Release (32 page)

Ryann
got the distinct impression that he was asking as a cousin, not as a detective.

“I...began
to feel sick, and decided to go home.”

As
if sensing she would remove her hand from his, Jeremy reached his other hand
over, sandwiching her hand between the two of his, and then began playing with
her fingers.  He was looking down, and she could see the movement of his
throat, while he swallowed.

“How
did you get home?”

“I
took a cab.”

“Alone?” 
Again, she got the impression this was a cousin question.

“No. 
Armand DiCarlo, he’s the man who…”

“That’s
ok, I know he is.  Keep going.”

“Armand
saw me when I was…feeling sick, and took me out a side entrance to get me a
cab.  He rode home with me and walked me to my door.”

“And?”

“And
what?”  She was getting tired of the detective asking what seemed like
questions on behalf of his cousin.

“What
happened next?”

“He
left, I came inside, and made a last minute decision to go visit my mom in
Connecticut.”

Jeremy
let go of a breath, then squeezed her hand.

The
detective nodded.  “Where in Connecticut?”

“I
took the train into New Haven.  My mom picked me up and we went to her
house in Hamden.”

The
detective wrote it down.  “That was a very quick trip.  Why so
short?”

Ryann
sighed, and plugged through, anxious for the questions to be done.  “I
awoke early, visited with my mom, and when my stepfather told me he saw the
story in the paper about the Mackenzie Renault painting being stolen, I decided
to head back.”

“Any
other reasons for heading back so quickly?”

Emily
interrupted.  “I’m afraid your questions are going to be short in their
duration, detective.  My client has her ticket stubs from the train rides
back and forth, and her alibi can easily be verified by an officer with the
Hamden PD.”

The
detective and Emily stared each other down, then Robbie’s brother said. 
“Ms. Thornton, Jennifer Edwards was one of the people who cast suspicion on you
for stealing the painting.”

She
heard Jeremy say “Shit!”, and Ryann snorted, shaking her head in
frustration.  “Why does that not surprise me?”

“I’m
aware of the complaint that you submitted which led to her resignation from the
Institute.”

Emily
looked up at Ryann.  Ryann sighed and quickly finished explaining what led
to her complaint, blushing furiously having to discuss her and Jeremy’s
relationship.  She didn’t go into too much detail, but just gave the
highlights.

Emily
then said, “So, it’s understandable what Jennifer’s motivations are.  You
said Jennifer was only
one
of the people...?”

“Armand
DiCarlo was the other one,” the detective said quietly, watching Ryann’s
reaction closely.

“Armand?”
Ryann asked in surprise.

“Son
of a
bitch!
” Jeremy exclaimed.

“Jem,
get your ass in the kitchen.  Right now.  Or leave the
apartment.  Take your pick,” his cousin said.

“There’s
no way I’m leaving,” Jeremy fumed.

“I
told you to keep your mouth shut.  It’s obvious you’re not going to be
able to do that.  So either get your ass in the kitchen, or get the hell
out of here.”

Jeremy
was still furious.  He turned to Ryann.  “What did he do last
night?  Did he make a pass at you?”

The
detective stood and yelled, “Jem, get to the kitchen, and let me do my
job! 
Now.”

“I
have a right to know!”

Ryann’s
own anger peaked at that moment.  “No.  You don’t.  You gave up
that right last night…or was it
earlier
than last night?  Maybe a
week and a half ago.  When you were in Boston?” she growled.

Jeremy
looked like he had been punched in the gut, and Ryann felt a moment of
remorse.  But only a moment.  Good.  Let him see how it feels.

He
let go of her hand, and stormed into the kitchen.

The
detective took a cleansing breath, and sat back down.

“Let
me clarify...Jennifer Edwards was the first to mention your name, and DiCarlo
corroborated some of her suspicions...First, does DiCarlo have any reason to
cast suspicion your way?”

Ryann
thought back to the scene outside her door.  She sighed, knowing full well
that Jeremy was going to overhear everything she was about to say.

“He’s
been expressing his…interest…for the past week and a half or so.  Last
night, when he saw that I was…sick…he brought me home, and…” She sighed,
anticipating the noise about to come from the kitchen.  “He…wanted to come
in with me, and I said no.”

