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+10 Point:
Bradley resumed his place in the driver’s seat as I sat myself back in the front passanger seat since Victor and Jenna had changed their seating arrangement. We sat there, the vehicle unmoving as the three of them looked at me, wondering why I let Adam off so easily.
Finally, Jenna blurted out, “What the hell, Anna! Why would you reward him for his s**t behavior? What are you thinking?”
I shook my head, a slight smirk on my face. “Tsk, tsk, tsk.” I replied, holding up my own phone. “I’m a better actress than I thought I was if you all believed I’d let him get away with everything he’s done. Victor,” I directed a question to him. “You’re in security, what’s the first rule when dealing with a bad guy looking to excuse his behavior and cut a deal?”
“Gain his trust and let him think he has the upper hand,” his response was automatic.
I hit the play button on the recorded conversation. Adam’s voice was clear as he basically outed himself and the other three vipers. Their faces lit up with understanding. “To boot, what was the first thing Adam did when he got out of our vehicle and was introduced to Sean?”
Again the three of them looked at me, puzzled. I pointed to the dash cam and they saw the tiny red light indicating it was recording. “This is a Graystone Security unit that records everything both inside and outside the vehicle. Meaning we also have a video recording of Adam’s little confession. It also recorded him willingly giving his cell phone to Sean. Listen to
this.”
I played back the footage of that interaction with the audio being picked up by the audio recording device installed in the side mirrors. “Keep it, do what you want with it. I don’t want it.” The camera picked up the sly upward twitch of Sean’s mouth, knowing we had everything we needed to fully prove Adam’s full and willing involvement in the vipers plot.
“Now keep in mind, Adam’s phone will have his text history, his messanger history, his email history all waiting for the IT techs at Graystone Security to delve into. He won’t have a secret left to uncover by the time IT is through. We’ll also have every attempt at contact with him
made by Fiona, Alan, and Lydia.”
Surveying the stunned expression on their faces I burst out laughing. “Pick your jaws up off the floor and let’s go see Spencer. I have a house sale to close on, and I am now starving. Trust me, you don’t want to see me get hangry!”
Bradley started the car, put it in gear and pulled out into traffic before speaking. “I have to know, where are they taking Adam after he packs his stuff? I can’t believe your putting him up
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in a hotel. Not after everything you told us.”
“Mmmm, you’re right. No hotel for Adam. Graystone Security maintains a couple of safe houses that are as hard to get out of as to get into. Adam will be put in one of them with a full security team. Sean’s already notified our police liasion of this. Those two will work together to make a case against Adam, and the other three. It may take a while, but Adam isn’t going anywhere. Sean and the team will string him along for as long as it takes to build an airtight
case against them.”
Jenna was the only one not fully surprised by these revelations. She had been my friend long enough to have gleaned a certain amout of knowledge not generally known.
“So, Sean Cummings? Where did he learn his skills? It’s not like it’s taught in a university class,” Victor questioned.
“Sean is former Military Intelligence. He’s worked with some of the best, and in my opinion, he is the best. Grandfather recruited him to work for Graystone Security a decade ago.” A small
smile flitted arross my face at a memory. “At one time I thought he would become my
stepfather as he and my mom were constantly together when I moved back to Halifax for
university. Let me tell you, noise cancelling headphones became a must!”
Jenna and I burst into laughter at the look on Bradley and Victor’s faces as they realized what
I was implying. “Don’t look so shocked guys. Mom would only have been forty–three when I
moved here for uni. She was a gorgeous, vibrant woman. I certainly didn’t expect her to live
like a nun. I was happy that she had someone in her life. Sean would have been an amazing
stepfather. I still consider him a parental figure and often go to him for advice.”
We rode in silence the rest of the way to Tony’s office. I am sure we were all processing
everything that had happened this morning, everything we had heard. I know I certainly was.
Then a stray thought popped into my mind and I blurted it out. “Guys, we need to stop at my
apartment for about ten minutes, before going to Tony’s office.”
Bradley looked at me sideways. “Why, did you forget something there?”
“Nope, but we do have a box of perishibles in the carogo area. I really don’t think we want to
leave them there for another couple of hours, do you?” I could hear the memory
of my grandmother’s voice in my head repeating the mantra ‘we don’t waste food. Farmers worked
hard to produce that food. If you can’t use it, don’t waste it.”
This time it was Bradley that chuckled. “Red, I can hear your grandmother now, with her don’t
waste food rant.” We smiled at the memory. “Of course, we’ll stop at your apartment. Shouldn’t
take more than a few minutes to put this stuff in the fridge and freezer.”
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Thirty minutes later, food safely stowed, my duffle bags placed in my bedroom, a quick freshening up, and we were now sitting in Tony’s office with Spencer in attendance to represent the buyers. Jenna made the introductions, we all signed where necessary, and I passed the envelope with the house keys, and info booklets for appliances, keypad entry instruction manual, and everything else they would need.
+10 Point
They would be surprised when they got to the house. I had left an envelope with a ‘welcome to your new home‘ gift for them. It’s never easy for the first few days when moving into and setting up a new home. Food was often the last thing on your mind. The restaurant gift card I had left for then should help out for the next few days, give them some breathing space, so to speak.
After the buyers left the office, we brought Spencer and Tony up to date on what had transpired with Adam earlier today. The two of them looked absolutely relieved that I now knew about Lydia’s connection to me through my mother’s side of the family. But the looks they were exchanging with Bradley told me I didn’t have the full story. They were still hiding something. Something big, something they still couldn’t tell me about.
It was really beginning to tick me off, to say the least. I mean, it’s my life at risk, shouldn’t I be told the full story? I am certain these three have all signed an NDA which effectively prevented them from saying anything that wasn’t revealed to me by other means. I couldn’t be mad at them for this, but faack!
In a bit of a snit, and probably made worse because I was really, really hungry, I stood up, effectively ending any further discussion on the subject.
“I am famished. If I don’t eat soon I’m going to pass out. Come on, let’s go. Spencer, Tony, I’ll see you both on Monday at Fredericks Design. We still have to meet with Angela, Bonnie and Jenny and deal with that sh*t show.” Then I very ungraciously stomped out of the offce and made my way to the vehicle.
Jenna, bless her, pulled a couple of tiny chocolate bars out of her purse and gave them to me. She knows what I get like when my blood sugar drops. I immediately shoved them both in my mouth and let them melt, absorbing the sugar as quickly as possible. It took a few minutes, but I felt a bit better. She passed me another one, and just to be on the safe side I popped that
one in my mouth too. Chocolate and sugar at the same time, what more could I ask for.
“Feeling better?” she asked. “How about we go to ‘The Bicycle Thief‘ for supper? It’s close by
and the food is amazing. I could use some pasta right about now!”
She wouldn’t get an argument from me on that, and with Bradley and Victor’s agreement that exactly where we went. The supper crowd hadn’t hit yet so we were seated fairly quickly and
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our drink order taken. By the time the waitress with back with our drinks we had all decided on
our meals.
Left alone at the table we sipped our drinks, quiet once again. The quiet allowed my brain to begin to filter the information received, and come to conclusions that I had difficulty giving
credence to.
If my conclusions are correct, some people have a hell of a lot to answer for.
3
