Friend or Foe

by Liz Turner

“What?” Mickie asked, just as the door flew open.

  Gary had blown through all of Mickie’s bodyguards and burst into the room. “Why did you hijack my girl?” he yelled, his face red as he rampaged towards Mickie, a stream of bodyguards pouring in after him.

  Taking advantage of the chaos Gary had clearly created as a diversion, Lily quickly slipped out the door and down the stairs. She tried to seem unalarmed as she dived out the entrance and into the garden, where she ducked behind a hedge and waited patiently as a bodyguard stormed out in search of her. She could see him scanning the garden, but Lily had chosen her black dress for more than just its allure. Tucking her limbs into the dress’s folds, she effectively blended into the darkness and disappeared from sight.

  The bodyguard gave up and returned inside, muttering into his radio.

  Lily scrambled for her phone in her handbag; she had fifteen missed calls from Ryan. Hastily, she typed a text, telling him she was hiding safely in the garden and would be out soon.

  Chapter 7

  Up in Flames

  Hearing angry voices approaching her hiding spot again, Lily held her breath. She’d been stuck there for about ten minutes, and her legs were growing numb. Ryan kept trying to call her, but she couldn’t risk answering and having someone hear her or see her cell light shining through the leaves.

  She crawled along the base of the hedge, away from the front of the house. If she could make her way to the back of the garden, she might be able to find another way out. She cringed, holding back a whimper as her designer gown snagged on a branch, the crisp tear of crushed silk ripping through the air.

  Grimacing, Lily crawled on, her adrenaline pumping in full force so that she hardly noticed the branches scratching at her arms and elbows, or the pebbles and dirt grinding into her knees. Eventually, she reached the end of the hedge at the end of the house.

  She cautiously surveyed the backyard for any movement or potential danger, but found it deserted. She figured all Mickie’s guards were probably scurrying around inside, either trying to find her or deal with Gary.

  She shuddered, her mind darting back to Gary and what Mickie might be doing to him…

  Then she remembered how Mickie had claimed Gary was an old friend, and that his loyalty would be to him.

  Perhaps the two were laughing it off while Lily was darting between random garden objects…

  Inspecting the area one last time, she sprinted to a tree a few meters away.

  She saw a structure at the end of the garden that looked like it housed all the vehicles. Staring at it, Lily calculated that it might give her the height she needed to get over the back wall. She raced the last few meters to the garage, her high heels long since destroyed and discarded.

  Reflecting on Mickie again, Lily felt that he really hadn’t seemed to know anything about Candy’s shooting. Though she knew he could’ve been lying, she thought the photograph of Candy on his wall made it seem like he honestly had cared for her.

  Lily prayed no one was watching through the house windows as she bolted through the spotlights surrounding the garage. She was about to run behind the structure when she noticed a door open and curiosity drew her closer. Tip-toeing into the garage, she saw the outlines of several impressive cars in the dim light.

  She certainly could appreciate Mickie’s taste in cars. Each was polished, pristine, and maintained in perfect condition. Sadly, however, none of them matched the getaway truck used by the bank robber.

  Lily noticed the last vehicle in the row of five was covered with a sheet of canvas. As she approached and tugged at the corner, the sharp acrid smell of burned rubber and plastic attacked her senses. “What the heck?” she muttered and then yanked the sail off in one swoop.

  Underneath the sail was a burned truck. Lily could see most of the blue paint-work was still visible on the doors and therefore figured it couldn’t have been a very intense fire. Yet, all the material and interior were destroyed. Needless to say, it was too much of a coincidence; Lily knew it had to be the getaway vehicle used in the robbery. Whoever torched it had made sure no prints or evidence would be left behind. Regardless though, cops would still be able to match the chassis number to Candy’s if it was truly the getaway vehicle.

  Lily felt a pang of disappointment. For the most part, she’d believed Mickie to be innocent of the robbery and Candy’s death. Yet, there she stood in front of the remnants of the getaway vehicle.

  Mickie had lied to her so convincingly.