They
could all hear Jeremy mumbling in the kitchen, and the detective rolled his
eyes in exasperation at the sounds coming from the other room.

“And
did he take no for an answer?”

She
hesitated, then said, “He was persistent, but as I said, he eventually
left.  A little angry, but he left.”

“You
said eventually.  How did you know he was angry?  Did he do or say
something to indicate his anger?”

“He
was…annoyed.  He…he kissed me on the neck, but I pushed him away and asked
him to respect my wishes.  He was a little put out, and didn’t leave until
I was inside my apartment, but he left.”

She
heard a “Good” come from the kitchen, and couldn’t help but smirk.  The
detective seemed to think it amusing as well.  Then he got serious.

“DiCarlo
and Edwards both agreed that you knew the inner workings of the Institute due
to your relationship with Jeremy, and Jennifer Edwards said that you had been
asking a lot of questions about the layout of the building.”

Ryann
frowned.  “That’s not true.”

“And
DiCarlo also said that you asked him to give you a private showing of the
painting yesterday afternoon.  That you wanted to be alone with him, and
had seemed interested in the security detail.”

She
heard what sounded like a fist pounding on the kitchen counter, and said, 
“No.  That’s also not true.  I was on my way out at around three,
because classes ended early, but Armand saw me and asked if I wanted to see the
painting since it had just been set up.  He took me back to show it to me,
then I left.  I never asked any questions.  The only topic of
conversation that continued to come up with Armand were his constant
observations about… about my relationship with Jeremy, and what a womanizer
Jeremy is.” 

She
heard the word ‘fuck’ come from the kitchen, then took a deep breath and
continued.  “And that when Jeremy showed his true colors, Armand would be
waiting to pick up where Jeremy left off.  But Armand always initiated
those conversations.  In fact he told me when I first met him that he had
asked Jennifer to introduce us to each other.”

The
expletives heard from the kitchen only contributed to her pissed off
state.  She was ready to have it out with Jeremy, and for everyone else to
be gone.

“Detective,
it’s obvious these are juvenile accusations by DiCarlo and Edwards. 
There’s no evidence that Ms. Thornton has had anything to do with this. 
This has all been done out of spite and jealousy.  Verify her alibi, and
let’s be done with this,” Emily said.

Michael
Callahan looked at Emily, then turned to Ryann, and said, “Don’t leave the
City, Ms. Thornton.  We’ll call when your alibi’s been checked.”

They
all got up, and the detective moved to the door.  Michael looked at Emily,
letting his gaze obviously appreciate her cute figure, and smirked,
“Counselor.  It was nice...
seeing
....you.”

Emily
bristled just as Jeremy reappeared from the kitchen, glaring at his cousin who
smiled back at him.

“So,
Jem,” Michael began with an innocent look on his face, “now that my official
capacity here is done, I’ve been dying to ask… When did you and your fiancé get
engaged?”

Ryann
jerked her head up.  Engaged?  He was
engaged?!
  She
thought back to the woman from the night before and nearly passed out from the
pain that tore through her.

A
wave of dizziness hit her, and she realized she had begun to hyperventilate. 
She must have made a noise, because Jeremy looked at her stricken face, and
started to run toward her, when Ryann whispered, “You fucking bastard...fucking
asshole!”
she sputtered, all of the hurt and rage she’d felt for the last
several hours shaking her voice.

Ryann
pushed Jeremy in the chest.  “Get the hell out of my apartment!  GET
OUT!!” she screamed, furious tears falling from her eyes.

The
detective looked completely confused and a little worried, and walked back into
the room.  “What the hell…?”

Jeremy
grabbed her arms, and yelled over her, “Stop!  It’s
you
,
Ryann!  He’s talking about
you
!”

She
stopped struggling and then, overcome with uncertainty, fatigue, and emotion
from the entire ordeal, she collapsed in exhaustion to the floor, with Jeremy
and Emily immediately dropping down next to her.

Ryann
could barely make out what was going on around her, but she vaguely heard
Jeremy’s cousin asking what he should do, and Jeremy telling everyone to
leave.  She didn’t care.  She just wanted to crawl into her bed and
sleep.  Escape the shitstorm that had become her life.

