Chapter 12
Present Day
Gemma
I sat in my car way down the street from Cade's apartment, my eyes heavy through lack of sleep. It was just coming up 6 AM and the light of dawn had only recently hit the skies.
I waited as the minutes ticked by, watching the door to the building closely for any movement. The clock passed 6 and still I saw nothing. Maybe he's already left? Maybe Zack had been wrong about his timings?
No, there he was.
The door opened and out he stepped, carrying a large sports bag slung over his shoulder. He moved energetically over towards his car and threw the bag onto the passenger seat before rounding the vehicle and climbing in. It started with a guttural roar before cruising off down the street in the opposite direction from where I sat.
I immediately felt more alert as my heart-rate began to pick up. I opened my purse and looked one more time down at the set of keys Cade had given me to his place a month ago. He'd put his trust in me and I was about to betray him, sneak into his personal world and start digging for secrets. And all so I could put them to print and reveal them to the masses.
I felt sick at the thought, but I didn't stop.
A sense of intrigue had begun to engulf me now, one that was driving me forward, forcing me to step out of the car into the cool morning air, forcing me to walk straight towards the building and unlock the main door.
I walked inside and went straight for the stairs. It was silent inside, every other resident still sound asleep. I moved up, my pulse increasing with every step, before stopping at the 3rd floor and opening the door onto the corridor.
The sound of a hoover made me jump as I rounded a corner and saw a cleaning lady busy at work cleaning the carpets. She wore earphones and was dancing as she moved the hoover up and down aggressively to the sound of her music.
I waited for a few minutes as she moved further down the corridor in the opposite direction and eventually turned the corner, moving out of sight. I stepped into view and walked quietly towards Cade's apartment, my heart creeping closer and closer towards my throat.
I looked both ways before sliding the key in the lock and opening the door up slowly. I was so tentative, as if he'd still be inside, but I knew he wasn't. I glanced once more to my left and right before quickly stepping into the apartment and shutting the door as quietly as I could behind me.
I let out a long breath as I stood in the quiet room, the large open plan living room and kitchen drawn out ahead of me. I stayed there by the door for a couple of minutes, gathering my breath and waiting for my heart beat to slow.
Despite my moral objections to what I was doing, I couldn't help but feel exhilarated by it all. The secrecy, the stealth; it certainly got my blood pumping.
The place was messier than I'd ever seen it, with plates and glasses and boxes of food scattered all over the place. It seemed that Cade had had little time to tidy up recently. I moved forward into the main living area and looked straight over towards the desk in the corner. I saw Cade's laptop as Annie's advice swirled around in my head.
Computer files are a good place to start...
I moved quietly over to the desk and sat down, carefully opening up the laptop. It whirred silently into life, the blue screen appearing with Cade's username – Champ91. I guessed the 91 referred to the year of his birth.
Below was a blank space for his password. I knew it, I'll never be able to get in.
I sat for a moment thinking about what he could possibly use for a password. Going by his username it would probably be something boxing related.
I starting typing in some combinations but nothing worked. I tried his name followed by his birthdate, combinations with Zack's name, with his father's name, with his surname. Nothing worked.
Screw this, it's not gonna work. I shouldn't even be here anyway. What the hell was I doing!
I stood up and shut the laptop slowly, making sure it stayed in the position I'd found it, before carefully positioning the chair back in place. I had no idea whether Cade was observant enough to notice any change but I wasn't going to take any chances.
I breathed a heavy sigh as I stood in the living area looking out of the window at the rising sun. I couldn't quite believe that my life had come to this: snooping round my boyfriends apartment to find dirt to put in a f*cking lifestyle magazine. I mean, how f*cking low could I go.
What was next? Was clubbing baby seals to death going to become my next favorite hobby? Maybe I'd take to photography instead and become one of those stalker paparazzi everyone hates? Seriously, I'd clearly lost my moral compass to such an extent that nothing seemed beyond the realms of possibility now.
I shouldn't be here. I'd sooner lose my job that do this. This really wasn't worth it.
I turned back and started walking towards the door, stopping dead in my tracks and taking a quick intake of air.
Outside, just down the corridor, I could hear voices. Two men, talking loudly, their voices getting closer and closer, clearer and clearer, as they approached.
I recognized Cade's voice immediately. Holy shit, what do I do?
I twisted my neck this way and that, my mind thinking quick. Hide Gemma, just hide. I instinctively turned and paced as quickly, but quietly, as possible towards Cade's bedroom, the only door in the place that was ajar.
