Page 83 of Stone
Silence. A minute ticked over on the clock on the phone.
“Give me your number,” he said. She sensed more than heard the collective exhale from the group. It didn’t matter which line he spoke from, but by expressing a preference for a private line, he’d both acknowledged that he knew who she was and believed that what she had to say wasn’t something he wanted to discuss in his office.
She rattled off the number of the burner phone provided by HICC, then hung up before he said any more. No one spoke as they waited. The only sounds were Sherman’s gentle snores. Idly, she wondered if he’d keep them up at night when he was full grown.
Ten minutes later, the phone rang, the sharp piercing sound tearing through the silence and making her jump. Simon hadn’t let go of her left hand and he held tight, as if to pull the nervous energy from her body into his. It wasn’t that easy, but she was grateful for the thought.
“Lowery,” she answered.
“Juliana,” he replied. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I want you and Dean Polinsky and Brian Gregor to leave me and Simon McLean alone,” she said.
He paused. “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
“I understand you don’t want to admit anything, so let me spell it out for you. I’d like for you to stop chasing us, stop sending people to kill us, stop pushing us into situations where we might die. No more car chases. No more men breaking into our homes, no more arson, no more intimidation. Simon and I just want to go about our lives without having to worry about who you might send to kill us. So,” she continued, knowing he wouldn’t acknowledge anything she’d said, “what I propose is that I give you copies of all the evidence we found related toyour inappropriate political dealings and the drug deals Polinsky covered up. At the risk of sounding cliché, I will also provide a copy to a trusted person with the instructions that?—”
“Should anything happen to you or Mr. McLean, it will be released. Honestly, Dr. Morganstern, I would expect more from a librarian. Don’t those books teach you anything?”
“Yes, that the simplest solution is often the best,” she shot back. Simon flashed her a ghost of a smile.
“Your uncle would be disappointed,” Lowery said. “He’s an excellent strategist.”
“You mean my aunt, but it wouldn’t be the first, nor will it be the last, time that will happen,” Juliana replied. “So what do you say? I show you what I have so you understand the gravity of the situation and we agree I stay silent and you leave us alone.”
“I still don’t know what you’re referring to, Ms. Morganstern, but it does sound like you’re trying to blackmail an elected official,” he replied.
Her gaze darted to Callie, who had her notebook out but managed to pull herself away long enough to meet her eyes, give a nod, then nod again to the phone. The call wasn’t going exactly as she and Simon planned, but Callie seemed to think it was going okay.
“You’re familiar with blackmail, aren’t you, Lowery?” she said. “It’s the missing Iraqi gold that started this whole thing, isn’t it? The gold you and Polinsky stole that Brian Gregor has been blackmailing you about for as long as you’ve been able to give him what he needs.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lowery replied, although his voice carried a different tone. A forcefulness born of surprise. An unpleasant surprise.
“Maybe, maybe not,” she said. “Do you want to take that chance? Or maybe I’ll call Polinsky next. You seemed thesmartest of the bunch, so I thought I’d start with you. It’s possible I misjudged you, though.”
“If you’re so certain that what you have is damning, why don’t you go to the authorities?” he asked.
She—they’d—expected this. Simon gave her a little nod, then she responded. “For two reasons. First, I’m 100 percent certain that you will leave us alone once you realize what we know, because you won’t risk any of it coming to light. But, while we have enough information to interest a prosecutor or the FBI, we’re not sure we have enough to convict. Turning it over to the authorities would leave us without any leverage and you with every reason to kill us the same way you killed Ray Barlow. The odds seem less favorable to me and Simon if we go that route.”
He hesitated, and she had to think her mention of Barlow gave him pause. “And the second?” he finally asked.
“Second, even if the information I gave the authorities was enough to bring charges, I’m guessing you researched me. You know why I’d prefer not to be a star witness in any trial, let alone such a public one.”
Lowery tsked—actually tsked. “Severe glossophobia is a difficult burden.”
It was. Having a fear of public speaking had been yet one more of her many failings, according to her aunt and cousin. And she really wouldn’t make the best witness. What Lowery didn’t know, though, was since she’d left the constant scrutiny and criticism of her aunt and uncle’s home, speaking to groups had become easier—not easy, but hosting tours or speaking about her work or the library no longer petrified her.
“I’ve managed,” she replied, then fell silent, giving him time to contemplate his next move. He hadn’t survived in politics as long as he had by being hasty. Unfortunately, neither Sabina nor Callie felt the same, and both were rocking on the balls of their feet.
Simon shot them a dirty look. Chastened, Sabina stilled, but Callie simply glared back.
“Email me what you have,” Lowery said.
Again, during their endless prep session, they’d covered a plethora of potential objections and how she should respond to each. They’d anticipated this. “I could, but I have two emails. One is my work email, which can be monitored by the federal government. And the other was impacted by the recent breach. I’m happy to use either, but I’ll leave that to you.” While the data breach had been unfortunate, it served their purpose. Shecouldopen a new account, but she wasn’t about to offer that up.
Simon smiled and arched a brow in a way that made him look part pirate, part goofball, and entirely hers. That tiny reminder of who they were, who she was to him, bolstered her for what was to come. She brushed her thumb over the back of his hand.
“How can I trust that you’re not setting me up?” Lowery said.
