Fallen from Grace (30 page)

“Would you like a cup of tea?” Mae asked as she turned her walker toward the kitchen and slowly shuffled away.

“No, thank you. I should be going. I was just stopping by to say hello.”

“Okay,” Mae replied. Stopping midway to the kitchen, she turned around. “Would you like to take Julia’s mail with you?”

Grace froze.

“I don’t get out of this apartment very often, and since you’re her friend, you will probably see her before I do. I have a feeling she isn’t going to be coming back here.” Mae sounded sad and disappointed, Grace had a feeling she didn’t get many visitors and Julia and her must have been close.

Mae turned back to the kitchen. “I’ll get you a sack for it.”

She returned with a beige grocery bag made out of recycled material and placed Julia’s mail inside. She tried to pick it up off the table, but it was too heavy for her frail arms.

Grace quickly leaned over and picked it up. “Thank you, Mae. I’ll make sure she gets it.”

Mae smiled. “I’m sure you will, dear.”

Shuffling to the door, she opened it for Grace. “I hope you find Julia.”

“Me too.”

“Be sure to button up your jacket. You wouldn’t want to catch a cold.”

“I will, Miss Mae. Have a good afternoon.”

“You too now.”

Grace walked through the door and waved as she rounded the corner.
How was she going to find Julia?
Her only lead was NYU. Hailing a cab, she headed to the university.

Carrying her purse and Julia’s bag full of mail, Grace walked through the halls of the Art History department of NYU. The letter to Julia was from the University’s College of Arts and Sciences-the same field Cade had been studying when he died. Grace had never thought she’d come back to this place.

“Grace?” a deep voice called.

She turned toward the sound and saw Ryan Murphy, Cade’s best friend. A smile swept across her lips as he closed the distance between them and hugged her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I’m looking for someone.”

Ryan was holding a briefcase in one hand, and a set of keys in the other. “Well, maybe I can help. Come into my office.” He turned on his heel and unlocked a door behind him.

Grace followed him into a tiny space. It was lined with bookshelves and smelled of patchouli and coffee. It reminded her of Cade, and her heart twisted painfully in her chest.

“Ryan Murphy, you’re a professor?” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

He chuckled. “Yeah, who would have thought, huh? But after-” Ryan abruptly stopped, and his gaze dropped to the picture on his desk. It was of Cade and him. They had their arms draped over one another’s shoulders, and both were holding mugs of beer. He looked at her and shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He was your best friend.”

“I haven’t seen you since the funeral.”

“I know. I can’t believe it’s already been six years,” she said, picking up the photo. “He would have loved to have seen you become a professor.”

“Yeah, right. He would have called me a sellout. We were supposed to travel the world and paint after we graduated, but I have a wife and a son now, and they depend on me, so I grew up and got a real job.”

Grace’s eyes widened in surprise. “You have a son? And you’re married! Why didn’t I get an invitation?”

“I sent one to your parents. I didn’t know your address.”

“I can’t believe they didn’t tell me,” she said, setting the photo back down on his desk.

“Don’t be angry with them. I’m sure the reminder was just too painful for them.”

She nodded and turned when a knock came from behind them. A woman in her late twenties was standing in the doorway. She had long black hair, brown eyes and was wearing leggings, boots, a red fedora and a long brown jacket. Grace couldn’t help but notice the alarmed expression that seized the woman’s pretty features.

“Hello,” she said to Grace, then her gaze turned to Ryan. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

Ryan was wearing a proud smile that stretched ear to ear. “It’s okay, honey. This is Grace Winters. Grace, this is my wife, Tara.”

Holding her hand out, Grace shook her hand and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Grace. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Her tone didn’t sound good.

Grace looked at Ryan, wondering if he noticed her reaction as well. He seemed oblivious, and Grace wondered if she were just imagining it. “Hopefully only good things.”

Ryan nodded. “Of course, only good,” he promised.

Tara came and stood by his side, and he leaned against his desk and looped his arms around her waist, perhaps in an attempt to soften her mood? Surely Grace wasn’t imaging Tara’s hostility. She’d never met this woman before, so what could be causing her to stare with such ill will?

“You said you were looking for someone, Grace. What is their name? I might not know them, but I can surely help if they are a student here.”

“I think she
was
a student here. Her name is Julia Burrows.”

Tara stiffened, and this time Ryan definitely noticed. He tilted his head toward her. “Do you know her, Tara?”

“What do you want with Julia?” she asked. “Did he send you?”

“He?” Graced asked, confused. “Do you mean Ellis Randall?”

“Yes, your
fiancé
.”

Ryan smiled. “That’s right. I remember seeing that on the news. Congratulations, Grace.”

“I’m not engaged to him anymore.”

Tara shook her head. “I don’t believe you. He’s never going to find her, so tell him to stop looking. Over my dead body will he ever hurt her again!”

Bile rose in Grace’s throat. Tara was protecting her friend. What had Ellis done to her?

“I swear, I’m not with him anymore. I found a file on Julia and one on myself. I don’t know why he has them, and I have to talk to her. I need to find out why she left him.”

Ryan stood and looked at his wife. “I’m going to give you two some privacy.”

Her expression softened as her gaze met his and she nodded. “Thank you.”

