Fractured by Lisa Amowitz

for clues.
    â—†
    The entrance to the Regent Club was tucked away between Riverside Drive and West End Avenue beneath a simple awning. With its uniformed doorman and bright lighting, it could pass for any typical rich person’s apartment building in the area. But inside the sparkling marble-floored lobby, the pounding bass beat reverberating in my teeth told me otherwise.
    There wasn’t much other evidence of the club’s existence other than the occasional couple staggering out into waiting limos, usually a young girl in a sequined mini-dress on the arm of a much older man. Marisa frowned and pursed her lips. I kept my gaze fixed on the ground. There were no clues of any kind to capture my attention.
    After keeping us waiting for twenty minutes, Brendan Wavestone finally appeared in the lobby, not a single slicked-back hair out of place. If anything, he looked more airbrushed in person than on his bus ads. But the ice-blue eyes that stared out from the tanned angles of his face crinkled into a warm smile when they landed on Gabe. Brendan Wavestone embraced Gabe like his long-lost niece.
    â€œIt’s so good to see you, Gabriella! It’s been too long. Why didn’t you tell me you were in town? We could have done dinner.”
    â€œI’m just here for the weekend. But I’ll be at Columbia in the fall, so we can—”
    â€œYes, yes,” Wavestone cut her off. “Come. This cold lobby is no place for us to talk.”
    His smile faded when his gaze found Marisa and me. When it stalled on me a beat too long, I felt inexplicably small and cold. Then Gabe introduced us and the brilliant smile broke out like sun on the mountains.
    Wavestone led us through a hidden door in the marble walls to a small library lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves. “Ah, this is a much better place.”
    A pair of wingback chairs and a couch were arranged around a crackling fire. Wavestone sat in one of the chairs and gestured to the other for Gabe. He ignored Marisa and me, so we hovered stiffly near the wall. It was hot in the room, but I shivered just the same.
    All the muscles in my scalp had pulled tight in response to his cold stare, yet nothing about Brendan Wavestone triggered any alarms. He was a blank. A total blank. I sagged with disappointment. There was no smoking gun to link him to the crimes. No sudden intuition to lead me to the next clue.
    After they’d run out of social pleasantries, Gabe took the ring out of her pocket and held it out for him. “Actually, we, uh, found something we think belongs to you. I recognized it from…”
    Marisa stepped toward them. “It’s on all your bus ads and billboards. At least this ring looks like it. We weren’t sure, but since Gabriella is a friend of yours, we thought we’d ask. You see, there was a…” Marisa’s voice cracked and faltered, then gave way. I took her by the arm to steady her and could feel her small body trembling.
    â€œShe—she was attacked, Mr. Wavestone,” Gabriella said. “And we found this ring nearby. We thought—we just didn’t know where to turn.”
    â€œHow very observant you are,” he said, his piercing gaze pinned to Marisa. She folded herself into me, all traces of her bravado gone.
    Wavestone rubbed his chin, his brow furrowing. He spoke softly, his voice deep and strangely soothing. “Did you go to the police?”
    â€œNo,” Gabe said. “Marisa… Well, it’s complicated.”
    â€œOh? May I see the ring?” He extended his hand. “I thought I’d misplaced it. It’s a family heirloom and I’d be relieved to have it back.”
    I watched, wary, as Gabe placed the ring on his palm. The complete absence of a vibration or even an echo of the hold the ring had on me set me on edge.
    â€œThis is it,” Wavestone said, turning it over in his hand. “I can’t understand how—”
    He