Page 34 of One Dark Kiss (Grimm Bargains #2)

THIRTY

Rosalie

R elief fills me so quickly I get lightheaded. Ella, I ve been so worried. Where are you?

That s the thing. I need a little help getting out of here.

Determination races through me. Of course. Where are you?

Remember that building that has the little shop with the tarot cards?

Yeah, the high-rise? I ask.

Yes, I m trapped in the penthouse, she says. I can control the elevators but have to time it exactly.

I open the bottom drawer of my desk and pull out a nine millimeter. It s unregistered and a gift from the guys at my house because it s nearly impossible for the good guys to get a gun in California these days. How are you calling me?

Through a computer.

Of course. She can do anything with a computer. Did Alexei kidnap you?

Yep, she says. He actually doesn t seem that bad, and the system is pretty ingenious, but I m ready to get out of here. Although, I could use the money if he wants to hire me without kidnapping me.

My friend s claustrophobic, and I panic for her. You re not in a small area, are you?

It s a pretty big penthouse, but like I said, I need to escape. Now.

Okay. All right, so he has no idea you re calling?

She snorts as if I ve offended her. No. It took me this long to hack the system, and there s a laptop here I m bringing with me. It s top of the line.

I wouldn t steal a laptop from Alexei.

He kidnapped me, she bursts out.

Yeah. She should do what she wants. Good point. All right. Take whatever you want, I say. Are there any valuables there? Maybe we can fence a couple of baubles. I figure a kidnapping negates any crimes in response.

Not really. Place came pre-decorated.

That s unfortunate. But impressive that Alexei is already buying up property with his money. If the funds are frozen again, it ll take several extra and difficult steps to secure real estate holdings. Okay, tell me what to do.

The security he has here isn t bad, but he doesn t trust enough folks yet. That s why I have to make my move now. Once he takes full control of those people, I ll never get free.

I gulp. Will I ever get free? Do I want to be free of him? Questions to handle later. Agree. Tell me your plan.

Currently, he s got one guy in the control room and one guy on the main floor entrance. It s a little central area with a main hallway next to it that goes to the shops. Then there are businesses on the next five floors and residences after that.

Okay, I say. I don t know exactly how to help you.

This is what you re going to do. She very carefully lays out a perfect plan.

My friend is a genius, and anticipation runs through me. It s time for Alexei to lose one in this stupid game we re playing. I grab my purse and hurry to the door. I ll be there in a few minutes. This is going to work, right?

Oh, fifty-fifty chance, she says. Just be careful and be ready.

Great.

I dash to the elevator and down to the main floor where I run outside and hail a taxi. So far so good. I get in the back and give directions to the high-rise. I need you to park right near the tarot card store.

My driver has to be about eighteen, with earnest blue eyes and slicked-back blond hair. Okay, but I can t park there for long.

I slip him a hundred-dollar bill.

Whoa, he says.

Believe me, it hurts. The bill constitutes exactly half of my emergency fund.

His tires squeal as he hits the gas pedal. No problem. Within minutes, he reaches the tarot card store, and I open the back door. I hope you have a good day, he says happily.

I m not leaving. I scoot back over.

He frowns and looks at the open door while we idle at the curb. I don t understand.

You will.

Seconds later, Ella barrels out of the front door, runs across the sidewalk, and leaps into the cab, slamming the car door. Go, go, go, she says.

Shit, the driver yells, hitting the gas. What s happening? Where are we going? Who s chasing us?

Long story, Ella says.

Looking through the back window, I turn to see a burly guy in a full suit run outside, bark something into a phone, and gesture wildly at us.

You better turn quick, I say.

Okay, our young driver bellows, turning at a corner and nearly hitting a bread truck.

Keep going, Ella says. Now go left. Now go right. She gives the poor kid directions, and he follows every time, seeming to have fun. Finally she leans forward and taps his shoulder. You can stop here.

I look around. I don t know this area.

I do, Ella says.

The car stops, and Ella slaps the back of the driver s seat. Thanks, dude. She already pay you?

She gave me a hundred bucks, the driver says, smiling. This is the most fun I ve had in a long time.

I scoot out of the taxi and land on a clean-swept sidewalk. If anybody asks and if they scare you, you can tell them exactly where you dropped us off, okay?

Like who? He pales.

I don t answer him and shut the door.

Come on, Ella says, hurrying around the back of the taxi. This way.

