Chapter 17 - They Came for Maya
"You're not going home," I told Maya.
"You're giving me safety orders?"
"Yes."
Daniel moved her to a secure apartment before sunset.
The federal team used the pending order as bait, leaving Maya's routine looking normal.
At 9:12 p.m., a man entered her apartment building with a maintenance uniform and a suppressed handgun in his tool bag.
Agents arrested him in the service stairwell. He gave up his handler.
The handler gave up Richard. Richard gave up nobody.
Julian, meanwhile, decided to talk.
His lawyer offered prosecutors a deal: financial evidence against Richard in exchange for reduced charges.
Maya laughed. "He finally found someone he loves: himself."
Prosecutors wanted my view.
I sat across from Julian in a hospital interview room separated by glass. His shoulder was bandaged; his wrists were cuffed.
"You look better."
"You look arrested."
His smile disappeared.
"Tell them to take the deal."
"Why would I?"
"Because Richard is worse than me."
"That is not a defense."
"I can prove he ordered Bell's death."
My stomach tightened.
"You knew?"
"I found out later."
"And you kept working with him."
"Business is ugly."
"You called murder business."
He leaned close to the glass.
"Don't pretend your father hasn't ruined lives. Men like him don't get billions by being kind."
"We're not talking about him."
"We should be."
I stood.
Julian's voice sharpened. "Elena."
I stopped.
"There is one copy of everything Richard ever ordered. Not the drive you found. A paper ledger."
"Where?"
He smiled again.
"Tell them I get ten years, max. Then I'll tell you."
I walked to the door.
"Elena!"
I looked back.
"You still don't understand me, Julian."
"Understand what?"
"I would rather lose the ledger than buy the truth from you."
I left.
In the hallway, Detective Lewis was waiting.
"Good news," she said. "We don't need his ledger."
May you like
She held up an evidence bag containing a small red notebook.
"Selene just turned it over."
