Page 20 of Line of Sight

He smiled. “No problem. Can you stand?” He helped me to my feet, hooked his arm around me, and I hobbled toward the apartment block, keeping up the act, trying to sound like a man in pain.

Once we were inside the main door, I limped my way to the elevators, his arm still around me, my hand over the syringe in my jacket pocket. Not a soul in sight, not that I expected there to be at that ungodly hour. The elevator arrived, we got on, and the doors slid shut. A second later the syringe was buried deep in his neck.

He never saw it coming.

I clamped my gloved hand over his mouth while I waited for the drug to render him unconscious.

From my previous visits, I knew the second floor was unoccupied, nothing but show condos. No one around at that hour of the morning to see me walk Scott out of the elevator and slump him to the floor while I broke in, easy as pie. No cameras either, so the owners deserved to get robbed.

Not that I was about to commit a robbery.

I was about to lodge an ax in Scott McCarthy’s head, once I’d collected it from the car, along with my long plastic raincoat.

Couldn’t walk out of there with blood on my clothing, right?

Chapter Eleven

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

SEAN NICHOLSwas as elegantly dressed as the last time they’d seen him. He greeted them warmly and ushered them into his office, after telling his PA he didn’t want to be disturbed. Rather than sit behind his desk, he gestured to the small coffee table and three chairs that stood near the window, through which could be seen the hustle and bustle of St. James Avenue and Copley Square.

Sean indicated the tall coffee pot. “I was about to have a cup, if you’d like to join me.”

“Thank you.” Gary took one of the chairs, and Dan the other. “And thanks for seeing us. I know you must be busy.”

“Running a hotel—especially one like the Fairmont Copley Plaza—can be taxing, certainly, but Iamallowed coffee breaks, you know.” He poured, then handed them cups. “So, was the list of attendees useful? Have you started your investigations?”

“It was, and we now have a total of five murders to look at.”

Sean blinked. “Including Brad’s?” Gary nodded, and Sean expelled a breath. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You want to ask me questions about Brad.”

Gary removed his notepad from his pocket. “Yes. Specifically…. What can you tell us about his interests? When he was home, he used to like going on hikes. I already know he was a voracious reader—there are a ton of books at my parents’ place. Did he have any hobbies I don’t know about?” He paused. “I’d also like your opinion of him. I’m kinda biased.”

He wanted to see Brad through someone else’s eyes.

Sean smiled. “I get that.” He picked up his cup of coffee and took a drink. “We started dating in ’93. He was funny, lighthearted, responsible…. I cottoned on to the reading, though, right from the start. He always had his nose in a book, but I soon learned how to… distract him.” His face flushed. He cleared his throat. “Anyway, we compromised. I learned not to bore him to tears talking about water sports, and he joined a club at college where he could talk about books to his heart’s content with other book nerds—I mean, readers.”

Dan smiled. “Be very careful what you say.”

Sean grinned. “Aha. Another reader.”

“Who did he hang out with? Any students he saw a lot of?” Gary flipped open the notepad to the list Barry had given them. Brad had gone with them to the concert in NYC, right? So maybe some of them were his friends, not that he’d ever mentioned them, at least not that Gary could recall.

His chest tightened.We didn’t talk enough. Okay, so he’d been in his early teens when Brad went off to college, but they’d always been close until that point. Then again, Brad had his reasons for not sharing.

He was keeping a secret.

Sean stroked his neatly bearded chin. “There were a couple. Come to think of it, they were readers too.”

Dan stilled. “Would they be—” He leaned across and peered at Gary’s notes. “—Greg Collins, Amy Walsh, Jennifer Sullivan, and Jason Kelly?”

Gary liked that they were on the same page. Literally.

Sean stared at him. “How did you—Forget I asked. Yes.”

Dan leaned forward. “I know this is painful, even after all this time, but can I ask you something?”

He shrugged. “Ask whatever you like if it’ll help you find his killer.”