Keeper of the Bride

than it had been that afternoon, most of the desks deserted, and only an occasional clerk circulating in the halls. Pressler brought Nina upstairs and ushered her into an office.

Sam was there.

He gave her only the most noncommittal of greetings: a nod, a quiet hello. She responded in kind. Pressler was in the room too, as were Gillis and another man in plainclothes, no doubt a cop as well. With an audience watching, she was not about to let her feelings show. Obviously Sam wasn’t, either.

“We wanted you to take a look at these uniforms,” Sam said, gesturing to the long conference table. Laid out on the table were a half dozen uniform jackets of various colors. “We’ve got bellhops, an elevator operator, and an usher’s uniform from the downtown Cineplex. Do any of them strike you as familiar?”

Nina approached the table. Thoughtfully she eyed each one, examining the fabrics, the buttons. Some of them had embroidered hotel logos. Some were trimmed with gold braid or nametags.

She shook her head. “It wasn’t one of these.”

“What about that green one, on the end?”

“It has gold braid. The jacket I remember had black braid, sort of coiled up here, on the shoulder.”

“Geez,” murmured Gillis. “Women remember the weirdest things.”

“Okay,” Sam said with a sigh. “That’s it for this session. Thanks, everyone. Pressler, why don’t you take a break and get some supper. I’ll bring Miss Cormier back to her hotel. You can meet us there in an hour or so.”

The room emptied out. All except Sam and Nina.

For a moment, they didn’t speak to each other. They didn’t even look at each other. Nina almost wished that the earnest Officer Pressler was back with her again; at least he didn’t make her feel like turning tail and running.

“I hope your hotel room’s all right,” he finally said.

“It’s fine. But I’ll be going stir crazy in another day. I have to get out of there.”

“It’s not safe yet.”

“When will it be safe?”

“When we have Spectre.”

“That could be never.” She shook her head. “I can’t live this way. I have a job. I have a life. I can’t stay in a hotel room with some cop who drives me up a wall.”

Sam frowned. “What’s Pressler done?”

“He won’t sit still! He never stops checking the windows. He won’t let me touch the phone. And he can’t carry on a decent conversation.”

“Oh.” Sam’s frown evaporated. “That’s just Leon doing his job. He’s good.”

“Maybe he is. But he still drives me crazy.” Sighing, she took a step toward him. “Sam, I can’t stay cooped up. I have to get on with my life.”

“You will. But we have to get you through this part alive.”

“What if I left town? Went somewhere else for a while—”

“We might need you here, Nina.”

“You don’t. You have his prints. You know he’s missing a finger. You could identify him without any question—”

“But we need to spot him first. And for that, we might need you to pick him out of a crowd. So you have to stay in town. Available. We’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

“I suppose you’ll have to. If you want to catch your man.”

He took her by the shoulders. “That’s not the only reason, and you know it.”

“Do I?”

He leaned closer. For one astonishing moment she thought he was going to kiss her. Then a rap on the door made them both jerk apart.

Gillis, looking distinctly ill at ease, stood in the doorway. “Uh…I’m heading over to get a burger. You want I should get you something, Sam?”

“No. We’ll pick something up at her hotel.”

“Okay.” Gillis gave an apologetic wave. “I’ll be back here in an hour.” He departed, leaving Sam and Nina alone once again.

But the moment was gone forever. If he’d intended to kiss her, she saw no hint of it in his face.

He said, simply, “I’ll drive you back now.”

In Sam’s car, she felt as if they’d reverted right back to the very first day they’d met, to the time when he’d been the stone-faced detective and she’d been the bewildered citizen. It was as if all the events of the past week — their nights together, their lovemaking — had never happened. He seemed determined to avoid any talk of feelings tonight, and she was just as determined not to broach the subject.

The only safe topic was the case. And even on that topic, he was not very forthcoming.

“I notice you’ve circulated the police sketch,” she said.

“It’s been everywhere. TV, the papers.”

“Any response?”

“We’ve been inundated by calls. We’ve spent all day chasing them down. So far, nothing’s panned out.”

“I’m afraid my description wasn’t very helpful.”

“You did the best you could.”

She looked out the window, at the streets of downtown Portland. It was already eight o’clock, the summer dusk just slipping into night. “If I saw him again, I’d know him. I’m sure I would.”

“That’s all we need from you, Nina.”

All you want from me, too, she thought sadly. She asked, “What happens tomorrow?”

“More of the same. Chase down leads. Hope someone recognizes that sketch.”

“Do you know if Spectre’s even in the city?”

“No. He may be long gone. In which case we’re just spinning our wheels. But my instincts are telling me he’s still here somewhere. And he’s got something planned, something big.” He glanced at her. “You could be the wrench in the works. The one person who can recognize him. That’s why we have to keep you under wraps.”

“I can’t stand much more of this. I’m not even allowed to make a phone call.”

“We don’t want people to know your whereabouts.”

“I won’t tell anyone. I promise. It’s just that I feel so cut off from everyone.”

“Okay.” He sighed. “Who do you want to call?”

“I could start with my sister, Wendy.”

“I thought you two didn’t get along.”

“We don’t. But she’s still my sister. And she can tell the rest of the family I’m okay.”

He thought it over for a moment, then said, “All right, go ahead and call her. You can use the car phone. But don’t—”

“I know, I know. Don’t tell her where I am.” She picked up the receiver and dialed Wendy’s number. She heard three rings, and then a woman’s voice answered — a voice she didn’t recognize.

“Hayward residence.”

“Hello, this is Nina. I’m Wendy’s sister. Is she there?”

“I’m sorry, but Mr. and Mrs. Hayward are out for the evening. I’m the baby-sitter.”

That’s how worried she is about me, thought Nina with an irrational sense of abandonment.

“Would you like her to call you back?” asked the baby-sitter.

“No, I, uh, won’t be available. But maybe I can call her later. Do you know what time she’ll be home?”

“They’re at the Brant Theater for that Legal Aid benefit. I think it runs till ten-thirty. And then they usually go out for coffee and dessert, so I’d expect them home around midnight.”

“Oh. That’s too late. I’ll call tomorrow, thanks.” She hung up and gave a sigh of disappointment.

“Not home?”

“No. I should have guessed they’d be out. In Jake’s law firm, the business day doesn’t end at five. The