Close to Destiny (A Magical Love Story)

Chapter 62

May 27, early morning

I didn't have much time left. My article was almost complete, which meant my days at The Grand East Hotel were numbered. I would be heading back to New York any time now, but I couldn't leave without knowing.

And the only way to find out more was to learn more about Audrey Moss. I had mulled over my possibilities as I tossed and turned through a night when sleep wouldn't come. Will, Sam or one other person. After digging around in my overnight bag, I found what I was looking for: the rumpled business card that Margaret Bloome, Destiny's nurse, had given me.

I remembered her telling me on the day I first visited Destiny's house that several people had come by during the week. It seemed likely one of them would have been Destiny's best friend.

Certain I wouldn't have any luck on the phone, I hopped in a cab and nervously played with the strap of my backpack as the car turned down one dim, narrow street after the next. It was a short ride through the financial district, where imposing buildings loomed overhead, blocking any possible sunlight.

The agency, employing nurses for home healthcare, was situated at the end of an alley next to a block of doctors' and lawyers' offices. I pushed open the glass door and glanced around at the bare, sterile surroundings. A couple of dog-eared posters of smiling nurses holding the hands of grateful patients decorated the walls. Unrealistically, I expected Margaret to pop up out of thin air as if she had been waiting for my arrival.

"May I help you?" A teenager looked across the counter as I approached.

"I'm, uh, looking for Ms. Margaret Bloome, please."

"What's this regarding? A new patient or one of her regulars?"

"It's about a former patient... one who passed away not too long ago. I only need to speak with her for a couple of minutes. I have to ask her something important."

The girl knitted her eyebrows, was about to say something and then bit her lip.

"It's a basic request, really, but urgent," I continued.

"She's in the back," the girl said. "I'll get her for you straight away. If you'd like to have a seat..." She indicated the folding chair in one corner of the vestibule.

"That's OK, I'm all right." I leaned against the counter as my eyes roamed blindly over the piles and piles of paperwork that likely were part of the girl's internship at this office. There wasn't even an inch of bare space on that desk.

Moments later, Margaret Bloome hurried into the room, and I turned around, trying my best to exude a natural sense of confidence.

"I don't know if you remember me," I began.

"You're the young woman I met at Destiny's house," she said, shaking my hand in her efficient manner. "Can I help you with something?"

She clutched a handful of patients' charts in one hand and smoothed the perfect crease in her white pants with the other.

"I'm trying to find the family of Destiny's best friend Audrey Moss. I figured you might be able to help me."

"How so?"

"Well, I thought you must have seen Audrey at some point or heard about her." I felt the heat rising to my face at a much-too-rapid pace.

"You're speaking about the young woman who fell to her death at the hotel. I heard about that, and yes, I've met her."

"I need to get in touch with her family, about something regarding Destiny," I lied. "I know they live in Kensington, but I'm sure there are many of them. I don't know where to start, so I was hoping you might have an idea."

"I don't want any more involvement," Margaret said. "If you ask me, they are—were—all crazy. Those two young women and their friends."

"But you were so protective of Destiny."

"Of course, she was my patient. That's my job, and I take it very seriously. But I have to say it was difficult staying on to the end. I'm afraid I can't help you with anything further."

"All I need is a name," I said, not caring about the mounting desperation in my voice. "A brother or sister of Audrey... a cousin... someone..."

"Try calling on her sister Charlotte Moss in Notting Hill. She's the only family member I know of by name. There is nothing else I can tell you so there's no point in asking any more questions."

"OK, that's all I need, thank you."

I was about to turn around but hesitated for a split second.

"Just one little thing," I said. "Why do you think Destiny and Audrey were crazy?"

"They weren't living in reality. Isn't that reason enough?"

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