The Beautiful and the Wicked (25 page)

Lila said she did. Teddy even suggested she go grab a Cubano downstairs while he installed the update. “I know it doesn't look like much, but they really are the best sandwiches in the city. Can you get me one, too?” he asked as he slid the top hundred-­dollar bill off the stack that Lila gave him. “Hopefully they accept big bills,” he added with a smile, handing her the money.

Five minutes later, Lila was back with two steaming sandwiches. Teddy told her that he was almost ready. They both sat hunched over the sandwiches that were balanced on their legs, Teddy at his desk chair and Lila on a rickety chair she pulled up next to him.

“Okay. I've got it all loaded in. Now I just have to run the update . . . here,” he said as he pushed the return button on his keyboard.

Almost instantly the screen went pitch-­black.

“What the . . .” Teddy said, tapping at his keys, but the computer was unresponsive.

Suddenly white vertical lines took over the screen, then the lines went horizontal. The computer began to whir noisily. “Fuck me!” Teddy said, banging on the keys. Then he tried to turn the computer off, but it was frozen.

“What?” Lila said, her mouth full of sandwich.

“Something is very, very wrong.”

All the horizontal lines began to move into a kind of whirlpool, growing tighter and tighter, smaller and smaller, until they formed into something resembling a seashell in the center of the screen. Then, with a flicker, the seashell disappeared and the computer went black. The whirring stopped, leaving Teddy and Lila staring at a blank screen.

“What just happened?” Lila asked.

Teddy put the sandwich on his desk and jumped up out of his chair. He tried to turn his computer on, then off, then on again. But nothing happened. He held several keys down at once for more than a few seconds. Still unresponsive. Then he sat back in his chair, stunned.

“I'll tell you what just happened,” he said. “Total data erasure.”

“What?”

“Whatever that was just completely obliterated my hard drive.” Lila looked at him, a bit confused. “To put it in simple terms, whatever was on that thumb drive of yours just murdered my computer.”

“Oh my God! I'm sorry!” Lila exclaimed as she realized what that might mean for a man like Teddy. He probably had his whole life on that machine.

“Oh, no!” he said. “I'm fine. I've got all my stuff backed up in a million different ways. Trust me, I've learned that lesson the hard way. But now it makes sense. The code I didn't recognize must be what's responsible for frying the computer.”

“Why would anyone want that?” Lila wondered aloud.

“I don't know. All I do know is this is an incredibly damaging bit of code you've got there,” he said as he removed the thumb drive from his destroyed computer. “This could single-­handedly wipe out all the data of everyone who has Warren software on their computers, which is, basically, everybody. So, let's do humanity a favor and . . .”

Without saying another word, Teddy put the thumb drive on the floor and stomped on it with the heel of his shoe until it was destroyed.

“Hey!” Lila said in protest.

“Sorry about that,” Teddy said, with absolutely zero trace of regret in his voice. “But I really don't know you, and I don't want a stranger walking out of my door with something so dangerous in her pocket. Not worth the risk. But feel free to take back your money.”

“No,” Lila said. “It's fine. I didn't need it anyway. Keep the money. Use it to buy yourself a new computer.”

“With this much, I can buy a lot more than that,” Teddy replied.

Lila got up to go, but before she left, she turned back for one more look at her friend. “And, Teddy,” she said before closing the door behind her, “see you very soon.”

Just as she was about to rush down the stairs, Teddy called out after her. “Hey!”

She turned back to him. “What?”

He stood there awkwardly, not saying anything, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as if he'd called after her without knowing what he planned to say.

“Teddy, I'm in a real rush,” Lila said impatiently.

“Of course. Of course. It's only just . . . I was wondering if . . .” His words were sputtering out of his mouth slowly, tripping him up. He paused. Then he took in a big, fortifying breath. “It's just, it's not every day that a beautiful woman walks into my office carrying a mysterious computer code like someone out of a spy movie. I think I've just had my mind blown. But not by that code, even though it's the most astounding technology I've ever seen. What's really mind-­blowing is you. And I know I'd never forgive myself if I let you go without at least asking when I can see you again.”

Lila felt her heart skip a beat as she looked at Teddy.

“We'll see each other again, I promise,” Lila said.

