by Watkins, TM
The cop sat on the long pool lounge beside me, sitting side on as he waited with a lot of hope.
“She came in, stuck me with a needle.” I rasped, shivering.
“Can we not do this when she has dried off?” Dorian snapped.
“Now would be better Mister Gallagher, then we can be out of your hair.”
Dorian huffed and turned, beginning to stalk as he waited for me to continue.
“I couldn’t feel my legs. She was blaming me for Dorian stopping the trials of a serum, said he’s been too busy playing nurse to me.”
The cop looked at me weirdly.
“I was shot a month ago, someone tried to extort money out of Dorian and it went bad.”
His eyes went a little wide as he turned from me to Dorian, the cop said nothing as he wrote things into his note book.
“So she opened the wound up and wrote the message on the wall. Said she had planned it all to ensure that Dorian had an alibi. Then she dragged me out to here but by then the drug was working its way through me and she struggled with my body. I guess it’s the only thing that saved me, she couldn’t get me over the balcony.”
I watched as the zip was being dragged up the black bag, Eva’s body was then lifted onto the stretcher and wheeled into the apartment. My father lingered in the background, watching quietly.
“Who shot her?”
“Security did.” Dorian offered. “Lucky for you, your father came to visit you and couldn’t get access to the floor, even the security desk couldn’t get through. They rang me and said there was no answer when they rang on the intercom and the lift and the fire door had been locked. Believing something was wrong, your father was brought up in the service elevator which cannot be locked and I came in through the fire door once security did an override on the system.”
I wanted to say that I didn’t remember seeing any security personnel here at the time when I saw my father dragging Eva’s body out of the pool but my mind and my vision was a little hazy. I could have easily missed seeing them. Then again, it wasn’t like my father to be so laid back with emergency situations. Our love for each other was only just repairing itself but my father was a man that protected his family without question. If he saw someone threatening his daughter, he would deal with the situation without a thought.
And that’s why I firmly believed that it was my father that shot Eva and not the security guards. Maybe Dorian didn’t want me to feel like there was some blame to be had with my father and the situation. Maybe it had something to do with the legality of it, maybe there was something about guards and guns that I wasn’t aware of. Or maybe it was about protecting my father and his business, something that regardless of what had happened in the past, Dorian would want to do.
He would want to do it for me because he cared. That’s what Dorian was like, he was the creepy guy that watched me way too much but that was because he liked to look at me. He was the rich playboy that did as he pleased because he had the wealth and the lifestyle to accommodate it. And, he was the caring man, one that adored his new girlfriend and her weird family. That meant all of them, including the owner of a corporate spy company that had tried to steal a deadly billion-dollar secret.
He was just that sweet.
Chapter 55: The devil in her veins
The cops were gone within half an hour, leaving the place a mess of dirty boot prints, finger print powder and paperwork. Eva’s medical team had repaired the wound, it was only superficial and hadn’t done too much damage. Of course, Dorian wasn’t going to listen to them and was back to his usual self.
As for what had happened, this was as far as the investigation was going, Dorian wasn’t interested in anything more. He’d seen the footage from the security camera that was near the front door, he knew what his sister was really like.
Eva didn’t believe me when I said there was a camera in the private residence but she was wrong to do that. Dorian had installed one, it was a movement activated camera that scanned the room and took everything in. He’d watched what his sister had done, he knew that I had no chance of fighting her off.
Once he’d had enough of it, he made a copy for the police and gave it to them. For them it was enough evidence to warrant self-defense, even if it wasn’t me that killed her. Thankfully for my father, the actual vision of Eva being shot and falling into the pool was not captured and therefor it was left to assume that the security guard had done it.
There would be no charges pressed, the cops weren’t interested once Dorian signed off on the entire fiasco. She had lost her mind due to the serum that had been injected into her, he explained it all to them and how it was slowly eating away at her body. It had ravaged her mind and made her into something that even he didn’t recognize.
Chet arrived with a change of clothes for my father, hugging me countless times as he sat beside me on the lounge. I wanted to say that it was nice that they visited but we had dinner reservations, but I didn’t. Dinner at El Toro was not going to happen tonight and considering I had a fresh wound to contend with, I knew it wasn’t going to happen tomorrow night either. It would be a battle to get my waxing done tomorrow.
I had changed into something warm and dry, my hair no longer wet and there were several blankets over me, making me rather hot. Dorian was determined that I was not going to get a cold.
“So, how come you came to visit?”
“I wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Well, I am grateful for that.” I said with a grin.
My father smiled at me. I think it was the first time that we’d ever had a normal conversation, like a real father and daughter.
“How’s Tilley?”
He chuckled. “Incredibly sick and not very impressed at the world.”
“Can I ask you something about my mother?”
The smile on his face died as he looked at me, a lot of hurt showing.
“Sure.”
“Why did she never want to see Wal or me when we were kids?”
