Wicked Games (Hartley Grace Featherstone Mysteries Book 3), Gemma Halliday [free ebooks romance novels txt] 📗

I glanced toward the storefront across the street. Sure enough, a whole collection of handbags with ears and fur took up the display window.

"This has got to be the place on Sophia's social media," Sam said.

I nodded. "Agreed." I looked up. At least ten units looked close enough to the shop to be considered "totally close."

We walked to the gated entrance to the Santana Sky Complex and luckily only had to wait a few minutes before someone was leaving and we slipped through the gates behind them. To our right was an elevator that led to the upper levels, and we jumped in, riding it to the second story first where we exited into a small courtyard. Five doors bordered it. One had a stroller parked outside of it—clearly not Sophia's. Two had potted plants near the entrance, and the other two were unadorned.

Sam and I looked at each other. Sam shrugged. "We could try knocking on all of them."

"Let's check the third floor first," I decided, hopping back into the elevator.

We did a repeat of the ride and entered the third floor courtyard, which was almost identical to the second. Three doors were unadorned. One held a handmade wooden sign hanging from the knob that said welcome. And a fifth one had a sparkly pink wreath on the door that could only be described as "totally cute."

Bingo.

Sam smirked beside me. "Ten bucks says I know where Sophia lives."

"You wouldn't rob your best friend that way," I told her, approaching the pink-adorned door. I knocked sharply, hoping she was home.

Luckily, footsteps on the other side indicated she was, and a moment later the door opened and Sophia stood there in a slightly faded, black Juicy Couture tracksuit. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a low ponytail and a pair of oversized black sunglasses sat on her face. Despite the shades, I could see that the flawless skin, symmetrical features, and high cheekbones were the same as the ones we'd seen online.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a voice that was soft, sweet, and belonged in a Disney movie.

"Um, hi Sophia. I'm Hartley Featherstone from the Herbert Hoover High Homepage, and I was hoping we could talk to you for a few minutes." The words rushed from my mouth without a breath.

She frowned and her eyebrows disappeared beneath the top rim of her glasses. "What is the Hoover Homepage?"

"Uh, it's a newspaper." I hesitated to say school paper, thinking she might not take me seriously enough. "I'm writing an article about Gamer Con."

"We were there yesterday when Connor Simon…" Sam trailed off, seemingly not able to come up with a polite way of describing the scene.

Sophia choked back a soft sob, and I realized the sunglasses were probably not to shield her eyes from the glare inside her condo but to hide tears.

"We're so sorry for your loss," I told her, feeling suddenly extremely intrusive. "You were seeing him, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah," she said with a sniffle. "So, you're, like, with the media or something?"

"Right," I said, feeling like I was fudging the truth a little. Okay, yes, I was with the media. But I could tell by the way Sophia said the word that she was thinking of the Mercury News or the perky Diane Dancy from Channel Two.

I shot a glance Sam's way, but if my friend had any bones about lying to the beautiful woman in front of us, she didn't show it. She was craning her neck to get a look past Sophia into the apartment.

"Uh, do you think you're up to talking to us about Connor?" I asked.

She shrugged and did another loud sniffle. "I guess. Come on in."

She stepped aside, and we walked into a small foyer that led to a tidy living room to our right. The walls, carpet, and most of the furniture was all done in bright modern white that instantly made me worried I'd stain something. Clearly Sophia had no children. Or pets. Or love of fruit punch. A white stone coffee table sat in front of a plush white sofa with lots of fluffy furry pillows on it. The only pops of color in the room were a vase of pink daisies on the fireplace mantel and a pink and white zebra striped rug.

I glanced at the table as Sophia led the way into the room, and I spotted a brochure from the San Jose Community Arts Center.

Sophia must've noticed my gaze because she sat on the corner of a sofa and said, "I'm taking an acting class there."

"That sounds fun," I told her as Sam and I sat in a pair of white club chairs opposite the sofa. I almost hesitated, not sure what my jeans might have picked up riding a city bus on the way there. But it felt more awkward to stand, so I carefully moved aside a couple furry pillows and perched on the edge of a chair.

"I suppose some people act for fun, but this is for work," Sofia said, her soft, sweet voice taking on an edge. "I model, you know?"

Sam nodded. "We saw your Instagram," she confessed. "You have a lot of followers."

Sophia shrugged, but I could see a small smile of pride on her face. "I could have more. Anyway, my agent said the attention I was getting as Athena could open up some opportunities for me."

"So you were the model for Connor's game?" I asked, having had the same thought myself.

She nodded. "I was Connor's muse." She bit her lip and shook her head, as if suddenly remembering he was gone.

"Had you two been together long?" Sam asked, her voice laced with sympathy.

Sophia nodded. "Three years. We met when I was still in high school. He came to do a