Page 55 of Tangled
“I agree,” Sabina replied. “But we can’t discount the other option.”
“What other option?” Brad asked.
“That we’re being played,” Sabina answered.
“Come again?” Kara said.
“Think about it—sex rings, wealthy businessmen, corrupt cops. If there’s a tie between them all, which we think there is, and we bring it to light, it would bring Gracie’s killer to justice, but it would also throw the criminal justice system into turmoil,” Sabina said.
“Which is always a good thing for a drug lord,” Brad finished. Sabina nodded.
A distant look filled Scarlett’s expression, then she smiled. “I like that idea. Not the part where the drug lord benefits, but I like the idea that someone asinconsequentialas Gracie could cause that kind of chaos. I think she’d like it, too. Can you call your friend today?”
“Of course,” Sabina said, rising from the bed. “I’ll call on my way into the office. We’re still deciphering the notebook from Sussurri and confirming whether Gracie was, in fact, blackmailing Rathwell, but we have enough info to interest Jess. I’ll let you know what she says.”
After she departed, Brad looked to Scarlett. “You ready for breakfast?”
She took a moment, likely considering her stomach, then nodded.
“Make enough for me, too,” Kara said, rising. “I’m starving.”
***
“She’s in,” Sabina said to Brad over the phone.
“Jessica?” he clarified.
“Yes. She’ll be here tomorrow. Is there room at the lodge for her?”
“Let me check,” he said, bringing up the reservation system. “It’s ski week, so we’re pretty booked, but there’s a studio cabin available.” The two- and three-bedroom cabins were always taken this time of year, but occasionally, like now, the smaller studios remained vacant. “Or we have a room in the main building with a king bed,” he added.
“Put her in the studio. She’ll prefer the privacy,” Sabina replied.
He typed a few details into the system. “Done. Anything else?” he asked.
“How are things with you and Scarlett?” she asked abruptly. So abruptly, his Spidey senses went on alert.
“Fine. Why?” he asked slowly.
“A lot has landed on your doorstep this past week, and I wanted to check in with you,” she said.
“Liar.”
He waited. After a few seconds, she huffed. “Fine,” she said on a sigh. “Your dad started a betting pool as to whether you two would get married before Mitch and Ava.”
“And you wanted inside information.”
She huffed again. “Mitch and Ava caught me off guard. I’m never going to live that down.”
“They caught a lot of people off guard. At first, anyway,” he said. Before getting together, his younger brother and Ava had a sort of reluctant friendship. And yet now he couldn’t imagine either of them with anyone else. They still bickered and teased as they’d always done, but now there was an underlying intimacy to their interactions that he enjoyed seeing.
“Things are fine. Good. That’s all you’ll get from me, though,” he answered.
“But she’s the one, right?”
“If you’re asking me if I intend to have a future with her, then yes,” he answered. He didn’t really believe in soulmates, so didn’t feel comfortable calling her “the one,” but she was who he saw his future with.
“If you could make that happen around Memorial Day, that would be great.”
