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“Felicity, I promise you. I have no intention of walking away because of what I find out. I promise you.”
She lets out a long breath and then she pulls up a file. A police report. “This is her criminal file. All public record stuff, sealed, of course, since she asked the court to do that on her eighteenth birthday. Police report, pictures of the crime scene, which I am telling you now, you do not want to see.” Felicity stares hard at me. “The perp used a knife. Enough said. And all kinds of other procedural things that go into a criminal file. This was not hard to get, but there’s something else mentioned in this file that’s not accessible. Her health records. I can’t get those, Vaughn. I can’t. I mean, I could, but I’d probably go to prison. Besides, it’s one thing to go looking at her prescriptions at the drug store to see if she’s on the pill. Yeah, I’m a cunt for doing that for you. But it’s baby shit compared to what might be in those hidden records from her teens.”
The blood leaves my face. My hands go cold, my legs start to shake, and my heart speeds up. “What happened?”
“She was not the murderer. The lawyer convinced the FBI somehow. Got Daisy to make one statement. Only one. These were only words she gave to authorities. Ever. And she said…” Felicity pulls up another page on the computer. Another procedural form with the title Witness Statement at the top. She zooms in to find a signature at the bottom. Daisy Bryndle.
And then she scrolls up to the portion where the witness gets to write down what they saw. There’s only one sentence and it says, ‘I was abducted.’
I realize I’m holding my breath and when I read that sentence, it all comes rushing out. “How long was she missing?” I ask.
“Eight months.”
I have to sit down. “And what happened to her during that time?”
“They have no idea.”
I have to take deep breaths. “Where is the guy who took her?”
“They have no idea.”
I stand back up. “So he’s still out there?”
Felicity shrugs her shoulders. “I have no idea. These are things Grace never told anyone, as far as I can see. There are no statements. There’s a mention of psychiatric appointments, but that’s it. Just a mention. All those health records are locked away with whoever was treating her at the time.”
“Is there a mention of the doctor’s name?” I ask.
“Redacted in all documents.”
“Well, if we can’t get it, chances are no one can. So that’s good, right?”
Felicity shrugs again. “For Grace’s sake, V, let’s hope so.”
Chapter Three
#ThingsYouCantUnknowTakeTwo
I WANT to make a drink. Hell, I want to just sit down and get drunk, if I’m really being honest. But I can’t. Grace needs me. So I sit on the couch and stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the Bellagio fountain lake and wait for Conner.
I’m impatient and my leg has been bouncing since Felicity stopped talking. She’s been on the phone ever since, getting me things. Ordering room service, even though I’m not hungry. Calling Conner to coordinate the money drop to Tray, even though I should be doing that myself. And biting her nails.
It’s been almost two hours since she came in and threw my whole world out of orbit. “Is she really in danger?” I ask Felicity as she ends another call and sits down next to me. “Because if so, Conner is taking way too long.”
“Well, he got a hold of Johnny Blazen, who confirmed that the white Mercedes was a gift for his wife-to-be. The car is in her name and since they’re not married yet, he has no access to the GPS location services. He’s working his celebrity magic, Conner said, but it might take a few more hours to get that info. He’s got a team of lawyers on it, so we just have to hold tight and hope that Kristi woman knows what the hell she’s doing.”
The door chimes and I jump up and cross the room in a few paces. I open the door and Conner is staring at me with a very serious face. “I’ve got the money.”
“How much did he want?”
“Ten million.”
Huh. I wave Conner in and close the door. “It’s almost not fair, is it?”
“What’s not fair?” Conner asks.
“It’s like cheating luck.”
He just shoots me a confused look.
“I won ten million dollars last night in punto banco.”
“Well, dude,” Conner replies, “if it makes you feel any better, luck is about to kick your ass. So I wouldn’t be too guilt-ridden about your apparent win just yet. Think of it as a good omen instead.” He walks into the living room and looks over at Felicity, who says nothing to him—there is no love lost between those two—and then takes a seat on the couch.
“Vaughn.” Felicity breaks our uneasy silence and stands up to block me from taking a seat across from Conner. “Before you let him tell you anything else, you had better be sure you want to go behind her back like this. Because Grace strikes me as a grudge-holder. She didn’t want you to know about her past for a reason. You should respect that.”
“Her life is in danger, Felicity,” Conner barks at her. “This is not a time for sappy bullshit like respecting her privacy.”
Felicity throws up her hands. “I’m just telling you from a woman’s point of view. If you take this secret from her, she might not forgive you.”
I look over at Conner and he’s frowning. “I’m just gonna take your choice away, Vaughn, OK? Make it easy on you. They think—”
But I put up a hand and he stops. “No,” I say. “Felicity is right. I know enough. I know enough to realize I need to find her and keep her safe. That’s all I need right now. I want to hear the story from her, and only when she’s ready to tell it. Just tell me one thing. Is she in danger?”
“She could be, Vaughn. I don’t know for sure. But all this media attention is not good. It’s an invitation. They never caught the guy. And I’m not saying he’s still got tabs on her, but he could have.”
“OK, then let’s get this Tray stuff started and then hopefully Blazen will have the car security hand over her location. What are we even doing? What did Tray actually say?”
