And as with her meeting with Kelman, it might just be worth the risk.
She rose from the table, wandered into the living room, and stood in a puddle of April sunlight by one of the windows, staring out at a purple-red brick apartment building across Park Avenue and the improbable strip of blue sky above it. She felt so safe up in Baby’s apartment, with not only the doorman and concierge in the lobby but the two guards who stood just at the entrance to the courtyard with its circular drive. She might as well have been in an ivory tower. But she couldn’t stay here forever, and she didn’t want to. She longed to be back in her own home, her own bed, no longer fearful for her life. She had to figure out how to make that happen.
Lost in thought, she barely heard her phone ring from the dining room. Her heart skipped at the sound. It made her think of Avery’s muffled ringtone echoing eerily from the stairwell that morning, beckoning her and Dara toward the gruesome discovery. She dashed back toward the dining room. Keith Holt’s name was on the screen.
“Tell me you’re okay,” were the first words out of his mouth.
“Okay?” she said. Could he have heard about Avery already? Maybe, but she didn’t dare let on until she knew for sure.
“My assistant said that a woman was killed in your building.”
So he did know.
“I’m fine, but it was actually a client of mine who died. As you can imagine, we’re very upset about it.”
“Was it some kind of freak accident?”
“The police are investigating, but we haven’t been told anything yet.”
She knew it was important to seem straightforward, but she had no intention of sharing the information she’d overheard.
“Well, I’m just glad to know you’re safe.”
“That’s very nice of you, Keith. It’s been a tough day, but we’re coping. The reason I called earlier was to tell you that I had a chance to take a closer look at the clippings you pulled, and I’d love to share my ideas with you when you have a free moment.”
“Terrific, and I’d like to hear your thoughts. But I’m going to have to call you in a few days. My schedule has gotten extremely tight this week.”
“Of course,” she said. “Just shoot me an email when your time frees up.”
After they’d exchanged goodbyes, she sighed in dismay. It sounded as if he was pulling back. She tried to tell herself she was overreacting, but up until now he’d seemed more than eager to meet with her at the drop of a hat. There just might be too much drama surronding her for his taste.
She called Dara next, eager to know how she was holding up. Her boyfriend Scott had come home from work early to spend the day with her and she sounded less shell-shocked. There’d been at least ten more calls from press, she reported, even one from the British Daily Mail. Oh wonderful, Kit thought grimly, we’re going international. She asked Dara to relay the information to the PR woman Baby had recruited.
At around six, Kit and Baby met to swap notes. So far, Kit told her, there’d been no confirmed casualties in terms of her clients, but she shared her suspicions about Holt.
“Does it sound to you like he’s gotten cold feet?” she asked.
“Not necessarily,” Baby replied. “I wouldn’t read too much into it just yet.”
The question Kit didn’t raise with Baby, because there seemed no reason to worry her any more than necessary, was the one that incessantly repeated itself in her mind: What if something else happened? How much could their little boutique business endure before clients began to bail?
“How about you?” Kit asked. “Did you end up speaking to everyone you wanted to?” she asked.
“Yes, except the overly bronzed Steven Harper. I thought twice about calling him because, as you know, I don’t want to seem too much in pursuit of the business, but I finally decided I’d just phone and inquire how he was feeling after his hypoglycemic attack. I probably should have done that anyway.”
“But you never reached him?”
“No. He didn’t answer his cell and when I tried his office, there was just a voicemail message from someone I assume is his assistant saying Mr. Harper was unavailable at the moment. I know the hotel is moving along—I drove by the site yesterday to check it out—but he may have been less interested in our firm than he let