“I didn’t drug her.”
“But you know who did?”
Ira assumed a pensive look, as though choosing his words. When Heather returned, he simply said, “All the best to your sister.”
Mateo turned away.
“Let me know if I can help,” Ira called.
“I think curing cancer is a little out of your jurisdiction,” Mateo spat.
“You’d be surprised how far my reach extends.”
Mateo shrugged it off and kept going. He was nearly at the door when Heather said, “I’m reall
y sorry. I didn’t think it all the way through. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
Mateo reached for the handle. Now was as good a time as any to start weaning himself from her. When he sensed she wasn’t following, he turned to find her standing before a dust-covered mirror propped against a wall. She was drawing a large heart with the tip of her finger.
She glanced over her shoulder and shot him a questioning look. When he hesitated, she started to trace a crack down its center.
God, she was so dramatic. Mateo sighed, and swiped a hand through his hair. Then again, what had he expected, getting involved with an actress?
She thrust her lower lip into an exaggerated pout, and against his better instincts, Mateo started to laugh.
“C’mon,” he said, watching her face brighten as he offered a hand. “Let’s get out of here. It’s been a long day.”
Heather cast a last look at the heart she’d drawn and brushed the remaining dust away, leaving no evidence of the crack that had been there a second ago.
If only it were that easy. Then, refusing any further thoughts of Valentina, his mom, Layla, or anyone else on his long list of heartbreaks, he entwined his fingers with Heather’s and headed into the night.
FIVE
UNCERTAIN SMILE
Trena Moretti P @trenamoretti—13s
Everything you need to know re the body linked to the Madison Brooks case—TONIGHT on #InDepthWithTrenaMoretti #WhereIsMadisonBrooks
Trena Moretti reread her latest tweet, then tucked her phone away and looked over her notes. The decision to film the show live had seemed like such a good idea at the time—but with the moment fast approaching, her stomach was a tangle of nerves.
Her career had started in print. But thanks to a move from DC to LA that coincided with Madison Brooks’s disappearance and Trena’s decision to focus on it, she’d become the face America trusted most when it came to all things Madison. In light of the recent developments, her producers had agreed that a live broadcast was the best way to deliver the story and, more importantly, maintain their number one spot in the ratings.
She looked up from her script and gazed into the large mirror before her. From the outside, she looked good: calm, poised, professional, and perfectly put together. People often commented on what a natural she was. Plenty of journalists longed to make the leap to the higher-paying TV spots, but few had the right combination of smarts, chops, and charisma to pull it off. Trena was one of the lucky ones blessed with the innate gift to look into a camera and convincingly relate a story, no matter how banal, that people could not turn away from.
Credibility. Integrity. Authority. They were all qualities she’d worked hard to maintain, and in her line of work she’d be nothing without them. But at the moment, Trena was feeling shaky and unsure. With the cameras set to roll soon, that just wouldn’t do.
She dropped her notes to her lap, placed her right hand to her belly, closed her eyes, and forced herself to take a series of deep, calming breaths. It was an old trick she’d learned as a child from her beloved Noni Moretti, back when Noni’s attempts to teach Trena to meditate had failed to catch on.
As a kid, the idea of stopping her thoughts seemed both ridiculous and impossible. But now, haunted by the troubling images that lurked in the darkest recesses of her brain, Trena couldn’t help but wish she’d tried a little harder back then.
Usually, a nice long run was all it took to shed her anxiety. But the six miles she’d logged on the treadmill just a few hours earlier hadn’t done much to calm her.
She returned to the script. She’d memorized every word, but Trena was a perfectionist who left nothing to chance, and so she dove in once more.
ANNOUNCER: Tonight—on our special live edition, catch the latest, up-to-the-minute news on the body found in Joshua Tree and its connection to the disappearance of Hollywood A-lister Madison Brooks, on In-Depth with Trena Moretti.
[Cut to clips of the shallow grave in Joshua Tree surrounded by crime scene tape, a billboard featuring Madison Books, an aerial view of Hollywood Boulevard, the Night for Night facade, and the mug shots of Aster Amirpour, Layla Harrison, Tommy Phillips, and Ryan Hawthorne]