Page 88 of The Cinderella Secret
“Yeah,” agreed Aiden. “The problem is that with the bank being a crime scene, we won’t be able to get those records, so Ella and I were going to file for a continuance. Charlie or whoever is behind this will realize that it’s only a delay, not an end to the case. If he’s willing to hire some thugs to rob a bank or kill Bo, what’s to stop him from going after Ella?”
“Not a damn thing,” said Jackson. “I told NYPD to call them, but you might want to reach out in a… uh… more personal way.”
“Oh, my God, you are such a pain in the ass.”
Jackson laughed. “Yeah, I am. Sorry.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yeah, not really.”
Aiden reached in his pocket and pulled out his non-work phone that he used for all of his Number Nine business.
Bank was a hit job intended to take out DevEntier records. Stay close to your security team. Explain later.
“What I don’t know,” said Aiden, setting the phone down, “is what to do next. So we have a theory. We don’t have any proof. And I’m not sure how to get it.”
Jackson’s eyes flicked up from the phone on the table, but he shrugged. “What about the guys who knocked you out last night? Why don’t we just go have a chat with them?”
“Tempting, but no. We did appear to be trespassing and it’s not as though I identified myself. Plus, if I question them, then I’m going to tip my hand. At the moment, whoever is behind thinks I know something, but they don’t know how much I do or do not know. If I question those guys, he’s going to know exactly how much I don’t know.”
Jackson grunted in dissatisfaction and slid his glass from hand to hand across the smooth tabletop.
I’ve only been gone twenty minutes. What the hell are you doing?
Talking to Jackson. We’re busted, FYI. Will fill you in later.
Is that… Is everything OK?
Aiden considered that. Jackson was glaring at his drink as it passed in front of him. Aiden wanted to ask what Jackson thought about Ella. Was everything OK? But if he asked, then Jackson would know that it was important.
Everything’s fine.
He debated for a moment and then added a kiss emoji. He got back a kitten with heart eyes that made him laugh.
“The easiest way to find out who’s behind this,” said Jackson, sardonically eyeing Aiden’s texting, “is to find the guys at the bank. And ask them who hired them.”
“The easiest way,” argued Aiden, “is to prove that the records in the warehouse were forged and who knew about it.”
Jackson looked unimpressed. “You can’t do it for the same reason we can’t talk to the security guys. You’d have to do interviews and chase down paper trails. Someone would go back and talk to Charlie.”
Aiden thumped his glass down on the table. “Well, I can’t do nothing while the police sit around with their thumbs up their asses. They haven’t exactly been super helpful in any of our previous dealings.”
“They do not move swiftly,” agreed Jackson. “But they usually get there in the end. In the meantime,” he held up a hand, forestalling Aiden’s commentary, “I will find them. We don’t have to wait on the police.”
“How fast?”
“I don’t know,” said Jackson. “First I have to make sure my cousin isn’t sneaking off to a hotel room to meet his girlfriend.”
Aiden laughed. “We really do have to hurry up and figure this shit out, so I can stop monkeying around with hotel rooms.”
“It’s not really monkeying around, is it?” asked Jackson. “Not when you’ve had it on permanent reserve for the last three years. Right, Mr. Casella?”
“Stop prying,” said Aiden.
“I try not to,” said Jackson.
“Not very hard,” said Aiden.
