She was wheeled out of the building while the front desk was apparently unoccupied. The exterior cameras next picked her up being loaded into a van, then the hoodie driving them off. Only the first three letters of the license plate could be seen.
She looked at the manager, who was standing behind her, riveted by this spectacle.
“And no one saw this?” Clarisse said. “Do you have no one who actually watches this stuff? And no one thought to show the police this while they were here? They didn’t ask if there was footage? Is this a joke or what?”
“I... I don’t know what to say. We’re a little short on personnel. And we never really saw the need for security. We thought the cameras were enough. And who would want to hurt any of our dear, sweet residents?”
“You do realize that I could end up owning this place, right? And if I do, I sure as hell won’t be requiring your services.”
The woman swayed on her feet. “We can get the police back in here and show them the footage.”
Clarisse had already leapt ahead and thought this through. No police. She would handle this on her own. “I’ll make a deal with you. Say nothing to the cops and I won’t file a lawsuit against you and this place.”
“But—”
“It wasn’t really a request.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Now I need to transfer that video file to my computer, and then I want you to get out of my face. I don’t want to see you ever again.”
After the file was delivered, she returned to her mother’s room, sat down in the chair, rubbed her temples, and shut her eyes.
Hoodie and white van stealing her mother away. Not good in so many ways.
My defenses have been pierced.
She was sure the van was already abandoned and the hoodie abductor was long gone with their hostage, for that was what her mother had become. They hadn’t realized her mother was missing until her meds were due. That was five hours after she had been rolled out of the place. Wheels up on a private jet, she could be in another country now. Just being driven somewhere, she could already be in any number of states.
And what am I going to do about that? Because I’m not sure who it is, though I have my suspicions, strong ones. But the worst part is, I’m apparently no longer anonymous, when that’s all I’ve ever wanted to be.
This was a race, a competition of sorts. That was why she had brought Gibson in. And it was the first time Clarisse thought that she might lose.
And now I have somewhere else to be.
It wasn’t connected to this, but it was connected to something else important. The most important of all.
My survival. Because I’ve damn well earned the right to keep on living.
Chapter 26
“Thank you for meeting me on a Sunday, Phillip,” Clarisse said, though that was not the name she was using today. She and Phillip Crandall were in the lobby of a building in North Carolina. She had just let him in and was escorting him to the elevators. They got on using her security card.
Crandall looked wealthy and was. But he was also too arrogant for his own good. He’d always wanted to be a player, a big-deal investor when he had neither the brains nor the discipline to be one. Which made him perfect for her.
She was not blond for this encounter. Her hair was a demure but professional-looking brown. She had on tinted specs and blue contact lenses. Her dress was businesslike, with a measure of underwire-bra-aided cleavage. It had always amazed her how little it took to completely gain dominance over a man. Their dicks were their Achilles’ heels. And Crandall was not only arrogant, he was also a pig.
She liked pigs. All they cared about was eating, rolling around in the mud, doing whatever they pleased, and feeling like the boss of all bosses.
And then they were killed and eaten by others.
“Well, I wanted to see your operation for myself. You know, kick the tires now that we’re going to be partners.”
“I think you’ll be impressed with what you see.”
“I already like what I see,” he replied, giving her the eye.
They laughed at his wit.
He was dressed in a dark blue blazer and khaki slacks with an Untuckit shirt to look hipper and younger than his fiftysomething age. A pocket square completed the package. She could tell he was so impressed with himself. Just like he had looked when he’d climbed out of the Aston Martin two-door after he’d pulled up in front of the building.
“Wow, you don’t see many Aston Martins around here,” she said, smiling adoringly from the other side of the elevator car.
He smiled right back. “One thing you’ll learn about me, I don’t like to have the same toys as all the other guys.”
She applauded him with her eyes. “I like your style.”
He ran his gaze over her again, his intentions as clear as the elevator buttons. “And I like yours.”
He was married, but unhappily, he had told her. Which meant, of course, that he wanted to screw her. She had let him think that was a real possibility because that’s just what you did with a guy you were trying to screw, but in a completely different way.
He had told her over drinks that he read people really well and trusted his instincts. “That’s how I made my fortune.”
“Brilliant,” she had said. She was actually referring to Crandall’s father, Richard, who had made a fortune in real estate.
This Crandall had taken a $250 million inheritance, and over twenty years managed to lose $50 million of it by investing in stupid deals that never rose above the scam level.
If he’d just put his inheritance in the stock market back then he’d probably be a billionaire by now.
They got to the fifth floor and she led him down the hall to a double office door with a sign proclaiming it to be the home of LASER FOCUS, Inc.
She opened the door with her key card and led him inside. The lobby was spacious; the firm’s name, on a much larger sign, was behind the receptionist’s desk.
“Nothing fancy but we’re not into that. All our money goes into product and people. And the branding push will come next. Of course no one is in today.”
“I’ve been to your website. Very impressive.”
“Thanks. It’s a very different world than the one I had at IBM.”
“Yes, IBM. A great company but maybe a little bit of a dinosaur now,” he said.
“Wow. You are so up-to-date on everything,” she said. “We’re lucky to have you as an early investor.”
“I keep my nose to the ground.” His gaze drifted over her legs. “Look, maybe we can have dinner and drinks later.”
“I can do it on Wednesday, if that works. I’m off on a business trip to Montreal early tomorrow. We’re trying to go full bore in Canada right now.”
“I’d like that. I know a place.”
“I knew you would. In fact, we can celebrate your investment in Laser Focus. But I have to warn you, I’m not much of a drinker.”
“Then I’ll order a case of red for our table.”
They both laughed.
“Now to business.” She led him into a conference room where she had set up a slide deck on a laptop. “We’ve already been over pretty much all of this but I wanted you to see it again, in a more comprehensive way.”
They sat down, inches apart.
He touched her arm. “I appreciate the private showing.”
Stranger danger, stranger danger.
“And let’s appreciate that this is strictly business, as I owe my partners a fiduciary duty.” She touched his hand. “But there’s always Wednesday.”