Alllison Janda - Marian Moyer 03 - Scandal, Temptation & a Taste of Flan

by Allison Janda

  “It sounds terrible and believe me, Addie, we’re doing everything we possibly can right now. Which, unfortunately, isn’t much.”

  “Time to go, Dawes,” came a gruff male voice from the other end of the line. “Your chariot awaits. Hospital. Come on.”

  “I have to go,” Addison hissed. “Please hurry up and get me out of here.”

  The line clicked. Pulling the phone away from my ear, I checked the flashing time. 1:58. Dropping the phone into my purse, I looked down at my white box filled with Chinese food. “I’m not very hungry anymore,” I told them.

  “Me neither,” they both muttered, setting their boxes on the floor. We all stared at the huge portions of leftovers remaining, which suddenly looked fatty and unappetizing. It was all I could do to not lose the bites I’d already consumed.

  Suddenly, I stood and began stuffing the half-filled cartons, extra sauce packets, used silverware and napkins, and more, into the paper bag. Crumbling it up as tightly as I could, I stormed over to the trashcan and slam-dunked the food into it. Pausing, I placed my hands on my hips and stared at it for a few seconds. “Someone remind me to take that out tonight,” I muttered, trudging back towards Rory and Carly.

  “How much did you want to bet that there’s still a flock of reporters outside?” Rory asked quietly.

  “We’re not going out there,” Carly said, shaking her head. “No way. Not until we’ve gotten in touch with Corbin, if that’s who we’re sure we want. They’re taking Addison to the hospital to collect evidence, for crying out loud. Are we supposed to go to the station and sit around waiting for them to bring her back?”

  “Can they do that?” Rory asked her. “Collect her DNA samples and submit them as evidence?”

  Carly shrugged. “They took their time questioning her. Kip was with her for hours before arresting her. This is serious. They really think she did it. I’m not a homicide detective but, if I had to guess, I’d say they’re probably staying inside the legal boundaries. No one wants to risk a trip that would get their star suspect off on a technicality in court.”

  “Someone has to know that she didn’t do this,” I mused. “The hotel has to have security cameras that captured someone else going in and out of Carmen’s room.” I shook my head. “Why wouldn’t they have checked that?”

  “Trust me, Moyer, they would have,” Carly assured me. “Which means that whatever was on those tapes makes Addison look more guilty than not guilty.

  “We have to get copies of those tapes,” Rory cried. “Why didn’t I think of that earlier? Carly, can you-”

  “I’m already on it,” she promised, standing up and pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket. “I’ll try to get in touch with Corbin, too.” Slowly, she began walking towards the admin area of the studio, leaving Rory and I alone to talk for the first time since Addison’s panicked call earlier that day.

  “Now that we’re not around a cop, what are your real thoughts on all of this?” Rory asked, poking me.

  “Carly isn’t a cop,” I protested. “Well, I mean, she is — but she’s on our side in all of this.”

  “How do we know that for sure? How closely have we ever really worked with her?”

  “Rory,” I scolded. “Didn’t she prove herself when Janet, Riley, Rachel and I went missing last year?” I was referring to my niece’s kidnapping. It had started out as a bit of a twisted prank that ultimately went awry when one of the biggest drug traffickers in Chicago became involved. That kingpin also happened to be my father’s ex-partner on the force. It had been the longest 72 hours of my life. I lightly touched my forehead, which had pretty much all but launched through the windshield of a car during the horrible ordeal. All that remained of the original wound, however, was a faded scar. The memories — those were alive and real. I still had the occasional night terror that Frank was out of prison and had me in his sights. I knew that if he was given the opportunity, he’d kill me, my family and anyone else who had been involved in his downfall. That included Carly, who it had come out later had been heavily involved in finding Frank’s hideout and, ultimately, us.

  “I know you’re right,” Rory admitted, dropping his head like a sad puppy. “Forget I said anything. I’m just worried. Plus, if we’re being honest here, orange is not Addison’s best color. I don’t even want to picture her in prison wear.”

