Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103027 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
This was about more than answers for Emily, though I did want those, now more than ever. Whoever had done this to her had tried to erase me. They’d taken my home, my office. And if not for luck and a craving for a burger and shake, they would have taken me too. I couldn’t walk away from that. I needed answers.
I needed them to pay.
I sipped at the coffee, thinking about the case, about everything I knew and didn’t know about Eli. I had no idea why, but he also wanted the truth about Emily Shaw. I wasn’t sure he’d be keen to have me tagging along, but that didn’t matter. I could put up with him if I had to.
Alice was back faster than I expected. She handed me two freshly printed sheets of paper—the same NDA word-for-word, except a small addendum stating that I was allowed to use my experience of the investigation for the podcast as long as Cooper Sinclair personally approved anything that was shared.
It was a better deal than I was expecting, which had been a hard no on changing the NDA at all. And especially with that safe house thrown into the deal. Though that, I’d noted, wasn’t in writing. I signed. I took a quick picture of the contract and handed it to Alice.
“Wonderful,” she said. “Give me a sec, and I’ll take you up to the safe house. You can get settled in, and as soon as Eli is done making a few calls, you two can get started.”
“On what?” I asked, since it sounded like Alice had everything planned out.
She shrugged and winked. “On whatever. That part’s your problem.”
I followed her out of the meeting room and down the hall to her desk in the small lobby. She tucked the NDA in a file drawer and grabbed a set of keys.
“The safe houses are pretty nice,” she said as I followed her to the elevator. “It’s not the Four Seasons, but it’s a two-bedroom apartment with a nice bath and a full kitchen. I’ll have some groceries sent in if you tell me what you normally eat.”
“That’s really thoughtful,” I said, surprised both at the level of care and the fact that this seemed like a normal day for Alice. How often did they have to keep people hidden? “Do you usually have people in the safe houses?”
“More often than not, but they’re rarely full. You’ll be comfortable. The safe houses are nice, because getting stuck in one mostly sucks,” Alice said. “It’s a last resort in a lot of cases. And we’re expensive. So expensive that we don’t want our clients to be uncomfortable when we have to tuck them away for safekeeping. The kind of people who can afford us are not used to being uncomfortable.”
The elevator stopped, and I followed her out into a small hallway with a door on either side.
Alice turned to the left and unlocked the door. “I actually lived in this one for a while before Cooper and I got married.”
“Great commute,” I said.
“It is, though I’m still close. The whole fourth floor is ours. Most of the time it’s nice being an elevator ride from work, but occasionally it’s annoying.”
“I bet.” The safe house was simply designed, with a decent-sized living room, open to the dining area and kitchen. I guessed the bedrooms were down the hall to the right, along with the bathroom. The finishings were elegant and high-end, but the place was plain, lacking the personal touches that would make it a home. I wasn’t complaining; this was so much more than I’d expected.
“We don’t have anyone else in-house, so it’ll be just you on this floor. We’ll let you know if that changes, so you don’t get taken by surprise. Are you going to rent a car?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t gotten that far.” It was a good question, and reminded me of everything I’d need to sort out.
“Well, if you do, let me know. I’ll get you a fob for the garage. Probably better if you don’t, though.”
“She won’t need a car,” Eli said from the door.
I bristled. “Why don’t I need a car? If you remember, the one I had just got blown up.”
“Exactly,” Eli said. “You don’t need a car for the same reason we’re putting you up in a safe house and not a hotel.”
“I’m not a client,” I said. “The nothing I’m paying should be a dead giveaway. We’re partners.”
Eli rolled his eyes. “The hell we are. You may not be paying, but someone tried to kill you last night. The last thing I need is you driving around in your own vehicle. Jesus, you’d be a sitting duck.”
He wasn’t wrong, but his attitude made me want to argue. Don’t be dumb, I told myself. I had a lot of gear to replace. I didn’t want to think about my lost microphones, wide monitor, laptop… If he wanted to drive me around and save me the cost of a rental, I’d let him, surly mood and all.