Hush

5

LAKE FELT AS if she’d been stabbed with a shot of adrenaline and instinctively she touched her cheek with her hand, to the spot where her birthmark once was. Did they know she’d gone to Keaton’s? That she’d spent the night with him? She wondered suddenly if there’d been a security camera in his lobby.

But if they’d known she had been with him, they wouldn’t have waited so long to interview her. They must be just toying with her, she decided, seeing what they could find out. They were probably doing the same thing with everyone who was at the dinner.

“You mean, did I go someplace else-after the dinner?” Lake asked. She tried to keep the nervousness out of her voice but it felt like trying to submerge an oar in water.

“Did you?” Hull prodded.

“No,” she said. “I caught a cab and went home.”

“Which way did you head?” he said.

Why was he asking that? she wondered anxiously.

“West-and then north. I live on the Upper West Side.”

“Dr. Salman says he saw you headed east on Spring Street,” Hull said. “He passed you in his car.”

Oh God, she thought. Had Steve also seen her turn up Crosby? Could he have spotted her going into Keaton’s building? She had to gamble and assume they didn’t know.

“Well, I did walk around a little. I couldn’t find a cab right away”

“Why go east, though, if you live on the Upper West Side?”

A lump formed in her throat, but she had to answer.

“I did look on Broadway first but I didn’t see any cabs. So I thought I’d try farther east. When I didn’t have any luck there, I went back to Broadway.”

McCarty scribbled again-more words, it seemed, than she’d spoken. What was he writing down about her?

“Did you see anyone from the dinner party when you were strolling about?” Hull asked. He seemed to be mocking her.

“No, no one,” she said.

“Tell us more about the dinner,” Hull said. “What was the mood like?”

“Very nice,” she said. She slowly let out a breath. “People seemed happy that Dr. Keaton was joining the practice.”

“And were you surprised to have been included?” Hull asked.

“Uh, not really,” she said. “I think the doctors here realize that it’s helpful for me to spend time with them. Get to know them.”

The two detectives exchanged another look. She wished she could just bolt from the room.

“All right,” McCarty said, flipping to a clean page of his notebook. “Please write down your name, address, and both your home and cell phone numbers. We may need to speak to you again at some point.”

She couldn’t believe it was finally over. She wrote her information down quickly.

When they rose to go, she stood up too. It seemed silly, as if she were seeing them off after a social visit, but it would have been odd to just sit there. As he reached the door, Hull turned and stared at her. His small eyes were dark and deeply set.

“One more thing,” he said. “What time did you arrive home?”

During all her rehearsing, she had forgotten to factor that. She stared at him blankly as her mind did a desperate calculation. At ten-fifteen she’d been at the corner of Spring and Crosby. It might have taken fifteen minutes to find a cab. Twenty minutes or so to get home.

“The time?” Hull prodded.

“Sorry, I didn’t pay much attention. I guess it was around eleven.”

“And did anyone see you come home? Your husband, for instance?”

Why are you asking that? “I’m not married,” she said. “The doorman might have seen me. But I think he was hailing a cab for someone.”

“Thank you,” he said, not sounding the least bit grateful. And then they left.

As soon as they were gone, she put her head in her hands and pulled in a long deep breath. Then she replayed the interview in her mind. McCarty was decent enough but Hull had been curt, almost snarky. They’d wanted to know if anyone could verify that she arrived home at eleven. Was she actually a suspect? Or was she in their sights simply because she’d been at the dinner? Weren’t the last people to see someone alive always possible suspects? Plus she was a woman. By now, Keaton’s sheets-and the used condom, if Keaton had left it by the bed-had clearly given away what he’d been doing during the hours before his death.

The detectives’ interest in her might have been heightened by whatever Steve had told them. He was supposed to be a friend, but he’d thrown her under the bus, and she had no clue why. If he’d driven by her last night, why not pull over and offer her a lift? Had he not stopped because he’d seen her searching for a particular building? Had he told the police that?

She glanced back down at the page open on her laptop. How was she ever going to be able to concentrate enough to pull her presentation together?

A sound in the doorway jolted her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Dr. Levin standing there.

“Sorry if I startled you,” he said. “It seems we’re all on edge at the moment.”

