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“He’s actually innocent,” he says, his brazen eyes once again piercing back at me through the mirror. “Human beings have a tendency to cast blame based on our opinions of a person. That’s how I ended up in Iraq following the 911 attacks.”
I think back to the things that have led me to believe that Tommy was behind all of this. It has been built upon gut feelings, his argument with Bill, his referral of Dr. Potaturri and most importantly his arrogant attitude. “Yeah, I get what you are saying,” I reply after thinking about it.
“He’s guilty,” Mandy whispers, still leaning against me. “I just need to visit Harris and get access to the SEC database.”
“We have to talk to Bill’s daughter and son-in-law tomorrow too,” I add, realizing that he never called me back. “Did Tony and Romeo pick up Aileen and her family?” I ask Anthony as the thought of them begins to weigh on my mind.
Anthony gives Romeo a quick call to check in on them. Listening to his side of the conversation, it’s obvious that something hasn’t gone quite right. “I want you to secure both units making sure that there are no alternate entrances and then no one is allowed in or out. No one,” he adds with the emphasis of an authoritarian dictator. He lowers his phone and looks up at the mirror. “Her husband is missing,”
“Fuck! I was afraid of that.” A shiver goes right through me. “We have to keep Aileen and her mother safe. They are probably the only other ones who know what is going on. Them and maybe, Carly.” I scroll to her number and try her again, but it goes right to voicemail just as it did the last time.
“Carly, it’s Trey again. You need to give me a call as soon as you get this message. We just found out that Aileen’s husband, Nolan, is missing. At this point, I don’t think any of us are safe,” I tell her in the message, hoping it will prompt her to call me back.
“You are all safe,” Anthony immediately corrects me. “As long as everyone follows our direction, no one else will get hurt. I guarantee it.” His eyes remain focused on the mirror, awaiting my acknowledgement.
“Okay. I stand corrected,” I tell him. “It’s just that I knew they were in danger and it was such a helpless feeling. I could tell by the way Tommy looked at Becky that she wasn’t safe either.”
“Becky is with Romeo,” Anthony confirms much to my relief. “Everyone will be secure at Trump Tower shortly. Who is Carly by the way?”
“She was Dad’s fiancé,” I inform him. “She’s the one who introduced Dad and Bill to Tommy. She is apparently on a flight to Belize right now.”
“Belize, huh?” Anthony scowls. “That’s where money and criminals go to hide,” he says, confirming what Chester had told me earlier. Why would Carly need to hide money or herself for that matter? Hopefully she will call me back. It would be nice to talk to someone who actually knows what is going on.
Mandy
I find myself thinking back to the conversation we had earlier with Becky. If Carly introduced Tommy to Bill, it is possible that she played a role in helping him sell the business. Since Bill is the chairman of the board at Addison Media, I imagine that created some kind of a conflict of interest for her. If Tommy paid her a commission, she probably didn’t want either Victor or Bill to know about it.
“What’s on your mind?” Trey asks as the SUV slows and we pull up to the curb in front of the hotel.
“Nothing really, I was just thinking about the fact that Carly introduced Tommy to Bill and your dad,” I tell him as we exit the vehicle. “I can’t believe we have to check in to this place in scrubs,” I add as we walk up to the shiny gold-plated doors.
“Hey, I just finished eight hours of intricate brain surgery… who had time to change?” Trey jokes while taking my hand and leading me inside. “Besides, this is all they really care about anyway.” Trey pulls his black card from his wallet and hands it to the gentleman at the front desk. “The penthouse for Addison.”
“Everything has been prepared for your stay, sir,” an elderly man named Avery says, swiping his card through the machine. “If there is anything that would make your stay more comfortable, just let us know.” He smiles and gives Trey his card back.
Once again I find myself amazed by the architecture that went into these old, landmark hotels. There is a huge mural of a blue sky and clouds on the wall behind the front desk that curves up toward the ceiling. Intricate gold crown moldings adorn beautiful gray and white marble columns topped by another huge mural painted on the ceiling. The theme again is a blue sky with dark ominous clouds and youthful angels darting amongst them. I spend a moment trying to distinguish where the actual structure ends and the painting begins. It’s a phenomenal piece of work. The enormous crystal chandelier that hangs down from the center of it is astounding as well. I wonder how much that thing weighs.
