“How is she?” Grant asked.
I sighed. “Well, she doesn’t know that you’re funding her art career. At least not yet.” That was met with momentary silence. It wasn’t often that I caught my friend off guard. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me and how in the hell had you kept that out of your thoughts every time I was around you?”
“I’ve had years of practice controlling my thoughts around you, but how did you figure that out? Did Jenny show up and tell Stella? If she does, my sister will never forgive me.”
“No, Jenny hasn’t, but Stella’s former fiancé was attacked. He told me that Jenny approached him and made the deal. He also told me that the person I think is responsible for Stella getting sick—”
“What do you mean person responsible?” Grant demanded.
“My theory is that she’s being poisoned. I’m just waiting on forensics to confirm what happened since the cops that were searching for clues ate the same thing and they all turned up sick.”
“What kind of sick bastard would do that?”
“The kind of guy that wants her to depend on him. The kind of guy that would do anything in his power to make her need him. The kind of guy that would kill for her.”
“Oh crap,” Grant whispered. “She has a damn stalker.”
“Yeah, but this one isn’t hiding in the shadows. He’s inserted himself directly into her life. He’s gotten up close and personal, and to make things worse, he’s one of the ones that probably made a deal with Jenny. How could you do that to her, Grant? I’ve seen her stuff. She’s talented.”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve checked in on her, Ash. She was having financial troubles and then coupled with doctor bills…”
“She has a trust fund, right?”
“She’s too stubborn to use it. She has talent. She really does. I’ve always believed that, but I had to do something. She’s my sister.”
“It’s not a matter of if she finds out. It’s a matter of when.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it.”
“You should call Jenny to find out who all she hired, Grant. But even then, I think it may already be too late.”
“Just bring her home alive and in one piece. I’ll take it from there.”
“The gallery showing is tonight. I was going to wait and bring her home in the morning, but I’d feel better if I got her out of town right after the showing. The detective working her case has already issued a BOLO for Conrad. Every cop in the city is keeping an eye out for him.”
“I’ll have the plane there in two hours and ready for your departure for after the show.”
I just hoped like hell I could keep her alive that long.
21
Ashton
I parked outside the pizza place Stella had ordered from last night. Customers sat inside, eating in blissful ignorance, while other patrons were leaving. None looked as though they were sick. A girl dressed in a red and black checkered pizza uniform had her back to the window, wiping down tables. The place didn’t look like it employed killers. It looked like any other mom-and-pop shop that belonged on any Main Street in any small town, USA.
When forensics ran their test, this place would be crawling with officers trying to figure out who’d tried to hurt some of their own. Once word got out, the pizza joint might never recover from the bad publicity alone.
I cut the engine, headed inside, and was immediately hit with the hearty smell of Italian cooking heavy on the oregano.
A couple of guys were tossing dough up into the air, putting on a show making the pizza for the waiting customers. A woman and a kid were sitting at one table. The kid was coloring on a child’s menu. The mother was texting on her phone. Her thoughts were running through a list of babysitter names while planning for a night out on the town.
Stella’s student, Avery, was across the room wiping the table. She looked up. Her eyes widened in alarm as the color slowly drained from her face.
An older bald man stood behind the counter. He wasn’t wearing the uniform but was dressed more business casual. Judging by the expensive watch on his wrist, I’d venture a guess he probably owned the place.
Avery stepped in front of me, stopping my advance to the counter. “You’re Stella’s friend, right?”
“You remembered.” I nodded, watching as she tried to calm her nervousness.
