by Geonn Cannon
“Okay.” Dale shut off the tablet. “I was just thinking it would all tie neatly together, you know? Irwin’s fixer was working with the Creep Cousins and taking one down meant we could take them all down.”
Ari led Dale into the bedroom. “No, as far as I know, Zahn only met with Wilcox. He…” She stopped with her shirt half-unbuttoned. “He never went after Tiffany. And he never searched Wilcox’s office for the iPad or the video.”
Dale watched her. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking something dangerous.”
They took their shower and got into bed. Dale dozed off quickly, but Ari stayed awake thinking about the plan she’d come up with. It wasn’t just dangerous, it was foolhardy and ran a big chance of failure. It also involved destroying evidence. But if no charges had been brought for the crimes she was destroying evidence of, then what did it matter? Was it really a crime if the destruction resulted in something good for everyone involved?
Dale stirred. “Are you still up? Do you need to run?”
“No. Stay.” She guided Dale’s head back to her chest and played with her hair until she fell back to sleep. She would work out the finer details of her plan in the morning, and she could decide then if the reward was worth the risk.
#
The next day was spent making a flurry of phone calls. Ari had decided on the plan, risk be damned, but now she had to get all the players to agree. She was going to paint a target on an innocent woman’s back, and she wasn’t going to get lazy on the prep work. She had to hope that she was right about Zahn. From what she’d overheard, he wasn’t the sort of man to instantly resort to violence. If Wilcox’s blackmail attempt had been refused, the threats had to come directly from Irwin. Zahn had to be working under orders. That meant there was a chance he could be reasoned with under the right circumstances. She just had to make sure those circumstances were safe.
Tiffany was the first call she made. Ari was hoping she was still in California, but she’d gotten back two days earlier. She sheepishly admitted that she had been too afraid to leave her apartment for fear of running into the men who had almost attacked her. When Ari explained her plan, Tiffany eagerly agreed to help out.
“I asked you to get justice for Clark. I want to be involved in taking down the bastard. And maybe this will help me get over the anxiety of almost getting kidnapped by those muscle heads. Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it.”
“I promise you’ll be safe the entire time. I’m working on that part right now.”
“Let me know when you’re ready. I’ll be there.”
Ari’s next call was to the Flex gym, where she asked to speak to any of the Creep Cousins who might be present. After a few minutes of searching, the receptionist came back to the phone with Frank Pearl. She identified herself, quickly insisted that he hear her out, and explained what she had in mind.
“Why would we help you?”
“Because if you agree, I’ll delete every video I have of you and your pals buying drugs. There’s no case against you because Wilcox was happy to keep it quiet as long as the payments kept coming in. I’m willing to forget they ever existed. Besides, you owe it to Tiffany for trying to abduct her. The Murphy brothers will still be on the hook for that. Nothing I can do there. But I can take some of the pressure off on the steroids.”
Pearl thought for a long moment. “I have to talk to the other fellas,” he said finally, “but I think they would agree to that. And then we’re done? No more blackmail?”
“I don’t work that way,” Ari promised. “I’ll delete the videos in front of you if that’s what you want. But after this is all said and done.”
“Let me talk to the guys.”
“Get back to me by this afternoon or the offer goes away.”
He called back in twenty minutes. The rest of the Creep Cousins were in. Ari told them to clear their calendar for the next forty-eight hours, and she would be in touch with the rest of the details. Dale was watching from the door after patching the call through to Ari’s phone. When she hung up, they looked at each other.
“So,” Dale said. “We’re working with a bunch of meathead assholes and using an innocent girl as bait for a guy who might be a killer.”
“I don’t like it any more than you do,” Ari said. “Trust me, if I thought there was a better way…”
“There’s not,” Dale said. “Because I know you. I know if there was a better way, you’d find it. Just let me know what you need from me.”
Ari said, “I will. Thank you.”
Dale went back to her desk. Ari picked up the card that had been propped against her computer all morning, the final piece of her house of cards. She thumped it against her finger and then dialed the number underneath Leonard Zahn’s name.
It only rang once before he answered with a terse, “Zahn.”
When Ari spoke, she lowered her voice and added an inflection to every word. It wasn’t meant to be a true accent, but rather an obvious attempt to disguise her voice. “Mr. Zahn. I have information that may be of interest to a client of yours. A video which has gone missing. A very incriminating video that could sway the results of an election. Do you know of what I speak?”
“I think I do.”
She suddenly wished she had positioned herself as the target. It would’ve been just as easy, and it would have kept Tiffany at arm’s length.
“The PI’s secretary has it at her home. It’s on a flash drive. She’s talking about justice, making sure a bad man pays. I think you should hurry if you want to make sure the video never sees the light of day. Get the flash drive tonight or see your client’s face on the news tomorrow.”
“Who is this?”
Ari hung up. Dale had put a blocker on her phone that would hopefully keep Zahn from tracking it, but she was still uncertain about trusting it. Still, it was done. She made the same round of calls and got everyone in position. When she was finished, she turned off her computer and left her office. Dale was waiting with her coat.
