She nodded. Since she had no other choice.
“Chryssie, I like you. Really I do. You haven’t had it easy and yet you’ve worked your way through college. I respect that and I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t have you telling people about what you saw my idiot cousin do.”
“I won’t. I promise. If you let me go, I’ll find a job far away from here and leave. You’ll never have to see me again.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Thanks to Roman, the police know you’re involved so you can’t just run away. You’ll have to turn yourself in, confess, and face the consequences.”
“But I didn’t do anything. I have nothing to confess.”
“See, this is what I mean. Stop thinking about you and look at the bigger picture. All you have to do is tell them that the man attacked you when you left the bar. That you had no choice but to shoot him.”
He was kidding, right? Marv couldn’t really believe she’d confess to murder. “Then I’ll go to jail.”
“That’s possible, but it’s also possible they’ll believe you. And if they do, chances are good that you won’t even be charged. He was a known thug so it’s quite believable that it happened just the way I described.”
“But it didn’t.”
“But if it did, it would be justifiable. It’d be self-defense. And even if you have to do some jail time, it won’t be much.”
“I won’t do it.”
“I don’t want to hurt you. If you listen to me, then life can get back to normal—for you and for me.” He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Besides you need to think about your sister.” His sinister tone and expression terrified her. In that moment she knew he would hurt Gabriella.
“I’ll do what you want.”
Marv stared into her eyes.
She looked away.
“Chryssie, Chryssie, Chryssie. Your words say yes, but your eyes say no. I don’t think I can trust you.”
“You can trust me. I promise.”
“In spite of all you’ve been through, you’re still an idealist. You believe in right and wrong, and that’s dangerous. Too dangerous for me to take a chance.” He pointed at Stan. “Go get the new guy. He’s upstairs.”
Stan walked out of the room.
“Marv. I’ll do what you want. I promise.”
“Probably not. So I’m resorting to plan B. I wanted you to be reasonable. But…so be it.”
Stan walked back in.
Marv looked past Stan. “You ready to prove that you have what it takes to be a part of this wonderful business organization?”
A mumbled yes followed. The other man walked around Stan.
Zack—Good Samaritan. Zack—Christian. Zack—the guy she thought was her friend. Of course, she’d thought that about Marv, too. Lies. All lies. But she’d really thought Zack was sincere all those times he’d tried to talk with her about God and Jesus and all that love junk.
His gaze met hers.
“Liar.” She spat out the word.
“OK, Zack. You take care of our Glitter problem and then you’re in. I’m leaving.”
Zack’s eyes widened. “Glitter? Are you telling me this is Glitter?”
“That’s what I’m telling you. Glitter likes to play dress up at the bar.”
“I see that. What do you want me to do with her?”
“Kill her.”
“Yeah, I know that, but what should I do after that?”
“Stan will help you get rid of the body. Make sure they never find her.”
“I’m not a body,” Chryssie screamed. “How can you do this to me, Zack? I thought you cared about me.”
Zack smiled—a lion’s snarl just before pouncing.
The other goon squeezed her arms once again. Pain shot up to her shoulders
Zack stepped forward. He lifted the gun and aimed it at her.
This was it. Her life would be over before she could soar above the ugly stuff. Maybe her sister would make it. Please, God, let Gabriella have a good life.
“Stop, Zack,” Marv’s voice commanded.
“You don’t want me to shoot her?”
“Not now—maybe later. But I needed you to prove that you would.” He turned back to Chryssie. “Just kidding. Everybody out. I need to talk with her—alone.”
“Not a good idea. Just kill her. She’s trouble, I’m telling you.” Stan glared.
Marv turned to Stan. “Did someone make you the boss while I wasn’t looking?”
“I’m just saying. She’s trouble. Kill her now before you regret it.”
“Let me worry about that. Now out.”
The men filed out of the room.
Marv smiled. “You know what? I actually believe you’d do anything for your sister.”
10
“I am thinking of her. If I go to jail, they’ll never let me have custody of Gabriella.” Chryssie’s stomach twisted even as her mind refused to accept her worst fear.
“It’s time you stop thinking of yourself and think about your sister. I know you want the best for her.” Marv stared at Chryssie. “If you don’t do exactly what I tell you to do, something bad could happen to her. I’m sure you don’t want that.”
Her stomach flip-flopped.
“But if you do this, I’ll make sure you get custody after this is all over. And there’ll be some money in it for you as well. So you and your sister can make a fresh start. It will be a win-win situation for both of us.”
She couldn’t let him hurt Gabriella. “What do you want from me?”
“Very simple, really. Like I said, you’ll tell the police you shot him. But you had no choice because he was attacking you. It was clearly a case of self-defense.”
“Confess to murder? A murder I didn’t do. Are you nuts? I won’t do it.”
“We wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to Gabriella now would we?”
“You can’t hurt her.”
“Really? Is that what you think? I didn’t want her to get involved in this mess you managed to make for yourself, so…so I have her tucked away in a safe place.”
“You don’t have my sister…” Chryssie’s voice trembled and faded as deep terror almost buckled her knees.
