Finally, she says, “So what's our next step?”
“A part of me wants to go back there and get those devices. Then again, I'm worried if I do that and there is something there, the Corps will think we did that, that we tampered somehow. I'd bet my life that that's what William would say. Then he'd probably have me arrested and shot.”
“He sounds charming.” She sits beside me with a sigh. “So I assume I’ll go back later for Lucas’s car?”
I nod. “Just in case anyone saw me.” I put my stuff back in my kit. “God, I can't believe I've been so blind. Here I am looking for this ghost of a gunman and all along, we’ve had William right in front of us. I mean, think about it. He’s set to inherit billions now that his father is dead. He's the president of a major corporation. He had everything to gain from his father's death.”
“But I thought William had his own money.”
“He does. Which is why I never even thought about him. It’s like, why? What could he have to gain?”
“Well…it’s a good question.”
“And the answer is obvious. When it comes to money, people always want more.” I wince as a sharp pain runs up my leg. “He hired someone to kill his father.”
Sabrina doesn't say anything. I don't know if it's because she's trying to digest the information, review it, or is trying to believe it. I mean, a part of me still can’t believe it. I liked it better when I thought some anonymous, crazy lunatic was behind it all. But I can’t ignore what I’ve seen and heard.
“I’m so naïve,” I mutter. “I can't believe I didn't even consider him until now. I just thought, I dunno. I thought family bonds were…” I breathe out hard and shake my head. “Like I said, naïve.”
“No, not naïve. You just thought he was a good guy.”
“Yeah well, now I’m thinking he’s the perfect murderer. I mean, here he is with the money, means, and motive to kill his father. And yet, no one questions him. No one even thinks twice about that. Instead, they’re all zooming in on Victoria, who has absolutely no means or motive. Somehow, William orchestrated that. I’m not sure how, but he did.”
“Does William hate Victoria that much?”
“The relationship is stressed, to say the least.”
“Yeah, but enough to set her up for murder?”
I run my hand through my hair. “He’s calculating. He’s cold. And if it's a choice between himself or her—" I shrug.
“So what do we do then? You said he has the Corps in his back pocket. How do we convince anyone to listen to us?”
“We give them evidence.”
“So far, there is none when it comes to William.”
I rub my eyes. When I open them, black dots dance in my vision. “There’s got to be something. He doesn’t live in a bubble. He’s got to have emails, or bank deposits, or withdrawals, or something. I mean, the one guy said that ten million was being transferred. There would be a record of that, right? I say if we find that record, we can find the guy who’s receiving it, and we can prove that William hired him to kill his father.”
“You’re assuming that’s what the money was for.”
“Come on, Sabrina. Ten million? He’s transferring another ten million more? He’s paying someone a lot of money for a reason, and I’m thinking it’s not because the guy cleaned his car.”
Sabrina concedes my points with a cant of her head. Then: “What about bugs? I have these sound bugs that can pick up around 300 square feet of sound. And they’re like, shaped like common objects too, so he won’t even notice. We can plant one in his work, his house, maybe even his car. See who he’s talking to.”
“Nah. We’d only get his half of the conversation. And who knows if he’d say anything valuable in the next day.”
“God, I can’t believe we only have a day to do this.”
I adjust an icepack on my ankle. “If we’re going to do this, and actually find something useful, we need to go big.”
“What do you mean?”
A plan is forming in my head, and I rest my chin on my palm as I think it through. It’s not a perfect plan, it’s not even a very good plan. But it’s the best I can come up with.
“That guy who gave you that bug, the one I put in the Steel Tower. He still here?”
“Um, I think so.”
“Do you trust him?”
“Absolutely. What’s up?”
“I have an idea.” I stand and test my ankle. It’s sore, beyond sore. I wince with even the slightest bit of weight. “But I’ll need some help.”
VICTORIA
Jace is clean and fresh-smelling. He's always so nice to look at.
“I'm trying to save your life. Give me something so I can do that.”
“I’ve given you everything.”
He sees me squinting. He moves from in front of the window so the sun no longer blinds me. Decent. Jace is decent.
“I didn't kill my father.”
“Who did?”
“He was a young guy. Tall. Dark.”
Jace scoffs and shakes his head. “You have a very subtle but clear tell when you're lying. Your jaw tightens, right there.” He points to his own clean face.
“Why do you want to help me so much?”
He looks off, out the window, and when he meets my eyes again, something in his expression is different. It's warmer, kinder and familiar. Derek looks at me like that sometimes. Like I'm a good person and can't possibly be bad. “I know how the legal system works,” Jace says. “There are flaws. I don't want to see anyone else suffer because of them.”
Clouds move in front of the sun. It gets dark in my cell.
“Am I going to die?”
Jace says, “I hope not.”
“But you don't know.”
“No.”
DEREK
“He’s still in town. He can be over in about three hours.”
