by Sandi Lynn
“What are we looking for?” she asked.
“Since she ran her own business, she had to keep a list of all her clients and we’re going to find it.”
“You don’t think the cops already found it?”
“Why would they even look? They already have their suspect.”
“True. I’ll meet you there.”
When I got out of the cab that took me to the high rise building in Tribeca where Gina lived, I saw Sheila waiting for me in front of the large glass double doors. When we walked inside and spoke with the building manager, Sheila flashed her investigator badge and he let us into Gina’s apartment.
“Wow,” I spoke as I looked around the twenty-five hundred square foot luxury apartment. “The life of a call girl sure does pay off.”
“No kidding. Look at this place,” Sheila spoke.
It was professionally decorated in gray and white with a pop of plum thrown in. I walked into the master bedroom and opened her walk-in closet, which was bigger than my apartment bedroom. It was filled with designer clothes, shoes, and handbags that practically matched every outfit she owned. On one of the shelves, there was a line of wigs. Short hair, long hair, medium hair, curly hair, and straight hair in brunette, black and red.
“What’s with all these wigs?” I asked.
“Probably for her clients. Depending upon what color hair they were into,” Sheila replied as she walked out of the bedroom.
“Ah.” I raised my brow.
On the left side of her closet, tucked in the corner, was a rack of long gowns. Pushing each hanger over and checking out the beautiful dresses that hung there, I noticed cuts that formed a square in the wall. When I jammed my fingers into them, the piece of the wall came out and sitting inside was a laptop computer.
“Sheila,” I shouted. “I found something.”
I pulled the laptop out and set it on the table in the dining room.
“Where did you find that?” Sheila asked.
“Hidden in the wall in the closet.”
I plugged the plug into the outlet and pushed open the top. Instantly, the desktop screen appeared.
“Why wouldn’t she have this locked?” Sheila asked.
“Probably because she kept it hidden.”
“I don’t understand. The police have her laptop down at the station.”
“I can guarantee this is her work laptop.” I smiled.
I clicked on the documents file and “Client List” came up.
“Bam!” I grinned at Sheila.
She sat down in the chair next to me as I nervously opened it, hoping that I wouldn’t find Luca’s name anywhere on that list.
“Holy shit. Look at who her clients were,” Sheila exclaimed. “Politicians, detectives, high-powered attorneys, CEO’s of major companies. Jesus, Ariana, if this list ever got out.”
I frantically searched through the names and let out a breath when Luca’s name never appeared. Then I came across a name both Sheila and I recognized: Sam Butler.
“I’ll be damned.” Sheila shook her head. “I can’t believe Sam was involved with this woman. I always thought he and his wife were the perfect couple.”
“Goes to show things aren’t always as they seem,” I spoke. “Is there a printer around here?”
“I think I saw one in the bedroom. Are you printing that?”
“You bet I am. We may need this.”
I hit the print button and then clicked on the calendar icon.
“Let’s see if Miss Burroughs had any appointments the day of her murder.”
Chapter Thirty
Luca
I went home, showered, and changed so I could head to the office. Reporters still lined the front of my building and it was impossible to get through without the flashes of the cameras and questions about the case. After I got dressed, I packed a suitcase and left it by the front door, instructing Jeffery to pick it up and drop it off at Ariana’s apartment later tonight. I escaped through the back of my building and hailed a cab a couple of blocks away to the office.
As I walked down the hallway to my office, Olivia grabbed my arm and pulled me into her cubicle.
“I need to talk to you before you go into your office,” she spoke as she let go of my arm.
“What’s going on?”
“Julia, Ariana’s sister/mother, is in there waiting for you. I saw her on my way to the bathroom.”
“Did she see you?” I asked.
“No. I’ve been hiding. If she does see me, she’ll know I lied to her about Ariana.”
“Thank you, Olivia. I’ll handle her.”
I sighed as I walked into my office and saw a woman with medium blonde hair sitting across from my desk.
“Excuse me, but did you have an appointment?” I asked as I set my briefcase down and took a seat behind my desk.
“No. I’m sorry. I’m Julia Brooks.” She leaned over and extended her hand.
Placing my hand in hers, I looked at her and discovered how remarkable it was how much Ariana looked like her.
“Luca Russo. I’m very busy and don’t have a lot of time. What can I do for you?”
“I need to see Ariana,” she spoke. “And the only way I can is through you.”
I narrowed my eye at her as I folded my hands on my desk.
“Ariana Williams? My attorney?”
“Yes. I need your help, Mr. Russo.”
I cleared my throat before speaking. “Ariana doesn’t want to see you, Mrs. Brooks.”
“So she told you about our family’s situation?”
“She did.” I lightly nodded. “We’re friends.”
“I didn’t even know she passed her bar exam. She won’t speak to any of us.”
“Do you blame her?” I cocked my head. “The secret you kept from her all those years was very detrimental to her. Did you really think that she would be forgiving and accept the truth when the truth should have been told to her years ago? Put yourself in her shoes, Mrs. Brooks.”
“Please, call me Julia, and I have put myself in her shoes, but we’re still family. To shut us out the way she did and sneak out in the middle of the night was a bit childish. This has killed my parents.”
