Page 19 of Diamonds (Aces Underground #2)

ALISSA

“M addox, what is it?” I ask.

Maddox hands me the envelope, as well as two playing cards.

My heart leaps into my throat as I look at them.

The Seven of Spades—May’s assigned number at the club.

And the Nine of Diamonds—her friend Svetlana, who disappeared when her contract was up.

Both with their number crossed out in black ink.

I try to speak, but my breath catches in my throat.

This is another clue. A hint. May and Svetlana were both killed, most likely by Rouge Montrose or one of her muscles.

But… If this was left in my handbag Sunday afternoon…

It was before I had ever spoken to May.

I went to Aces after Dinah translated the note. I had left my credit card there, had to settle my tab. But I just used that as an excuse to get into the club. I wanted to check things out. See why May was asking for my help.

She hadn’t even broken the rules yet.

But unless this card was placed in my bag at another point—and I’m honestly not sure when else it could have happened—then it means that May was marked for death before I spoke to her.

My head hurts.

“Alissa.” Maddox runs his hand up my arm. “Alissa, baby. Talk to me.”

“I just… It’s not making sense.” I massage my temples as I try to process it all. “This would have been dropped in my bag before I went to the club, before I broke the rules.”

He widens his eyes. “Shit. So you think…”

“May wasn’t killed because she broke the rules.” I pace the room. “She was always going to be killed. Her decision to speak to me just gave Rouge a good excuse to explain away her so-called suspension.”

Maddox crosses his arms. “Unless this got placed in your bag after Sunday.”

“I suppose it’s a possibility.” I tap my fingers against my purse. “But I’m pretty good about keeping this safe. Women are protective over their handbags. And I?—”

Bill clears his throat in the corner.

I’d forgotten he was here.

“I hate to usher you out,” he says. “But I’d really like to be getting home.”

Maddox nods. “Of course. Sorry, Bill. Mind if I take a leak before we go?”

Bill frowns. “Of course. Down the hall and to your right.”

“Great.” Maddox looks at me. “Do you need to go before we head out?”

I don’t. But I also don’t want to be alone in this room with Bill.

He seems like a decent guy, but I get an uneasy feeling around him.

It’s probably just his job. He’s around death all the time, after all.

He’s an ally to the stiff and lifeless. I imagine it’s hard not to pick up a macabre vibe in his line of work.

“Yes. I’ll run to the loo myself.”

“Help yourself,” Bill says. “Ladies’ is right next to the men’s.”

“Thank you.” I place the cards and the envelope back in my purse and follow Maddox down the hall.

The hallway is long, and we pass several doors. One is cracked—the placard on its front reads William K. Lassard, M.D., Head Coroner.

Maddox stops at the door.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“I…” He scratches his chin. “Do you get the feeling that we’re not getting the whole story from Bill?”

I swallow. “I get a weird feeling from him. But you were the one who said you trusted him implicitly.”

“I thought I did,” he says. “But remember Sunday night when I told him that we thought this involved Rouge? He clammed up, got sweaty.”

“You don’t think she’s threatening him? Getting him to cover for her?”

Maddox peers inside Bill’s office. “I’m just saying that some due diligence might be worthwhile. Will you keep watch while I look around?”

“Okay. But please be careful. And don’t rip the office apart. I don’t want Bill to think that we were snooping around.”

“Of course.” He gives me a quick kiss and then steals inside the office.

I fix my eyes down the hall where we came from. The doors leading to the room we were in with Bill aren’t moving.

But my heart races anyway. It’s late, but it’s entirely possible that Bill isn’t the only one here. If there’s another coroner working overtime, or even a cleaning crew?—

“Hurry, Maddox,” I hiss into the office. “Are you finding anything?”

“Nothing so far,” he says. “Just… Wait a minute.”

“What is it?”

“Holy fuck.”

“What? Something about May?”

“No. It’s something about…someone else.”

My heart races. “Who? Svetlana?”

“No…”

I snap my neck around. Footsteps, coming from the opposite direction of where we were. “Someone’s coming. Whatever it is, just grab it.”

“If I grab it, Bill will know that something’s up.”

“Then just take the files, leave the folder. Replace the papers you take with some other paper to make it look full.”

The footsteps are growing louder.

“Maddox?” I whisper. “Maddox!”

Finally, he exits the office, a fistful of papers in his hands. I turn around and nearly crash into a tall, slender man in a lab coat.

“Oh! Excuse me.”

He eyes Maddox and me. “What are you doing here so late?”

I swallow. “Sorry, sir. We’re friends with Bill. He— A friend of ours died recently, and he performed the autopsy. He wanted to give us the results in person.”

The man raises his eyebrows. “Couldn’t have waited until morning?”

“He promised us he’d give us the information as soon as it came in,” Maddox says. “She was a very good friend, and we just wanted answers.”

“And you’re off to the Met Gala?” he asks, scanning our clothes.

“We were at the symphony when we got the call from Bill,” I say.

“Indeed we were. Fantastic program. Are you familiar with Shostakovich?” Maddox asks.

“Never heard of him.”

“Well, he’s great.” Maddox shifts his gaze. “Anyway, we’re actually headed out now, but we were going to stop for the bathroom.”

Duke Goldman, M.D.—according to his nametag—narrows his eyes. “Bathrooms are closed. They always are outside of regular business hours.”

“There you have it,” Maddox says. “We’ll just hold it then. Thanks, and sorry for the bother.”

He grabs my hand and we leave out the nearest door, allowing it to lock shut behind us.

We get into the car and all the tension from the last hour—the news about May, the playing cards, Maddox sneaking into the office, and our exchange with the other coroner, Duke, hits me in a big wave. I let out a resonant sob.

Maddox immediately squeezes my shoulder. “It’s okay, babe. Let it out. That was scary.”

I grab another tissue out of my purse and blow my nose. “Sorry. That was just… so much. And we’re no closer to figuring out May’s identity.”

“But we have some leads,” Maddox says. “We have those playing cards, and we have the name of the guy who saw Svetlana alive last.” He brandishes the papers he stole from Bill’s office. “And we have this .”

I wipe my eyes. “What did you grab?” I lean over. It’s another coroner’s report, but one from several years ago.

The name at the top?

Henry Hathaway .

“Henry Hathaway? Is that…?”

Maddox nods. “It’s about time I told you about my father.”