  I smiled and took Rory’s hand. “We’re going to get her out of there. Her preliminary hearing will be held soon and a bail will be set eventually, too. We’ll post the money and keep Addie safe until we figure out what really happened.”

  “What really happened,” said Carly, stepping back into the room, “unfortunately sounds like a pretty open-and-shut case. I hate to be the one to say this but, if Addison didn’t kill Carmen, someone did one heck of a job framing her.”

  “She didn’t do it,” I insisted as Carly strode back into the room. Her eyes were bright with worry, the freckles on her forehead squeezing together tightly as her brow wrinkled.

  “This video proves otherwise,” she told me, thrusting her smartphone into my hand. “Also, I had to leave a message for Corbin.”

  A grainy, blueish video was paused on Carly’s phone. Warily, I pressed the play button. It began at normal speed but Carly leaned in to fast forward. According to the timestamp, the video began around 6am that morning. It was focused on the elevator in Carmen’s suite — the one and only entrance. The hotel staff, it seemed, was always stopped at the entrance by Carmen’s assistant, who took whatever was being dropped off. Food, towels and the like. Eventually, Carmen’s assistant left with her suitcase, likely to catch her flight out. Mika, James and I entered and left. Carmen herself left, came back, and then left again, presumably for her photo shoot. It appeared that she left once more, even though she hadn’t entered by way of the elevator. Carmen and Addison then walked into the suite together. They appeared somewhat angry with one another, their hand gestures all over the place. Carmen pointed to a spot off-camera and Addison disappeared but streaked through the lobby a few moments later towards the bedroom. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, Addison reentered the entry looking disheveled and covered in blood, holding what appeared to be a steak knife, before once again disappearing off screen. The next people to appear in the shot were the EMTs with a stretcher. They left quickly and were soon upstaged by police. The video stopped, then went fuzzy.

  “Oh, no,” I said, looking up at Carly and shaking my head. “How can this be? This makes her look guilty. Straight up, no question, guilty. But what about that one part where it looks like Carmen leaves but didn’t actually return?”

  Carly shrugged and shook her head as she reached for her phone. “Hotel security said the tape just skipped. Happens sometimes, he mentioned. The timestamp confirms it if you watch again, though it seems a little tight.” She frowned. “I have no idea. But ultimately, it looks pretty open-and-shut. Which means we need to get in touch with Corbin and find evidence to exonerate Addison fast. Otherwise…”

  She let the rest go unsaid. “Can you try him again?” I asked gently. “Request that favor, whatever it’s for?”

  “You don’t need to ask me twice,” she promised, walking back towards the admin wing.

  Once she was gone, Rory turned to me. “She was holding a knife,” he hissed, his eyes wild with fear and uncertainty. “Why the hell would Addison be holding a knife, covered in Carmen’s blood, if she wasn’t wielding it as a weapon?”

  “Calm down,” I whispered, gently rubbing his arm. “There are plenty of explanations. It could be as simple as being in a state of shock. Or maybe it was self-defense.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense! None of this makes any bloody sense! Wouldn’t you think we’d know by now if this was a case of bloody self-defense? Bugger.”

  “Hey!” I said, gently but firmly patting Rory on the cheek. “Focus.” His wild eyes stopped darting around the room and looked straight into my own. His breathing was labored. He was on the verge o
f hysteria. Rory rarely lost his cool. Matter of fact, I’d only ever seen him like this one other time, and it had been years ago. We’d been about two hours from our content deadline with our publishing house and the entire downtown metro, including our studio, lost power. What was more, our backup generator decided not to work. While it had been an awful, stressful night, this felt comparatively worse. “Snap out of it,” I scolded. “You’re no good to me hysterical.”