“Yes, it’s awful.”

“The police tell me they’re almost done, for the time being. As soon as they’re gone, and I’m done with my final procedure, we should talk-you, me, and the other doctors. We need to know how to handle this from a PR standpoint.”

As he spoke Lake realized that she should have been the one making this recommendation, but she’d been too crazed to think straight.

“Absolutely,” she said. “I have some suggestions I can make.”

He nodded soberly. “Let’s say about four then.”

“By the way,” she said as he turned to leave. “Reporters will start to call. Until we’ve discussed a plan, you shouldn’t talk to anyone. And tell the staff not to.”

A short while later she became aware of staff moving up and down the corridor, and Lake figured the detectives had probably gone. She decided she needed to get out of the office for a few minutes, to try to calm herself before her meeting with Levin, and think of what advice she should offer. On her way out Lake saw that the receptionist was the only one in the waiting room-sitting grim-faced, twirling a strand of her hair.

Lake was halfway down Eighty-third Street, headed toward Lexington Avenue, when she heard her name called and turned to see Steve hurrying up behind her. He was still wearing his white lab coat, as if he’d dashed out when he saw her leaving.

“You okay?” he asked when he caught up to her. His brown eyes looked worried.

“Not ideal,” she said. “It’s pretty upsetting.”

“I know,” he said. “Sorry you got stuck in the middle of this.”

“Well, you haven’t made it easier for me,” she said. She surprised herself by her bluntness.

“What do you mean?” he asked, clearly perplexed.

“You told the police you saw me wandering around SoHo last night.”

He drew a breath. “But-I don’t understand-what’s the problem with that?”

“They seem to find that suspicious,” Lake said.

“God, Lake, I’m sorry. That wasn’t my intention.”

“What exactly did you tell them?”

“Just that I saw you as I was driving home. They asked when I’d last seen each person who’d attended the dinner, so I mentioned that I spotted you after we’d picked up the car.”

“I was looking for a cab.”

“Well, there’s hardly anything wrong with that,” he said.

“I’m surprised you didn’t stop for me.”

He sighed and glanced off to the left.

“I should have. But to be honest, I was having a pretty intense discussion with Hilary. It would have been awkward.”

Lake wondered if it was about how flirty Hilary had been with Keaton during dinner.

“Is that all you told them then?” Lake asked.

“What do you mean?” Steve said. “What else would I tell them?”

“Nothing. I just don’t want to be caught off guard again.”

“That was it-and again, I’m sorry. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, I’m just feeling a little rattled,” she said. “Because of everything. I’ll be back in a little while.”

It was hot out, in the mid-eighties, and the walk did nothing to calm her, only left her blouse damp and sticky with sweat. But at least she could relax with the knowledge that Steve hadn’t seen her on Crosby Street, or going into Keaton’s.

Upon her return, even the receptionist was now gone from the waiting area, though she found Maggie, Rory, Chelsea, and Emily bunched by the kitchenette, whispering. Clearly they’d been discussing the murder.

“Oh, there you are,” Maggie said, smiling weakly.

Lake glanced at her watch. It was twenty to four.

“Was Dr. Levin looking for me?” she asked.

“No, but a man called for you. He wouldn’t leave his name.”

It was hard for her to imagine who it would be. Hotchkiss? Had she ever told him the name of the clinic?

She started to turn to get back to the small conference room, but caught herself. She should stay, she thought. Gossiping with these four would help keep her in the loop-though she would have to be careful of every word she spoke.

“So how’s everyone doing?” she asked, forcing a sympathetic smile.

“I’m scared to death,” Maggie said. “I asked my sister to spend the night with me.”

“You don’t think you’re in danger, do you?” Lake asked.

“I just don’t want to be alone,” Maggie said. She turned to Rory. “What are you going to do? You shouldn’t be under stress in your condition.”

“I know-I have to think of the baby,” Rory said. “Colin’s going to be away for a few more days and our house is kind of secluded. I’ll probably call a friend.”

Emily shook her head.

“You girls are being silly. It’s not like there’s some serial killer out there stalking people who work at fertility clinics.”

