I nodded.
“It’s about Underwood.”
Turning, I walked to the tall bookcase and ran my fingers over the spines. When I turned, I said, “You were wrong earlier.”
“About?”
“If I’d known about Ross, there were things I could have done. I would have contacted his parents or done something. I can’t imagine what they think of me.” Another thought occurred to me as I tilted my face to the side. “Wait, Kyle said you killed Ross, but if youfound out...” The rest of my sentence disappeared.
“Kyle lied.” Rett’s dark orbs searched mine. “Ross Underwood is the subject that you may need to discuss with authorities. Like I said, I was informed of Underwood’s death the day after you arrived here. The cause of death at that time was still undetermined. He’d been found in his hotel room. The thing I also learned was that you were on the NOPD’s radar as a possible suspect.”
I spun away from the books, pulling the robe tight around me. “Me. Why?”
“At first it was because you were also missing. I later found out that the evidence that put you under suspicion was that the forensics team found your fingerprints in Underwood’s hotel room.” He inhaled. “Is there something you want to say?”
“No.” My mind went back to the day Ross and I arrived in New Orleans. It had been just over a month ago and yet it seemed like another lifetime. I tried to recall. “I was in his room, but Ross was very much alive the last time I saw him. That last time was at the bar. He was at the table and then you hijacked me for dinner. I haven’t seen him since.” I looked up at Rett. “Ross died that night?”
He nodded. “I never had the impression that the two of you were...romantic.”
My nose scrunched and a bad taste came to my mouth. “We weren’t.”
“Why were your fingerprints in his room?”
“Really, Rett? The first thought you have is that I was there for sex.”
“It wasn’t my first thought. If it had been, I would have brought this up a long time ago. Tell me why you were in his hotel room.”
The response I wanted to voice was that it wasn’t any of Rett’s business, but then the memories flooded back. Ross’s and my flight had been a disaster with layovers and delays and then there were the hotel mix-ups. “I was in his room because my room wasn’t ready. There was a mix-up.” I walked past Rett to the doorway and turned. “You see, I needed to get ready for a meeting with a mysterious businessman by the name of Everett Ramses.”
“Your things were in a different room.”
“Yes, Rett. Before Ross and I left the hotel, my room was finally available. He helped me move my things into my room.”
“Which would mean his prints were in your room too.”
I shrugged. “I would suppose so.”
Rett’s eyes opened wide. “But they weren’t found because when my men took your things from your room, they wiped it all clean.”
“Your men?”
Rett nodded. “The police think it was you. They believe you’re a technology wizard, a hacker capable of erasing part of the hotel’s surveillance.”
“Their surveillance was hacked?”
“There’s no visual of anyone entering your room to gather your things.”
Which meant Rett or his men were responsible.
I nodded toward the laptop on the desk. “If I was that good at hacking, I’d have figured out your internet. I assume that if questioned, you’d rather I don’t inform the authorities of who did retrieve my things?”
“Yes, I’m telling you the truth because I trust you.”
I laid my hand on Rett’s arm. “Tell me how Ross died.”
“Overdose.”
“No, Ross didn’t do drugs.” I went back to the long chair and sat again. “As a matter of fact, Ross had an injury from college that sometimes gave him fits. He was concerned that flying would aggravate it. The pain medicine the doctor prescribed was strong. Ross didn’t take it often, but I remember him saying he brought it with him, just in case. When he took it, Ross was extremely cognizant of everything he did, including alcohol.” I shook my head, realizing I was still wearing a towel on my head. Leaning forward, I let it fall to my lap and shook out my tangled hair. “No, Ross wouldn’t overdose.”