Authors: Kristen James
As planned, they split up. Nick wanted to make sure the CD was safe, and it wouldn’t be with him and Cora. Herald wanted Nick to take the car. Cora gave the list to Adam and Herald to take with them. Before they left, Herald leaned toward the window and told Nick, “I’d advise dropping the car off back at the office and get a cab or something. Don’t drive your own car, either.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll stay smart.” Nick nodded and they drove away.
“Isn’t there anything we can do? We’re just leaving them.” She watched through the back window as Herald and Adam turned to leave.
“People are looking for us, not them,” Nick reminded. “We can help by not drawing attention to them.”
***
Watching their backs, Herald and Adam got a cab and took a random drive around the city to a library, making their way to a public computer room.
“Here we go.” Adam opened the CD and found five years of dated files full of account numbers and transactions. “Look at all these accounts... Keith was just moving his money around.”
“Let’s copy those files.” He searched through the contents in his brief case and retrieved a flash drive.
“Wait, look.” Adam pointed to a file name that read
Cora
.
Herald’s right eyebrow went up. “Open it. Maybe Jerry can help us.”
Silence ensued as the men read the long letter Jerry had left for his daughter. Herald simply whistled as he reached the end.
Adam laughed. “Now we’re
really
getting somewhere.”
***
After dropping off Herald’s Lincoln, Nick and Cora left on foot, deciding to find somewhere out of the way where they could get lunch and make a plan of action. It was late afternoon, and they needed to eat.
They slipped in the back door of a bar and grill and sat in the back. She leaned back in her seat, looking at him, and trying to pretend for a minute it was a normal lunch date. He folded his hands on the table, looking back at her. She had to appreciate his tone arms, and his lean and sleek build.
His face warmed with a hint of a smile. “That was a lot of work for a first date.”
She halfway laughed and rolled her neck, working out some of the tension. “But we’re coming to the end of all this, aren’t we?”
He reached for her hand across the table. “Jerry’s safe, and we have the CD. Pretty soon we’ll know what’s on it.”
“It has to be good. Why else would Jerry hide it like that?”
The aromas of all kinds of foods tickled her stomach, reminding her she liked to eat. The waitress came and she ordered a seafood salad and Sprite, hoping the drink would help settle her stomach. She glanced around, nervous that someone would recognize her. People often did, if they watched the nightly news. Thinking of that, she hoped she would still have a job after this. Just getting through it would be nice, too.
“So what’s Angela like?” Cora asked while they waited for their food.
His brow creased. “Very obsessed with appearances. She has platinum blond hair that’s always done up, lots of jewelry, perfume.”
Thinking of the note, she asked, “And what about her husband?”
“Michael. The youngest brother. Very ambitious, like Angela. Man, if he finds out she’s been sleeping with Alexander. . .”
“Possibly sleeping with him,” she said. “Do you think it’s more complicated than that between them? Alexander and Angela both sound ruthless to me. Maybe they stole the money together, and it’s not really about sex or love.”
Their food arrived, and both Nick and Cora forgot about talking while they ate. They needed to work on a plan but she pushed that thought away so she wouldn’t lose her appetite. But maybe Adam had found something useful on that CD.
“Adam hasn’t called or texted?”
Nick’s head tilted with thought. He reached for his phone. “Damn it. The battery’s dead, and my charger is in my car.”
They both knew she didn’t have her phone. “We can buy another one or use a payphone.”
“I should check in with Herald from a payphone and then we can pick up a charger.” He rested an elbow on the table and rubbed his forehead. When he opened his eyes to look at her hand, she realized she was tapping her nails. He tilted his head toward the door and they both rose.
The waitress walked by. “Are you ready for your check?”
“We have to run.” He opened his wallet. “Here’s forty.”
Outside it took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the brightness. They walked down the street, passing other businesses. Cora was looking in a window when she noticed a vehicle behind them that seemed to be moving at the same pace.
“Slow down just a little,” she said. “Look at the glass over here and check out that white SUV. It’s been rolling slowly behind us.”
Nick casually glanced at the shop windows to see the reflection. “You’re right. We’ve got a tag.”
His words squeezed Cora’s heart into tight, pounding beats. “But how could they find us that fast?”
He took her hand without answering. “Keep it slow, don’t act panicked.”
The mid-day heat suddenly felt twenty degrees hotter. It didn’t make any sense that Alexander had found her so easily before, and now they were being followed.
“An alley’s coming up. Don’t hurry, same pace. Maybe they’re following us to see where we’re headed.”
“At the alley, run?”
“Yup.” The alley grew closer...just a few feet. She was already breathing like she was sprinting. Her heartbeat pounded clear into the tips of her fingers.
