Master of the Opera, Act 5: A Haunting Duet Read Online Free PDF

there’s enough suspicion to keep you away.”
    Her spirits sank. They thought she was a danger? “Why?” The question sounded plaintive.
    “It’s not unusual—and totally up to a private business to make that choice, regardless of the nature of the criminal investigation. You’ll still be paid.”
    As if that was all that mattered. Still, she would find other ways to see the Master, other ways to support herself. It would be better, anyway, not to have any connection to her father. She could see that now. It was time to be truly free of him. No more half steps. The idea, though, pained her deeply. “Seems to me that if you were going to arrest me, you would have done it by now. Why bother with the psych stuff if you could just lock me up?”
    Sanchez sighed heavily. “A woman’s life is in danger. Do you understand that? Can’t you find it in your heart to care about her—no matter how badly she treated you?”
    “I thought Carla was doing better.”
    “Someone tried to kill her last night. Again.”
    Christine blinked. “At the hospital?”
    “No, she was released yesterday and was at home.”
    “Wow. What happened? Is Charlie okay?”
    “I can’t tell you anything other than Mr. Donovan is fine. Now you tell me—where were you last night? And think very, very carefully about your answer.”

5
    S anchez didn’t arrest her. They went round and round for hours—without and then with the lawyers—getting nowhere. After a while, it became clear to Christine that Sanchez, while certain she knew something about what was going on, couldn’t pin much on her. He didn’t believe she’d been with another man the night before, but he did ask several times where she thought Roman had been. She honestly didn’t know. She nearly asked why Sanchez wasn’t interrogating him , but she suspected she knew the answer to that.
    Especially after Sanchez cautioned her three times to be careful.
    He thought she’d been with Roman—and that she’d helped him attack Carla. Twice. She saw the conviction in his eyes.
    The same officers gave her a ride home in the afternoon. She left a voice mail for Roman, grateful that he hadn’t answered his phone. She needed time to compose herself to face him and his father tonight. To build up her courage to do what she needed to do.
    After she showered—she might forever associate the scent of Hally’s sandalwood lotion with the sinking fear of being recommitted—and changed clothes, they were still sitting in their car out front. Oh well, let them follow her. She waved cheerfully, then slid into her car, bouncing on the hot seat. Putting the top down helped air it out from being closed up but felt kind of frivolous.
    She drove to Trader Joe’s. Sunday afternoon was not the time to shop, but she needed groceries. Plus it amused her that the cops had to deal with the chaos of the parking lot to keep an eye on her. It felt safe and normal to be amid the press of people, even the impatient ones, and the harried others with whiny children. This was how it ought to be for people. Living their lives, feeding their families.
    Not relegated to being extinct shadow people, sacrificed for someone else’s greed.
    She’d been ignoring her phone, except to text Hally that all was fine.
    Her father had called a number of times. No surprise there. She deleted the voice mails without listening. No doubt her father knew she’d been put on administrative leave. But there was no way in hell she was going home. And she still wasn’t ready to tell him what she’d found out. So there was nothing to discuss.
    When she returned to her apartment, Roman was waiting on her doorstep. The tension immediately crawled up her neck. He’d changed out of his church clothes and wore faded jeans and an open shirt. No doubt he’d bought the jeans that way, but he still looked younger, more like a guy her age. Except for his flat eyes, beady and without remorse, like a spider’s. His dangerous mien.
    He