Chapter 5

"A dog started crying like a broken-hearted man..."

Derek was heading towards the theatre at five o' clock in the afternoon after calling Lily for the twentieth time. He was angry and bitter and muttering curses under his breath. He didn't know who he wanted to hurt more, Lily or himself. Her tantrum had forced him to let her go when he felt that he should have locked her in. He had succumbed to her will and now it was time to pay the consequences. Nobody was pleased with him when they heard that he had managed to lose his key witness but he wasn't exactly thrilled with himself either.

The traffic downtown was a nightmare. He should have taken the Tube but he absolutely hated doing so. Derek loved his car but it was more than that. Secretly he felt trapped underground in such a confined space with all those bodies pressing against him. Of course he would never share that thought with anyone.

Stuck as he was, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell had happened to Lily. Her safety should have been his number one priority but then again he wasn't thinking so clearly. Close proximity to her was driving him nuts. Before that stupid, awkward attempt to kiss her he had believed in his strength to stay away but now he wasn't so sure. That catastrophic kiss proved what he suspected all along. Lily Blake was tempting and he wouldn't be able to resist for long. Probably she wouldn't be as enthusiastic about the idea. She would kick his butt if he touched her again and he knew it.

The coroner had called him that morning with more details about Jerry Lowell. First of all, he had discovered that Lily was four years older than Lowell, a fact that he had found very amusing. Derek had laughed but only because he was one of the few people that knew the truth. Her relationship with Jerry was a publicity stunt and nothing more. Then, the coroner had explained that he had narrowed the time of death between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. when she had actually been on stage so there was no way she was guilty. That may have been important news if he wasn't already convinced of her innocence.

Derek tried her cell phone once more. Still no answer. He parked the car in a hurry and ran to meet the director of the play, a Russian guy who was supposed to be very intimidating. He found him in the alley behind the theatre smoking a cigarette.

"Hello Mr. Mihailov. I'm Inspector Evans and I'm looking for Lily Blake. I was told that you were supposed to meet her this afternoon?"

Mihailov put out his cigarette while cursing in Russian. He was actually tall, blond and very athletic but nothing that Derek would consider scary. "I am very disappointed," he said. He pronounced the words with a heavy accent but otherwise his English was perfect. "Lily is promising and I believed in her talent but I also believe in hard work. There is NO excuse for not showing up. NONE inspector. Do you understand me?"

Derek suddenly was not so certain that he liked this famous director. "What if she is ill?"

"Is she in a hospital? Or dead?" he asked as if they were discussing a dog that had run away.

"I hope not," Derek answered very carefully. The guy was getting on his nerves. "But she may be in danger."

The Russian looked unimpressed. "Unless she is dead or in a coma, I don't care."

Derek fought the sudden need to punch the bastard in the face. "Lily is a person, someone you work with," he said patiently keeping his expression smooth. "Don't you care if something has happened to her?"

Mihailov's cold eyes stared at him as if he were speaking in a foreign language. "The theatre does not forgive anyone, Inspector. So, the answer is no. I do not care."

Derek turned around without even saying goodbye. Well, this attitude explained a lot about Lily's persistence not to miss her rehearsal. He wanted so bad to find her that his hands were shaking. Until that moment he had hoped falsely that someone there would have seen her or know something about her whereabouts. Now he knew without a doubt that she was for the second time in danger. And once more he couldn't help her.

...

Lily was in a very public place. She kept reminding herself that trying to stop her heart from beating so fast. The unknown man had insisted on going there which meant that he didn't plan to abduct her or hurt her. And that was a relief.

They were in the National Gallery cafe and his was drinking his tea looking at her very calmly. Actually he was a handsome man, about 50 years old with grey hair, smart eyes and a kind smile. He was wearing a business suit and he was holding a leather briefcase. At first she had thought that he was one of Jerry's contacts and by contacts Jerry meant drug dealers. He had scared her so much that when he suggested they'd go for a cup of coffee she had laughed hysterically.

The man put the cup down and asked, "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes," she replied. "Much better. But I still don't understand. What was your relationship with Jerry?"

He bent his head looking very uncomfortable. She read his reactions very clearly. "Oh," she said. "I understand."

The man crossed his arms but didn't comment. "I came to see you for information. Do they know anything about the killer?"

"Nothing at all, I'm afraid. They are still in the dark."

"Do they know anything about me?" He didn't even look her in the eye.

"Well, I wouldn't know," she confessed. He looked at her anxiously and she felt the need to comfort him. "I suspect though that they have no idea. Their only connection to his personal life is me and since I had heard nothing about you..." Her voice trailed off but the meaning was clear. She still felt betrayed that Jerry had kept this relationship from her.

"You should not blame him, Miss Blake."

"Lily," she said.

He smiled gently. "Listen to me Lily. I have a family who loves me. Two daughters and a wife who are my reason for living. Not to mention my career that would fall apart if anyone..." He sighed. "You see my point."

"I do Mr..." Suddenly she realized that he hadn't introduced himself.

"It would be better if you didn't know. That way you cannot lie to the police."

Lily frowned as she thought of Derek. Would she have to lie to him? Again? "What should I tell them?"

"Anything you like. Tell them we have never met, it's up to you."

"This whole thing is a mess," she said and he laughed. "Lies, mysteries, people trying to kill me..."

"Excuse me?" he said startled.

Lily pushed her hair away from her face. "Someone tried to run me over," she explained, "but it could have been an accident."

"Jerry was not involved in anything dangerous," he said and it was easy to see that he believed it.

Lily fought the urge to laugh. "Jerry was taking drugs. He owed a lot of money to the dealers. His last album was not a success."

"But Jerry was clean," he protested. As soon as he realized that people were staring he lowered his voice. "At least I know beyond a doubt that he wasn't using during the last few months."

Lily thought about that. "He was drinking though. Every night before he went to bed."

"He couldn't sleep. The doctors had prescribed medicine but he said they were worse than drugs."

It was strange that this man knew such personal details about her best friend. Part of her wanted to ask him more questions and another part wanted to yell at him. How could it be that Jerry had trusted him more? He was old enough to be his father!

She hid her irritation very well. The man paid the bill putting an end to the conversation but before he got up he caught her cold hand in his warm one.

"Lily whatever happens you must believe that I cared for him. He was just a boy."

"A lost boy," she added.

"He had you and that was enough. I hope they find whoever did this for your peace."

"What about Jerry?"

"Jerry wouldn't care one way or the other. He was chasing death so hard, for so long that I think he is relieved now. He was suffering Lily."

Lily stared into his blue eyes. "I couldn't help him," she confessed. The thought was there all along but she couldn't admit it to anyone.

"Nobody could. I didn't even try."

Lily nodded and the stranger released her hand. She got up and they left together but as soon as they were out of the front door he disappeared in the crowd. She had to think but she also had to talk to Derek. She was sure that he would be searching for her. That stupid officer must have warned him that she didn't show up for the rehearsal.

Lily remembered Mihailov's face as he had told her that if she was ever late he would kick her out of the show. One week ago that would have been terrifying but now it seemed silly. Jerry had died, Derek was back in her life and she was all alone. She loved her job but she had bigger fish to fry.

Derek answered the phone at once. "Lily," he growled. "Where are you?"