“Fuck, she was going after everyone.”
“Sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Joe, Joe Mills. I work in cyber security issues mostly, which is why I’m here to learn about Ms. Petrov. The cops have a file on her already, and I’ve been following her for a while now for various cyber crimes.”
“The cops weren’t getting anywhere and neither your step father or Jones was talking.” Diaz explained. “Which isn’t a surprise, but once Mills went to Mr. Morgan with what he found, they took it to the detectives on your case and the District Attorney’s office.
“Now that we have more info on them, Mr. Jones has started singing. He thinks if he talks, they’ll go easy on him. He’s already confessed that Elle approached him months ago.”
“We’d only just met. That doesn’t make sense,” Jamie says as he sits down on the arm of the chair, still rubbing my back.
“Actually, you hadn’t met Ms. Strauss yet, according to the timeline.” Mills clarifies. “She had files on you, Ms. Strauss, and several other coworkers of yours. It looks like she was narrowing the search down and looking for the…right victim. She approached your stepfather first, and that set the plan in motion. We believe she discovered his extramarital affairs with numerous young women, and likely uncovered his past violations again you.”
Diaz hands me a folder, and I flip through it, finding pictures of Kennedy, Dani, and a few other women in our office. “The plan was to assault you and frame Mr. Barton. She arranged to have you working that job together to guarantee out-of-town travel so it would be…easier to go through with the plan.”
“The text. She threatened to send some…videos of me to my stepfather. She said he’d like them.” This is all so surreal, but James doesn’t even seem surprised. “That’s where they got the money for the new church, isn’t it? She’s the big donor?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Diaz answers. “Noah Jones and your stepfather have a pretty fucked up past. Elle Petrov found out about it and used it to her advantage. Once your relationship started, they adjusted the plan. Jones said it was Miller’s idea to lure Mr. Barton out and kill him. Then Petrov would sabotage your career, Ms. Strauss. Leaving you nowhere to turn, except your mother, your stepfather, and Jones.”
“So they did all of this for more fucking money? They have a fucking beach house in Malibu! They have a giant fucking cult!”
Mills sighs and rubs the back of his neck, “It wasn’t just money, ma’am. Based on multiple emails involving your stepfather, mother, and Noah Jones, it was planned that once Elle was finished, you would be given to Jones as a twisted, messed up reward. We’ve got a mountain of emails to back it up.”
Jamie stiffens, I can feel the rage building in him and then ebb into sorrow. He blames himself because he wasn’t there for me. I don’t.
“There’s additional evidence against your stepfather in those emails as well. Images.” Mills added with a sympathetic look while Jamie squeezed my shoulder. “Your mother is claiming her email was setup by someone else, but I don’t think that’s true.
Diaz pulls out his phone. “Mr. Barton, we found a record of you and a young lady being brought to the hospital in San Diego. Do you remember this incident?” He holds up his phone, showing James a picture of a pretty blonde woman I’ve never seen before.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Petrov’s backup drives had an invoice for a sedative usually reserved for large animals. It was found in your system, and the system of the young lady.”
“Fuck. She almost killed us.”
“We’re dropping all of this information in a pretty little bow to the DA’s office soon. He’ll be going after her for the attempted murder of both you and the young woman on top of everything else.”
“That all seems so…extreme.”
“She wants the money and fame and power, just like mom,” James said in a distant voice. “If the plan had worked, this would have been a win-win from her perspective.”
“How?” I ask him. This all sounds like some far-fetched plot of a crime show and I’m just waiting for some quippy one-liner before some song by The Who starts playing. It’s insane.
“Because, in one plan, I’m in jail for assaulting you. In the other plan, I’m dead. She doesn’t care who she hurts, so long as I get hurt along the way, too. If I’m dead, she inherits all of Dad’s shares and mine. She’d get everything.”
“James…I…” I squeeze his hand, unable to find the words.
“Cynosure is currently worth over three billion dollars. They announced yesterday that they were making some higher level staff adjustments. They’re covering their asses,” Mills informs us. “When, not if, you get an NDA in exchange for a large sum of cash, let us know. You have more than enough to bring that entire company to its knees with a scandal this bad.”
I sit on the couch, staring at the floor while they continue to talk, until I felt someone beside me pull me toward them. I glance around and realize it’s just James and me now.
“You want me to start a bath for you, Angel?”
“No,” I whimper. The walls I’d built over the years have all crumbled to dust and I can’t tell if it’s a good thing or not. Ronnie and Noah are going to prison—maybe my mother, too. I try not to speculate about what they had planned to do with me or why they really believed they could get away with it. It reminds me of the true crime shows I watch with Dani where the culprits are always so surprised they get caught. I wonder if they would have gone after Bex to keep me quiet. It would have worked.
Jamie’s playing with something in his hand, but I can’t see what it is until he holds it up to me. It’s a ring.
“Mills said they found it at the scene. They got the cops to release it from evidence, since all it did was prove I was at the junkyard, which was obvious.” He takes my hand and rubs my ring finger. “I was going to propose to you at Chase’s place that night. I had the whole house decked out with cherry blossoms and roses. Dog sitting was kind of a lie.”
“James…”