“What do the police think?” Lake asked. “Was it a burglary?” She’d tried to make her voice seem natural, but her words sounded stilted to her, like she was acting in a high school play.

“They asked me if I knew if he was seeing someone,” Maggie whispered. “Like it might have been one of those crimes of passion.”

“They asked me that, too,” Rory said. And then she turned to Lake. “Did they ask you that, Lake?”

“No,” Lake said. “But then again they wouldn’t. They know I’ve just been here a short time.”

“But you knew him, didn’t you?”

“Keaton?” Lake said, startled. “Um, no. I only met him when I started here.”

“Oh, I saw you talking to him for quite a while yesterday. I thought you might have known him from before.”

Was that why the police had asked if she’d known him previously-based on something Rory had said?

“No, I didn’t.” She could hear a slight defensive edge in her voice. “We were just talking about work-”

“Well, speaking of work, I’ve got things to do,” Emily said. “Can you give me a hand, Maggie?”

Good, Lake thought. She didn’t want any more awkward conversation about Keaton and was glad for the excuse to leave. The group broke up and Lake walked away.

It was almost four. Before going to Levin’s office, Lake returned the folders of articles she’d been reading to the storage room in the back of the clinic. She was pretty certain she’d studied every press clipping and journal article filed there, but just to be sure, she thumbed through the drawer once more. With her mind on everything but the presentation, she needed all the inspiration she could get.

Finding nothing she hadn’t already seen, she pulled the lower drawer open. It seemed to contain mostly old correspondence. Just as she was about to close it, she noticed a hanging file with the word “Archer” in the tab, and Lake could see pages of a magazine peeking out. She tugged the file out of the drawer. At a glance she saw that it was an article about the fertility business. She slapped the file closed and took it with her.

By the time she arrived in Levin’s office, the doctors had already gathered there-Sherman, Hoss, Steve, and Matt Perkins. Brie was there, too, perched on the windowsill.

“We’ve had two calls from reporters since I spoke to you,” Levin said grimly to Lake as she sat down. “The Daily News and Channel 7.”

“We should have seen something like this coming,” Sherman said. “You pick someone flashy and this is what happens, isn’t it?”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Dan,” Levin said. “The fact that he was a good-looking guy doesn’t mean we should have expected he’d end up murdered.”

“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” Sherman said. “We finally decide to get serious about marketing and we end up with a mess like this.”

“It doesn’t have to turn into a mess for you,” Lake interjected. “But you do have to do some damage control.”

“Damage control?” Brie asked curtly. “You make it sound as if we’ve done something wrong.”

“That’s not at all what I’m saying,” Lake said. “This is an external situation beyond your control, but it has the potential to impact your business. I know a PR person who specializes in crisis management. I’d suggest bringing her onboard briefly. She-”

“But isn’t that what you’re supposed to be doing?” Brie said. “PR?”

“Please, Brie, let her finish,” Levin said. Brie straightened her back, looking irritated.

“I’ve got a PR person on retainer as part of the marketing plan,” Lake said, “but she’s not an expert at handling a crisis, and neither am I. You need a real pro here. The woman I’m suggesting doesn’t come cheap, but I highly recommend that you hire her.”

“I think it’s essential,” Hoss said. “We don’t have a choice.”

It was agreed that Lake would make the call. After that, there was thirty more minutes of anxious talk-about dealing with patient questions, upsets to the schedule, and just getting through the next few days. Levin and Hoss dominated the discussion, while Sherman mostly shook his head in disgust. Steve and Matt Perkins looked shell-shocked and spoke up only when they were asked specific questions. Finally, Levin suggested that everyone go home and try their best to relax.

“I also recommend that you not discuss this with anyone outside your immediate families,” Lake added.

Everyone streamed out of the office, and as Lake followed them to the door, Levin called to her.

“Do you think this woman can really help?” he asked, rising from the desk.

“Absolutely,” Lake said. “She’s handled situations far worse.”

He crossed the room, buttoning his jacket. She saw him glance at the file in her hands.

“Where did you get that?” he asked sharply.

“From the file drawer in the storage room-I’ve been reading all the clippings.”

“Well, that’s not one you need,” he said, grabbing the file from her hand.