“You ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She kissed Dale, holding her tight and letting the kiss go on longer than necessary before letting her go. “And you know where you’re supposed to be tonight.”
“Spending the night with Diana and Lucy in their guest room.”
“Good girl.” She kissed Dale’s forehead. “Wish me luck.”
Dale said, “What do you need luck for? You’re just taunting a known criminal who is willing to use violence to get what he wants and relying on a bunch of drug users who have also threatened you to serve as protection. But I know something they don’t know.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re going against Ariadne Willow. If anyone needs luck, it’ll be them. And I refuse to waste my luck on those goons.”
Ari smiled. “Atta girl.”
She put on her jacket, checked to make sure she had everything, and then kissed Dale goodbye. When Ari was at the door, Dale said, “Hey.”
“Yeah.”
“Good luck. Just in case.”
Ari smiled and winked as she left.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tiffany Knight lived a few blocks away from the university in a house she shared with three other students. Two of them were already out of town for Christmas, while the other was convinced to stay at his boyfriend’s house for the evening. There were three Creep Cousins helping her out with the plan. Tommy Carrow was watching Wilcox’s office in case Zahn went there first. Kevin Forrester and Frank Pearl were inside the house with Tiffany. One was watching the backyard and would alert the others if he spotted anything unusual in the alley. Ari was parked at the end of her block where she could see the front porch. Ari thought they had every angle well-covered. She was proud of the set-up, and confident that no matter what Zahn did, they would be prepared.
She was understandable miffed when, twenty minutes after everyone was in position, Zahn arrived and parked two spaces ahead of her.
/> It wasn’t yet dark, so she was concerned he might notice someone else staking out the same piece of property. She got out of the car and walked around the block out of sight. The homes on this block had concrete retaining walls around the front yards, most of them defaced with graffiti, and she sat down on one to group-text everyone the new development. “LZ outside house now. Stakeout.” Once the message was sent, she stood and moved to where she could see Zahn.
The first reply was from Dale: “He might have realized it was a trap.”
From Carrow: “Should I relocate?”
Ari responded to Carrow that he should move closer, just in case they needed backup, but she didn’t want Zahn to witness any musclebound bodyguards going into the house. She texted Tiffany that she should go out and check the mail if she felt comfortable doing so. “I just want to make sure he knows you’re home. If he makes a move to grab you, I’ll be there.”
Tiffany responded, “My guardian angle.” She then sent “Angel*” and Ari smiled. A few minutes later Tiffany came outside and walked to the curb. She opened the mailbox, peered inside, and looked down the street as if searching for the mailman. She looked away from where Zahn was waiting, but he still had to have gotten a good look at her face. He stayed where he was, head slowly turning as he scanned up and down the street. He was using his mirrors to examine the cars behind him. She felt confident Dale’s theory was correct; he smelled a trap and was making certain before he made a move.
“Everyone stay put,” she texted. “Guys in the house, stay out of sight.”
Night came slowly, with subtle shifts in the color of the sky, and then all at once. When the shadows spread across the sidewalk, Ari felt comfortable inching closer to Zahn’s car. The flow of traffic on the interstate just outside the neighborhood provided a constant hum of white noise. There were enough trees and overgrown bushes to keep her out of sight if she moved carefully. She could still see him behind the wheel, but now his attention seemed completely focused on Tiffany’s house. One of the second story windows had a light on, but the house was otherwise dark. Ari held her phone against her chest to block the light and sent another group text.
“Tiffany: turn off lights and take cover. KF & FP, front and back doors.”
The light went off a few seconds later. Zahn remained where he was. Ari knew she would have to be patient, but it was killing her to just sit and wait for him to make a move. How cautious could he be? Finally, after twenty minutes, he opened his door and stepped out of the car. He had disabled the overhead light so it wouldn’t automatically snap on. Ari lowered the brightness on her phone as Zahn started across the street. When he was on the front steps leading to the porch, she dialed 911. She gave the address as soon as the operator answered.
“I’m watching a guy break into the house right now. He’s on the porch checking the windows. Hurry, I think there’s a girl staying alone in there.”
She hung up as the operator was asking her for a name. Zahn had moved in front of the door by that point, knowing that the quickest way to avoid suspicion was to look like he belonged. No sneaking around the back, just a brazen approach and a quick-as-you-can picking of the locks. Ari texted “Front door” without looking and hurried across the street. Zahn got the door open. She cut over the lawn as she heard the first blows landing, a grapple in the dark between Zahn and whichever Creep Cousin was watching the front door.
“Son of a bitch!” Zahn grunted. The front door, still standing open, was illuminated by the flash of a gun going off. Someone cried out as Ari leapt to the porch. Zahn rushed out the door so fast he didn’t see Ari. They collided hard enough that they both came to a complete stop, but then Zahn’s superior weight and speed threw Ari backward. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down with her, not counting on the fact he would crush the air out of her when they landed hard on the front walk.