“Alright. Good. Did you tell him what’s going on?”
She shakes her head. “I figure we can do that when he gets here, face to face.”
“Fair enough.” It’s getting late, and fatigue is starting to unpack and move in. What am I saying? It's been moved in. Now it's making a kitchen addition and repainting the first floor. I gingerly stand and hobble to the dining room so I can review the files for the umpteenth time, but as I pass Sabrina on the couch, she reaches out and grabs my wrist. I look down at her upturned face.
“Can you sit for a minute?”
Her skin is cool on mine. I glance at her hand on my wrist and, wordlessly, sit beside her. For a while, neither of us speaks. I wouldn’t say the silence is heavy, but it’s certainly not empty. Now that I think of it, no silence between us ever has been. Not with our history.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
She shrugs and picks up a pillow from the floor. She places it on her lap and plays with the seam. “Are you scared?”
I think of a witty reply. Two come to mind. Then: “Yes.”
“What are you scared of? The Corps?”
“I’m scared nothing I do will make a difference.”
She looks at me and her eyes are a jungle, a forest where I can’t see through the leaves. “Do you want to stop?”
“Never.”
Sabrina goes back to playing with the pillow.
I ask, “What happened to you, in the years since we’ve lost touch?”
“What do you mean?”
“I just wonder. Where did you go? Why did you leave?”
Her lips twist in a small smile. Or maybe a grimace. “I went far away. And I left because there was no reason for me to stay.”
Ah yes, the unspoken truth between us. The event of that night. Just when I think she'll bring it up, slap it in my face and make me miserable all over again, she says, “I never meant to leave. I never thought I’d be gone so long. But I’m glad, in a way.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because it put a lot of things into perspective. Made me realize the people I couldn’t live without
.” She looks at me. “And the people I could.”
It’s hard to maintain eye contact with her, not because it hurts, but because doing so makes me think of too many moments, too many memories, too many times where I found myself talking with her just like this, quiet and hushed, as if we were sharing our greatest secrets and fears. It’s hard to look at her because looking at her always comes with a heavy dose of regret.
For the moments we lost.
For the promises I broke.
For all I can give her and all that I can’t.
And for the fact that she knows it.
VICTORIA
The ring fits perfectly.
There’s no need to hide it now.
I raise my hand and stare at it for a long time.
I imagine a church, an aisle for me to walk down. I imagine a gown, a veil, my father beside me.
I imagine him kissing my cheek and handing me over. And that other man smiles at me. He looks beautiful. And when I’m beside him, he mouths that he loves me.
And he makes me promises.
And then he kisses me.
And loves me.
And tells me I’m his.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Imagining all this hurts. Unbearably.
But some things are worth the pain.
DEREK
It’s six in the morning and already near ninety degrees. I’ve showered and checked my ankle. The swelling looks terrible, but the pain isn’t too bad. I drive to the K & M Building and park across the street. There’s a million things to do and it near kills me to have to just sit here, but I’ve got to make sure William goes into the building.
And I’ve got to make sure he leaves it, too.
Five minutes pass. The car is beginning to feel like a pre-warming oven. I open all the windows but it does little to vent the heat. I pick up my e-tablet from the passenger’s seat and click it on. I downloaded the Corps files and I pull up Victoria’s statement. I’ve probably read the thing a thousand times, but every time I do it still hurts.
I glance up just in time to see William’s BMW stop in front of the entrance. He gets out and a valet appears. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but whatever it is, it makes the valet nod and head back inside. William’s car remains right where it is, illegally parked and all.
Interesting.
William disappears inside and I turn back to the documents in front of me. I close Victoria’s statement and open his. I plug in my headphones and listen:
William: My father and I have worked together since I was eighteen, when I graduated as Pre-Law I. I passed the bar at twenty and began working for him full time. It was—is—a demanding job. It requires long hours.
Soldier: Did Victoria work there as well?”
William: Victoria never worked a day in her life. She’s incapable of it. She’s been conditioned to be lazy, to have things taken care of for her. She’s a kamikaze and she wreaks havoc wherever she lands.
Soldier: Can you give me an example?
William: It’d take all year. Let’s just say that when Victoria doesn’t get what she wants, hell hath no fury.
I pull out the ear buds and set the e-tab down. I sit back. Even after listening to it so many times, I’m still disgusted: not only that someone could be so cruel, but that I could’ve missed something so obvious. Victoria was right. William never cared about his family.
The morning heats up in a fast boil. One minute I’m just sort of sweating, the next my clothes are drenched. I’m tempted to get out and head for AC, but I don’t want to risk missing William leave. He obviously won’t be in the office long if he refused to have his car parked.
And I need to keep tabs on where he is. And when.
I turn my attention back to the documents on my tablet. My knee jackhammers as I get through Captain Pearce’s comments and the autopsy report. I’m about to start on the suspect description when William appears on the sidewalk. He gets in his car and turns onto Wood Street.