“That guy is a scumbag,” Felicity says.
She lets out a long breath and then she pulls up a file. A police report. “This is her criminal file. All public record stuff, sealed, of course, since she asked the court to do that on her eighteenth birthday. Police report, pictures of the crime scene, which I am telling you now, you do not want to see.” Felicity stares hard at me. “The perp used a knife. Enough said. And all kinds of other procedural things that go into a criminal file. This was not hard to get, but there’s something else mentioned in this file that’s not accessible. Her health records. I can’t get those, Vaughn. I can’t. I mean, I could, but I’d probably go to prison. Besides, it’s one thing to go looking at her prescriptions at the drug store to see if she’s on the pill. Yeah, I’m a cunt for doing that for you. But it’s baby shit compared to what might be in those hidden records from her teens.”
The blood leaves my face. My hands go cold, my legs start to shake, and my heart speeds up. “What happened?”
“She was not the murderer. The lawyer convinced the FBI somehow. Got Daisy to make one statement. Only one. These were only words she gave to authorities. Ever. And she said…” Felicity pulls up another page on the computer. Another procedural form with the title Witness Statement at the top. She zooms in to find a signature at the bottom. Daisy Bryndle.
And then she scrolls up to the portion where the witness gets to write down what they saw. There’s only one sentence and it says, ‘I was abducted.’
I realize I’m holding my breath and when I read that sentence, it all comes rushing out. “How long was she missing?” I ask.
“Eight months.”
I have to sit down. “And what happened to her during that time?”
“They have no idea.”
I have to take deep breaths. “Where is the guy who took her?”
“They have no idea.”
I stand back up. “So he’s still out there?”
Felicity shrugs her shoulders. “I have no idea. These are things Grace never told anyone, as far as I can see. There are no statements. There’s a mention of psychiatric appointments, but that’s it. Just a mention. All those health records are locked away with whoever was treating her at the time.”
“Is there a mention of the doctor’s name?” I ask.
“Redacted in all documents.”
“Well, if we can’t get it, chances are no one can. So that’s good, right?”
Felicity shrugs again. “For Grace’s sake, V, let’s hope so.”
Chapter Three
#ThingsYouCantUnknowTakeTwo
I WANT to make a drink. Hell, I want to just sit down and get drunk, if I’m really being honest. But I can’t. Grace needs me. So I sit on the couch and stare out the floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the Bellagio fountain lake and wait for Conner.
I’m impatient and my leg has been bouncing since Felicity stopped talking. She’s been on the phone ever since, getting me things. Ordering room service, even though I’m not hungry. Calling Conner to coordinate the money drop to Tray, even though I should be doing that myself. And biting her nails.
It’s been almost two hours since she came in and threw my whole world out of orbit. “Is she really in danger?” I ask Felicity as she ends another call and sits down next to me. “Because if so, Conner is taking way too long.”
“Well, he got a hold of Johnny Blazen, who confirmed that the white Mercedes was a gift for his wife-to-be. The car is in her name and since they’re not married yet, he has no access to the GPS location services. He’s working his celebrity magic, Conner said, but it might take a few more hours to get that info. He’s got a team of lawyers on it, so we just have to hold tight and hope that Kristi woman knows what the hell she’s doing.”
The door chimes and I jump up and cross the room in a few paces. I open the door and Conner is staring at me with a very serious face. “I’ve got the money.”
“How much did he want?”
“Ten million.”
Huh. I wave Conner in and close the door. “It’s almost not fair, is it?”
“What’s not fair?” Conner asks.
“It’s like cheating luck.”
He just shoots me a confused look.
“I won ten million dollars last night in punto banco.”
“Well, dude,” Conner replies, “if it makes you feel any better, luck is about to kick your ass. So I wouldn’t be too guilt-ridden about your apparent win just yet. Think of it as a good omen instead.” He walks into the living room and looks over at Felicity, who says nothing to him—there is no love lost between those two—and then takes a seat on the couch.
“Vaughn.” Felicity breaks our uneasy silence and stands up to block me from taking a seat across from Conner. “Before you let him tell you anything else, you had better be sure you want to go behind her back like this. Because Grace strikes me as a grudge-holder. She didn’t want you to know about her past for a reason. You should respect that.”
“Her life is in danger, Felicity,” Conner barks at her. “This is not a time for sappy bullshit like respecting her privacy.”
Felicity throws up her hands. “I’m just telling you from a woman’s point of view. If you take this secret from her, she might not forgive you.”
I look over at Conner and he’s frowning. “I’m just gonna take your choice away, Vaughn, OK? Make it easy on you. They think—”
But I put up a hand and he stops. “No,” I say. “Felicity is right. I know enough. I know enough to realize I need to find her and keep her safe. That’s all I need right now. I want to hear the story from her, and only when she’s ready to tell it. Just tell me one thing. Is she in danger?”
“She could be, Vaughn. I don’t know for sure. But all this media attention is not good. It’s an invitation. They never caught the guy. And I’m not saying he’s still got tabs on her, but he could have.”
“OK, then let’s get this Tray stuff started and then hopefully Blazen will have the car security hand over her location. What are we even doing? What did Tray actually say?”
“That guy is a scumbag,” Felicity says.