  Having already given up on her elegant appearance, Lily didn’t worry about the black smears of charcoal and burned debris that marked her skin and dirtied the fabric of her dress as she rifled through the remnants of the truck. The glove compartment was relatively melted, but she managed to pry it open and use the torch on her camera phone to look inside.

  “No way,” she whispered to herself in excited horror. Speechless, she carefully pulled out a dark, contorted object from the depths of the glove compartment. Though parts of it had succumbed to the fire, it was clearly a Glock—the same type of gun used at the bank robbery.

  She was still feeling triumphant over the find when she heard a slight crunch of gravel outside. Carefully, Lily shoved the Glock into her handbag, praying there were no volatile bullets ready to fire after the heat exposure. Then she crept along the greased surface of the garage floor towards the exit.

  Lily paused mid-scuttled and held her breath until she could make out the soft tread of someone’s footsteps above the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears. She dropped flat on the ground so that she could catch a glimpse through the space under the car and see where the intruder was. Slowly, her eyes separated the general darkness from the two even darker patches on the other side of the car. With rising panic, a gasp escaped her mouth, realizing the feet were less than a few meters from her.

  The feet suddenly sprang into action as the person bolted round the side of the car. Before Lily could scramble away, he was on top of her.

  She kicked and scratched at the figure until he pinned her arms to the ground. A hand then slammed over her mouth, blocking any scream that attempted to escape into the night.

  “Lily!” an urgent voice whispered. “It’s me—Ryan!” He slowly removed his hand from her mouth once he was certain she wouldn’t shriek.

  “I’m so glad it’s you! I was so sure I was dead this time,” Lily whispered, holding back tears of relief.

  “You will be dead by the time Garcia is through with you! What were you thinking?!”

  “Can we not do this now?” she mumbled, embarrassed. “And can you please get off of me? I can hardly breathe!”

  Ryan quickly rolled off her and extended a hand to help her up. He looked around furtively, pulling her quickly behind him, his hand holding on to hers. She followed in humble obedience, secretly relieved to be in the safety of his presence.

  Ryan led them behind the garage and helped her climb up some building rubble, his hands always inches away, protectively guiding her until she could scale the wall.

  Garcia waited on the other side. When he caught sight of Lily—barefoot and smudged with dirt, bruised and scratched, her dress tattered and torn—he removed his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. He held her in a gentle hug for a brief second. “We were so worried about you,” he said, quickly steering her to the back of the van and securing the door behind her.

  Ryan was already inside, sitting beside her. Lily heard the front door slam, and Garcia hit the acceleration pedal, sending the van instantly hurtling forward.

  As the miles flew by and the world of poker, Mickie Romano and burned trucks fell into the background, Lily felt more and more like an idiot who’d caused half the police force a tiring night of trouble and stress.

  Ryan remained in steely silence, staring out the window.

  “I’m sorry,” Lily muttered, her head hanging low.

  “You’re not the one who needs to be sorry, so don’t you dare apologize,” Ryan snapped.
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  “I put you all in danger and nearly blew the whole case,” Lily continued morosely, fighting back tears.

  Ryan turned to face her, his voice softening. “You were incredible. Like some secret agent in a book, outsmarting the bad guy. We don’t know what was said between you and Mickie, but I could tell you did your best to crack this case.”

  “Then why are you so angry at me?” Lily said, stunned by the compliment.

  “I’m not angry with you. I’m furious with Gary! He dragged you into this, left you to do all the work, and endangered your life in the process!”

  Lily could see Ryan’s jaw clenching in the flickering lights of oncoming cars. “Did Gary get out okay?” she asked timidly.

  “Oh, he’s fine,” Garcia explained from the front of the van. “He claims to have created a diversion to give you time to get out. When he left the party to join us and you were still missing—well, that’s when the real fun started…”

  “Did he get hurt?”

  Garcia chuckled. “He was fine until Ryan got hold of him.”

  Lily’s head snapped in Ryan’s direction, but he was staring glumly out of the window again. “What happened?”

