81
JEREMY WAS unable to sit still. He was pacing around his office, feeling trapped as he waited for word from his sister about what was happening in court. Jeremy had wanted to go down and see for himself, but Blake had strictly forbidden it. So he’d come to work, despite knowing he wasn’t going to even attempt to be productive.
His sister hadn’t seemed especially worried about the court proceeding, or at least she’d put on a brave front. Leah continued to insist that nobody had any actual evidence linking the family to any murders, and that all she had to do was deny the lawyer’s accusations. Even if true, that still left the prospect of the reporter running a story.
All of this because he’d taken some of his own money. That was all he’d done, really, taken a loan from his future self. Why should anyone even care? Yet out of that, five people had died.
And now his father was in the mix too, although he was being characteristically tight-lipped about what he was doing. In fact, they hadn’t spoken at all since Jeremy had come clean to him. Jeremy had expected it to be an ugly conversation, but Simon’s response had been even worse than he’d been braced for. He honestly wasn’t sure if his father would ever speak to him again, but he did know that Simon was trying to prevent the story from coming out.
Jeremy’s office phone rang. He checked the caller ID, saw that it was his sister, and grabbed it. “Is the court thing over?”
“What does Alena Porter know?” Leah said.
Jeremy’s mind reeled as he tried to imagine why Leah was asking him that. “Alena? Is she there?”
“What does she f*cking know, Jeremy?”
He heard a tinny echo in her voice. “Am I on speaker?” he asked, stalling.
“Hello, Jeremy,” Blake said. “It’s important that this call be privileged.”
“Having a lawyer on the phone with you is the sort of thing you’re supposed to tell a person,” Jeremy said to his sister.
“Now’s not the time for your shit, Jeremy,” Leah said. “Alena Porter.”
“What’s happening there?” Jeremy replied. “What does Alena have to do with anything?”
“We don’t have much time,” Blake said. “Do you know this woman?”
“F*ck. Fine. Yes. So?”
“She’s testifying against us,” Leah said. “She’s claiming you basically admitted everything to her.”
Jeremy couldn’t understand how that was possible. Alena was the one who’d warned him about the reporter. They’d left things in a good place two nights ago, even if not completely resolved. Alena had said she wasn’t ready to move back to the apartment, had refused to go there with Jeremy the night they’d met for a drink, saying she needed some time to process everything. Jeremy hadn’t pressed it, especially in light of the conversation they’d just had, but he’d kissed her good-bye, a real kiss, with clearly implied promises of things to come. She’d make him work a little more, but he was sure that was all it was, just wanting him to pay some more dues before she came back to him. And now she was somehow in court, testifying against him? Was she telling them all the things he’d told her the other night? Could she be doing that?
“This Alena Porter is claiming to have dated you,” Blake said. “She’s testified that you told her that you were taking money out of the Aurora, using Fowler as a middleman, and that he blackmailed you about it after the accident. She alleges that your sister then engineered Fowler’s death. Did you actually tell her these things?”
“Jesus Christ,” Jeremy muttered. For a long moment it was the only thing anyone said.
“I need to know every speck of dirt you have on this girl,” Blake finally said. “Anything I can use to hurt her, I need right now.”