Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Danica shut the door to the library. It was a cozy room, though the bookshelves looked like they were filled more with technical manuals and computer programming books than literature.
There were a couple of leather chairs in front of a fireplace. Danica curled up in one.
Lindley sat in the other, her purse tucked in at her side. Her red hair was back in a claw clip, and she wore no makeup. Danica had never seen her so casual. And her eyes looked swollen.
Poor Lindley probably hadn’t slept well since the gala. That night had been a rough night for everyone, and Lindley didn’t have a guy like Noah to pick her up and comfort her.
“I am so sorry about Anderson,” Lindley said. “I heard this afternoon, and I absolutely couldn’t believe he’d been so reckless as to post online about your visit. I feel like it’s partly my fault.”
“You couldn’t have known.”
“But I kept him on as a curator. I should’ve gotten rid of him months ago when he started complaining about the changes we envisioned.”
“You don’t think he posted my schedule on purpose, right? The police assumed he didn’t.”
“I can’t imagine. Today, he genuinely seemed remorseful. But still, so stupid. I’m going to raise the issue with the board, but as far as I’m concerned? Anderson’s history.”
“I’ll leave it up to you. But thanks.” The damage was done. Danica was ready to move on from it. “Speaking of the board, I’m nervous about how they’ll react to what’s happened. Do you think the museum can come back from this? Not to mention the foundation. My reputation must be toxic right now.”
Two dozen voicemails and far more texts and emails waited on Danica’s phone. But she hadn’t brought herself to go through them yet.
“I don’t know about the foundation,” Lindley said. “That’s your wheelhouse. And it’s got your name on it. That has to help.”
She managed a laugh. “True.” Though her association with her family was on rocky ground at the moment.
“But as for the museum board, I’ve already been getting calls from the other board members, and they’re all behind you, Dani. They believe in you.”
She couldn’t describe her relief at hearing that. Danica had lost a lot in the past few days, but she believed she’d gained far more.
Most of all, Noah. But her friendships meant so much, too.
“I’m grateful for all you’ve done,” Danica said. “You’ve had to deal with more than you ever signed up for.” At the next board meeting, she was going to bring up Lindley’s compensation package. She deserved a raise after all this.
Lindley’s eyes darted away. “It really hasn’t been that bad.”
“Are you kidding? It’s been terrifying. There’s no shame in saying it.” Danica had struggled to be open about her fears before, but she was trying to be honest about her feelings. Especially when it came to the people she cared about. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that because of me.”
Lindley didn’t respond, and Danica could feel the change in her friend’s mood, like a shift in the air. Maybe she’d said too much.
Lindley’s hand went to her purse, squeezing the top of it. “What about the investigation into the kidnappers? Have they made much progress, aside from finding Anderson’s post on social?”
“A lot, actually. They found the identity of the man with the eagle tattoo.”
“The guy who was killed at the gala?”
“Right. He was behind the kidnapping plot. Some kind of hitman. He must’ve already been looking for an opportunity to go after me for ransom money, and when he saw Anderson’s post about my visit to the museum, he decided on the time and place.”
Lindley sat forward, eyes brightening. “So this hitman was behind the whole kidnapping plan? That’s what the police said? Are they closing the case?”
“Closing it? I’m not sure. The detective probably would prefer that.” Danica shrugged. “But Bennett Security, the company Noah works for, is still looking into it. There’s a loose end. Someone altered the surveillance video from the museum.”
Lindley’s body went still. “Altered?”
She’d whispered this. Her lips hadn’t even moved.
“I didn’t mention it before because Noah and I were keeping it quiet. He’s been helping me investigate.” Danica felt a little bad about leaving her friend so far out of the loop.
And now, she was wondering if Lindley was ready to hear all this. Discussing the kidnapping had only seemed to make Lindley’s discomfort increase.
Danica’s phone dinged with an incoming text. She glanced down at the screen.
Noah: Are you done with Lindley yet?
“Sorry, it’s Noah. Just a second.”
Danica: We’re still talking. Are you seriously that horny?
Noah: This isn’t a booty call. Max had news on the investigation.
Danica: And?
Noah: Jason Gerrig worked for Valoris under another identity.
Danica’s breath stopped in her chest.
“What’s going on?” Lindley asked anxiously. “You look shocked. What happened?”
She forced herself to inhale. “Just got an update on the kidnapping investigation from Noah.” Danica lowered her phone and rubbed her forehead. How much should she say? It might upset Lindley even more.
“What was it?”
Danica sighed. If Lindley truly wanted to know what was happening, she would tell her. “The guy I mentioned before? The hitman?”
Lindley hugged herself around the middle. “Yeah?”
“He used to work for the same security company that’s been protecting my family in West Oaks. It’s got me a little freaked out.”
“Are you going to tell your family?”
“Yeah. I should.”
And Valoris had provided bodyguards to her brother and dad in New York before as well. This was just…
Then a memory surfaced.
Her dad’s office a few nights ago. The night she’d first seen him and Tori chatting, and made the wrong assumptions.
Danica had shown her father the drawing of the eagle design, and she could’ve sworn he’d recognized it. Since then, so much had happened that she hadn’t thought much more about it.
But what if William had recognized the tattoo design?
What if he’d remembered Jason Gerrig from Valoris Security?
More images bobbed up from the recesses of her memory.
A night out in New York. Had it been a year ago? Two? She, Soren and her dad had all been together, having dinner at Eleven Madison Park. They’d had a bodyguard detail that night. Not something Danica ever preferred, but when the three Foster-Grants were all in the same public place, it made sense.
She remembered a man in a dark suit, in many ways indistinguishable from the others on their security team that evening.
Except for the glimpse of ink just above his high collar.
Two curving heads, like snakes.
That was why the eagle tattoo had made such an indelible impression after that brief sighting inside the museum, though she’d struggled to place it. Too much time had passed. It had been a different city, a different context.
“Oh my god,” Danica breathed.
“What? What is it?”
“He was a bodyguard for my brother in New York. Jason Gerrig. The man with the eagle tattoo.”
Soren was the one who’d always hired Valoris.
Lindley’s eyes widened. “You’re sure?”
Danica nodded. She hadn’t even meant to say that aloud, but the shock was too much. It had overwhelmed her, turning her numb.
But if her dad had recognized Jason, why hadn’t he said anything? Had he been unable to place the memory, like Danica?
Or had it been something more?
While these thoughts spun through Danica’s mind, Lindley had her phone out, texting rapidly. Which seemed odd. But Danica was too focused on what she’d realized.
“I have to tell Noah. And Bennett Security. The police.”
“Wait,” her friend said sharply.
Danica looked up.
One of Lindley’s hands held her phone. But the other hand was buried inside her purse.
And she had the strangest look on her face.