It might have already cost far more than she’d ever wanted to pay.
That thought sucked the anger from him. What was left was a potent combination of simmering frustration and heartbreaking compassion. “Tess, is there a reason you’re still there?”
“I don’t have a shirt.” Her voice was so soft, he could barely hear her.
“What?”
“My shirt is missing. I’ve looked through the room. Under the bed. It’s not here. Zane, I don’t remember coming here. I don’t know how I got here or why I came. I don’t know what’s around me or where I am.” There was an edge of terror in her words that went straight from Zane’s ear to his foot. He floored it.
Zane squeezed the steering wheel.Jesus, please help me.“Tess. I’m going to ask you again. Are you hurt? Have you been assaulted?”
“No.” No hesitation or uncertainty. “My head is killing me, but aside from my shirt missing, I’m still clothed, I still have my purse, and my body has not been violated.”
Zane had no words to express his relief. So he went with the easier topic. “You still have your purse? You weren’t robbed?”
“No. But I don’t have any cash. I don’t even have my wallet. I left it at home.”
None of this made any sense. “Tessa, I need you to try to remember. Last night. Where were you? What’s the last thing you remember?”
“I went out for a drink.”
“Yeah. I got that part.” Boy, did he ever.
“At Gino’s.” Gino’s was a newish bar in the Raleigh area. They catered to a high-end clientele. The kind of place where Tessa would fit in perfectly. The kind of place a woman would think she could get a glass of wine and not have to worry about anyone slipping something into her drink.
Or so people thought.
“Tell me everything you remember from the time you walked into Gino’s until you called me this morning.” She did. It didn’t take long.
“Have you checked the room for anything left behind by whoever you were with?”
“Not really. I looked for my shirt, but then I called you as soon as I realized I can’t just walk out of here. I have no money, and my cell phone is dead so I can’t order an Uber. And even if I could, I have no shirt. I guess I could borrow a sheet or a towel to cover up, but again, I have no money and no cell phone. This doesn’t seem like the time to go wandering around knocking on doors and asking random people for help.”
“Agreed. While you’re waiting for me, you need to check the room for anything that might give us a clue as to what happened.”
“I will, but this phone is bolted to the desk. I can only get five feet from it. I’ll have to hang up.”
“No! Keep the line open but set the phone down on the desk. Say something every so often so I can hear you.”
Tessa did what he asked. He heard her opening drawers and what might have been the shower curtain being pulled back. Two minutes later, she picked up the receiver. “I found a cuff link.”
“Where was it?”
“Under the bed.”
“Is there anything distinctive about it?”
“My head is still fuzzy, but I think this is an image of Janus.”
Zane had no idea who or what Janus was. Nor did he care at the moment. “Does it look familiar? Do you remember seeing it before?”
Tessa’s silence cut a gash through his soul. “No. Zane ... I... I can’t...”
“I’m almost there. Hang on.”
By the time he pulled into the motel parking lot, he was vibrating with rage and fear and an intense desire to execute justice on his own terms. He didn’t park in a space and kept the car in drivewhile he scanned the building. “This place is all ground-floor units. Don’t open them, but move the curtains so I can figure out which room you’re in.” He didn’t need to tell her that this wasn’t the type of establishment where the patrons were likely to be receptive to a member of law enforcement knocking on their door. When he approached, he needed to be sure he was at the right room or things could go south, well, further south than they already were.
He scanned the windows to his right and left. Nothing. He drove until another building came into view. “Move the curtain again.”
