tell him why he was being detained. He was going to demand an attorney but wanted to wait until after he found out what he was going to be charged with. Maybe this was just a fishing expedition. Maybe he wasn’t even a suspect, and they didn’t know what he had done. That was it, he decided. They were just fishing for information.
Jud was certain they didn’t have a shred of proof that he’d done anything wrong. The car he’d used to run the woman off the road was in the junkyard now, in line to be stripped and crushed. His cousin Eddie, who ran the junkyard, promised he’d get it done as soon as possible. As a precaution Jud had already wiped the car down. There wasn’t a single fingerprint anywhere. He’d been meticulous about that, making sure he didn’t miss any spots. No, the FBI didn’t have anything on him, and the only reason he was sitting there waiting was that they wanted information.
He was a little apprehensive about the agent coming in to question him. He’d heard the other agents talking about him. They sounded respectful but also a little nervous. Jud decided it was all an act to scare him.
He was wrong about that. Exactly thirty seconds after Special Agent Liam Scott walked into the interrogation room, Jud was shaking in his boots.
Another agent walked in first. He took up a position by the observation window with his arms folded, silent and watchful. Then Liam Scott walked in. He dropped a file on the table and, towering over Jud, said, “You’re being charged with attempted murder.”
“What? No, I didn’t try to murder anyone. I didn’t.”
Liam acted as though Jud hadn’t protested and continued. “I’d get a good attorney if I were you because, when I’m done with you, you could be going away for the rest of your life.”
In all the times he’d been dragged into a police station, Jud had never been told to get an attorney. The detectives usually tried to discourage him. This agent was different.
“You don’t have anything on me,” he stammered. “I don’t need an attorney because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The bluff didn’t work. “There are highway surveillance cameras showing you tailing Allison Trent. We found your car, you prick. You tried to kill the woman I love. I just may kill you myself, right here and now.”
The look in the agent’s eyes sent chills down Jud’s spine. “I didn’t even know the woman. Why would I want to kill her?” he asked, trying to sound sincere.
“We’ll ask your cousin Eddie when he testifies against you.”
Jud knew he was cornered. He had been hoping the agent was lying about finding the car, but now Jud knew he was telling the truth. Damn his cousin. Eddie hadn’t done what he’d been told. He’d promised to destroy the car, and Jud had given him a hundred dollars to do it quick. What a slacker, he thought.
Liam checked the time and turned to leave. Allison was at the Hamilton, and he needed to see her, to make certain she was all right. There were two agents with her, but he wouldn’t stop worrying until she was by his side.
“Book him,” he ordered as he reached for the door.
“Wait.” In a panic, Jud blurted, “I want a deal. For a lesser charge I’ll give you the name of the man who hired me. Just charge me with a misdemeanor.”
Liam laughed. “For attempted murder?”
“I wasn’t trying to kill her, I tell you. Going down the hill like that was an accident. I was only trying to get her to stop, but I hit her bumper too hard.”
“Why were you trying to get her to stop?”
“I was supposed to steal her laptop.”
Liam put his hands flat on the table and leaned over. “Who were you working for?”
“Do we have a deal?” He looked from Liam to the other agent expectantly.
“Depends,” Liam said. “What can you give us?”
Jud persisted. “I want a deal first.”
“You help us out, we’ll help you,” Liam offered.
Jud took a deep breath and said, “Fred Stiles.”
“What about Stiles?” Liam asked.
“He’s the guy who hired me. You see? I’m cooperating.”
Liam knew Bronsky wasn’t finished confessing. His body language said as much. He was squirming in his chair and couldn’t look Liam in the eyes.
“It wasn’t an attempted murder,” Jud insisted. “I was just supposed to take her laptop and make her come with me.” He dared a quick glance up and wished he hadn’t. The agent looked as though his anger was ready to erupt.
“Where were you going to take her?” Liam asked.
“I didn’t know. I was just supposed to get her and then call for a location to drop her off. The only thing I was told was that she was supposed to finish some program. I figured the less I knew, the better. I didn’t want her to get hurt, and I would have gone down that hill to see if she was okay, honest, but I saw a car coming, and I had to get out of there.”
“Where is Stiles now?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since he gave me the job. Stiles can be a real badass if you don’t come through for him. He always gets what he wants. I figure if I lie low for a while, he’ll calm down. My guess is he’s already got somebody else to do the job. One thing I know for sure about him, he won’t give up. He’ll send . . .”
Liam was out the door before Jud finished his sentence.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Once behind the curtain, Allison let Peter carefully remove the gown. After dressing in her silk skirt and blouse, she sat in front of a mirror and unwound her braid. She brushed her hair and thought of Liam. She had actually expected to see him in the crowd. The longer he stayed on her mind, the angrier she became and the harder she brushed. A few minutes later, her hair was shiny and straight, and her anger had subsided. She finally came to the realization that she was being completely irrational. She just wanted to feel sorry for herself. How could she not? she justified. In the last few weeks she’d been told she’d ruined innumerable lives. She had ruined Will’s life because she hadn’t kept him out of prison. She’d ruined her aunt’s and uncle’s lives because she wouldn’t lie for them in court. And, oh yes, she had also ruined Brett’s and Stiles’s lives because she wouldn’t let them steal her work.
Were they all crazy? Or was she? The question merited thought.
She took a cotton ball and some mineral oil and removed the eye shadow. She’d wash off the rest of the makeup when she got home, she decided. The FBI agents would be waiting for her.
The party had moved inside to the ballroom, where the air-conditioning cooled the guests, and food and beverages were in abundance. Giovanni was the star, as usual.
Allison was leaving the dressing room when Peter found her and handed her her purse. “Your boyfriend is here,” he said. “He wanted me to remind you that you’re supposed to wait for him in the garden.”
She started to tell him she didn’t have a boyfriend, then changed her mind. “What did he look like?”
“How many boyfriends do you have?”
“Too many to count,” she answered. “Now, please tell me. What did he look like?”
“He’s kind of tall, with blond tips in his hair, and to be honest, darling, I think you should tell him to stop using so much self-tanner.”