  “Good news,” Carly sang, breezing back into the room. She paused, seeing Rory’s pale, sweaty brow, my hand still glued to his cheek in an effort to break him out of his funk. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s a little worked up,” I said. Turning back to Rory and looking him dead in the eye, I added, “but he’ll be perfectly fine. Very helpful. Won’t you, Rory?”

  Swallowing, Rory only nodded. Standing, I turned to Carly. “What’s the good word?”

  She held up her phone and grinned. “I got in touch with Corbin’s assistant. Of course, Corbin already has a pulse on the developing story and he’s beyond thrilled that we’re interested in his involvement.”

  “Bloody buzzards are already circling,” Rory muttered behind me. I turned and shot him a warning look, but he frowned and looked away, petulant.

  “How much is his retainer?” I asked, bracing myself for the answer.

  “It doesn’t matter,” came a voice from the admin wing. “I’ll get it taken care of.” Just then, Mika stepped out from the shadows. “Hi there, Sugar,” he said, holding out his arms for me to run to.

  “Mika!” I breathed, moving quickly towards him. “What are you doing here?”

  “Well, Rory called me this afternoon and let me know what was going on. I tried to get into the hotel but it was swarming with reporters, and we don’t need this case getting any more convoluted by the presence of a private investigator, let alone one who is a friend of Addison, so I went home before they could catch me. I saw on the news some film of you and Rory squealing out of the parking lot, and I figured when I didn’t see the Suburban or Audi down by the station that you must have come here. Did you know that not one media person out front has figured out there’s a rear entrance?”

  “That’s what she said,” Rory muttered quietly. We all turned to him and stared. He was still kneeling on the floor, pale and sweaty, but was smiling wryly. “Should I not be joking right now?” Nervously, we all began to giggle.

  Once we’d let go of the tension that we’d been carrying with us all afternoon and evening, I turned to Mika. “Have you heard from James?”

  Mika shook his head but his eyes told me otherwise. I understood. Not here. I’d been so distracted by Addison’s arrest earlier that I hadn’t even noticed he’d gone missing from the lobby. I’d need to ask Rory when he’d disappeared. Mika turned to Carly. “Let me know how much money you need for Corbin. I’ll make sure you have a check before he gets to town.”

  “He’s already on his way,” Carly told us eagerly. “Or at least, he will be after he packs. This according to his assistant. But that’s not the best part.” We stared at her, waiting. Could there be some light in all of this, after all? “You guys, he’s going to help us pro bono,” she beamed.

  I began to laugh, slowly at first, but then it started to pour out of my throat faster and faster. I sounded hysterical but I couldn’t stop. Without warning, tears began to pour down my face. The tears were so thick I could barely see, but still I couldn’t stop laughing. “Pro bono,” I managed to gasp. “We have more money than the Queen of England at our disposal and the good news, the silver lining in all of this, is that Corbin is going to fight for Addison pro bono. It’s just- it’s- it’s- funny. Right?”

  The others began to chuckle, too, our laughter blending into a single roar that echoed off the cold concrete walls.

  “It’s so nice that you all think this is funny,” came a loud, angry voice.

  Our laughter cut short, we turned to see James standing, hands balled into fists, near the admin wing. He must have snuck in through the back entrance himself. “James,” I started, but he held up a hand and cut me off.

  “So this is it, then. We’ve chosen sides?” His face was partially hidden in shadow but I could still see the deep creases of anger that marred his handsome face.

  “James,” I said firmly, wiping the mirth from my cheeks. “Please.” I willed myself to not become defensive. When I did, it was difficult to make sense of anything I said or thought. I needed to stay on top of things this time. If I didn’t, I might divide our group even further. “This isn’t about sides. Addison didn’t do this. I know she didn’t.”

  “The videos I saw down at the station prove otherwise,” he growled, stepping fully into the light. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were rimmed in red, as though he’d been crying. Had Carmen really meant that much to him? My lungs struggled to retrieve air and I suddenly felt lightheaded. Did he care enough about Carmen to go after Addison for all of this? “Just because I’m a PI doesn’t mean I don’t have friends who are cops, Kitten. You aren’t the only one who knows people on the inside.” His voice was raw and thick with emotion.

