False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [55]
God, I can’t fix this. I need help. I don’t want to lie anymore. But if I tell Pierce the truth, I’m going to lose him. Yet if I don’t, I’ll never get the money and Shapiro will kill me. Show me what to do.
CHAPTER 17
Zoe slipped in the back door of the building and ran up the steps to her apartment. Pierce was in charge of the kitchen tonight and wouldn’t come upstairs until after eleven.
She started to put the key in the lock when a voice startled her and she dropped the key on the floor.
“Zoe! There you are.” Vanessa stepped out of her apartment. “Ethan and a colleague went to a seminar in New Orleans today and won’t be back until late, and I know Pierce is cooking tonight. I wondered if later you might want to go out with Carter and me and get ice cream. What happened? You’ve got mud all over you.”
Zoe bent down and picked up the key without looking at Vanessa.
“Zoe, you’re bleeding. Are you all right?”
“I lost my footing on a walking trail and fell. I just need to get cleaned up. My ego hurts worse than the rest of me.” She turned the key, her hand shaking, and pushed open the door. “I’ll take a rain check on the ice cream. It’s been a hectic day.”
“You sure you’re all right?”
“I’m fine. Just ready for some down time.” Leave me alone, Vanessa.
“If you change your mind, we’ll probably go out around seven and walk over to Scoops. They have the best peanut-butter cookie dough ice cream on the planet.”
“Thanks. But I’m in for the night.”
Zoe went inside and quickly closed the door. Vanessa was only trying to be a friend. Did she have to be so abrupt? She looked at her reflection in the entry-hall mirror and did a double take. Her face was pale and streaked with blood and sweat, her tank top smeared with blood where Shapiro had wiped his finger. No wonder Vanessa was concerned.
She started to walk toward the bathroom when she heard a knock on the door. Go away, Vanessa. She tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole.
Vanessa knocked again. Shouldn’t she answer the door, rather than taking a chance she might raise suspicion?
Zoe sighed. She pasted on a smile and opened the door. “I was just about to take a shower. Can I call you later?”
“I’m concerned about you. You look upset.”
“You’d be upset too, if you tripped on a rock and fell on your face.”
“Is that all? Because I’m really getting some funny vibes.”
Vanessa’s bluntness marched right through her defenses, and Zoe felt her face turn hot. “I’m fine. I just need to clean up.”
“Did someone hurt you?” Vanessa gently gripped her wrist and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Were you attacked? Look at you. Your clothes are muddy and torn. You’re bleeding. You’re visibly shaken.”
“Mind your own business.” Zoe pulled her wrist free. “I told you, I fell.”
“I’m thinking maybe you had a little help falling.”
“Don’t make this into something it’s not, Vanessa. I’m fine. I’m just a major klutz. It’s embarrassing.”
Vanessa’s gaze seemed to probe her conscience. “I can’t just walk away, Zoe. Something’s terribly wrong. Why don’t I go get Pierce?”
“No! He’s the last person I want to talk to right now.” Why did I tell her that?
“Then talk to me. I’m a good listener, and you can trust me. But don’t expect me to walk away and pretend I believe you’re fine.”
Zoe’s heart beat so fast she was sure they could hear it downstairs in the dining room. “It’s not something I can talk about in front of Carter.”
“He won’t hear us. He fell asleep. I’ll probably have to wake him to go out for ice cream. Come over to my apartment and tell me what happened. Let me clean up that cut on your face.”
Almost robotically, Zoe shut the door and followed Vanessa next door and into the Langleys’ living room, where the aroma of fresh-baked cookies was pleasantly pervasive. She considered what she was about to do. Once she told Vanessa what had happened, she could never take it back. Was she ready to do that? Shouldn’t she take time to think first? Then again, if she thought too hard about it, would