  “You’ll have to get Ryan to tell you.” Garcia laughed quietly.

  Lily looked from Ryan’s face, to his hand cradled in his lap. She gently picked up his right hand and examined his bruised knuckles. She paired his swollen hand with his dejected façade and pictured him swinging a furious fist at Gary’s head.

  Normally, she would have teased him because deep down, she’d felt like punching Gary herself. But she could tell that after trying so hard to imitate the gentlemanly qualities of Garcia and prove himself an honorable man worthy to carry the badge, Ryan was beating himself up for his loss of control.

  She gently cradled his injured hand in her own for the remainder of the drive, smiling to herself when his fingers twitched to wrap around hers.

  Chapter 8

  The Betrayal

  Lily stared at Mickie, sitting confidently in the uncomfortable chair in the interrogation room. He fidgeted with his gold rings and cufflinks, glancing suspiciously around the room as though checking for escape routes. His eyes somehow found Lily’s through the one-way window, and Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat, reminding herself that all Mickie could see was his own reflection. For her own safety, Garcia and Ryan had decided Mickie would never know of ‘Olivia’s’ connection to the police.

  That morning, Mickie Romano had been enjoying a cooked breakfast and reading the daily newspaper when a storm of police officers broke through his front door and slapped cuffs on his wrists. A warrant had been waved in his face, and a search began immediately, officers fanning out in all directions like ants on a mission to carry off anything suspicious. The burned truck was towed out of the garage and loaded up for forensics.

  Lily and Dr. Banks had spent the morning cleaning up the gun Lily had snatched from the truck. The owner had made a poor attempt at filing off the serial number, but Banks showed Lily how to do an acid wash on the area that was filed away. She stared in amazement as the acid ate away at the damaged metal, revealing the negative of the original stamp. The rest had been sent off for ballistics to scan the number and check for recent firing. If the gun belonged to Romano or any of his men, they would have him for good.

  Unfortunately, Mickie didn’t look like he had any intention of saying a word to the cops. He sat sullenly with his arms crossed over his chest as Ryan and Garcia entered the interrogation room.

  “Good morning, Mr. Romano,” Garcia greeted pleasantly.

  “And to what do I owe the pleasure of being dragged out of my house this morning like a common criminal?” Mickie said, lowering his fist gently onto the table.

  “You are a common criminal, Mickie. Let’s not play games,” Ryan said, clearly wanting to accelerate the interview. “Why was Candy’s truck parked in your garage?”

  Mickie shrugged, refusing to answer.

  Gary entered Lily’s room and took a seat next to her. She hid her smile at the deep bruising practically swelling Gary’s eye shut; she now understood just how much force Ryan had smacked Gary with.

  “What did I miss?” Gary asked.

  “Nothing much,” Lily whispered. “Nice shiner by the way.” She winked at him.

  He scowled at her and then winced from the pain.

  “Look, Lily, I’m sorry about last night. But it was all part of the plan. I mean, we’ve got Mickie where we want him, and it’s all thanks to you. So no harm done, right?” He grinned. “Besides, I told you he was a sucker for a girl in a dress.”

  Lily rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the interrogation, grateful the police department had finally seen fit to have the viewing room soundproofed after the previous case.

  “Are you aware that her truck was also used as a getaway vehicle in the bank robbery where Candy Wilheart was shot dead?” Ryan continued in a monotone voice.

  “What?” Mickie said, his eyes widening.

  “I don’t think he really knew that,” Lily said to Gary. “Look how surprised he is.”

  “Don’t believe anything Mickie portrays. That man is as good an actor as I’ve ever met. I bet he even convinced you he knew nothing about Candy’s death last night.” Gary turned to squint at Lily. “Yes, I thought so. He conned you too.”

  Lily felt her annoyance growing.

  “I don’t know anything about that bank robbery,” Mickie answered stubbornly.

  “So why did you end up with the getaway vehicle, partially destroyed, on your property?” Ryan asked forcefully.