  “That video doesn’t tell the whole story,” I countered, my equilibrium thrown off by how utterly ripped apart James seemed.

  “That’s funny, because I’m pretty sure the police would disagree.” He shook his head and let out a short laugh that sounded more like a bark. Turning to Mika, he whispered, “and you. I’d never have pegged you for the type to be brainwashed by a woman.”

  “Brainwashed?” I cried, beginning to stomp towards James. Rory sprang up and grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

  “This is an open and shut case,” James continued, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. “Addison was clearly jealous of Carmen. So jealous, in fact, that she got rid of her. Couldn’t even stand to be in Carmen’s shadow for a handful of minutes.” He sneered at us, disgusted by our willingness to defy his logic.

  “Listen to you!” I cried, astonished. I couldn’t believe that I had almost considered dating such an irrational man. “Talk about being brainwashed by a woman. I’m surprised you’re not choking on all of the crap Carmen was feeding you. Just because Carmen was attractive doesn’t mean everyone on the planet thought she was beautiful and overshadowing. In fact, Addison thought she was as ugly on the inside as I did.” My emotions were starting to get the better of me.

  James stepped towards me and I shook myself out of Rory’s grip and strode past Mika, practically barreling into James’s chest. We stared at one another, hardened and angry. “Well that’s what I like to call a motive,” James growled, his nostrils flaring, and his eyes growing dark and stormy in a way I’d never seen. “You may have self-restraint, Em, but that is one thing that Addison lacks. And it finally caught up with her.”

  “No self-restraint?” I bellowed. “That girl has gone up against crooked cops, rapists, drug lords and more low-lifes than you’ve ever dirtied your pretty boy hands with. She has nothing but self-restraint when it comes to dealing with intolerable people.”

  “Really?” James asked, his voice sharp. He reached behind him and pulled something out of his waistband. A manila envelope. “Open it,” he demanded, handing it to me. Glaring, I stepped back a few inches and ripped the envelope open. Inside were several copies of what appeared to be police reports. I looked up at him, confused, then turned to the others for explanation. “Those,” said James, swiping them out of my hands, “are the reports that have been filed against Addison over the last eight years she’s been a reporter. I’ll sum it up for you in three little words that any jury in their right mind would suck up like a sponge: ten assault charges.”

  I snapped the papers back and sped through them. After I finished, I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been aware of every single one. Addison might have lost her temper a few times but she’d never hidden it from me, which made me even more sure that she was telling the truth now. “These,” I said, shoving the papers back into James’s c
hest and taking him by surprise, “have all been dropped. Four were filed by the same cop, who, I might add, was busted for running an underground gambling ring just last summer. And the last one of those was filed nearly two years ago. You’re a detective but that’s some pretty shoddy work you’ve done today, Holden. I’m not saying she’s not guilty of clocking a few people, but it has only ever been well-deserved. Which is why the charges never stuck. She has been seeing a therapist for the last year. She’s changing.”

  “Obviously not fast enough,” James glowered, stuffing the reports back into the manila envelope. “She’s guilty. I’m going to get the best prosecutor in the city on this case and, when I do, Addison Dawes is going away for killing Carmen Suarez. Forever.”

  “You really are ridiculous,” Carly sneered behind me. “You know Addison. A hell of a lot better than you ever knew Carmen.”

  “I was never with Addison the way that I’ve been with Carmen,” James choked out. “I know Carmen. Knew. I knew her. Since we were kids.”

  Carly shook her head fiercely, causing the gold hoop bracelets on her wrist to jangle. “Not sleeping with Addison is exactly why you know her better. You knew her as a human. Not as some stupid conquest. Not as an innocent childhood friend.” James began to protest but Carly cut him off. “Save it.”