He Called It a Joke. I Called My Lawyers. Chapter 09

shouldn’t have opened it.

I opened it.

Grant’s voice first, hoarse and strange. “Is it true? The Dallas guy. The surgeon. Is it true?”

Then Kayla, laughing. Not the soft, wet giggle she used around hirm. A flat, bored laugh.

“Oh my God, Grant. Did you really think I was into you? You’re a mid-level marketing guy who eats cereal for dinner

“You said you loved me.”

“I said what you needed to hear. You were the door. She was the house.” A clink of ice in a glass. “Honestly, you made it so easy. One little ‘I’ve never seen an ice sculpture, and you wrapped your own fiancée in plastic. You didn’t even hesitate.”

“I hesitated.”

“For like, two seconds. Then you said okay. You always say okay.”

Silence on the recording. Then Grant’s voice, barely audible.

“Did you drug her? At the boutique. Was that you?”

“It was ether. I bought it online. She was fine. It’s not like she died.” A sigh. “Look, I’m leaving town. You’re unemployed

and on the internet’s most-hated list, so this is where we break up. Don’t call me.”

The recording ended.

There was a second file. Shorter. Grant alone.

“I’m sending this to the police too. Not because it helps me. It doesn’t. I said okay. She’s right. I said okay.” His voice cracked. “I keep thinking about you on that pillar. I was across the room. I could see your eyes. You were looking for me, Nor. And I was getting Lacey a drink.”

I closed my laptop.

I sat very still for a long time.

My phone rang. A Boston number I didn’t recognize. Against every instinct, I picked up.

“Nora?” A woman’s voice. Older. Trembling. “It’s Diane. Grant’s mom.”

I closed my eyes. “Diane.”

“I just found out. About the foundation. About the chemo.” She was crying. “Ninety-four thousand dollars. They told me it

was a charity grant. A lottery. I thanked God every night. I thanked God, and it was you.”

“You were family,” I said. “You made me grilled cheese every day after school for ten years.”

“And my son…” She couldn’t finis

“It’s not your fault.”

“I raised him.” A long, shaky breath. “Nora, I need you to know something. He’s not eating. He sleeps in his car outside your old apartment. Yesterday he went out to Miller’s Pond and just stood there. For hours. In the cold.”

My heart lurched. The old reflex. Go. Fix it. Save him.

“I’m not asking you to come back,” Diane said quickly. “I’m not. I’d never. I just… I needed to tell someone who loved him once. Because I don’t think anyone else ever did. Not the way you did.”

After she hung up, I stood at my window and watched the London Eye turn slowly against the black sky. All fit b. Every capsule glowing.

I’d always wanted to ride a Ferris wheel at night. Grant always said they were for tourists.

Go. Fix it.

I picked up my phone. Pulled up flights to Boston.

Then I stopped.

I thought of the plastic. The champagne in my nose. Fine. Just don’t post her face.

I called the Boston police department instead. I asked for a wellness check on Grant Ellison. I gave them Diane’s number.

Then I put my phone face-down on the counter.

That was all I owed him. A phone call. The same thing I’d made for him three years ago.

Someone else could save him this time.

The next morning, Harlan called.

“The DA got Grant’s recording. Kayla Dunn has been charged in Massachusetts with kidnapping, assault by means of a dangerous substance, and conspiracy. Tyler Banks and Brent Cole flipped this morning. They’re testifying against her.”

“And Kayla?”

A pause.

“That’s the problem,” Harlan said, “She’s gone. Bought a one-way ticket three days ago. Paid cash.”

My blood went cold.

“Where?”

“Heathrow.”