I stepped in between the small gap in the door and dropped to the floor, sliding quickly under the bed and out of sight. Cade's sheets hung low to the ground, concealing me completely beneath the frame.
I breathed deep one more time, my pulse now soaring, as I heard a scratching of metal on the other side of the front door. I could hear the mumbling of deep voices as Cade entered with his yet unknown companion.
“Bro, you need to start locking your door if you're gonna be out all day.” I recognized the voice as Kyle's.
“I could have sworn I did lock it,” Cade responded, his voice sounding a little confused. “I dunno, it's all been such a rush recently. Maybe I missed it.”
I kept my breathing shallow as Cade and Kyle moved in through the apartment and into the main living room, their voices still clear in the silence of the room.
What the hell was he doing back already anyway? He'd only left about 30 minutes ago.
“So how are things going with Alice then dude? I've gotta say, of all of us, you've got the hottest girlfriend. Alice is so smoking hot man, I can see why you went against dad to get her.”
“Yeah, well, that was a stupid f*cking rule, you know.” Kyle's voice had a bitter edge to it. “I mean, I loved dad and everything, but he didn't make life easy for me down at the club.”
“How'd you mean?” Cade asked.
“Well, you know, he had this whole 'you can't date the staff thing going on'. I mean, I understood that in a strip club, but he might have wanted to cut me some slack. You f*cked just about every bargirl down at Nightshapes when you worked there and he didn't give a shit about that.”
Oh, that's nice. Just what I wanted to hear.
“Yeah, well, there's a difference between f*cking bargirls and f*cking strippers. Bargirls are a dime a dozen, you can find them anywhere. Those strippers you had working for you though bro, f*ck me they're insane. You can't go messing around with that.”
“Well that's one thing I don't miss about dad. At least Crash understands me and Alice now.”
“Hey bro, mind your tongue about dad yeah. The guy was a f*cking legend.”
“All right Cade, easy boy. You'd be the same if you'd been in my position. There's no f*cking way you'd have been able to keep your hands off those girls, no way in hell.”
I could hear Cade laugh. “Yeah, well maybe I haven't.” He spoke jokingly with a suggestion to his voice. I didn't like the sound of it.
“Well,” Cade continued, moving around the apartment, “at least Crash got the guy who killed dad. You were there that night, weren't you?”
My heart-rate began to soar now as I peered out from behind the sheet. I could just about see Kyle through the crack in the door, leaning on a chair, nodding lightly, his eyes downcast.
“I was there.” he said quietly.
“So this Lithgow guy, did he squirm, did he beg? What a f*cking snake. I wish Crash had brought me along. I'd have loved to have seen that guy suck in his last breath.”
Kyle kept his eyes slightly down as Cade came in and out of shot, clearly looking for something.
“Yeah, it was great,” said Kyle coldly.
Lithgow. The name sounded familiar, like I'd heard it before. Yeah, that was it, I'd heard about him on the news. He was this billionaire investor who'd gone missing and no one knew where. Holy shit, had Crash killed him? Had Lithgow killed their father?
I heard loud footsteps suddenly come close as the door opened fast. I dropped the sheet once again over my eyes and held my breath as Cade came rushing in, opening wardrobes and drawers.
Shit, what if he looked under the bed! What would I say? Pretend to surprise him? I lay still and closed my eyes, praying for him to leave.
I opened my eyes suddenly as he spoke again, his voice now close and loud to my ear.
“Ah, got it.”
He quickly bustled back out of the door as I stayed hidden behind the hanging sheets.
“What the hell is that anyway?” asked Kyle.
“Oh, just this special nutrition stuff I need. Coach told me that Steve isn't coming down today so I needed to bring my own back-up stash.”
“And who's Steve?”
“My nutritionist.”
“Right, yeah. How does it taste?”
“All right actually. Frankly I'd eat shit right now if Steve told me it would help me train better!”
“You always did have a way with words bro!”
I heard Cade laugh as he moved back over towards the front door. “All right dude, lets do it!”
Kyle followed after Cade as the door opened and they both walked out into the corridor, their voices growing muffled again as the door was locked from the outside.
I let out a breath I'd been holding in for about 5 minutes as my muscles relaxed, my head falling to the carpet as I lay there, in silence, for a minute or two.
What the hell had I just heard?
Crash had killed this Lithgow guy, who'd murdered their father? This was truly f*cked up.
I crept out from under the bed, my arms shaking slightly as I pushed myself up onto my feet. “I should never have come here,” I whispered to myself. “This was a big mistake.”