We re near several car dealerships in a nice area of town. I follow her, twisting and turning around blocks and several businesses. You know we re on camera?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, she says. Don t worry about it.

We jog for several blocks, and I m wishing I had worn tennis shoes and not new kitten heels, when we reach an area replete with nice bars and restaurants.

Out back, she says.

She finally leads me to the back of a place called the Morning Diner to a small parking lot. She motions at a white Buick. It s dented, old, and small. This is mine. There are no cameras back here.

All right.

We get into the car, and she starts it immediately. Duck.

I duck. I have to admit, I m having fun.

She turns onto a main street. You didn t bring your phone, did you?

You told me to leave it at the office.

Good. You can be traced via your phone. She drives sedately onto the street, and we continue for a good fifteen minutes. All right. You can sit up now.

Grunting, I push myself off the floor and sit. Where are we?

I have a safe house a couple blocks from here.

I brush hair out of my eyes. You have a safe house?

Yeah, don t you?

I shake my head.

Everybody needs a safe house, Rosalie. She reaches in her bag and hands over the evidence disc from Alexei s case.

I managed to decrypt part of the Fairfax evidence disc this morning.

Whoever corrupted it introduced a virus right around the time of the murder, and so far, that part of the disc is fried.

The virus continues through the day, but it weakens.

I engaged in a multi-step remediation process by first implementing a robust heuristic-based antivirus scan.

Then I reconstructed some of the corrupted sectors by employing an error-correcting code to restore data integrity.

She is totally losing me. Do you have a video of the murder? I hold my breath.

Ug. You are totally not impressed with everything I did.

I am but I don t understand it all. Ella.

Fine. So far, I ve been able to fix the end of the disc because the virus weakened as the video continued throughout the day. Mainly, I have a recording taken outside the house after the murder. You re going to want to watch it.

The hair rises on the back of my neck. Is Alexei on here? I don t want to see him committing a crime.

She pulls a laptop out of her backpack with one hand and plops it onto my legs. We have a ways to go, so feel free. You need to see this.

I flip open the lid and insert the disc. The video loads with a date stamp showing the day of the murder. The outside of a palatial mansion takes form. The Fairfax backyard is beautiful. I zero in on the small pond.

Yeah, I know.

There are several police officers wandering around and crime techs doing something on the deck. My heart starts to quicken. What do you have?

Just watch.

A young, uniformed officer moves toward the pond, and I see him take something from beneath his jacket and throw it in.

My heartbeat kicks up until I can feel the throb against my ribs. Oh my God. That s the knife. A police officer threw it in?

Not quite. Look closer.

I click up to better see the officer s face. He turns, glances at the deck, and keeps going.

Holy crap. I sit back, stunned. That s Hendrix Sokolov.

Yeah, she says. Alexei s good old brother set him up.

Adrenaline floods my system. It s true. Alexei is innocent. The entire murder was a setup. So he didn t get a fair trial.

Looks like it. The question is, what do we do with this new information? We could sit on it and blackmail Hendrix. I mean, if we want money.

I tap my bottom lip with one finger. We could give it to Alexei, but I m not inclined to help him right now. I do have an idea. It s not a nice one.

Tell me.

For answer, I reach in my pocket for my phone, only to find it empty. I don t have my phone.

It s okay. You can use the laptop. She reaches over and types something quickly. Who do you want to call?

Alana, I say quickly.

Ella types another code with one hand before focusing back on her driving. I marvel at her when the laptop rings like a phone.

Hello? Alana answers.

Alana, I say. Hi.

The sound of the ocean filters through the background. Hi. Are you coming to visit?

No, we re in the middle of something. However, how would you like to have one of the best social media posts of your life? I ask.

I d like that a lot, Alana says.

I smile. I don t know if you want to post it on Aquarius Social or Malice Media, but whichever it is, the stock s going to gain value immediately.

Ooh, she says. I love it. What do you have?

A little video of a crime scene. Give me the email address where you are, and I ll send it your way.

This is probably a bad idea, but it might also save several lives.

If the truth is out there, then there s no reason for Hendrix to continue with a hit on Alexei.

Maybe. Maybe not. But now the police will have to arrest Hendrix.

He had the murder weapon. At the very least, he interfered with an investigation.

At the most ... maybe he killed David Fairfax to set up his brother.

Alana chuckles. I can t wait to see the video. Thanks for this.

Ella giggles. Alexei is going to be beyond pissed.

Then he shouldn t have kidnapped you, I say smartly.

Amen, sister, she agrees.