The only bright side was that Zahn had dropped his gun in the fall and didn’t seem eager to find it. He sat up and punched Ari hard in the face. She’d been in fights before, she’d even been hit before, but she was still unprepared for how much it hurt. Her head was knocked to the side and, when it swung back forward, Zahn punched her again with equal force. Her mind was rattled as her brain flooded with pain alarms. Her back ached, her jaw was sore, and even as she was cataloguing all the ways she was hurt, he punched her again.
She could feel herself starting to black out. Another punch would likely shut her down. So instead of accepting her defeat, she surrendered her consciousness and brought the wolf to the forefront of her mind. Suddenly she was a wild animal, a fighter that had been pinned by someone trying to show dominance. The wolf would not abide that.
Ari’s eyes flashed up and she brought up both arms. She crossed them at the wrist and shoved them up into Zahn’s throat hard enough to make him choke. If she’d been in wolf form, it would have been a bite and he wouldn’t have gotten up from it. As it was, he gagged and stopped himself mid-punch to grab his throat. His weight shifted and Ari let out a roar as she flipped him off of her. She rolled on top of him, put her forearm on his neck, and bore down with as much weight as she could.
“What the hell are you doing?” One of the Creep Cousins grabbed Ari under the arms and physically lifted her off Zahn. She snarled and kicked her legs as she was roughly dumped onto the grass, still itching for a fight. The Cousin crouched down next to Zahn and hit him square in the jaw. Zahn’s body went limp. He stood up and went to Ari. “You said we needed him alive.”
She wasn’t sure if her ears were ringing or if the police had just pulled onto the block. She turned and saw the strobing lights of a squad car approaching.
“I got a little out of control.”
He cupped her face and forced her to look at him. “No concussion, I think. You might need a doctor. Your eyes look… weird.”
She swatted his hands away. She’d partially transformed, let the wolf in without actually changing shape, so there might have been some residual gold in her irises. She would play it off as a trick of the light if anyone asked.
“I’m fine. What happened in there? Who got shot?”
“Frank got grazed. He was the one by the front door.”
Ari said, “That makes you…”
“Kevin.”
“Right. Kevin. I know. I just… it’s not a concussion, it’s just hard to keep track of all your names.” The police had gotten out of their car, and Ari held her hands out. “I’m Ariadne Willow. I’m a private investigator. I’m the one who called you.” The nearest officer asked for some identification. She handed it over. “The man on the ground is Leonard Zahn. My friends Kevin Forrester and Frank Pearl were inside, and they chased him back out. That’s where he literally ran into me and assaulted me.”
The other officer aimed his flashlight at the fallen man. “That is Zahn. This is going to be a fun night of paperwork.”
Ari said, “Could you do me a favor and let him stew until morning? There’s one more person I want to bring in, and I should probably wait until a reasonable hour to call.”
“He’ll be pissed.”
“We’re going to want him pissed. Trust me.”
She let the cops deal with their unconscious prisoner and went into the house. Frank was sitting in the front hallway with his back to the wall, legs splayed out in a V in front of him. His left sleeve was cut open and Tiffany was using a first-aid kit on what looked to be a very minor scrape.
“Everyone okay in here?”
“I got shot!” Frank howled.
Tiffany said, “Frank. Stop it.”
“Well, I did.”
She glared at him. “You got shot protecting me. And I’m very grateful, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear you whining about it. It looks so much more macho if you just suck it up.”
He grimaced and rested his head against the wall.
“You were extremely brave,” Tiffany said as she bandaged the wound. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t here to p
rotect me. You were my hero tonight, Frank Pearl.”
Frank mumbled something and looked everywhere but at her. Ari was stunned to realize they were flirting and, unsure of what to make of that, decided to ignore it completely.
“So, uh. The police are here. They’re probably going to want your statements. You both know what to say.” They both nodded. “I need some ice. Can I get some ice?”
“Of course. The kitchen is through there.”
Ari thanked her and went to retrieve it. She filled a dishtowel with cubes and pressed it gently against her jaw. Hopefully she could control the swelling. She leaned against the counter and took out her phone to text Dale. She thought about lying, but Dale would see the bruise and-or black eye soon enough, so there really was no point.
“It’s done. A little roughed up, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”
Dale responded, “TLC, coming right up.”
Ari smiled and hissed at the pain in her cheek. She decided she might need more than ice and went to ask Tiffany if she had any aspirin.
#
By morning, Ari was sporting a beautiful black eye, a bruise that made her look as if she was wearing half a raccoon mask. Dale had applied makeup to help minimize its appearance, but they eventually decided she was just going to have to wear it as a badge of honor for the fight she’d won. For her part, Dale had taken news of the attack well. She gave Ari an in-depth massage to help soothe the pain in her back from falling onto the concrete. And if she happened to hold her a little tighter when they finally went to bed, Ari wasn’t about to complain. She had to wake up early, when the sun was still below the horizon, and she slipped out from under Dale’s arm without waking her.
Once she was dressed, she bent over the bed and whispered Dale’s name against the shell of her ear. Dale whimpered and rolled over, reaching up blindly to touch Ari’s cheek.