Page 173 of Triggered By Love
“You knew the jig was up when I told you Riley had found pufferfish poison,” Jason continued to press his ex-partner. “You’d already taken the money, and if you didn’t come through, you were a dead man. No excuses.”
“It wasn’t me. I swear. It was Mrs. Bonet.” Blade’s voice was barely a whisper.
“You made a mistake, actually several.” Jason loved making Blade squirm. “Let’s refresh your memory on the elevator. You were on the phone with me. Your cowboy hat blocked the camera, and you took a stab at Avery, then dropped the quill in Mrs. Bonet’s purse. Then you removed the memory card from Saul’s camera, in case he was taking pictures while showing images to Avery.”
“No, no, there was no memory card.” Blade jerked upright in the bed and winced from the pain. “I searched and searched. The kid has it. He must have swallowed it or hidden it so well we haven’t found it yet.”
“Where did you hide it? MicroSD cards are the size of a fingernail.”
“I have nothing to say. Nothing.”
“Then I have nothing to say to you either. Either turn state’s evidence on Chief Grimes or you better hope they put you in protective custody for the rest of your miserable life. I don’t take betrayal well.”
“Then you should go after Avery. She’s playing you. I happen to know she’s agreed to marry a certain person in exchange for her father winning the election.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“What do you think was in the box of chocolates?”
“I already know,” Jason lied. No way would he let Blade rattle him. He walked away, waving dismissively to Blade’s wheezing laughter and coughs.
* * *
Avery stormedinto Jason’s hospital room and found him gone. She texted him, asking him why he’d checked out without telling her.
The man was positively incorrigible. Not behaving like a normal friend. Didn’t he know she cared about him? Deeply?
“Do you know if he called a cab?” Avery asked the nurse.
“Sorry, he walked out, but I didn’t see where he went. He’s okay, though.”
Avery thanked the nurse and barged out of Jason’s room. She ran around the corner and slammed into a pack of hard muscle.
“Eeooch!” Jason huffed when Avery bounced off him.
His arm was in a sling, and he was gasping with pain.
“Sorry, so sorry.” Avery’s hands fluttered in front of her face. “I was so worried about you. You won’t believe what everyone’s saying about me, you, and Blade.”
“I don’t really care,” Jason cut her off. “Blade is only a minion. Whoever’s behind it will try again.”
Avery’s heart stuttered at the knowledge she would never be safe until the guy who ordered the hits was caught. “Who do you suspect?”
“I suspect everyone. You hear anything about Trent and Tatiana?”
Avery nodded, eager to tell Jason the news. “Trent gave his statement to the police, but Tatiana disappeared. Trent said he believed he was helping Blade catch Brando’s murderer. He was at the show last year and met Joselito. He, Jayla, and Joselito went to the after-party, so that Jayla could make contacts for modeling. He said Joselito saw something that didn’t make sense.”
“What did Joselito see?”
“Joselito told Trent he saw plainclothes police officer with Ernesto’s toy gun. After Joselito died, Trent smelled something fishy so he went to the Brooklyn apartment to make friends with the other models and find out what Ernesto was up to. That’s where he met Saul and Tatiana, who used to date Joselito.”
“Tatiana sure gets around,” Jason said. “Why didn’t he go to the police?”
“He did.” Avery’s hands fluttered because she was so excited. “Except he went to Blade who was the lead investigating officer. Unfortunately, Joselito was dead by then, or actually he’d disappeared and his friends didn’t know where he went.”
“Did Joselito say anything else to Trent?”
“No, but he might have told Tatiana.” Avery’s crest fell. “Who has gone underground again. I wonder how all of these people ended up in the Broadway show. It’s not easy to get on it.”