Once Ryan was gone, Tara paced the area next to his desk. She removed her hat and ran her fingers through her hair. “This really isn’t my story to tell.”

“Please, Tara. I know you don’t know me, and that you have no reason to trust me, but I promise I’m only here to find out the truth.” Grace paused and sighed. “Ellis scares me. That’s why I left him.”

“Well, you should be scared. He’s a monster.” Pausing, she stared at Grace before she picked up the phone off Ryan’s desk and dialed a number.

She turned her back to Grace, speaking quietly and quickly. She hung up the phone and turned around. “If anything happens to her...if he finds her, I swear I’ll hunt you down and-”

Grace held up her hands. “There’s no need for threats. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”

Tara expelled a troubled breath. “She’s in Durham, North Carolina, and she wants to talk to you too.” She scribbled an address down on a pink sticky note and handed it to her.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Together, they walked out of Ryan’s office. He was standing in the hallway, his face was heavy with concern. “Is everything alright?”

They both nodded.

“It was great to see you again, Ryan.” Grace turned to Tara. “And it was nice to meet you.”

“You too.”

Grace didn’t waste any time. She had to see Julia and find out why she left New York. She went straight to the airport.

Standing in line, she nervously tapped her foot. When it was her turn, she handed her information to the airline attendant. “I’d like to purchase a ticket to Durham, North Carolina.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

Spinning around, Grace was surprised to see Jack Woods. His salt and pepper gray hair was slicked back, and his face was tan and shaved. He flashed his white teeth in a knowing smile.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m here to talk to you.”

“I don’t understand, how did you find me?”

The airline attendant cleared her throat. “Ma’am, there are customers behind you, so if you aren’t going to buy a ticket, I’m going to have to ask you to step out of line.”

Grace was torn. Why was Jack here?

As if reading her mind, he said, “I’m only here to help you
and
Miss Burrows. We need to talk.”

How did he know about Julia?

She was in a hurry to get to Durham, but she didn’t want to disrespect Judas’s father, even if she did hate him. Perhaps she would use this time to tell him exactly what she thought about him.

Taking her credit card and ID back, she forfeited her place in line and followed Jack to an airport cafe around the corner from the ticket line. He sat in a gray plastic chair and crossed his legs, while Grace took a seat in the chair across from him.

A young woman came up to their table, holding a pen and pad. “How can I help,” She looked up, and her voice changed, becoming soft and hushed when she saw Jack. “Y
ou,
” she said, staring at him.

Grace observed the exchange, noting the effect this man had on the woman. He really was handsome, a perfect older version of Judas. She shook her head as the young woman took Jack’s order of a plain black coffee.

“I’ll take the same,” Grace added.

The waitress looked at her as if just registering she was also sitting at the table. “Of course, I’ll be right back.”

Jack gazed across the table at her; he had Judas’s same brown eyes, but reflecting from the depths of his soul, Grace saw a power hungry drive all too similar to Ellis. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I am here.”

“Yes, but we’ll get to that in a moment,” Grace said, hijacking the conversation. His eyebrows arched, and his eyes widened.

“By all means, Dr. Winters.” He gestured with his hand.

The waitress brought their coffees, and asked Jack if there were anything else she could get him, completely disregarding Grace. When he shook his head no, she sauntered away.

“I’d like to take this time to tell you that I don’t like you. Judas is a good man, with a good heart, and you have done nothing but hold him back and blame him for something he had no control over. You blame him for his mother’s death as if he is some murderer who pulled a trigger.”

Jack’s gaze narrowed. “Careful, Grace.”

“No, you’re the one who needs to be careful. You’re done controlling Judas.” Grace glared at him.

“Are you finished?” he asked, adjusting his cuff-links and glancing around.

She nodded and crossed her arms.

“Good,” he said, resting his elbows on the table. He looked at her, and she could tell he was suppressing the desire to castigate her for her tenacious tongue. “Now we can get down to business. Miss Burrows was your fiancé’s-”

“He’s not my fiancé,” she corrected. “I’m with Judas now. I’m going to be with Judas forever.”

“Alright, your ex-fiancé.” He arched his brows, and she nodded. Jack continued, “He has been looking for this woman for a long time. I presume to finish what he started, and ensure she never pops up in public and ruins his political career.”

“And why do you care if she does?”

He stared at her.

“Oh my god,” she gasped. “You want him as one of your trophies.”

He grinned. “Judas has been very forthcoming with you. Now that my son has found love, I would hate for him to lose the happily ever after he’s longed for before it has even begun.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“More like protecting my assets.”

“I don’t care what you do. Just stay away from me and Judas and leave Julia alone.”

“You’re protecting a woman you don’t even know. My wife was like that. Judas is a lot like her.”

“He’s like you too.” Jack looked at her. “He’s a great lawyer.”

“Yes, he is.” There was pride in his voice.

Fiddling with her napkin, she cut to the chase. “What do you want from me, Jack?”

His lips twitched. “I want you to go to Durham and befriend the lovely Miss Burrows. We need her on our side, for insurance purposes.”

“So you can use her against Ellis?”

“Tit for tat. I’ll promise her safety and money, whatever she needs in exchange for her promise to testify in court if the need presents itself, though I doubt we’ll ever need her. A battered ex-girlfriend makes for bad publicity, and he’ll be apt to accept my deal.”