Chapter 26

Since the incident at The Empty Bottle two days ago, and her conversation with Julian, Meredith hadn’t left her apartment. But this morning she needed to go for a run. She refused to live afraid.

Back home and on her way to her bedroom, she froze. She was suddenly face-to-face with a tall man standing by the bay window. Her instinct told her to rush out of the apartment, but then Tess stepped out of the kitchen.

“Hey, you,” Tess said as she walked by Meredith. “I texted you, but your phone’s dead. Your friend has been waiting for you.” She reached for her car keys. “I’ve gotta go to work so I’m going to jet. Nice to meet you,” Tess added, glancing at the man over her shoulder.

The man gave Tess a quick nod of acknowledgement. “Likewise.”

Meredith didn’t want to be left alone with him but she didn’t ask Tess to stay. She wasn’t sure how the man might react, and she couldn’t risk her roommate’s safety.

Tess closed the front door behind her and suddenly Meredith’s heart started to beat so fast that she felt dizzy.

“What are you doing here?”

“My wife. I know she’s with Julian but I can’t go near him. That’s why I need you to tell me how she’s doing. Please, Meredith. I’m aware that you don’t know me and I shouldn’t be here in your home but it’s been several months and I’m desperate. Right now you’re the only person who can help me. I’m concerned for Tatiana’s safety.”

Meredith wanted Thompson out of her home. “You need to leave.”

“Can we please sit?” he asked.

“No, we can’t sit. I want you gone.” Meredith took a step to the side. Even with his arm in a cast, he was bigger and stronger than her.

“Please, just hear me out. That’s all I ask.”

“Why don’t you ask Pam to help you?”

“What do you know about Pamela and I?”

She had never heard anyone call her stepmother by Pamela. “Enough to know I shouldn’t trust either of you.”

“We are friends. Longtime friends. We don’t always agree, but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s the only person I trust completely. You should trust her, too.”

“That’s interesting, because the only time I’ve heard her talk about you was to say how you’re the mayor’s lapdog. Hardly the type of compliment you want from a friend.” It frustrated her that she had fallen into conversation with Thompson. “I don’t want to talk to you. Leave.”

“I’m not surprised Pamela said that. She’s a woman of strong opinions.”

“If you don’t leave right now I’ll call the police.”

“I thought your phone was dead and”—Thompson looked around the room—“your friend Tess mentioned you don’t have a landline.”

“Are you trying to scare me?”

“I just want you to listen to me.” Thompson sat on the couch. “Please, for Tatiana.”

“Say what you have to say and then get out.”

“Tatiana is not safe with Julian.”

Meredith opened her mouth to interject but he stopped her.

“I’m not here to enlighten you as to who Julian is. That’s not my concern and you look old enough to handle all the consequences your actions might bring you.” His eyes ran down her body and Meredith wondered if he had seen her have sex at the club. “I’m worried about what will happen to her if she remains with him. You’re Julian’s lover and you’ve been to The Raven Room. By now you must know he has fetishes that are”—Thompson paused, searching for the right word—“difficult to satisfy outside of the club. Tatiana is no different from him. They won’t stop each other, and knowing the history between them, I’m afraid that she will end up hurt. Seriously hurt.”

Meredith couldn’t face Thompson.

“I disgust you,” he said.

“I saw the state you left your wife in.”

“I was kicked out of the club shortly after Julian. Tatiana stayed behind. When I left her she was fine. I don’t know what happened after that.”

“You’re lying. You started beating her in front of Julian.”

“I slapped her,” he replied, defensively. “I didn’t beat her. Did Tatiana tell you that I did?”

“Get out.”

“I left the club and I waited all night for Tatiana to get home. She never did. Then, I get a call from the police telling me they had found a woman, who might be my wife, dead at some hotel. I had to go identify the body. Can you imagine how I felt?”

“This is not about Tatiana coming home,” he continued. “I don’t know if we can or even should try to salvage our marriage. But she has to get out of that condo.”

Meredith refused to answer.

Thompson reached inside his pocket, opened his wallet and pulled out a business card. He rested it on the coffee table. “This is my contact info. Please give everything I told you some thought. I’m not the enemy.”

He stood up and stopped in front of Meredith. She raised her chin and faced him head on. She almost took a step back but she willed herself to hold her ground—at such close proximity the pale blue of his irises made her think, for a brief instant, that she was freefalling deep into his eyes and she couldn’t stop it. Never before had she experienced such a feeling. She remained still, not by force, but because she found herself transfixed.

“It might be futile for me to ask you this—but can you please not mention my visit to your stepmother?”

Meredith didn’t reply.

He gave her a crestfallen smile. “I didn’t think so.”

He had already opened the door when Meredith spoke, “You said you weren’t here to enlighten me on who Julian is. I want you to tell me.”

“You already know who he is. You just don’t want to admit it. I’m sure, as you research your article, it will be impossible for you not to face it.”

Meredith felt all the air being sucked out of her lungs. “Did Pam tell you about my piece?”

“You really should be more careful who you tell things to.” Instead of hostility, she heard the concern in his voice.

Thompson left. Without a moment of hesitation, Meredith hurried out the back door, down the fire escape, and toward the Western station, determined to get to Julian’s condo as fast she could.