Chapter 109

Chapter 109
Chapter Title: The Photograph

Kathy

I followed Reynolds and Lena further into the house. It was aggressively modern—glass, concrete, sharp angles.

"Alexa," she called. A soft chime came from inside. "Turn on all the lights."

One by one, the house lights illuminated.

"And unlock my office."

Another chime. "Done," Alexa answered.

Reynolds rolled his eyes. "Show-off."

Lena glanced over her shoulder. "I heard that."

He grinned.

She walked straight toward a hallway at the back of the house, then stopped at the first door and opened it.

We stepped inside.

While the living room was cluttered with
half-opened boxes and wedding gifts, her office was completely different.

Clean and minimalist. All in black and white.

Leather-bound law books lined glass shelves. Family photographs and a single black and white wedding portrait hung in matching black frames on the opposite wall.

A black desk sat beneath tall windows draped in white curtains. Behind it was a black leather office chair, with two matching black chairs positioned in front of the desk.

Lena gestured toward the chairs.

"Sit."

She settled behind her desk, opened her laptop, and immediately began drafting the affidavit for Benny Reed's arrest warrant.

Reynolds leaned back. "So, Lena..."

She didn't look up. "If you're about to ask me whether I still have that embarrassing photo of you and Theo from high school, the answer is yes."

He laughed. "I was actually going to ask about high school."

She scoffed. "That's less fun."

He glanced at me. "Did you know Hank, Emma, Cole, and Allison?"

Lena's fingers paused over the keyboard. Then she laughed. "Of course I did. I was one year behind them at Crisfield High. Everyone knew the Fantastic Four." She opened a drawer and pulled out an old photograph. "Here."

She slid it across the desk. Reynolds picked it up. The moment he saw it, he laughed.

"Yep. I remember this photo. Someone posted it on the bulletin board." He handed it to me. "Theo and I were already seniors by the time Lena came in.”

I looked at it. Lena was almost unrecognizable.

Thick black-rimmed glasses. Braces. Frizzy hair. A face dotted with acne. She wore an oversized sweater, baggy jeans, and Chuck Taylors.

This was the kind of picture that stays with you whether you want it to or not.

"So you knew Hank in high school too?" I asked Reynolds.

Reynolds snorted. "Everyone knows Crisfield's golden boy, Hastings. But we weren't friends."

Lena continued typing. "They were skilled at manipulation. They didn't physically bully people. They didn't have to. They could make you the laughingstock of the entire school without ever laying a hand on you." She gestured toward the photograph with a flick of her head. "Exhibit A."

"What happened?" I asked.

"My photo was posted beside the candidates for Prom Queen."

Reynolds shook his head. "Emma was on the Prom Committee. She helped decorate the bulletin board."

"Emma placed your photo there?" I asked.

Lena paused then shrugged. "I couldn't prove it." Lena's fingers moved across the keyboard again. "But I did know she and Allison were going around looking for the ugliest girl in Crisfield High." She looked up at me. "Apparently, they found her."

I looked at the photograph again. "It must be a surprise for Emma to see you now."

Lena smirked. "It is. And every time I see her, she walks the other way."

Reynolds laughed. "Good for you."

Lena ignored him. She glanced at the completed affidavit on her screen, then clicked Print. The printer behind her desk came to life.

"Done with the affidavit," she said. "So, what else do you want to know?"

Reynolds leaned back in his chair. "Let's go back to NYU. What do you remember about your time there?"

Lena leaned back and sighed. "NYU." A small smile crossed her face. "That was when the caterpillar finally came out of her shell." She opened another drawer and pulled out a photograph.

This one was her graduation portrait.

The woman staring back at me looked nothing like the awkward teenager in the first photograph.

The glasses were gone. So were the braces and acne. Her hair was sleek and straight, framing a confident face.

"You really did transform," I said, handing her photo back.

Lena laughed. "I had a lot of help. So what do you need to know about NYU?"