“Childish isn’t the word I would use. What Ariana did was make an adult responsible decision to try and put the pieces of her life back together. You and your parents performed the worst kind of betrayal there is. To let her believe since birth that you were her sister was selfish in my opinion. And that goes for your parents as well.”
“You don’t know anything about me or my family, Mr. Russo,” she voiced loudly with a bit of anger.
“I know enough that you all put yourself first instead of a defenseless child. A child who deserved to know the truth about who her parents really were.”
I looked up and saw Ariana standing in the doorway.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she stepped inside and closed the door.
Julia turned around and then got up from her seat.
“We need to talk, Ariana. Please.”
“You shouldn’t have bothered coming. I have nothing to say to you or anyone else. I’m doing well, and now that you saw for yourself, you may leave,” she spoke nervously.
“How long are you going to keep shutting us out?”
“Hmm.” She looked up at the ceiling. “About twenty-five years.”
“Mom and Dad are distraught over this whole thing. They need to see you. We all need to sit down and discuss this.”
“You mean my grandparents? I’m sure Emma and John will be just fine. After all, they were with all the lies over the years. And how dare you.” Ariana pointed at her. “How dare you come to my client’s office. I’m in the middle of a murder case. I don’t have time to deal with you and your talk or apologies. Don’t you have surgeries to perform? Go home, Julia.”
“I’m here for a surgical convention. Today is the last day. I saw you on the news and I couldn’t believe you were here in New York. I called O
livia and she swore to me she hadn’t seen or heard from you.”
“That’s because I told her to lie. What part of ‘I don’t want to see you’ do you not understand?”
“I don’t deserve this!” she shouted. “I took care of you. I made sure to be the best mother I could be, and Tom made sure he was the best father. Why do you think we did everything with you?! Why he was always around? Even when I wasn’t? It killed us both every day when you’d look at us and call us by our names instead of mom and dad.
“I don’t care! Neither one of you had the guts to tell me the truth! You should have told me! Now get out of here!” She pointed to the door. “I have to talk with my client.”
“I’m staying at the Waldorf Astoria if you decide you want to talk. My flight leaves at six tomorrow morning.” She walked towards the door. “I can make this right, Ariana. All I’m asking for is a chance.”
Ariana stood there with her arm folded and a scornful look on her face.
“Have a nice flight,” she spoke.
The minute Julia left my office and closed the door, tears started to fall down Ariana’s face. I got up from chair, walked over to her, and wrapped my arms around her tightly.
“It’s okay, baby.” I kissed her head.
“I’m sorry you had to get in the middle of this.”
“No worries. I only spoke the truth to her.”
I broke our embrace and wiped the tears from her face while I stared into her sad eyes.
“I’m sorry I had to get you in the middle of my chaos.”
“I want to be in the middle of your chaos.” She lightly smiled.
“And I want to be in the middle of yours.” I placed my forehead against hers. “By the way, I’m moving in with you for a while if that’s okay.”
“Of course it’s okay.” She sniffled. “We just have to be careful.”
“I know and we will be. Now what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Not here. We’ll talk later back at my place. Did you call your grandfather?”
“Yes, and we’ll head out there tomorrow after jury selection.”
“Okay. I have to go.” She kissed my lips. “I’ll see you at home later.”
“Be careful, Ariana.”
“I will.” She smiled.
Seeing her upset like that put an ache in my heart. She didn’t deserve that and all I wanted to do was make it all better for her. I was afraid that with this trial and everything else going on, it would be too much for her to handle.
Chapter Thirty-One
Ariana
Before I went to the Peninsula Hotel to view the security tapes of that night, I stopped at Dunkin Donuts and picked up a dozen, all nicely boxed up and ready to give to Bruce, the security manager. How did I know he loved donuts? I overheard him talking to one of the cleaning staff the last time I was there. He was thanking her for bringing him a box of his favorite donuts. He grinned from ear to ear.
“Excuse me, Bruce.” I smiled as I lightly tapped on his door.
“Yes? Miss Williams, right?”
“Yes. I need to look at the security tape from the night of the murder. I was hoping you could help me. I brought a box of donuts.” I held them up with a wide smile.
“That was so nice of you,” he spoke with excitement as he got up from his chair, took the box from me, and opened it up. “Please, have a seat and I’ll pull up the tape from that night.”
“Thank you.” I sat down.
“Would you like a donut?” he asked as he held the box in front of my face.
“I would love one. They are my favorite sweets.”
“Mine too. In case you couldn’t tell.” He chuckled as he placed his hands on his belly.
He pulled up the tape from that day. At approximately three p.m., Gina Burroughs checked into the hotel. At approximately three thirty p.m., she exited out of the elevators and pulled her phone from her purse, dialing a number and then speaking to someone while she stood in the lobby, staring out the window. Almost as if she was waiting for someone.
“Wait. Go back to where she pulls out her phone,” I asked Bruce. “Okay, now zoom in on it.”
He did as I asked while grabbing another donut from the box. I leaned in closer to the screen to make sure I was seeing exactly what I thought. Pulling my phone from my purse, I dialed Sheila.
