Beth crossed her arms. ‘Jodi, please. Let me do this on my own time and in my own way. I’m not you, OK? I don’t do things the same. I need to think this over. Process it a little; maybe even give him the time to come forward and confess… I don’t know. But first and foremost, I need to determine how this plays out.’
Jodi furrowed her brow in confusion, and then understood that Beth was talking about the treasure hunt. ‘You mean this little charade you’re still pursuing?’ she said wearily. ‘Not your relationship.’
‘Yes – and yes. I am thinking about the treasure hunt. And I’m also thinking about my relationship with Danny. Look, I promise you, I will deal with this; I just have to do it on my own terms. I can’t walk into my apartment all guns blazing, making accusations, throwing his clothes off the balcony. That might be the right thing for some people – and I’m not saying it’s wrong – it’s just that Danny and I are different. That isn’t how we do things. And if this is it,’ her voice broke a little, ‘if it is the end, then we will work it out our way. Jodi, I loved Danny – I… I love him still. And our history together is important to me.’
Her friend nodded, conceding. ‘And what if he is in love with this other woman?’
‘Then a new act begins for him. And for me, too. But at the moment, I have a feeling thatmynext act is tied up in this treasure hunt. So I have to go on with it. I’m not going to pretend to you that I won’t be chasing down this next clue, Jodi. I’m determined to finish this, possibly now more than ever. I’m going to let it lead me all the way to the end, wherever that might be. So please don’t ask me to stop.’
Beth’s voice was laced with such determination that Jodi must have finally decided that she wasn’t going to fight her on it any more. ‘You and your crazy Hollywood talk. This isn’t a movie, Beth, this is your life. But OK, fine. If you think that you need to do this because it might lead you to the next “act” in your life – whatever the hell that means – then I guess I understand. And I support you.’
‘Thank you.’ She smiled, allowing her friend to pull her into one more hug. ‘I love you.’
Jodi held her tight. ‘And I love you. You’re my best friend. Don’t forget that.’
‘Ditto,’ Beth nodded.
Jodi guffawed. ‘Quit it, Patrick Swayze.’ But she wasn’t finished lecturing just yet. ‘OK then, if you’re truly set on pursuing this crazy nonsense, not only am I going to support you, but I am going to help you too. All the way to the end. If it’s a serial killer, might as well make it hard for him. So,’ she continued, now all business. ‘I’m assuming you found something else inside that hotel?’
Beth looked at her friend with a smile, her eyes glistening with relief as she realised Jodi was back on side. She nodded.
‘Then where to next?’
Chapter 29
As soon as Beth was able to compose herself again, she and Jodi began walking up Park Avenue, heading nowhere in particular, discussing the most recent clue.
Admittedly, while Jodi’s movie knowledge was nowhere near on a par with Beth’s, the pair were at a loss as to what it all meant and they decided to stop trying to overthink it and instead turn the search to the ever-reliable internet.
Unfortunately, plugging in the quote, ‘You’re the most important thing in the world to me,’ to an iPhone search browser returned a slew of results – few of them focused on movies.
‘So we have bloggers talking about what type of French toast they love the most, a bunch of teenagers posting on message boards about Justin Bieber, a dog rescue group, a Facebook page titled “The most important thing in the world”, and a bunch of other crap,’ Jodi summarised with a roll of the eyes. ‘Where do we go from here?’ She looked at Beth, who was lost in thought.
The two women were slowly strolling along the glittering tree-lined avenue and, completely in sync, unconsciously turned left on East 59th Street, and wandered towards Central Park South.
‘Honestly, it’s hard to believe that you’ve been making any headway with these clues – they seem so vague. You must be a lot smarter than me or something, that’s for sure. For you to be putting them together, well, it’s like you’re a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.’
Beth grinned at her friend. ‘I suppose that makes you my Dr Watson, then.’
‘I guess so.’ Jodi paused then, seeming to think over whether or not she should share her next words, then apparently decided to go for it. ‘You know, whatever happens with Danny, just know that you have a friend. That I’m here for you if you need me. Whether it’s a place to crash, someone to drink a bottle of wine and eat Ben and Jerry’s with, or even get out of town to clear your head, no matter what, I’m here for you honey. OK?’
Beth nodded, willing herself not to cry again. She had already done way too much of that today. ‘I know you are. Thank you.’
It was times like this that she really missed having her family close by. Up to now, and for a very long time, Danny had played that role and was a substitute family of sorts but now…
At least with a friend like Jodi she knew she was never alone.
Jodi hadn’t finished speaking. ‘But just understand that I tell you this because I really didn’t have anyone else when Frank and I split up. My whole world had been Frank – to the exclusion of old girlfriends, all the people I lost touch with over the course of my marriage. And then, when that crashed and burned, I had to start all over. I know better now. If I ever get serious again – with Trevor, for instance – there’s going to be better balance. You need friends. Men, well, they come and go, but not girlfriends. They are important. Every girl needs them – just to keep her sanity. And I’m glad I met you when I did.’
‘Me, too.’ Seeing Central Park yawn before them, Beth put her arm around Jodi’s waist, touched by her friend’s kind words. It was true that Jodi had plenty of bark most days, but she didn’t ever bite. She was a softie to her core. ‘Come on then, Watson. Let’s put our heads together and solve this clue.’
***
As they made their way into New York’s famous park, Beth’s mind was busy working overtime trying to decipher the riddle.
Her thoughts continued to drift from Ryan to Billy, focusing on conversations they’d had, trying to recall any movie dialogue they might have exchanged. And while she realised she had talked with each man quite a bit about movies and New York, there was no particular thing that stood out. Certainly nothing in relation to this latest clue, anyway.
To Beth’s left, Jodi had her eyes focused again on her iPhone, throwing out possible suggestions about the clue’s meaning. ‘Are you absolutely sure it’s a movie quote? According to GoodReads there’s this book calledNobody’s Baby But Minethat contains some variation of it.’
