Ashley tapped her finger against her chin. “Hazel might be willing to let us use some of the things she said.”
Bonnie added more words to the paper, drawing lines between each of their names and specific tasks assigned to them. By the end of the conversation, the paper looked like a mind map that had gone crazy.
Matthew frowned. “Are you sure that’s the easiest way to plan what we’re doing tomorrow?”
Harry tilted his head to the side. “As long as we follow the color-coded lines that Bonnie gave us, we should be fine.”
Ashley tore a piece of paper out of her notebook. “Here are your jobs, Matthew.”
He looked at the four phone calls he had to make. “Are you sure you don’t need me to do anything else?”
“The calls could take longer than you think. I haven’t sent any of our notes to Special Agent Fallon. He’ll probably have quite a few questions.”
Harry wrote down what he had to do. “If you’re finished by midday, Matthew, you could come with me to Long Island. I’m taking photos of a house for a realtor. We’ll be away from the smog and close to the ocean.”
Going with Harry was better than staying in Manhattan. “Thanks. Where do you want me to meet you?”
“I’ll pick you up from here at twelve o’clock. We can grab some lunch once we’re there.”
Bonnie sighed. “I’m jealous. Once I’ve finished my jobs, I’m heading into work. Mr. Phillips has another story he wants me to write.”
Matthew looked at his watch. “I hate to break up our meeting, but Ashley and I have an appointment to keep.”
Ashley’s eyebrows rose. “We do?”
He nodded. “It’s a surprise. Bring a jacket.”
“It’s the middle of July.”
“Do you want to see your surprise or not?”
“I do, but there’s so much work—”
“It can wait one night. You’ve got nearly two days to write the other stories before your editor needs them.”
Ashley gnawed on her bottom lip.
“Go,” Bonnie said. “It will be good to do something different.” She opened the closet and handed her a jacket.
“I’ll take my notebook.”
Matthew smiled and held Ashley’s hand. “I wouldn’t dream of saying you won’t need it.”
Ashley grinned. “Wise man.”
“We’ll tidy the room, then lock the door on our way out,” Bonnie said. “Harry’s going to invite me to his apartment to watchThe Twilight Zone.”
“I am?”
“Don’t you want me there?”
“Of course I do.”
Ashley tugged Matthew’s hand. “Come on. We’ll be here all night if we wait for Bonnie and Harry to finish their conversation.” She smiled at her friends. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Matthew opened the door. They had ten minutes to make it downstairs before his surprise left the building.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