“Hey, Ariana,” she answered.
“What kind of phone did the police find in Gina’s purse?” I asked.
“I believe it was an iPhone. I can double check. Why?”
“Do me a favor and find out for sure. Also, find out what color it was and if it has a case on it and then call me back ASAP.”
“Sure. I’ll do it right now.”
I ended the call and continued looking at the tape. Once Gina placed her phone back in her purse, she waited in the lobby. Then a few moments later, she pulled her phone back out, looked at it, put it back, and headed out the hotel doors.
“She was waiting for someone,” I spoke.
“Yep. Sure looked like it to me,” Bruce spoke as he bit into his third donut.
“I need to find out who that someone was.”
My phone started to ring and Sheila was calling.
“Did you find out?” I asked as I answered her call.
“The cops recovered a white iPhone 6 with a pink and black polka dot case.”
“That’s what I thought.” I bit down on my bottom lip as I had remembered seeing it at the police station in the bag of evidence. “The phone she pulled from her purse in the lobby of the hotel on the day of her murder was black, bigger than the iPhone 6, and it didn’t have a case on it.”
“Then where’s that phone?” Sheila asked.
“Exactly. She had two phones and I’m guessing the black one was her business phone. See if you can find another phone number for her and get those phone records.”
“I’m on it.”
The tapes showed her enter the hotel again at approximately eight p.m., step onto the elevator, and then return to the lobby at nine thirty p.m., when she headed straight to the bar area.
“Where were you for four hours, Gina?” I asked out loud.
“You know you can check the security cameras outside. Just about every street corner has them,” Bruce spoke.
“Oh my God. That’s right. Bruce, you are a genius!” I smiled as I kissed his cheek.
“Thanks.” He blushed.
I grabbed my purse and headed out the door, but not until after I took pictures of what I needed to from the security footage.
“Thanks again, Bruce.” I waved.
“No problem. Thanks for the donuts.”
“You’re welcome.” I grinned.
When I arrived home, Luca was already there, in the kitchen, unloading groceries from brown paper bags.
“You went grocery shopping?” I smiled.
“I ordered online and they delivered.” He smiled.
“Ah.”
“How are you?” he asked with a serious tone.
“I’m okay. We need to talk about what I found today. Things that, with a little further investigation, may help your case.”
“What did you find?” he asked.
“Gina’s client list.”
“How and where did you find it?” His eye narrowed.
“In her apartment, in her closet, inside the wall,” I replied as I grabbed the bottle of wine from the fridge.
“What?”
I looked up at him before pouring a glass of wine.
“I have done nothing wrong. It is well within my right as an attorney to try and prove my client’s innocence.”
“I didn’t say you did anything wrong, but how the fuck did you find it?”
“I was looking through her designer gowns and I saw the cuts in the wall. So, I pulled the piece out and there it was.” I shrugged.
Bringing my glass to my lips, I looked up at Luca, who had a grin splayed across his face. He reached over took the glass from me and
his lips brushed against mine.
“You’re amazing. Did you know that?” His thumb gently moved across my chin.
“It was luck. Anyway, we need to talk about that list.”
The romance in his eyes quickly dissipated as he stared at me.
“My name is not on that list. And if it is, someone put it there to frame me. I have never been with that woman or any call girl in my life.”
“Your name isn’t on the list.” I pulled it from my purse and handed it to him.
He took it from my hand and looked it over.
“Sam Butler? Are you fucking kidding me? He never told me he knew her. Not even after he tried to get me to stay out of the office. That son of a bitch.” He started to pace back and forth.
“Would he have any reason at all to want to frame you?” I asked.
“No. Not that I know of. Jesus, Ariana, the names on this list.” He looked up at me in disbelief.
“Are you really surprised, Luca?” I rolled my eyes. “Isn’t that what high-powered men do?”
“Some. But not all. If this list ever got out, it could destroy half the police department of New York City. Not to mention the CEO’s of all these major companies.”
I didn’t say a word. I just brought my glass up to my lips, took a sip of wine, and smiled.
“This is inadmissible in court, you know?” He narrowed his eye at me. “You can’t use this.”
“I know. But it sure is a handy little blackmail tool.” I grinned.
He walked over to me and placed his hands firmly on my hips.
“Blackmail is illegal.”
“And so is trying to frame someone for a murder they didn’t commit.” I cocked my head.
“You’re playing with fire, Ariana.”
“The bigger the fire, the better,” I spoke as I raised my brow.
He took in a long, deep breath.
“Be careful. You have no idea what can of worms you might be opening.”
“I’ll be fine.” The corners of my mouth curved up into a small smile.
His lips pressed into mine for a passionate kiss. My fingers worked the buttons on his shirt as he lifted my top over my head and his hands roamed up and down my sides before reaching in the back and unhooking my bra while I pushed his shirt off his shoulders. He grabbed my arms, turned me around, and planted my hands firmly on the counter. Pushing my skirt up over my hips, he took down my panties and then ran his hand up my inner thighs, his fingers on the edge of my lips.