Savage Bonds: The Raven Room Trilogy - Book Two Page 9

  “Also, it’s been almost a month since Sofia’s murder.”

  “So?” she asked.

  “Listen, I want to make an arrest. I’m sick and tired of having your stepmom look at me like I’m an idiot. She’s all over this case and if I can get a leg up on her I’ll be seen as her equal partner. I hate to say it, but Sofia’s case has gone cold. What do we have?” Colton threw the empty bottle in the garbage bin. “Useless fucking theories that won’t mean shit. I heard they’re going to finally shut down the New Jackson. Soon, the place will be a boutique hotel or condos for rich people. No one will care or want to hear about anything that happened there.”

  “The police might not be able to prove who killed Sofia, but I need to know who did it. At least that.”

  “Knowing who killed her, without seeing them brought to justice? That’ll drive you crazy. Why would you want that?”

  Because I’ll know that Julian is innocent, Meredith admitted to herself. To her, the certainty that Julian hadn’t harmed either Sofia or Lena was as important as the police arresting the killer.

  “Still no footage from the security cameras at the hotel?” she asked.

  “They weren’t working, so we won’t be getting anything.”

  “How about the shops nearby? Maybe their security cameras will show who walked by, who entered the hotel.”

  “Are you sure Reeve was with you all night? He never left the condo?” Colton lit a cigarette. Without asking, he gave Meredith one and passed her the lighter.

  Both Colton and Pam had asked her that question right after Sofia’s death. She had lied to the police then and would continue to do so. Admitting to deception now would not benefit her or Julian.

  “Yes, we were together all night,” she replied, cigarette in hand.

  “What were you guys doing?”

  “Fucking. What else?”

  “And you’re OK with that?”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Being with a guy that just wants to fuck you?” he clarified.

  Meredith remained impassive but the disapproval in Colton’s voice made it hard for her not to react. At that moment, as she stood in Colton’s kitchen, wearing damp clothes and smoking a cigarette that failed to mollify her, she wanted to walk out of his home and never speak to him again. But she couldn’t. She needed him.

  “I love it. I get off on it,” she replied. “And that scares you.”

  “It confuses me.”

  Meredith threw her head back and blew a cloud of cigarette smoke toward the ceiling. “That’s your problem, not mine.”

  “Your stepmom said something that got me thinking, Reeve’s lifestyle. How can he afford it? And please don’t tell me he works hard. It means shit. Hard work doesn’t make you rich.”

  “So now you’re looking at his bank account too?”

  “Everything. Him and Thompson are two motherfuckers cut from the same cloth.”

  At least she and Colton agreed on something. “I don’t like Thompson either.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist. Meredith continued to hold her burning cigarette.

  “Stay the night. I want to make you come again and again, babe, just like you did on the stairs.”

  She hadn’t had an orgasm, but she didn’t want him to know that. It wasn’t that she hadn’t enjoyed it—she had. But what had taken place on the stairs had not been about pleasure. It had been about her making sure Colton would never say no to her.

  • • •

  Colton stepped out of the pitch-black bedroom and Meredith heard the water running in the bathroom. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and called Julian. He answered at the second ring.

  “Hey. Listen, I can’t talk long. The police have someone following you.” Meredith pressed her face against the mattress, waiting for his reply.

  “Where are you?” he asked, his voice as low as hers.

  “At some guy’s place…in his bed. But he’s coming back, so I should hang up.”

  Another pause. Meredith was about to end the call when Julian spoke. “Are you going back to sleep?”

  “No…”

  “Don’t hang up.”

  Meredith waited for him to continue.

  “I want to hear you.”

  With Colton approaching the bedroom, she placed the phone face down on the nightstand, closer to the bed this time.

  Colton joined her in bed and started to caress her body. While she held on to him, kissed his skin and moaned against his lips, he wasn’t the man she thought of as she experienced the pleasure that had eluded her all night long.

  Chapter 11

  “What’s going on, M? You’ve stopped coming to the house. I never see you anymore.”

  Meredith raised her eyes from her salad and faced her father. “I’ve been busy.”

  “How are your studies?”

  “Fine.”

  “I’m glad you called and suggested lunch.”

  “I thought you would like that.” Meredith needed to learn more about Thompson, and since her father had talked about him in the past, she figured she’d start there.

  “You’re not being your usual cheerful self. Things are not fine.”

  “Everything is fine,” she insisted.

  “When I asked Pam if she had seen you, she brushed it off. Sounds to me like you two had another argument. We both only want the best for you. We care about you.”

  “She’s not my mother.”

  “She’s obviously not your mother, and no one is saying she is, but Pam has been part of your life since you were sixteen. Don’t dismiss her contribution to who you are today.”

  Meredith didn’t want to get into a conversation with her father about Pam. She needed to placate him. “I might have hated Pam when I first met her, but I was a teenager. I would have hated any woman. You’re right, sometimes we fight, but it’s nothing serious. Pam and I are fine. Believe me.”

  “A friend of mine mentioned he saw you having drinks with Isaac Croswell. Are you two dating?”

