Page 55 of Cartel Rose (Jorge)

Oh, God.It’s keeping it from smelling as decomposition sets in.

“Do you know the Swiss account information?”

“Not off-hand. I’d need to get into my laptop or my father’s. I don’t know where Papa’s is, but mine is in my office. I only brought my purse with me.”

It’s not until after I respond to Jorge’s question that I realize we’re speaking English. My mother and sister both speak it, but not as fluently as I do. They don’t use it as often. I don’t know how much of the conversation they understood. I assume most, if not all. I’m certain at leastMuttididwhen she stands.

“Are you going back to your office? You can’t go alone.”

“I don’t think we need either computer just yet, Mrs. Schlossberg. If we do, I will take Anneliese. I have men who can stay behind to guard you, and I have ones who can come with me.”

“Do you travel with an army?” Heidi’s question could be accusatory; instead, it sounds like she marvels at the idea.

“Not quite. But I’ve been to a few countries on this trip. When I travel for this long, I ensure my men can have adequate time off by having a contingent large enough for them to rotate.”

“Smart.”

Not that he needs Heidi’s approval, but he smiles when she gives it. My family and I look at Jorge, waiting for him to tell us what’s next.

“I’m going to call my brother. He’ll get into the banks and examine your father’s personal accounts. He’ll go back through the firm’s banking records too. He’ll piece it all together. He can also make it look like a transfer’s on its way when it isn’t. There’s not much he can’t do with a computer. I’ll be right back.”

He shuts his laptop and picks it up, tucking it under his arm. He grabs his phone from beside his wireless mouse.

“Mrs. Schlossberg, may I step into your room, please?”

Muttinods, and he takes off, leaving me to wonder exactly what he means by there’s not much his brother can’t do with a computer.

Chapter Fourteen

Jorge

I scrub my hand over my face when I get into the bedroom. I didn’t let the women see my frustration, but it’s there. I didn’t recognize thepedazo de mierda—piece of shit’s—voice. It could be a mercenary, or it could be a syndicate member somewhere who I don’t know.

I’m too trained to make the mistake of walking close to the window. I skirt around the furniture and pull the curtains closed. I’ll check Liesel’s room when I’m done here. They need to know not to open the curtains. A rifle’s strong scope or a drone could look straight in.

I sit in one of the room’s armchairs near—but not in front of—the window and flip open my laptop. I heard it ping a couple times with emails. I notice Joaquin sent me more information. I see more bank accounts I’m positive Liesel doesn’t know about. I’m certain Gretel would know even less. They’re only a smidge on the right side of legal.

I calculate as I go along. I’ve always had a mind for math. I’ve always enjoyed puzzles ever sinceMamáwould keep me occupied with the old-fashioned wood ones with the peg pieces. Iwas barely in preschool before I moved onto the cardboard ones with the large pieces. By elementary school, I was doing puzzles that said they’re for eighteen and older. I suppose manufacturers believe it takes eighteen years to build the patience.

I look at equations the same way. They’re puzzles that need me to solve for X. Right now, it’s who the fuck is terrorizing the Schlossbergs. As I examine the new information, I see if I can find any patterns. I look for data I can string together to make a solvable equation. I find a few things, but they’re too insignificant right now. Maybe they’ll be worth something in a while.

“Hola, manito.” Joaquin answers after the first ring.

“Hola. I looked at what you sent me. Nothing stands out right this minute. We got a call from the kidnappers. They sent proof of life. They want six million euros in a Swiss account.”

“The Schlossbergs don’t have that kind of liquidity. Not without stealing it from clients, and that would be a challenge for them. They’d have to do some serious moving around of their funds that would raise too much attention.”

“Do they have any assets they could liquidate?”

“Not quickly.”

“I want to put enough in Gunter’s Swiss account to make them try to draw on it. That way we can see where they try to take it. There’s barely nine-hundred K in there. If I can get it up to a million, Liesel could say it’s a deposit before getting more proof of life. That she didn’t trust them not to hurt her father once they believed they’d pacified her.”

“Liesel?”

Fuck my life.

“Should I air out my tux?”