“Don’t worry. She’ll be safe as long as you do what I say. And as soon as you take care of this situation.”
“I don’t believe you have her.” Logic kicked in. Gabriella was in someone’s care 24/7. Even she didn’t know where her little sister lived. “It’s not true. You’re bluffing.”
“I don’t bluff.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Someone loyal to me is taking care of her. They’ve had her for a while now.” He held the phone up. A picture of Gabriella smiled back at her.
She stared in horror as her mind sifted through the possibilities. “Anybody could get a picture of her if they really wanted to. It doesn’t mean a thing.”
“Really? I’m hurt that you don’t believe me.” He unfolded a piece of paper. “Let’s see. You visited her last week from two to four on Saturday at an ice cream parlor. The week before, same time at a pizza place. The week before that, you managed a weekday visit on Wednesday at the playground at her school.”
Time to face the facts. Confess to murder or he would hurt Gabriella. She had no choice—even if it meant the end of her dreams. Her new life would be filled with lies. But she’d be alive. She’d be able to help Gabriella have a better life. “I’ll do what you want.”
“I thought you’d see things my way.” He patted her arm. “I told you I didn’t want to hurt you. Or your sister. Everything will work out just fine. For both of us.”
She twisted away from him.
“No reason to be like that, Chryssie. Chances are it will be ruled as justified, and you probably won’t even have to go to trial. Let’s just go over a few details so you don’t mess this up.”
She repeated his instructions until she almost believed them.
“Good. You’re ready. Once you get there and are in custody, you call me. Y
our kind and wonderful boss will come to your rescue. I’ll get you a lawyer and we’ll just have to see how this plays out. And not one word to anyone about Gabriella. That’s our little secret. If I hear you were talking about her, you’ll be sorry. Or maybe I should say, she’ll be sorry.”
“I want to talk with Gabriella.”
“Sorry. No can do. For now.” He walked to the door. “Maybe later. But don’t worry, she’s fine. Actually, she’s probably having the time of her life. I give you my word.”
“Like your word means anything.” She glared at him. She couldn’t believe she’d ever trusted him so much that she’d gone to him for help.
He smiled back at her. “It should. Now that you’re working for me, life will get much better. You’ll have plenty of money for you and Gabriella. You won’t even need to take a nursing job if you don’t want to. Just keep working at the bar and doing a few things for me now and then.”
“I don’t think so. As of now, I resign. I’ll do what you want, but I’m done with you after that.”
“I don’t see that happening, but we can talk about it later. You’ll be able to give your little sister a wonderful life.”
A wonderful life didn’t include a false confession, probably going to prison, and then living a lie for the rest of her life. The murder only happened a few days ago. How could he have gotten control of Gabriella so soon? It hadn’t just happened. “You’ve always planned to force me to work for you, didn’t you? You were just waiting for me to finish school.”
“It never hurts to have a health care professional around in my line of business.” He opened the door.
Stan, Zack, and the other goon stood outside waiting for orders.
Seeing Zack brought back all the shock and pain. She’d really believed he cared about her. Chryssie’s heart broke in to so many pieces she wasn’t sure it’d ever be whole again.
“OK, Zack, you’re up. You drive our little Glitter to the station and accompany her inside for as long as possible.”
Zack didn’t even glance her way. “What do you want me to say?”
“The truth. Or at least a version of it. You know her from the bar, she came to you because she was in trouble. You brought her in. If they won’t let her call me, you make a show of calling for a lawyer. Think you can handle that?”
“Not a problem.” Zack turned to her. “Let’s go, Glitter, Chryssie, or whoever you are.”
“Don’t even say my name.” She hissed through clenched teeth as she walked past him.
Chryssie turned away from Zack in the car and stared out the car window. Her life crumbled a little bit more with each passing block.
“Everything will work out. Just wait and see.” He touched her arm.
As she pulled her arm away, she scooted closer to the car door.
The goon in the backseat laughed. “Don’t bother talking to this one, Zack boy. She’s not reasonable at all.”
Zack slowed as he approached a red light.
She could jump out. Make a run for it. She could, but she knew she wouldn’t be going anywhere. Except to prison. No way would she risk Gabriella’s life. If she could just talk to her sister for a minute. Make sure she was OK. “I need to make a phone call.”
From his place in the backseat, Stan flicked her on the head. “Not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because the boss said so.” Another flick.
She turned to the man who had betrayed her. “Zack, please let me make a phone call.”
Stan mimicked her words.
She lowered her voice. “If…if we were friends at all, if I ever meant anything to you, let me make that call. Please.” She’d use any means necessary to protect Gabriella.
Zack looked at her. Something in his eyes seemed to beg for her understanding. That wasn’t going to happen, but she’d be nice to him if it meant she could get a message to Gabriella.
“You mean a lot to me but…” He shook his head, his thumb pointing back at Stan in the back seat.
So much for that idea.
Stan flicked her head once more. “Who do you want to call anyway? The boss is the only one who can help you.”
Zack pulled into the parking lot of the police station.