  Meredith almost dropped her fork. “You know Isaac?”

  “Socially. Chicago can be a small city.”

  “He never mentioned you to me.”

  “I’m assuming he was distracted.”

  “By what?”

  “I’m your father, don’t make me spell it out to you.”

  “We’re not sleeping together if that’s what you’re trying to get at.”

  “Who you choose or don’t choose to have sex with is up to you. I’ve never gotten involved in that aspect of your life and I’m not going to start now. All I can hope is that your choices prove that I’m a good father and that I raised you well.”

  “I never accused you of not being a good father. You’re certainly better than most.”

  Meredith put a fork filled with spinach in her mouth, forcing herself to chew. She wondered why she had ordered the salad when there were several other items on the menu she’d rather eat. She hated salad. It was messy and by the end of it she would still be hungry.

  “Are you still planning to move to France once you’re done with your Masters?” he asked.

  “You don’t think it’s a good idea?”

  “On the contrary, I believe it’s exactly what you need. The next chapter in your life. I can help you get settled.”

  “Are you saying you’ll pay for it?”

  “You’re my only child and living in Paris will make you happy. I will do anything in my power to make that happen. I’m not spoiling you. I’m helping you achieve your dream.”

  Meredith smiled. “An apartment in the Sixth Arrondissement?”

  Samuel smiled back at her. “You remind me of your mother. She also loved Paris, and that was her favorite neighborhood. We used to visit the city twice a year before you were born. It reminded her of St. Petersburg. She was permanently homesick.”

  “And then I came along and ruined everything.”

  “That’s not true, M. We wanted you very much. An
d after you were born we continued to take you everywhere we went. You were just too young to remember, that’s all.”

  “You two always sounded too perfect. There had to be something wrong with you guys. I don’t know anyone who has happily married parents.”

  “Pam and I are happily married.”

  “You’re happily married because you’re both always working. You live separate lives. She’s obsessed with her murder cases and you, I don’t know”—she played with a piece of cucumber on the edge of her plate—“lock away as many people as possible, I guess.”

  “Both Pam and I love this city. We have dedicated our careers to it, and everything we do is to protect the ideals we believe in. Our strong love for Chicago is what brought us together and one of the reasons our marriage works. We have common goals.”

  Meredith saw this as the perfect opportunity to shift the conversation. “That reminds me, I just read an article about Steven Thompson. It jumped out at me because you, Pam, and I once had a conversation about him and Mayor Matheson. Do you guys know Thompson?”

  “What was the article about?”

  Meredith took a long sip of her water so she could buy herself time to come up with an answer. “Something about the city,” she replied, making herself sound nonchalant.

  “Steven was the one who introduced Pam and I,” Samuel chuckled. “I always said I owed him one.”

  Meredith was sure her jaw had just touched the tabletop.

  “But we aren’t friends. If you recall, Pam is not his biggest fan.”

  “You met Pam through Thompson?” She couldn’t believe it.

  “They went to college together. He introduced us at a fundraiser.”

  “How about Thompson’s wife? Do you know her?”

  “We frequent the same circles. I’ve seen her a few times but we’ve never been formally introduced. Why do you ask?”

  Meredith hoped she wouldn’t end up spitting up organic leafy greens all over the pristine white tablecloth. Conveniently, Pam hadn’t mentioned her connection to Thompson.

  “You look upset, M.”

  “I find it surprising that Pam and Thompson have known each other since college, that’s all.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he’s—” Meredith stopped herself mid-sentence. It was best not to mention the details of Sofia’s murder and Tatiana’s presumed disappearance with her father. She didn’t want the discussion to lead to Julian. Instead, she came up with another answer. “I got the impression that Thompson comes from money and Pam had—how should I put it—a more humble background.”

  “She grew up in Albany Park.”

  “I guess that makes her from the right side of town.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “C’mon, you raised me in a bubble. We still live in one. You don’t mingle with anyone that doesn’t belong in your world, so I never really understood how you and Pam came to be. But if she’s from Albany Park and she went to college with someone like Thompson, she’s not the rough-around-the-edges, South Side homicide detective that she pretends to be. It explains things.”

  Her father sighed, resting his fork in his plate. “You told me you and Pam were on good terms but that’s clearly not the case. What can I do to fix whatever is going on between the two of you?”

  “She’s a lying bitch. Can you fix that?”

  “Meredith, stop it.” Samuel kept his voice low but his tone was stern. “I won’t have you talk about her like that. She’s my wife and your stepmother. You are going to sit down and have a conversation like two adults. Can you come by the house tonight?”

  “I can’t. Got things to do.”

  “Cancel whatever you have going on. We’re having a family meeting.”

  “A family meeting? What the hell are we? The Brady Bunch?” She removed the napkin draped over her lap and placed it on the table. “I’m not coming.”

  “You and Pam are working out this nonsense tonight or you can kiss the apartment in the Sixth Arrondissement goodbye. What’s it going to be, Meredith?”

  “Are you serious?”

  “It’s your choice. I’m tired of the two women in my life acting like immature schoolgirls. You can’t have everything you want and not at least make an effort to give back to your family.”

