and the darkness made panic surge. I ran. As fast as I could, eyes on the stairs. I collided with another body and went down. I screamed and tried to roll away.
“Kit!”
It was Hank. He was on his hands and knees, staring at me through the gloom, his eyes wild.
“What are you doing?” We both screamed the question at the same time.
I rolled on my back on the hard cement floor, gasping. “You scared the living daylights out of me!”
“Me, too. Why were you hiding?”
“Why did you turn out the lights?”
“I thought —” He got up and put out his hand to me, pulling me upright.
“You thought what?” I asked, dusting off my pants.
“Never mind. Mom sent me down for the Christmas box,” he said, gesturing to a box by the elevator. “She puts the Christmas stuff up the day after Thanksgiving. Everything has to be done the same way, every year, even this one. She’s crazy.”
Hank wasn’t meeting my eyes. He’d seen the headlines, too, of course.
“Well,” he said, “I guess I’ll see you around. Happy Thanksgiving.”
I could see that he could hardly wait to get away. He must have hated me. And of course he was afraid of Nate.
Afraid of Nate… With everything I’d been thinking, I’d forgotten about that meeting with Hank. What had that been about? Nate’s hand on Hank’s shoulder, whispering…
“It’s not true,” I said.
He half turned. I could only see the side of his face. “What’s not true?”
“I’m not Nate’s girlfriend. I already told you he’s Billy’s father. That’s why he gave me the apartment.”
“It’s none of my business.”
“You’ve got to believe me!” I insisted. “I was mixed up with him, but not that way. And Hank — I think he might have killed somebody.”
“Well, that’s reassuring,” Hank said. “Just one?”
I closed my eyes for a second. “Please don’t joke right now. Please.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
“I just wanted you to know that I’m not… what they say I am. I’m not the best person, but I’m not… that.
Look, out of everyone in New York, your family should understand. Sometimes what they say about you? It just isn’t true. No matter how true it looks.”
He frowned. “Please don’t cry. It’s really hard to talk to you when you cry. Here.” He offered me his shirttail, and it made me laugh.
I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. “The reason I’m down here — I’m looking for evidence. I think my aunt was Bridget Warwick. I think she took that name — and she lived in my apartment with Nate.” I spilled out the story as fast as I could, afraid he’d walk away. But I could tell that he wouldn’t, that he was believing me, every word.
“You thought she was in the trunk?” he asked, his eyes wide. “And you opened it?”
“I had to know. Hank, what happened that day with Nate? Did he threaten you about something?” Hank hesitated. The air down here was chilly and damp, and I felt goose bumps on my arms. “I didn’t send that message to come to my apartment. You saw how surprised I was to see you. Please tell me. I might be able to help you. Did he threaten you that day? About what?”
“I was there that night,” Hank blurted.
Slowly, I realized what he meant. “You’re the witness.”
“I just wanted to walk you home. I didn’t know if your boyfriend would come. I waited and you didn’t come out. Everybody else came out, and I just kept waiting around the corner. I wanted to talk to you, I guess. Make sure you were okay or something.”
“I didn’t see you.”
“Finally I decided to go in and look. I used that door you told me about —”
“— the door to the lounge —”
“It was dumb, I know. I peeked in the dressing room but it was empty. I was just going out when I heard a noise. So I opened the door and saw — I saw it happen. I saw it, the whole thing.” Hank’s face twisted. “It happened fast— he got shot in the head. I don’t think he knew it was coming, because he didn’t try to get up. Or maybe he did know it. I don’t want to think about that part.”
“Was Nate there?”
“I don’t know! I couldn’t see anything, no faces or anything. All I saw were men in suits. Except for the killer. The big guy they caught? He did it.”
“So just tell the cops you didn’t see anything but that.”