“But how? I don't have any way to contact you.”

“Trust me,” Lila said. Then, on impulse, she ran up to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Before he could react, she turned down the stairs, and walked out of the building, leaving him standing there in a mild state of shock.

With a growing number of questions swirling around her mind, Lila hopped into a cab, heading first to the mall and then to the yacht. But all she could think about for the duration of the car ride was Teddy.

 

CHAPTER 22

B
URDENED WITH MANY
oversize bags from Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, Lila trudged toward
The Rising Tide
. When she looked up, her breath caught in her throat.

A local TV reporter was, at that very moment, shooting the segment about the yacht that Lila had watched over and over again for ten years, because of Ava's brief appearance.

This meant that her sister was finally on board. Lila's feet flew under her as she began to run to the ship. But as she tried to board, she was waylaid by flurry of activity. Several women, all carrying large floral centerpieces, were walking up the gangway in front of Lila as the rest of the boat was swarmed with a cameraman, a TV producer, and the reporter, as well as the marina workers refueling the boat and deliverymen restocking its supplies.

As she pushed her way onto the main deck, Lila kept her eyes on the balcony where Ava made her appearance on the video. Lila heard the rapid click of a camera's shutter and turned to see a photographer taking hundreds of pictures of all the buzz. Then she noticed the TV camera was focused on her.

“Hi. I'm Chris­tianne Gomez from 7News. We're here to do a piece on this
spectacular
yacht,” the reporter said as she went to shake Lila's hand, which was impossible to do because of all the bags Lila was carrying. Instead, she awkwardly shook one of Lila's bent elbows. “Do you mind if I ask you some quick questions?”

Before Lila could answer, she heard Edna Slaughter call out from across the deck, “No, no. No, no! That's not necessary.” Edna swiftly crossed the floor, with a tight smile on her face. Lila could tell that she was overwhelmed by the presence of so many strangers on the boat, and irritated that she had to pretend to be pleasant in front of the reporter.

“Yes, hello, Ms. Gomez. This here is Nicky Collins, one of the stewardesses,” Edna said. “And she's running so very behind that I can't spare her right now. We've just got
soooo
much to do before the big soiree.” Edna grabbed Lila's arm and squeezed it painfully. “Now, dear Nicky,” Edna said, “please bring those bags up to the master suite. And then Chef Vatel needs you in the galley.”

With a small nod of her head, Lila happily walked away from the reporter and her questions. She knew that at any moment Ava would make an appearance, and she didn't want to miss it.

And then she saw her—­her arm, to be exact, reaching out toward the railing. Just seeing her sister's disembodied wrist was enough to make Lila let the heavy bags fall from her hands as she stood looking at the sister she hadn't seen for a decade.

Lila hurried to stand where Ava couldn't see her. Though her long dark hair was chopped into a bleached pixie cut, and yes, she was ten years older than her past self, it wouldn't be enough. These two sisters knew each other as well as they knew themselves. Lila understood that Ava would see beyond any disguise in an instant. It was crucial that Lila never interact with her.

Suddenly Ava turned, and Lila's heart broke. Her sister's beautiful face was looking sadly out to the ocean; she seemed lost in thought, unaware of her surroundings. Lila could tell from her swollen red eyes that she'd been crying.

Both sisters were natural-­born tomboys, much happier in a T-­shirt and jeans than a dress, but standing there on the yacht, Ava looked like she'd stepped out of the pages of
Vogue
. A blow dryer had straightened out any of the natural waves in her blond hair. Her face was artfully made up, her full lips painted, a sparkle of pink dusted across her cheekbones, and her eyes were rounded and highlighted dramatically with eye shadows and liners, though her tears were threatening to ruin it all.

Just as Lila had seen in the TV news video, Ava wore a floor-­length, spaghetti-­strap dress with a low back, which showed off her lean, tan body. A long gold chain sat at the nape of her swanlike neck and fell all the way to the middle of her back. Lila had never seen her sister look more beautiful, more fragile, and more miserable than at this very moment. More than anything, she wanted to run to her sister, grab her hand, and drag her as far away as their legs could carry them—­away from this yacht, from Jack Warren, and from the dark world that surrounded him. But there were rules that Lila had promised to follow. For her sake and for her sister's, she knew she had to let the tragic events awaiting them unfold.

