One of Us Is Dead(71)

I ambled to the desk and placed my hand on the mouse. I was just going to put the monitor to sleep, but instead, I hovered the cursor over a folder titled Insurance Policy. It caught my eye. I knew I shouldn’t click it, but curiosity got the best of me. I double-clicked and it opened a window filled with documents, videos, photos, and Excel spreadsheets. I started clicking through the spreadsheets. They didn’t make much sense to me, as none of them had anything to do with our life insurance policy. They just looked like expense reports. I began opening the documents. There were letters and memos to police departments and sheriff’s departments. Some sentences stuck out more than others.

Suspend patrol of Highway 14.

Be on the lookout for a blue Chevy Cruze. Person of interest.

Suspend patrol of Highway 12.

I moved on to the photos and began opening them. There were photos of trucks. Pallets of unknown items. Dean was in a photo. Then, my heart dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I blinked several times. There was a photo of the inside of a semitrailer filled with a dozen young girls. They were lying on the floor of it, dressed in raggedy clothes, with their feet and hands bound. My eyes widened. I sat up straight in the chair and clicked a video. There were trucks and shipping containers in the background. Dean came on the screen. He was carrying a woman. Her body was limp. Her skin was pale. Her eyes were open but inert.

“Shit. We’ve lost another one,” he said to someone not in the frame.

He carried her off-screen.

“How many didn’t make it?” a familiar voice asked. There was a loud thud.

“Six,” Dean said as he walked back into the frame empty-handed.

“Fuck, Dean. All these girls are prepurchased. You’re paying for this mess one way or another.” The voice off-screen said again.

Dean hung his head.

“Do you understand me?” The voice questioned.

Dean looked up, staring just to the right of where the video recorder was set. “Yes.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want Olivia to end up in that pile too,” he said with a laugh.

It was Bryce’s laugh—I’d know it anywhere.

My stomach jumped into my throat. I bent down to the garbage can beside the desk just in time. I spilled my guts into the wastebasket. Tears streamed down my face as I retched harder and harder. When there was nothing left inside of me, I tried to regain control of my body. My breaths were quick and deep. My skin was damp from sweat and tears. My throat burned from the remnants of bile. I wiped the tears from my face, patted away the sweat, and swallowed hard. What did I marry? A monster. A total monster.

I quickly grabbed the video and sent it to my personal email. I closed everything out, put the monitor to sleep, grabbed the puke-filled bag inside the trash can, and slipped out of the office, locking the door behind me. I had to warn Olivia.





63

Olivia


I walked into the house through the garage, carrying a half dozen shopping bags from Chanel, Gucci, and Barney’s. We didn’t have the money for this little shopping trip, but I needed it, and I was sure we would have the money soon. I was taking care of things the only way I knew how: by any means necessary. Tossing the bags on the island counter, I walked to the oversized fridge, grabbing a bottle of opened pinot grigio. I poured myself a glass and took an indulgent drink. Tapping my scarlet nails against the glass, I pondered how I was going to pull everything together. Karen would deliver on the money. I was sure of that. She had her business to consider and that son of hers, and the last thing she would want to do is to ruin her perfect image. I thought the fifty thousand might have been too much, but then I remembered how much her husband was paying me on a biweekly basis and knew they could afford it.

Taking another slow drink, I let out a laugh. I was bleeding her family dry through their own indiscretions. I just needed to figure out who Dean was working for, who was ruining us. Whoever it was, I would make it my life’s mission to ruin them. No one messes with my money and gets away with it.

Jenny had called me twice today. I avoided her phone calls, but I’m sure it was to tell me my card was declined for this month’s membership fee. I would call her later and explain it away with an expired card or something, and then I would pay her in cash at the party. Thank God, I had been stashing the money Mark had been paying me. It would keep my lifestyle afloat until Saturday.

The doorbell rang.

A few moments later, I found Crystal standing on the other side of it. She looked like she had been crying, thanks to a blotchy face and red-rimmed eyes. Her skin needed a serious facial. A large tote bag hung on her arm, and she was dressed in yoga pants and a crewneck sweater. How could she let herself leave the house like that? How could Bryce let her leave the house like that? She did not deserve him.

“Can I come in?” She cautiously looked over both of her shoulders.

“Come in.” I opened the door wider and motioned her in. Crystal scurried in like a little stray cat.

She followed me into the living room and took a seat on the couch across from me. Her eyes bounced all around like she was looking for something or someone.

“Do you want something to drink?” I asked, taking a sip of wine.

She shook her head. “Is Dean here?”

I raised an eyebrow and crossed one leg over the other. She had piqued my interest. “No.”