  “Why is it on me to fix it? Have you told Pam she has to play nice or you’re going to take away the swanky lifestyle she’d never be able to afford on her own?”

  “I don’t talk to my wife as if she were my twenty-three-year-old daughter. We’ve had conversations and she’s aware of how important it is for me that the two of you are on good terms.”

  Meredith wanted to smash all the dishes laid out between them but she knew that such emotional display would only make her look like an idiot. She needed to harness all her self-control and use it to act rationally. She reached for her purse and stood up.

  “Thanks for meeting me for lunch.” Before she turned to leave, she faced her father. “I’ll live in Paris. Without your help.”

  • • •

  “Are you sure you didn’t know that Pam and Thompson went to college together? That he introduced her to my father?”

  Tatiana shook her head. “I wish I did. You can’t trust your stepmom, Meredith. Her or anyone else.”

  After her disastrous lunch with her father, Meredith had sought out Tatiana’s company. She wanted to find out more about the relationship between her stepmother and Tatiana’s husband. Pam was investigating a murder that somehow involved Thompson and she had said multiple times that she disliked the man. But was it possible Pam was protecting him, and did he have anything to do with her hatred toward Julian?

  Meredith lay on Tatiana’s bed. “I wonder if she’s aware that your husband goes to The Raven Room.”

  “If she does, it’s because Steven couldn’t keep his mouth shut. My sister was the only person I ever told I had a membership and I wish—”

  Meredith sat up. “You have a membership?”

  “Didn’t you see me at the club?”

  “I assumed you had access to it because of your husband.”

  “He has a membership too, but I got mine first. It’s because of me that he got involved with The Raven Room.”

  “If you wanted to, would you be able to get in?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Do you ever think about going back?”

  “I’ve never met anyone who has managed to walk away. That place takes hold of you.” Tatiana’s serious expression broke into a smile. “It’s a mix of prohibition bordello with opium den atmosphere.”

  “Julian said that what Thompson did to you at the club cost him his membership…would it be safe if you visited The Raven Room?”

  “Nothing happens to me there that I haven’t consented to. Same with you or anyone else.”

  “What if you and I went together? Could we?”

  “When?

  “Tonight?”

  Before Tatiana could reply, she continued. “How long has it been since you’ve been outside? A month and a half, two months?” If Meredith was to learn more about the murders, she needed to go back to the club, but she didn’t want to share her true motivation with Tatiana. “Don’t you want to get out of this condo? Go somewhere? The Raven Room is the perfect place. We’ll have fun together, without having to worry about your husband or the police.”

  “Six weeks. It’s been six weeks since I’ve been outside.”

  “Listen, I’ll go back to my place and borrow a dress and pair of high heels from my roommate for you. You two aren’t the same size, but close enough. I also have this black wig I wore to a Halloween party a couple of years ago. I’ll drive back here, drop off everything, and while you’re getting ready I’ll head to the club.” Meredith knew she was being followed, either by the police or someone else. It would be safer for Tatiana if they traveled separately. “You can take a cab there. You’ll look very different. No one will know it’s you. We’ll meet at th
e check-in area of the club.”

  Tatiana continued to face the ceiling. When Meredith thought she had decided to ignore her, she spoke. “As long as on our way back here we get to stop in the cemetery to visit my sister’s grave.”

  Meredith didn’t hesitate. “Let’s do it.”

  “Julian can’t know.”

  “Is it because I shouldn’t go to the club without him? I’ve always been there as his guest.”

  “If you’ve been at least once it means you’ve been vetted. After that, you can get in as a guest of any member.”

  “Where is he now?” Meredith asked.

  “Not home.”

  “What if we run into him at The Raven Room?”

  “We won’t.”

  Tatiana spoke with such certainty that Meredith believed her.

  • • •

  Two hours later, Tatiana met Meredith by the check-in area of the club. Relief over having reached their destination without any trouble coursed through Meredith, and on impulse, she kissed Tatiana.

  “I like the way you kiss,” Tatiana said as she caressed Meredith’s neck. “Like you don’t have a care in the world.”

  “There’s only one thing missing.” Meredith pulled out her Chanel lipstick from inside her purse. She applied it to Tatiana’s lips and when she was happy with the result she took a step back to admire Tatiana. Wearing a black bob wig, a short red dress, and six-inch heels, Tatiana had lost her soft, ingénue appearance. She looked like a woman Meredith should be intimidated by. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered to Tatiana.

  Tatiana turned to the check-in desk and passed the security guard her phone and Meredith’s. Next, she pressed her thumb to a small glass surface by the reception desk. When Meredith didn’t follow her through the main door, Tatiana appeared confused. “What are you waiting for?”

  “Don’t you need your membership card?”

  “You mean my key?” Tatiana chuckled. “That’s just theatrics. All they really need is my fingerprint.”

  As they entered the club, Meredith smiled inwardly—she had missed The Raven Room. But the nostalgic feeling quickly disappeared and she stiffened. She remembered the club might be the reason behind the deaths of two women.