“That’s certainly what the evidence suggests.” Louisa set down her cup. Enough acid already churned through her stomach to dissolve metal.

“Haven’t we been here before?” His tone held no amusement.

“Unfortunately.”

Conor’s head tilted. “The situation is awful, but none of this explains why you’re here today.”

Louisa toyed with her pearls. “Zoe’s boyfriend said he left her here.”

“Her name is Zoe?” Conor swept both hands through his overgrown black hair. “I bounced a loudmouth last night. His girlfriend chose not to go home with him. Her name was Zoe too. Long, dark hair. Freckles. Thin.”

“That sounds like her. What time did she leave?”

“I drove her to the subway station a little after midnight.”

“You drove her?” Louisa smiled, remembering how he’d shielded her from the media.

“It was late, and there was a lowlife hanging on the corner.” Regret darkened Conor’s eyes. “I should have driven her home. Are the police looking for her?”

“When I left the museum, the director was calling them. I’m not sure how they’ll treat the report. If it weren’t for Riki’s disappearance, the situation would be more irritating than alarming. However, no one has been able to locate her all morning, which is definitely not normal behavior for Zoe. She might run a habitual thirty minutes late, but she always shows up. Did she act strangely last night?”

“It’s hard to say. I don’t know how she acts normally,” he answered. “You’ve tried her friends and family?”

“Not exactly. Director Cusack was looking for a report she was working on for him. I didn’t want her to get into trouble. She’s already been written up for lateness. I tried her cell, but she didn’t answer. When I called her apartment, her roommate answered and told me Zoe never came home last night. I thought, fine, she slept at her boyfriend’s place. Her roommate gave me his number—”

Conor lowered his coffee cup. “Tell me you didn’t call her boyfriend looking for her.”

“I wanted to spare her the humiliation of being fired.” Louisa’s face burned with indignation. “Internships are very competitive. There are other students who would love her position. Trust me. It was one of the most embarrassing phone calls I’ve ever made.”

“I believe you.” He held up a defensive hand, but his lips were twitching again.

Louisa huffed. Why did he enjoy provoking her? And why did she react to his every jibe? She wasn’t this snappish with anyone else. “Anyway, her boyfriend told me they’d had an argument, and he’d left her here. That’s when I got worried.” Not to mention shocked that Sullivan’s was involved. The coincidence just didn’t seem possible.

Conor rubbed his temples with a forefinger and thumb. “It was too late for a woman to take the subway alone.”