Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

back into his sanctuary.
    "Was he talking about Cheryl Wallace?" Holly asked as April took her up the stairs from the kitchen.
    "Yes. She's been staying with us since the hearing."
    "Didn't you say she was married?"
    April stopped on the second-story landing and turned toward Holly with a sad sigh. "Cheryl suffered a relapse. Her rather immature husband couldn't handle it, and we didn't want to put her in an institution where the media could make a big deal over it. This was the best place for her to recuperate."
    "I'm not sure I understand," Holly admitted.
    "Cheryl had a nervous breakdown after her attack in college—completely withdrew from everyone for about a year. Then she pulled herself back together and had seemed fine ever since. If I had thought for one minute that this might happen, I would never have agreed to her testifying."
    Holly read the mixture of guilt and anguish on April's face. "I don't see how you could have known. And I gathered it was her choice. No one pushed her into it, did they?" She saw the uncertainty in April's eyes before she spoke.
    "Perhaps pushed is the wrong word. But we did encourage her once she made the decision. At any rate, she's here so that I can care for her privately. She has an extreme fear of strangers right now, so I want to explain who you are and see if she'll agree to meet you. She's most at ease in our attic room, but I try to get her to come downstairs at least once a day. Just stay here for a minute while I go up and talk to her."
    As April ascended the narrow flight of stairs, Holly couldn't help but think that there was something very eerie about a mentally disturbed woman living in the attic, even if she was an old friend and the owner of the house was a psychiatrist. Then again, this visit wasn't turning out anything like she had imagined. She liked April and had been looking forward to talking to her. It was the rest of the people she could have done without.
    Rachel and Bobbi both intimidated her, though in different ways. Theodore made her contemplate how bleak her future with Philip could be. And Cheryl was a reminder of her past and the way she had withdrawn after her own horrible experience. It made her wonder if she was susceptible to another breakdown someday. She didn't want to believe she was that unstable, but apparently Cheryl hadn't thought of herself that way either.
    The only character missing from this macabre play was the evil femme fatale, and she truly hoped Erica wasn't expected to show up. Holly didn't think she could tolerate observing her with Rachel and Bobbi after the things Bobbi had related the other night.
    Her reflection ended as April came back down. "I'm sorry. She's just not up to it."
    "I understand." Truthfully, she was relieved.
    April showed her the room she'd be staying in. Without being asked, she explained, "I know the house seems large for just the two of us, but we usually have one or two needy students boarding with us. With everything else that's going on, I declined this term." After April pointed out the guest bath, she took Holly back downstairs through the kitchen.
    In a voice she hoped sounded only mildly curious, Holly asked, "Will Erica be coming today also?"
    "No. She's tied up with a business deal. Somewhere in Florida I think her secretary said."
    That gave Holly an opening to return to her original question once they returned to the living room and sat down. "Speaking of Florida..."
    April smiled and turned to Rachel. "We're all anxious to hear about what happened in Florida."
    Rachel straightened in a way that made Holly think she was making a report to her superior officer. "It was a major FUBAR if there ever was one. David Wells, the reporter Holly gave the Frampton information to, obviously managed to make contact with the pornographer, Mick D'Angelo, but got himself in over his head. The Miami Feds let Wells play the bait, hoping to grab themselves a real prize, but somehow the setup went sour. D'Angelo and his bodyguard were killed, and the reporter was shot by D'Angelo.
    "The word is they managed to get hold of a briefcase full of pornographic DVDs, one of which was apparently a genuine snuff film. There was a little custody battle over the evidence between our guys and the City of Miami. It was finally decided that the Feds would get everything except the snuff film, since the homicide actually fell under the jurisdiction of the city.
    "In the evidence the Feds got was a tape of the conversation