Reynolds leaned forward. "Do you remember a student going missing while you were there?"

Lena's smile faded. "Of course." She placed her photograph on the desk and looked up at the ceiling, remembering that time in her life. "She was a rising star in the theater department. I watched her perform." Her expression softened. "Their production of Les Misérables was magnificent." She paused. "I even saw the Fantastic Four there."

Reynolds straightened. "You what?" he exclaimed. "But they said they finished school at Salisbury U."

Lena rolled her eyes. "They finished school there, but they could have started somewhere else, Blake," she scoffed. "Anyway, I lived on campus because I was on scholarship. I knew a lot of people." She folded her hands on the desk. "After rush during my freshman year, I saw a photograph of Hank on a fraternity bulletin board."

"With who?"

"Cole and a girl."

Reynolds exchanged a glance with me as Lena continued.

"I suspected the Fantastic Four were attending NYU, but I never actually bumped into them. It's a huge campus."

"Was the girl Emma?" I asked.

Lena shook her head. "No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. The girl's face was turned away, so I couldn't identify her. But I remember how exceptionally close they looked." She paused. "She had her arm around Hank." Lena's eyes narrowed as she searched her memory. "And his hand was around her waist."

Reynolds' leaned forward. "Any other details?"

"Long dark hair." She looked between us. "But enough about the girl." A faint smile returned to her face. "Don't you want to know what I saw after the performance of Les Misérables?"

Reynolds laughed. "Go on."

"Hank had a huge bouquet of two dozen red roses, and he looked extremely nervous. Like a man about to propose."

"Roses?" Reynolds repeated.

Lena nodded. "Long-stemmed. Vibrant red. Expensive."

"Who did he give them to?"

Lena shrugged. "I don't know. I only remember seeing him carrying them." She leaned back. "And then the girl who played Fantine disappeared. Her mother and twin sister were devastated. Flyers everywhere."

“How do you know she had a twin?” I asked.

“There were sightings. A few students claimed they’d seen the missing girl. Turned out it was her identical twin," she explained. "Then, the rumors started."

"What kind of rumors?"

Lena's expression became thoughtful. "People said she hadn't been kidnapped. They said she'd run away."

"Run away where?"

"Out of the country." She glanced toward the window. "The story was that she'd found herself some rich older man. A sugar daddy. Her mother was sick. Cancer, I think. People said the girl needed money for her treatment." Lena shook her head. "Most people believed she had left voluntarily."

"And you?" I pressed. "What did you believe?"

"She had a bright future in theater and only one year left at the Tisch School of the Arts. So why leave?" Lena said. "I'd heard she already had offers to audition for Broadway. I even heard she'd been called in for a movie."

She paused. Then her eyes widened.

"I remember now."

Reynolds frowned. "Remember what?"

"The photograph of Hank on the fraternity's bulletin board." Lena's voice sharpened with recognition. "I've seen that photograph again... recently."

"Where?" I asked.

"At the Williamson mansion."

My stomach tightened. "Wait. The one where he's wearing a white shirt, standing in front of the Washington Square Arch?"

Lena nodded. "The same one."

"But it's torn," I said.

Her brow furrowed. "Where did you see it?"

"In Divine's office."

Lena turned toward the printer and retrieved the affidavit. She handed it to Reynolds.

"There's another copy," she said.

Reynolds looked up. "Where?"

"In Hank's man cave. Down in the basement." She smiled. "Theo did the interior."

Reynolds rose from his chair. "Thanks, Lena. I owe you one." He glanced at me. "Now we just need to find a way to get into Hank's man cave."

Lena smirked. "Actually, you don't."

Reynolds stopped.

"Theo is at the Williamson mansion right now, finishing the guesthouse near the old stables." She leaned back in her chair. "We can have him take a few photographs of the entertainment room. All he has to say is that they're for his portfolio."

Reynolds' grin slowly returned. "Lena, I think I love you."

"Get in line," she said.