“The police captain,” Cora said grimly. “She’s my mom.”
Ren stared at her. “Janet Benning is your— The one who helped put Hayes away?”
“The very one, unfortunately.”
“I— Why didn’t you say something? Jesus. If Hayes knew . . .”
He would’ve freaked the fuck out. He would’ve assumed Cora was some kind of trap for him.
“I didn’t know how to bring it up, and it’s not time to focus on that now. If we don’t get something done quickly, she’s going to be the one putting you both away this time.” She nodded at the chair across from her. “Please, Ren, we’ve only got a few minutes.”
He slid into the chair awkwardly, the cuffs making everything more difficult. “First, tell me you’re okay. They couldn’t get you to wake up. They kept calling your name. I was so fucking terrified. I didn’t know . . .”
Her businesslike expression faltered for a second and she reached out, flattening her hand between them even though Ren couldn’t reach out to touch her, and met his gaze. “I’m okay. I feel like I’ve been hit in the head with a two-by-four, and I can’t remember a big chunk of last night, but I’m all right. Rohypnol packs a punch.”
His stomach clenched. “Cora, you have to know that we never would’ve put anything in your drink. I—”
She lifted her hand. “Please, don’t even. Seriously. I remember enough to know that I wanted to be there with you two. I know neither of you would ever hurt me. But I was drugged. And there’s a picture of Hayes handing me the drink. The cops have the cup with traces of the drug. Do you remember anything about the Coke he gave me?”
Ren looked down at the table, trying to remember how everything played out at the bar. “It’s got to be the soda we left with. Hayes got it from the bar right before we were leaving.”
She nodded. “I remember that much, too. But I don’t remember how much I drank. I Googled the drug that was used on me. It’s quick-acting. Half an hour and it starts taking effect. That would’ve been right in the middle of everything. Did you notice me getting drunk at any point after we left? I know I was sober when we headed to your house.”
He frowned. “No, I don’t think you drank much from what I remember. We talked in the car on the way home. You may have taken a sip or two but when I brought the drink inside for you, it was still pretty full. I remember having to hand it off to Hayes because I almost spilled it. But I don’t know where it ended up after that. But you weren’t acting funny or drunk. Once we were home, you were talking and present and steady on your feet. Well, until”—he glanced at Andre, who was studiously focusing on his phone—“until you were, you know, off your feet.”
Cora’s cheeks went pink. “You didn’t hear that, Medina.”
“No hablo ingles,” Medina said without looking up.
Cora sniffed. “And after that, nothing weird? I can remember some of what we did, but things get fuzzy halfway through.”
Ren shook his head. “We showered and you were fine. We went to bed. That’s the last I remember before the cops banged on the door.”
She stared down at her hands, forehead wrinkled. “I had to have drank more afterward. Got up or something. That’s the only thing that makes sense. But I guess that really doesn’t matter at this point.” She looked up, her jaw set. “What matters is that someone drugged my drink and someone called in a false tip. I have a feeling—”
“It’s the same goddamned person.”
“Exactly,” she said, her fist curling against the table. “We dragged Hayes out, and the motherfucker jumped on the chance. He had to have followed us there and waited for an opportunity. Who the fuck carries roofies on them just in case the opportunity comes up?”
“You’d be surprised,” Andre said without looking up.
“Either way, it’s got to be our guy. My mom slipped up and told me the caller was a man. But she wouldn’t tell me anything else. I doubt she knows much more than that.” She rubbed her lips together. “There were so many people there last night, but do you remember seeing anyone you knew? Anything strange?”
Ren sagged forward in the seat, his head hurting. He played the night through his head. He’d been having so much fun that all he’d really focused on was Cora and Hayes. It’d been the perfect night—two people he cared about, dancing and laughing and singing . . .
He straightened.
“What?” Cora said, picking up on his shift in demeanor. “You saw something?”
Ren glanced up, his heartbeat speeding up. “After we sang on stage, I was looking out into the crowd and there were so many faces out in the audience. But for a second, I thought I saw a familiar face. It was in my periphery and I just caught a glimpse. When I looked again, the guy had disappeared into the crowd. I figured I’d imagined it.”
Cora’s hands pressed flat against the table and even Andre was looking their way now. “Who, Ren?”
Ren swallowed hard. “Gordon. For a second I thought I saw Gordon.”
Her face went slack. “The guy you ran away with?”
“Yes, but I’ve thought I’ve seen him before. It used to happen all