I dial Sabrina’s cell phone as I pull out two cars behind him. “He’s leaving.”
“Matthew and I are in place.”
“Be careful.” I hang up and concentrate on William’s car. It’s slow going, but the congestion eases up a bit as we get past Sixth and up near the Boli Foundation. William stops in front of a mansion-like building and gets out.
I recognize the building instantly: it’s the HYP Club, a lodge-type place for alumni of Harvard, Yale and Princeton. It was built in 1894 and membership has become so coveted that it's nearly impossible to get in.
William, however, was pretty much guaranteed a spot the minute he was born. His father was a member, his father's father was a member, and his father's father was a member. I remember this only because Victoria had made the most horrible face when she relayed the story.
I park catty-corner from it and get out. No way am I spending another minute in that furnace. Sneaking in after him is out of the question and not important anyway, so I go to the bagel shop directly across from the Club. I order a bagel with cream cheese and take a seat by the window in the corner, settling in for at least a couple hours.
But to my surprise, William comes out only ten minutes later, not even. He climbs in his car and speeds away before I can even take a bite. Based on the direction he’s heading, he’s going back to the office.
I shove my bagel in my mouth and head out. I dial Sabrina’s number.
“He’s heading back,” I say the minute she picks up.
“Fuck! We just got in the damn elevator.”
“I know.” I shut my eyes and press my lips together. My clever idea of Sabrina and Matthew breaking into William’s office while he was gone just went up in flames. It was a long shot, but still. It takes me a minute to breathe against the wave of disappointment that comes over me. “Look, get out of there, okay? We’ll go to Plan B.”
“Shit. Holy motherfucking shit son of a—”
I hang up while she’s still swearing.
As I pass the Club entrance, two waitresses come out, cigarettes already in hand, eagerly sucking down. They immediately start comparing notes: one guy only gave a fifteen dollar tip, one guy only gave twelve. One guy even had the balls to just give ten bucks. I check my watch. It’s a little after 10AM. Jesus, how much does breakfast cost in there?
“Yeah, that blows. It’s like, come on,” one girl says, “I’ve got dogs to feed.”
Her friend laughs. “For real. I got so excited when Will came in, though. He always tips big.”
I stop in my tracks. Will? As in William King? I crouch down, as if I’m tying my shoe lace. Yeah, I know.
“Too bad he didn’t stay. What a tease.”
The other girl sighs. “God, my nipples get hard just looking at him.”
“You’re so gross!” she laughs. I mentally agree with her.
“Oh shut up, it’s true.”
“He seemed pissed off today, though.”
“You got to admit, he was in a better mood than last time.”
“Well, Jesus, yeah. Last time was just terrible.”
That’s my cue.
“Excuse me,” I say. Both girls turn and watch as I approach them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overhear, but are you talking about William King?”
“You know him?”
“I’m engaged to his sister.” The girls give me a once over. “Uh, anyway, I just wondered what you meant when you said he seemed better than last time. What happened?”
The girls look at each other, as if asking what the hell is up with this stranger eavesdropping on their conversation.
I flash them a grin, the one I hope says trust me, I’m a very good guy. “He’s about to be my brother-in-law. I’ve been noticing his moods too, and I just want to see if I can help. But you know him,” I chuckle. “He’s too proud to admit he’s feeling in the dumps.”
Feeling in the dumps? I have never said that phrase, ever.
But the girls must not be bothered by it, or maybe it mak
es up their minds that I’m harmless. Either way, they don’t run away screaming.
“Well, last time he came in, he was wired. You could tell something was really bothering him. I waited on him that day.”
“How could you tell? Did he say something?”
The girl actually laughs. “It’s not what he said. It’s what he did.” She looks at her friend and grins. Then, turning back to me, she says, “He punched someone in the face.”
“What?” I say, my eyes widening. “Who did he punch? Did you recognize him?”
“Of course I did. I've waited on him too.”
“Who was it?”
“His father.”
PART THREE
SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT
DEREK
I make it back just in time to see William’s car pull into an underground garage. Miraculously, the spot I was in before is still vacant and I make a beeline for it. I call Sabrina and moments later, she’s sitting in the passenger’s seat.
I tell her everything the waitresses said. She listens without interrupting and when I’m done, she shakes her head and says, “What a dick. Who does that?”
I give her flat look.
“Alright, so we have really good stuff to take to the Corps now. I mean, William punched his father days before he died, for God's sake! That's got to mean something to them.”
“We talked about this. He has soldiers working for him. So unless what we have is bullet-proof, something there is no way for them to deny or twist, it won’t be enough.”
“What about that captain guy? You said he seems reasonable. Can we go to him?”
“No idea. Which means we can't risk it.” I shake my head. “No, we go with the plan.”
Unstoppable: Truth is Unstoppable (Truth and Love Series) Page 16