Jeremy
carried her into the bedroom, and she didn’t fight him.  She didn’t have
the energy.

He
laid her down, and took off her sneakers and socks, then crawled in after her,
spooning her from behind, his arm holding her tight to him.  He rested his
face on hers, rubbing their cheeks together, and rocked her.

“There’s
only you, baby.  I swear.  There’s only you,” he kept murmuring over
and over, his voice thick with emotion.  “Shh.”  He continued to rock
her, but the events of the last day finally took over body, and she fell into a
deep sleep.

…..

Ryann
awoke to an empty bed.  She looked around the bedroom and wondered if
she’d dreamed Jeremy holding her.  As she turned her head, she found a
note next to her.

Hi baby,

My attorney just got here, so I’m going to run down to
talk to him.  Then I’m going to go get us some food down the block since
you don’t have much in the fridge.  I should be back by 2 at the
latest.  If you wake up before I get back, don’t you dare think of going
anywhere.  First of all, I took your key so I could get back in without
having to wake you.  But second of all, I swear, Ryann, if you leave, I’ll
hunt you down.  Neither of us is going to sleep tonight until we talk
everything through.

Please don’t worry about anything, baby.  It’s all
going to be okay.  I promise.

Only yours,

Jeremy

She
was crying again.  God, the last time she’d cried this much was when Brent
died.  She sat there for a moment to gather her thoughts, wiping at her
eyes.  She looked at the clock.  It was 1:30, and she wondered how
long ago he’d left.

Her
intercom buzzed.  She got up, and walked like an old woman to the
intercom.  She hoped it wasn’t the detectives again.  Or the press,
she thought suspiciously.  Had her name gotten out there as a suspect?

“Hello?”

“Umm,
hi.  Is this Ryann Thornton?” a woman’s voice asked nervously.

“Who
is this please?”

“Umm,”
the woman said, clearing her throat, “this is Tiffany Daniels Hewitt?  You
saw me last night at the gala, and I think there may have been a
misunderstanding.  I got your address from my brother, Luke…He’s on the board
at the Institute….Well, he
had
been an alternate, but… well, I can
explain when I come up.  Can we please talk?  Can I come up?”

Ryann’s
stomach clenched.  Luke Daniels’ sister?  Luke, who was Jeremy’s
closest and oldest friend?  The woman she saw Jeremy with last night was
Luke’s sister?

Ryann
rested her head on the wall next to the intercom unit, and closed her
eyes.  Then she hit the button and buzzed Tiffany in.

…..

Ryann
opened the door to the beautiful tall woman with long black hair.  Ryann
was really wishing she had taken a shower that morning, so she could’ve at
least armed herself with some makeup.  She was still sporting what was
left of the makeup on her face from the night before, had been crying off and
on for hours, and had just woken up. 

She
was betting she looked spectacular right about now.

And
here was this woman who she’d hated for the last 18 hours, looking expensive
and fresh as a daisy in her designer dress and heels.

The
only thing that calmed Ryann was the nervous wringing of the woman’s hands, and
the look of worry pinching her features.

“Hi,”
she said cautiously.  “May I come in?”

Ryann
didn’t answer, but stepped back and opened the door letting her in.

Tiffany
walked into the living room, and looked around.  “You have a beautiful
place,” she said, her voice low.

“Thank
you.”

Tiffany
looked at her and smiled.  Then her speech began.  Haltingly.

“I
wanted to…explain…what you saw last night.  It…” she stopped and shook her
head, then looked at Ryann.  “Do you mind if we sit?”  The woman
looked terrified.

Ryann
directed her to the sofa, and Ryann sat in the armchair.

The
woman looked at her, and bit her lip.  “First of all, Jem has no idea I’m
here.  He’d probably kill me.  God knows, he wanted to kill somebody
last night.  I’ve never seen him so frantic.  Have you seen him yet
today?  I know it’s none of my business, but I’m sure he’s even more crazy
today, what with the stolen painting and everything,” she said in a rush.

It
was obvious Tiffany didn’t know about the detectives’ visit, or that Jeremy had
found her.

“Tiffany,
please just say what you came here to say.”