Police officers rushed in and out of the building, looking busy. Some in uniforms, others in suits. Chryssie’s palms began to sweat. Tears formed, but she turned away. How could she have been so wrong about Zack?
“Hey, Stan. I think you ought to be the one to go in with her.”
“No way. The boss told you to do it.”
Surely, Zack wouldn’t make Marv mad by not following orders.
“I know but…but the truth is I don’t like police stations.”
“Who does?” Stan laughed.
“They make me nervous.”
“You got a warrant out on you or something?” Stan’s voice turned suspicious.
“Something like that. It’d be a lot better if you go in, not me.”
“Sorry. The boss doesn’t say things he don’t mean. If you want to change the plan, call him. I got my own orders to follow.”
“Forget it.” Zack snapped. He looked over at her. “Let’s go.”
Chryssie stepped out and marched toward the building.
Zack grabbed her arm and held on tight.
“Don’t worry. I won’t run away.”
“You need to trust me, Chryssie.”
“That’s the last thing I’ll ever do.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“As if you didn’t know.”
“I don’t. Did you really—”
“Doesn’t matter what I did or didn’t do, thanks to your boss.” She jerked her arm away, and he let go. “Don’t even pretend you care about me. I can’t believe I trusted you. You are such a liar and a fake.”
He opened the door. “You don’t know anything about me. I can’t—”
“Don’t talk to me.” She brushed by him as she walked into the police station. Her last few seconds of freedom. Maybe forever.
He caught up with her. “Trust m—”
“Not in a million years. Unless you let me use your phone now?”
“Probably not a good idea.”
“Yeah, thanks for nothing.” She turned her back on Zack and marched up to the desk.
A harried-looking female officer walked over. “Can I help you?”
“I’m here to turn myself in.”
11
Chryssie sat in a cubicle room picking at a hang nail. A small table and three chairs were crowded around, leaving little space to walk. Her gaze landed on the double-sided mirror. Someone was probably watching her. She knocked on the glass. “Can you come in here so I can get this over with?”
A moment later the door opened. The same woman who’d come to her class. She was older than Chryssie, probably in her early forties. Her brown hair was short, but the curls made it more feminine. She looked down at the paper in her hand, then at Chryssie.
“No wonder I couldn’t find you.” She turned the paper toward Chryssie. Her driver’s license picture stared back in full Glitter mode. “What’s with this getup? I wouldn’t have recognized you if I’d walked right past you.”
“You did walk right past me. At the college yesterday. You actually showed me that picture.”
“Mmm. So I was told. Your prof said you’d just finished your exam when I walked in. I looked around the campus, but you seemed to have disappeared.” She held out her hand. “Annie Dargols. I’m the detective assigned to this case.”
Chryssie shook her hand.
Annie sat down in the chair. “Are you ready to tell me what happened?”
“I guess. Where should I start?”
“Anywhere you want is fine by me.”
“I was walking—”
Someone knocked on the door.
Annie leaned over and opened the door.
“Her lawyer’s here.” A disembodied voice said from the hall.
<
br /> “She hasn’t asked for one.”
“Don’t know anything about that, but here’s the lawyer.”
A tall man walked in. His suit was impressive and his demeanor even more so. He walked to Annie with an outreached hand. “Sam Carson.” He turned to her. “And you must be Chryssie Mason?”
She nodded. At least Marv had kept his word about hiring a lawyer.
He sat in the remaining chair, put his briefcase on the table, and pulled out a yellow legal pad. “What’s your full name, Chryssie?”
“Chrysalis Mason.”
“An unusual name.”
“Chrysalis is another name for a butterfly cocoon.” She wondered if there was a reverse word for metamorphosis—instead of becoming a butterfly, she was returning to her worm life. Or worse.
“Oh, very nice. How do you spell that?”
Annie stood up. “I guess you’ll need some time with your client.”
“Not at all. My client’s done nothing wrong. Therefore; we don’t need time to concoct a story. The truth will do just fine. Once you hear it, I’m sure you’ll agree that it was self-defense and we can be done with this unpleasant matter.” He turned toward Chryssie with a reassuring smile.
Did he know the truth? Or had Marv hired a legitimate lawyer who had no idea of the fraud she was about to perpetrate? If he knew the truth, then this guy was as bad as Marv. But what did that say about her? She was confessing to a murder she didn’t commit.
“Fine by me. Let’s do this.” Annie sat back down.
“I’d just closed up the bar and was walking to my car.”
The lawyer scribbled furiously on his notepad.
Annie seemed to listen intently, nodding every now and then to encourage Chryssie to keep talking. Chryssie told the story Marv concocted.
“Well, that’s about it. That’s what happened.” Chryssie was glad they couldn’t see the perspiration sliding down her back.
The lawyer looked up from his notes with a smile. “That should just about take care of the problem, don’t you think? It was a clear case of self-defense.” He stood up. “Come on, Chrysalis. Time for you to go home.”
She stood up.
“Not so fast. I have a few questions.” Annie smiled.
Chryssie sat back down.
The smile left the lawyer’s face as he did the same.
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