She was still staring up at the balcony where her sister was standing, when she saw Ben heading in her direction. She instantly straightened up and smiled at him, but his stone-­faced expression went unchanged. It was almost as if he was looking right through her.

It had been a ­couple of days since he'd found her with the packages of cocaine, and during the entire time, Lila had been in a state of constant worry, terrified that he would rat her out. But nothing had come of it. She wasn't sure whether that little bit of good fortune was thanks to Captain Nash saving her ass or Ben keeping his mouth shut. From the look on Ben's face, it was safe to say he was still pretty angry.

“Hi, Ben,” she chirped as she gathered up the shopping bags around her.

“Hey,” he said coldly.

“Let me ask you a question,” Lila said. “Have you ever seen that woman before?” She pointed to Ava, who just then turned around and stepped off the balcony. But not before Ben had gotten a good look at her.

“Nope. Can't say I have.”

“Do you know who she is?”

“Not really. But I could make an educated guess,” Ben said. “From the look of her, and the room she's stuck in, which is far away from the other cabins, I'd venture to say that she's Jack's flavor of the month.”

“Flavor of the month?” Lila felt her stomach turn.

“Don't play dumb,” Ben said with an exhausted shake of his head. “It insults both of us. Though I will say: even though I've seen Jack do a lot of cruel shit, bringing his mistress on board when his wife and kid are here is a new low, even for him.”

“You can say that again,” Lila said.

“Not like you can judge,” Ben snapped.

“Please, Ben. It's not what you think. It's so much more complicated. I'm . . .” Lila trailed off.

“You're what?” Ben asked.

“I'm . . .” Shut up, she said to herself, forcing herself to stop talking. If she couldn't tell Ben the truth (and he wouldn't believe her even if she could), what was the point of continuing to lie to him? If he was going to make trouble for her, he would've done it already. But there was a wounded look in his eyes underneath the terse annoyance on the surface. She felt a pang of regret for getting them both in this situation.

“I'm sorry. That's it. I'm sorry that you feel misled. That's never what I wanted. But
you
kissed
me,
” Lila said.

“You kissed me back,” he said.

Lila's mind flashed to that moment in the hallway—­the feel of his mouth on hers, the way he pressed her up against the door, the overwhelming, burning attraction she'd felt. Her desire suddenly reignited by the memory, she stood looking at him dumbly, not knowing what else to say.

“Fine,” Ben said, dismissing her. “See you around.”

“Yeah, see you,” Lila said, though Ben was already out of earshot.

Before she could dwell any longer on the mess she'd made, her attention was pulled away by the sound of two ­people arguing. She walked toward the voices, climbing up to the second level, then along the side deck, closer to the balcony where she'd seen Ava.

“I want to go!” Lila heard her sister wail.

She heard the sound of Jack's voice, but he was quieter, more restrained than usual, so she couldn't clearly make out what he was saying. Lila thought she'd have better luck if she listened to the argument from outside her sister's door. She put Elise's shopping bags down and dashed inside the yacht, up the spiral staircase one level to where her sister was stashed. Then she tiptoed down the hallway toward her sister's voice.

“Why are they here?” she heard her sister cry through the door. “I thought it was just going to be us?”

Lila grew frustrated. Even though she was closer, all she could hear of Jack's side of the conversation were some incomprehensible mumbles. Then it was quiet for a moment until, suddenly, something smashed against a wall, violently ending the brief silence. Her sister let out a spine-­chilling scream.

The door swung open, and Jack stormed out. He was so angry that he didn't even seem to notice or care that Lila was standing right at the door. She could hear his slightly labored breathing, and his always carefully arranged hair was now disheveled.

Jack rushed down the hall, passing Thiago and Esperanza, who were strolling arm in arm toward Lila. The sound of Ava's frantic weeping could be heard well beyond the closed cabin door.

As soon as Thiago and Esperanza went past, Lila heard Thiago whisper to his wife, “If that man keeps this up, he'll soon end up dead.”

Lila's heart almost stopped. Did Thiago simply mean that any man who brought his mistress on a yacht with his wife and his daughter was playing fast and loose? Or was there more to it than that?