  “I made a deal with a friend!” Mickie exploded. “He dropped the truck off yesterday morning and said he needed me to dispose of it.”

  “And you didn’t recognize the truck as belonging to Candy—one of your own ‘employees’?”

  “There are hundreds of beat up trucks like hers. Look,” Mickie leaned forward, exasperated, “the nature of my business is that I don’t ask questions, no matter the client or the request!”

  “So you set fire to the truck, erasing any potential evidence that could point us to Candy’s killer.”

  Mickie remained silent.

  “You see,” Ryan sneered, “that’s just too convenient. I think it’s more likely that you were covering your own tracks. Candy got on your bad side. She wanted out of the gang, and you began to doubt her loyalty to you. So you got rid of her and covered it up with a simple bank robbery gone wrong.”

  “I don’t have to answer your accusations. I want my lawyers.”

  “Who brought you the truck?” Garcia persisted.

  But Mickie Romano was done with being pushed around by lowly policemen. He sealed his lips, folded his arms, and stared at them belligerently until the detectives left the room.

  Mickie Romano had done this a hundred times before, and the cops had never once beaten him. He leaned back in his chair, preparing himself for the long wait until his lawyers arrived. He chuckled to himself, hearing the detectives outside the door, arguing about their defeat. Little did he know what they were really arguing about—or who they were arguing with.

  Unexpectedly, the door swung back open and Mickie bolted upright in shock as Lily walked in with Ryan sulkily at her side. “Olivia?” he gasped. “I knew you were a cop!”

  “Relax. I’m not a cop,” she said. “Mickie, last night when I spoke to you—”

  “I don’t want to hear it. I won’t say a word to any of you!” Mickie cut her off like a petulant child.

  “Last night, when you told me that you had nothing to do with Candy’s death, I believed you,” Lily appealed. “There was no wire. The cops don’t know what we discussed, but I looked you in the eye and saw someone hurting over the loss of a loved one. You loved Candy, didn’t you?”

  Mickie remained silent, but his eyes widened. He stared unblinking at Lily.

  “That’s why you couldn’t let her leave the gang, even when you promised she could,�
�� Lily continued. “All these years, Candy was always there for you. Mickie…” Lily paused, waiting for her words to sink in and reach his hardened heart. “Who brought the car to be destroyed?”

  Mickie stared at her, his expression growing cold again.

  “Oh, that’s your plan?” Lily smiled, glad she’d finally figured it out. “You really didn’t know the truck was used as the getaway vehicle, so you had no idea Candy’s killer had brought it to you. Otherwise, you never would have allowed him to walk off your property alive.”

  Flickers of panic rippled through Mickie’s face as he fought to maintain control the closer Lily got to the truth.

  “So your plan is to get out of here, track down the killer, and bring him to justice yourself, by some hideous means…” Lily speculated.

  Mickie sighed.

  Her voice softened. “That’s not real justice, Mickie.”

  “What do you really know about justice? You don’t know me! Get out of my head!” Mickie retorted fiercely.

  “Okay,” Lily nodded, slowly rising from her chair opposite Mickie. “Just know that by the time you get out of here, we’ll already have Candy’s killer in holding. I was just giving you a chance to have your share in bringing him to terms with real justice.”

  Ryan and Lily turned their backs on a fuming Mickie and walked towards the door.

  “Milo,” Mickie muttered. “Milo brought the truck in.”

  Chapter 9

  The Duplicate

  “You two got the name, so you two get to interrogate the killer,” Garcia said.

  “But I’m no detective!” Lily argued. “What do I know about interrogating people?”

  “You’ll be with Ryan. And besides, Lily, you earned this.” Garcia rapped her gently on the back with his hand. “You got the name out of Mickie, and you found the gun. This is all you.” He smiled reassuringly at her.

  Lily sighed nervously, her voice tremoring slightly. “Okay.”

  She followed Ryan into the interrogation room and stood awkwardly in front of Milo. He was much taller than her, and she had to look up at him.