I quickly moved towards the front door and pushed my ear against it, listening for movement outside. I heard nothing but the sound of a distant hoover, the cleaning lady still hard at work somewhere round the corner down the corridor.
I unlocked the door and stepped out again, locking it on the other side, and pacing off towards the door to the stairwell. I needed to find out more about all of this, and I needed to do it now.
….
Half an hour later I sat behind my desk at work. It was still early morning and the office hadn't even filled up properly yet.
I took a large sip from my black coffee and booted up my computer, quickly opening up my browser and typing the name Lithgow into the search function.
The feed was immediately populated with news articles relating to his disappearance. I picked out one from the bunch, dated from a couple of months ago.
“Walter Lithgow, a billionaire investor, based in New York, has been officially declared missing by his family. Mr Lithgow was last seen in Branton before his disappearance, and was in town working on a large hotel and casino project.
Several other investors and business associates, who were working with him on the project, have come forward with information detailing his last known whereabouts. He was last seen leaving a meeting at his offices in the Business District of Branton, and since then has not been seen, or heard from.”
I read on, the article detailing his life in business and the mystery surrounding his disappearance. Then, my eye was caught as Crash's name suddenly came up.
“Crash Logan, eldest son of the recently deceased Charles Logan, is heading up the casino project, and has pledged his support in the search for Mr Lithgow. The Logan family is well known in Branton, with the city's newest hero, Cade Logan, currently performing so well in the ring. Crash has declared his deepest sympathies to the family, and has made it clear that he is adamant that Mr Lithgow will be found alive and well soon.”
I shut down the article and returned to the search results, looking for more recent news. The headlines grew more grave as I searched, with Lithgow clearly still missing, and now presumed dead.
I couldn't believe what I was reading, what I'd just heard back at Cade's apartment. Why would this Lithgow be investing in Crash's casino project and working with him if there was such bad blood between them? If Lithgow had murdered Charles Logan, why did he start working with his son?
“Morning honey, you're in early!” Annie's voice snapped me from my thoughts. I looked up to see her hovering over me, taking off her bright purple coat and hanging it on the hook by the wall. I could see her eyes peering at my screen, filled with articles about Lithgow's disappearance.
“What are you looking at there?”
She leaned in closer and frowned. “Walter Lithgow? Why are you reading about that?”
I hastily closed down the browser. “No reason,” I said, a little breathlessly, “just interested.”
“Is there any more news on him? Has he been found?”
“Umm, no, still missing. They're pretty sure he's dead.”
Annie moved back round to her own desk opposite me. “Yeah, well that makes sense. I don't think billionaires just go missing unless someone doesn't want them to be found.”
She was more right than she knew.
“Sooooo,” she said, dropping her voice a touch, “did you do the deed?”
“What? Oh, yeah, I did it just now.”
“And?” Her eyes were wide with interest.
I shook my head. “No, nothing. I couldn't find anything.”
“So what are you going to do, you know, about the story, about Mrs Banks?”
I shook my head again, my voice devoid of any energy. “I don't know. I guess I'll be out of the job soon.”
“Well babe, at least you tried. She'll surely get that. I mean, if there's nothing to find, there's nothing to find, right?”
I nodded. Yeah, I found something all right. Something I don't think I can ever talk about. Something I was already trying to forget.
“Maybe.”
But I knew she wouldn't. I knew she'd go through with her threats.
“Look babe, keep your chin up. I mean, it's probably a good thing in the end. I know you don't really want to print anything about Cade.”
I shook my head, hardly taking in her words.
“And if you need any help, you know, finding a new job or anything – you know, if it comes to it – then I'm always here, OK.”
“Sure, thanks Annie.”
She sat back down on her chair and dropped out of sight, clearly getting the impression that I wasn't in a particularly talkative mood right now.
I felt slightly sick at what I'd done, what I'd heard that morning. I couldn't quite believe what I was willing to do for a job, for my career, and now it had landed me with information that I wish I could forget.
The irony was that my trip to Cade's apartment had yielded just the sort of fruit that Mrs Banks would love to get her hands on. The idea that Cade had knowledge of murder, that his brother was the perpetrator, that the victim was the man who'd killed their father. It was the sort of thing that would make headline news all over the world, not just in Branton.
But no, she'd never know because I'd never tell her. It was too much for me to handle, way beyond my pay grade.
No, I'd take the secret to my grave. I'd never speak of it to anyone.