to tip her cold tea into the sink. Stretching her legs,
muscles stiff, she felt utterly exhausted.
Making herself a fresh tea, more to give
herself something to do than anything else, she tried to collect
her thoughts. Simon had declined every offer for food or drink, and
still sat with his crossed legs at her desk. Now he stood and
proved that he was only human too when he stretched his arms,
joints popping.
“ Bottom line, Liz, the
streets are safer tonight because of you.”
“ What happens next?” she
asked, taking a sip of tea and burning her tongue.
“ I’ll write my report, the
Writer will get a life sentence once he’s back on his feet, and my
wife is scheduled to leave the hospital in two days. As far as I am
concerned, life is good.”
She shared a smile with him, seeing the
stars in his eyes as he mentioned his wife. For a man like him, she
thought, it must have ripped his heart apart that the killer sent
for him had found a cruel new mark in his wife Gabrielle.
“ In your report, how big a
role will I play,” she said, and added, “or Ben?”
He gave a sigh. “Liz, you turned in the
notebook. You are at the front and center of it. Ben, however,
won’t be.” There was a hard edge in his voice.
“ But Ben was just the first
at the scene when Gabrielle was shot,” she said, trying to catch
his eye. “You never honestly believed he shot his own
sister?”
He made an impatient gesture. “Of course
not, but he had inside information he wasn’t sharing. Then he
vanished completely. I had to put him on our wanted list.”
“ But not
anymore?”
“ Well, we’ll see about
that,” he said. “If you hadn’t told me what happened inside the
hotel, I’d have never guessed. The security tapes are gone and will
stay gone knowing Ben. I wish he hadn’t taken things into his own
hands.”
“ But he was successful,”
she said quietly. “Without him, you wouldn’t have the
notebook.”
“ You forget who I am
working for. I am perfectly aware of my brother-in-law’s
questionable past, and it is only for the benefit of my wife that I overlook ,” he nearly choked on the word, “his past. But
allowing him to take justice into his own hands is not something I
will allow. Not if I already had undercover agents and informants
drawing the net tighter and tighter.”
“ But your wife was shot,”
she whispered, trying to understand his cold logic when Ben actions
had proven to be successful—if a tad on the unlawful side. “If it
had been one of my loved ones…” she didn’t finish the sentence
because she believed in an eye for an eye.
“ And this is why I
represent the law, and not you or Ben,” he said coolly, making her
swallow and hope she’d never be on his Most Wanted list.
“ If Mr. Fuentes isn’t the
respected businessman I thought him to be, why was he offering me a
business deal? Was it all a scam?”
“ He probably scoped you out
beforehand.” He shook his head. “He did have a solid reputation in
some circles. He laundered drug money by investing in legit
businesses like yours,” he said, raising his eyebrow. “If you had
signed the contract, you would have been in his pocket.”
He stretched out his hand, which she shook
hesitantly. “If I have more questions, I’ll be in touch, so please
don’t leave the city for the foreseeable future.”
“ I won’t,” I said, “but I
can’t stay in this house anymore.”
“ Reason?”
“ Broke.”
To her surprise, he gave a short laugh.
“Well, one more reason not to vanish from my radar. There’s a check
heading down the road, and if procedure isn’t questioned along the
way your name will be on it.”
“ A check? What do you
mean?”
“ Liz, while you were
innocently attending the entrepreneur meeting, you got caught up in
a running investigation against a known criminal and you were able,
while fighting for your own life, to secure the crucial evidence
that slipped through the cracks of my own planted
muscles stiff, she felt utterly exhausted.
Making herself a fresh tea, more to give
herself something to do than anything else, she tried to collect
her thoughts. Simon had declined every offer for food or drink, and
still sat with his crossed legs at her desk. Now he stood and
proved that he was only human too when he stretched his arms,
joints popping.
“ Bottom line, Liz, the
streets are safer tonight because of you.”
“ What happens next?” she
asked, taking a sip of tea and burning her tongue.
“ I’ll write my report, the
Writer will get a life sentence once he’s back on his feet, and my
wife is scheduled to leave the hospital in two days. As far as I am
concerned, life is good.”
She shared a smile with him, seeing the
stars in his eyes as he mentioned his wife. For a man like him, she
thought, it must have ripped his heart apart that the killer sent
for him had found a cruel new mark in his wife Gabrielle.
“ In your report, how big a
role will I play,” she said, and added, “or Ben?”
He gave a sigh. “Liz, you turned in the
notebook. You are at the front and center of it. Ben, however,
won’t be.” There was a hard edge in his voice.
“ But Ben was just the first
at the scene when Gabrielle was shot,” she said, trying to catch
his eye. “You never honestly believed he shot his own
sister?”
He made an impatient gesture. “Of course
not, but he had inside information he wasn’t sharing. Then he
vanished completely. I had to put him on our wanted list.”
“ But not
anymore?”
“ Well, we’ll see about
that,” he said. “If you hadn’t told me what happened inside the
hotel, I’d have never guessed. The security tapes are gone and will
stay gone knowing Ben. I wish he hadn’t taken things into his own
hands.”
“ But he was successful,”
she said quietly. “Without him, you wouldn’t have the
notebook.”
“ You forget who I am
working for. I am perfectly aware of my brother-in-law’s
questionable past, and it is only for the benefit of my wife that I overlook ,” he nearly choked on the word, “his past. But
allowing him to take justice into his own hands is not something I
will allow. Not if I already had undercover agents and informants
drawing the net tighter and tighter.”
“ But your wife was shot,”
she whispered, trying to understand his cold logic when Ben actions
had proven to be successful—if a tad on the unlawful side. “If it
had been one of my loved ones…” she didn’t finish the sentence
because she believed in an eye for an eye.
“ And this is why I
represent the law, and not you or Ben,” he said coolly, making her
swallow and hope she’d never be on his Most Wanted list.
“ If Mr. Fuentes isn’t the
respected businessman I thought him to be, why was he offering me a
business deal? Was it all a scam?”
“ He probably scoped you out
beforehand.” He shook his head. “He did have a solid reputation in
some circles. He laundered drug money by investing in legit
businesses like yours,” he said, raising his eyebrow. “If you had
signed the contract, you would have been in his pocket.”
He stretched out his hand, which she shook
hesitantly. “If I have more questions, I’ll be in touch, so please
don’t leave the city for the foreseeable future.”
“ I won’t,” I said, “but I
can’t stay in this house anymore.”
“ Reason?”
“ Broke.”
To her surprise, he gave a short laugh.
“Well, one more reason not to vanish from my radar. There’s a check
heading down the road, and if procedure isn’t questioned along the
way your name will be on it.”
“ A check? What do you
mean?”
“ Liz, while you were
innocently attending the entrepreneur meeting, you got caught up in
a running investigation against a known criminal and you were able,
while fighting for your own life, to secure the crucial evidence
that slipped through the cracks of my own planted
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