Page 5 of A Step You Shouldn't Take

“Well, no, but I’d never have left it behind in a bar.” Would I? I didn’t recall leaving the bar or the restaurant or wherever I’d been. “At least, I don’t think so. I suppose it’s possible.”

“I’ll look into it, ma’am. Perhaps somebody handed it in. Now, about this Annie. How can I contact her?”

“We work together at Just Imagine Events. She’ll be in the office by now.”

Placating our clients, no doubt, and cursing my name in her sweet southern accent as she paced the meeting area with its white-and-silver furniture and artfully arranged flowers. Always fresh, never artificial.

The curtain moved back again, and I pretended not to care as Officer Leopold and the doctor held a whispered conference, probably about me peeing in a cup. After this, I was never drinking again. Not even a glass of champagne at the many, many weddings I had to attend. New, teetotal Kim had been born, and maybe I should start going to the gym too.

Tomorrow. I’d go to the gym tomorrow when my limbs stopped feeling like overcooked soba noodles. The doctor nodded a few times then fussed around, checking out the beeping machines and making notes on my chart.

“How are you doing, Miss…? Well, we’ve got you down as Jane Doe at the moment.”

“Miss Jennings. Kimberly Jennings. I just want to go home.”

“We need to run some more tests first, but as long as you’re feeling okay, you should be able to leave this afternoon.”

This afternoon? Annie was going to kill me. But I smiled and did my swan impression—you know, all serene above the water but frantically paddling underneath.

“Thank you. That sounds perfect.”

The doctor disappeared, and Officer Leopold stepped closer once more.

“They’ve taken a urine sample, but nothing showed up apart from alcohol.”

Was he kidding? “I’ve never passed out from a glass of wine, or even two. What drugs did they test for?”

“They did a standard screening. Amphetamines, benzodiazepines, marijuana, cocaine, that sort of thing.”

“What about roofies? Did they test for roofies?”

“I believe those fall under benzodiazepines.”

“Well, he must have given me something else. I’ve read tales of those fancy club drugs on the internet. Please, you have to look for this man. If he incapacitated me, he could just as easily do it to another woman tomorrow.”

“Any idea where you might have met him?”

“I was exhibiting at the Big Day Bridal Show, so I guess in the hotel where it was being held. The Park Plaza. I certainly didn’t plan on going anywhere else afterwards.”

“I’ll ask one of my colleagues to take a look, see if they can find any witnesses.”

“They have security cameras. There’s a little sign in the lobby saying ‘Smile, you’re a movie star.’”

Leopold smiled too. I amused him.

“I’ll make sure I relay that information, ma’am.”

“I know how this looks. That I’m just a stupid girl who made a bad error in judgement. But I assure you that’s not who I am, and it makes me sick to think there’s a man out there preying on women.”

His smile faded. “And I assure you we’ll investigate. Honestly? I wish we had the manpower to chase down every lead, but the department budget’s been pared to the bone over the last few years, and the new mayor’s on our backs at the moment because burglary rates are so high. Half of the officers are investigating crimes against property. Not saying I disagree with that, but…”

“Have you ever heard the name Georgette Riley?”

Riley was her surname, wasn’t it? My mind was still hazy.

Leopold looked at me sharply. “What’s she got to do with this case?”

So hehadheard of her.

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