She watched the ­couple walk by without acknowledging her. She knew she'd have to pay closer attention to Thiago Campos. But not at that very moment. Right now the sound of her sister crying made it impossible to leave. Hearing Ava's misery caused a small blossom of hatred to bloom in the pit of Lila's stomach. She detested Jack Warren for making her gentle and loving sister so inconsolable.

But more than anything, she was furious with herself. She'd had ten years of preparation, two weeks with full access to everyone aboard Jack's yacht, and she prided herself on being a good detective. Yet, despite having every advantage—­despite
traveling back in time
—­she knew even less than she'd known when she started. At least before she traveled back to 2008, she'd thought she knew who the murderer was. But now all of her assuredness was gone. She'd become so lost in the case that everyone seemed like a suspect.

Her sister's wailing died down, and there was silence. The hallway was empty, so Lila pressed her ear against Ava's door. She heard her sister's footsteps and then the sound of water as the shower was turned on.

She sighed. She couldn't afford to loiter at that spot any longer. There was too much to be done. So she gathered up Elise's purchases and headed for the master suite. But a fist of rage squeezed at Lila's heart as she walked away from Ava, devastated that she had so little to show for all her effort.

Lila knocked on the door to the master suite and, hearing nothing, quietly entered. The blinds were closed and the lights were off, making it difficult to see. She flipped the light switch on and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw Elise sitting at her vanity in front of a large mirror.

“Mrs. Warren, I—­I'm so sorry. I didn't know you were here,” Lila stammered.

Elise had her head in her hand and a half-­full martini glass at her elbow. The sickly-­sweet smell of alcohol coming out of Elise's pores mixed in the air with her Hermès perfume. Elise didn't move or speak.

The countertop of her vanity was littered with plastic pill bottles, silver and gold makeup compacts, and expensive creams and elixirs in frosted-­glass bottles promising to stave off old age. And it all seemed to be working on Elise, who sat there dripping with elegant misery in a boned silk bustier with a matching slip, her hair pinned up, her makeup perfectly applied. A strapless Valentino was laid out for her on the bed.

“Do you need any assistance with your dress, ma'am?” Lila asked cautiously.

“No need. I'll be dining in my room tonight. Be sure to let Edna know.” Her voice was raw and weary.

“Yes, ma'am,” Lila said with a small nod. Then she quickly emptied the shopping bags of their many treasures: the Stella McCartney blouse, the Balmain dress, the Chloé purse. She unwrapped each item that was carefully encased in tissue and set it in the closet, next to all the other items that had been purchased in hopes of somehow numbing this woman's profound pain.

Once again, Lila felt the briefest flicker of pity toward Elise Warren. After all, if Jack could reduce Lila's very own, desperately adored sister to a screaming, glass-­shattering mess, then maybe Elise's twisted soul was Jack's doing.

“Have you seen her?” Elise asked, lifting her head from her hand and taking a big sip of her martini.

“Seen who, ma'am?” Lila asked as she lifted a pair of red patent-­leather Louis Vuitton heels out of their shoe box.

Elise glared at Lila in the mirror. “You
know
who. My husband's mistress.”

“Oh,” Lila said as she turned her back toward Elise and placed the shoes in her walk-­in closet.

“Don't bother saying anything, you dumb little mouse. I know she's here. I saw her myself.”

“There
is
a young lady who has joined the guests on the yacht, ma'am, but that's all I know.”

“What you know couldn't fill a thimble,” Elise said as she secured a pair of diamond-­and-­amethyst earrings to her ears. Lila noticed a slight tremor in her hands as she opened a small gold-­and-­opal pillbox and put two round blue pills on her tongue. “What I don't know is why my husband needs to rub my nose in his shit all the time. Of course, the real question is why am I still here waiting to eat it up? Perhaps I'll just go rub some of my shit in
his
face.”

Elise stood up from her seat at her vanity, but she was very shaky. Her knees buckled, causing her to lose her balance. She grabbed on to the wall so as not to fall to the floor. Lila rushed to steady her, but Elise swatted her away. “Don't
touch
me,” she hissed as she collapsed into the chair. “On second thought, perhaps I will go down, just a little later.” She picked up a tube of lipstick and began to reapply the bright red color to her mouth. “Now make yourself useful and get me another drink.”