Hand in hand, they bolted into the alley, hearing squealing tires behind them. After leaping over boxes, they reached the other end and turned onto the next street.
At a store entrance, Nick pointed. “In here.”
“No, look!” Cora gestured to another fast moving SUV, coming from the opposite direction. “They’ll trap us.”
They sprinted across the street, dodging a honking car, and down another alley.
“Good thing you’re fast.” Nick jumped up on a box and pulled her up by both hands. They scaled the fence and started off at full speed on the other side.
“Okay, now let’s find somewhere to hide.” Nick slowed, scanning the shops up and down the street. Squealing brakes stopped them. The SUV barely missed a minivan as it came around the corner.
“Run!” With only one option, they backtracked to the fence with the SUV closing in behind them.
“Shit!”
Another SUV pulled up on the other side of the fence, blocking their way. Two men jumped out: Nick’s cousin Terrance and a stocky twenty something.
“Give up!” Terrance hollered from the other side as they reached the fence. “You’re blocked in.”
The only way out was straight up the buildings next to them.
“Nick?”
His hand held Cora’s so tightly her fingers went numb. “I’ll get you killed if I pull my gun. Don’t do anything.”
“But…” She looked into Nick’s eyes, usually warm but now they were blazing with rage.
“Don’t hide your weapon, they’ll find it anyway,” Nick whispered gruffly. “We’ll find another way out of this.”
The other SUV pulled up close and two older men stepped out, pulling handguns on them.
“Hold out your guns and drop them.”
Terrance and his partner were right up to the fence now. They had guns on them from twenty feet away on both sides. Nick didn’t hesitate and Cora followed.
“I’m glad you’re going to do this the easy way.” The men took them to the SUV, waved to the other vehicle, and started off. “Don’t move or talk, or she gets it.”
She thought about trying to jump out the door, but that would put Nick in danger. And to think she had been worried about Herald and Adam.
Nick sat steel rigid next to her. She had no idea how they’d get out of this… but, with the CD, Adam and Herald could talk to the police and get help.
The men drove straight to Keith’s house and pulled into the multiple car garage, followed by Terrance’s SUV. Terrance got out of the other vehicle first, opened Nick’s door while pointing his handgun right at him. “Welcome home, Nicky. Come on.”
They took Nick and Cora inside and down to the basement, never giving any chance to escape. Terrence waved his gun at a couch.
Keith walked down the steps, smug as ever. He paused at the bottom before pulling a wooden chair over and sitting down, facing them.
“Here’s my dilemma. Jerry couldn’t get my money back. Alexander’s plan failed, and Jerry’s out there to tell the world anything he wants about my family. But now I have you here.”
“She can’t help you anymore. Let Cora go.”
In calm control of himself, Keith responded, “Hand over the key, and I will.”
“I would,” Cora said. “If I had it.”
Keith leaned back, staring at her with his eyebrows drawn tightly together. Luckily Nick didn’t react.
“Where is it then?”
Now Nick’s hand tightened on hers. Bless him; he was going on blind faith that she knew what she was doing. He was showing her a level of trust that reminded her how she
hadn’t
trusted him before. Now she did. She kept her eyes on Keith. “I gave it to Alexander when I thought he was helping me.”
Keith stood up, stepping toward them with his hands on his hips, almost leaning over them. “Then you’ll have to help bring him in.”
“That won’t work,” Nick said. “Why don’t you just let her go before the police get too suspicious? You can find Alexander on your own. You’ll probably be able to find him quicker than Cora.”
Keith laughed and sat down. “Maybe you don’t know how much time he put into watching her. But I do. So, Cora, your part will be easy. I’m going to book a flight for you to head to the east coast. You’ll stay in a hotel tonight, under my name. That ought to get Alexander’s attention. You’ll stay here till we’re ready.”
Keith’s thugs followed him out the door, locking Nick and Cora alone again in the basement. No windows, no other way to escape but that one door.
***
Adam spent the day pacing in Herald’s office and making calls to the police, the hospitals, and he even tried to get a hold of Keith and his father, who denied hearing anything about Cora and Nick.
“Listen,” he told Adam. “Nick’s gone off the deep end. I want you to come home and help us find him.”
Adam lied and promised to call if he heard from Nick, but he knew he couldn’t look at his parents now.
“Adam.” Herald tried for his attention. “Cora’s a missing person, and the police are looking everywhere for her. I asked them to fax pictures to the state police.”
Herald poured another cup of coffee. Adam wondered if the man lived on the stuff because he drank it all day long.
“Herald!” The secretary called across the room. “Line three, FBI, I think it’s about your missing friends.”
Herald snatched up his phone, glanced at Adam, and hit the speaker button. “Baker here.”