He sighed, glancing at Chet for a brief second.
“Katherine, I am going to tell you something about your mother that I kept from you and Walter to protect you. I’m not trying to discourage you from something with her and I never wanted her to be so distant. Every child needs their mother and it pained me to see the two of you grow up without her. All that I ask is that if you intend on seeing her, please do so with a lot of caution.”
He took a deep breath in and then let it out slowly, quietly sighing to himself.
“After she left I discovered that she had been having an affair with a man, I don’t know who he was. It didn’t matter, what mattered was that they were doing drugs together. I’m not talking about a bit of weed or even the occasional popped pill at a rave. This was the really hard stuff and your mother was addicted. I suppose that she might not have wanted to leave, if she had been sober enough to realize what she was doing. Instead she listened to the man that was feeding her the hits and followed him to the cockroach infested house where he nearly killed her with an overdose.”
I saw the raw emotions in my father, I’d never seen him this close to tears. Even when he married Tilley’s mother or when she was born, he was happy but there were never any tears. Yet now he speaks of my mother nearly dying and I could see a broken man. Was I wrong about everything I believed about my father? I was beginning to think it was the case.
“I had one of my staff members watching her to ensure she was safe. He rang me with a lot of concern, stating that he could see into the house through the window and she was passed out on the floor. He was worried that he was wrong and that she wasn’t passed out. I told him to call for the paramedics. When I reached the hospital they were performing CPR on her, she barely scraped through. I waited by her bedside even though it almost killed my marriage to Ilene and when your mother woke up we had a very serious discussion about what I expected from her. She was to go into rehab, she was not allowed to go near the other man and when she was sober
and in a good place in her mind and in her reality, then I would allow her to see you and Walter again.”
But she’s been in that apartment for quite some time now according to Walter.
“She has been living in that apartment for a few years now, she has moved on with another fellow and is in a stable relationship that is healthy and drug free. But the shame of it all has weighed heavily upon her, she has always believed that she didn’t deserve to see the two of you. Try as I might, I could never convince her that it would be okay so long as she gave it a chance. She said that you and Walter would be better off without her.”
“Walter is talking to her.”
“Yes, I know. But that is not as frequent as you think and I don’t think that they have seen each other in person, just messages on the phone. I don’t know what to say to you Katherine, your mother loves you but she thinks that you would be better off if you didn’t know her. But there may be a chance of something if that is what you desire. Like Walter you could contact her over the phone and start there. Take it easy on her, she made a mistake and she has paid heavily for it. I know that you have suffered a life without a mother and you probably want to make her understand what that was like but remember, she was fooled by a man that had charmed his way into her heart.”
I looked at Dorian and understood what it was like to be charmed by a man. Maybe I needed to forgive my mother for what she had done. Coming so close to death, I now had to re-evaluate everything in my life and that included those who weren’t in it.
Maybe it was time to call my mother.
Chapter 56: I love you, creepy guy
Dorian sat on the bed as he pulled the linen over him, snuggling down beside me. I was repaired but still in a state of pain, emotionally and physically. I’d rung my mother.
She cried, I cried and after a lot more crying because she had been told of everything that had happened to me in the past few hours and month, we agreed that we would meet soon. Soon meant likely to be in a few weeks with a lot of messages in between but it was something that we both wanted. It would be slow going and it wouldn’t be easy but we would get there. I also had to convince Walter to come with me, something that my mother believed wouldn’t happen.
Sure, they were messaging each other but it wasn’t always on good terms. I’d always thought that Walter was crazy for talking to her but he never actually said that things were still strained between them. So now I guess it was time for a change.
I had to lay flat on my back, there was no laying on my side for quite some time. It was frustrating and annoying to say the least. Dorian snuggled in beside me, his arm draped over my ribs and settling on my arm.
“It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?”
That was the best that he had? His sister was just shot dead after trying to throw his girlfriend over the balcony. He was being way too calm about it.
“It sure was. Going to see a counsellor about it?”
“What for?”
“Dorian.” I chided. “Your sister is dead. She tried to fake my suicide.”
And we will forget about the part where she re-opened my gunshot wound and in turn lengthened my healing time. There was no sex for a little while longer and just as annoyingly, there was no El Toro either. The waxing was on regardless of what Dorian said. Even if I had to tie Dorian to a chair just so that I could flee the building, I would do it. It would be at a snail’s pace but I would get there. Come hell or high water, I was getting hair ripped out of me tomorrow.
Dorian sighed, his fingers playing on the edge of my shoulder.
“I loved Eva, she was my world. I would have done anything for and had, and that was the problem. She was spoiled and I had done that to her. Everything that she wanted, I gave it to her and that included my attention. Then you came along and started to take up my time so understandably she was upset. There was no reasoning with her, there was no chance that she would see a future with a partner of her own. Then she said something the other day, it opened my eyes to the reality of the situation. She said that she wasn’t happy and if that was the case then I wasn’t allowed to be happy either. Who would want that for their own sibling?”
I didn’t have an answer. Even though I didn’t always get along with Tilley and Frank, I still wanted the best for them. I would give to them without a care if that was what they needed and it was because I loved them. They were my family and they were important to me.
“Then I started to look at everything that had gone on. Not just the injecting the serum or refusing to take the medication that kept her alive. It was the little things that proved how selfish she really was. Even when our parents were alive she was like that, I was just too young to take notice. She demanded and they gave. When they died she blamed me, telling me it was my fault that they had gone to the bank for the loan. And because it was my fault, I had to fix it so that she would never be without, because that’s what they would have wanted.”
Or that’s what Eva wanted. She sounded like one very spoiled brat.
“Always demanding, always trying to control everything. When she was in the company, her assistants were always quitting, the longest stay was three months, the shortest was an hour.”
Holy crap.
“I tried a male, believing he might just be a little more intimidating to her. I was wrong and I had to pay to keep him quiet because she had tried to remove his pants.”
Dorian sighed rather loudly.
“She stated that she had to know how well equipped the horse was before he was allowed to remain in her employ and obviously between her legs. So I couldn’t hire men to be her assistant. Women would crumble underneath her cruel nature and men would be harassed. It was a nightmare and yes, I am sad that she is gone and I suppose that one day soon I will need to talk to a counsellor but at the moment I really couldn’t give a shit. There was no sane reason for her to do what she tried to do. I said that I was stopping the trials until she was well again but she went and assumed it was because of you. I could not in my right mind devote a team of scientists to search for an answer when I needed them to cure her problem.”
“Dorian.” I said softly. “Do you think that the serum affected her mind as well?”
He sat up, leaning on one arm as he looked down at me.
“You know; I think I do. Sure she was difficult before it but since she injected it, she’s been erratic with her moods. Her rants were getting crazier; she’d ask for the strangest things.”
With a heavy sigh he laid back on the bed, his fingers lacing into mine.
“Enough of her. I don’t want to discuss it any more tonight. It’s bed time, so go to sleep.”
I smiled as he leaned over to kiss me before stretching back to turn off the lamp.
“I love you, creepy guy.”
In the darkness of the bedroom, I heard a soft chuckle.
“And I love you, my little spy.”
Part 8: Don’t I get a say?
About bloody time!
This isn't the Katherine Claire Bryant show.
Chapter 57: The spy that loved me
(Epilogue, told by Dorian)
Madelyn Cooper crossed the room, files tucked into her arms.
“Good morning Dorian.”
The files were dumped onto my desk, all but one.
“These are the applicants for today.”
“And that one?”
Her face flinched, reluctantly she handed it to me.
“The spy that we discussed.”
I opened the file, more interested in this particular person than the other three. Katherine Claire Bryant was an unknown, an unidentified member of a corporate spy company. A spy that had never popped up on our radar. Why? We had no idea.
“We know that Matilda Bryant is the youngest and the twins are the eldest but this one, we have no idea where she fits. She is an unknown entity.”
And an interesting one. Instead of using the blonde bombshell that was his youngest daughter, Hank Bryant w
as sending in the one that had never been seen before.
“Are we certain she is actually a Bryant?”
“Yes. Birth records confirm that she and also Walter Bryant were born to Hank and Felicity. Walter is the eldest at twenty-four years and Katherine is twenty-three. There are a few notes about Felicity at the back of the file, there isn’t much of interest about her. She is clean, in a roundabout way.”
I looked at Madelyn with confusion.
“Reformed drug addict. She hasn’t had anything to do with them since she walked out on them when they were young.”
“Have you found any photos of Katherine, has she popped up on social media?”
“Not at first. She is smarter than her sister, I’ll grant her that much. Her Facebook account is listed as KC rather than Katherine and even then there isn’t much on it. Just pictures of landscapes and animals, nothing personal at all. Her sister however, her face is plastered all over everything.”
I got the indirect message, one was far too liberal with social media and was clearly an issue and the other was daddy’s little secret. A weapon that he was about to unleash upon us. I had to give the man credit, he was a smart one. But this was a war that he was not going to win, I would just have to outsmart him.
“Alright, we are going to play a game Madelyn. Interview all of them and pick one out of these three that you want, after the interview make contact with the person and tell them that they’ve been short listed and that you will contact them in a couple of days.”
“And the spy?”
“Bring her in, I think it is time that we find out who she is.”
I pushed the phone forward, Madelyn glanced at it with slight shock.
“Make the call.”
As Madelyn called the spy, I logged into the security records and read the notes about her. It was a pitiful amount of information, all collected in the past few days. How we had not known about this one was rather interesting. There was plenty of notes and images of her half-sister Matilda. As for her brother who was her only full blooded sibling, we had good notes on him too.
