Chapter 61
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
To Do:
- Find Brianna
- Make them pay
“I don’t understand why you can’t just go in there guns blazing.” Claire was going to wear a hole in the floor of the safe house. “Every second we waste here is another second Brianna could be killed.”
“They need a search warrant,” Luke said. He was paler than usual. “Right now, we have no evidence of wrongdoing beyond the fact that you think you saw Big Z acknowledge the professor at a convention.”
“A convention where there was a literal poster of Brianna labeled as a ‘dangerous feminist.’ I know it was him.” Claire bristled, stopping in front of the window and staring outside. The streetlight on the corner changed color. “If he doesn’t have her, he knows who does.”
Jack looked like he had aged a decade. “Try to understand, Claire. If you’re right about this Big Z character, his house is a treasure trove of information on ESA. He could have a membership roster or email correspondence. I want nothing more than to get your sister back. But if we don’t do everything by the book, we risk rendering all that information inadmissible in court. Every single one of them could walk free.”
“We can’t just do nothing,” Claire yelled. One of the agents in the kitchen side-eyed her. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a dead sister on my conscience. What can we do? Do I need to go drag that judge out of his daughter’s wedding? Because I’ll do it.”
Apparently part of the holdup was the judge who was on call to sign search warrants was attending his daughter’s wedding downtown. Traffic was a nightmare. She would sprint there barefoot if she had to.
Jack shook his head. “Agents are already on their way.”
Charlie stood up from the futon. “We don’t need a warrant.”
“What do you mean?” Luke asked.
“I just texted Big Z. I told him if he wants to fix this scandal, then I need to come over right now. You don’t need a warrant if you’re invited in.”
Jack whirled around. “Charlotte, it’s too dangerous. You’re not going.”
Charlie rolled her eyes and ignored him.
“Where does he live?” Claire asked.
“Mulholland Drive. Less than five miles from here.” Charlie glanced in her compact and wiped a stray tear away. She smoothed her hair back and straightened up. “I can get an Uber and have them stop a few houses away. Are you coming?”
“Obviously.” Claire held out her hand. Luke tossed her purse at her and she slung it over her shoulder. She pulled an even smaller bag out and changed into her emergency flats.
“Girls,” Jack said sternly. “You can’t do this.”
“We’re not agents. Charlie can let me in a backdoor, and I can sneak around and find out where he’s holding her. You don’t have to wait for a warrant if there’s a nine-one-one call, right?”
“That’s technically correct,” Jack said. His normally perfectly smoothed hair was sticking up in the back. The knees of his suit were wrinkled. He had never looked so disheveled.
“Uber’s here. Let’s go.” Charlie cracked the front door open. Luke and Claire hurried after her.
“Wait!” They turned.
Tanya ran toward them and gathered them all into a bear hug. She whispered something over them and flicked something from a vial at them. It smelled like cinnamon.
“Be safe,” she whispered tearfully as they left.
“Okay, what’s the plan?” Claire asked minutes later from the middle seat of an overly large SUV.
“We stop a couple houses away,” Charlie whispered. “I go in first. I’ll ask him to let me use the powder room, and I’ll unlock the window. It’s at the back of the house by the pool. Then Luke can boost you up and you can climb inside.”
“Done.” Claire said. She would rip her dress in half if she had to. “Did he sound suspicious at all?”
“He said ‘Now’s not the best time, but I’ll make time if you can make this go away.’”
“I wonder if he has company,” Claire said thoughtfully. “When ESA tried to kidnap Wendy, they made a big show of it. Everyone from the chapter was going to be there, alumni included. And Brianna’s a much bigger target. They had a poster of her at the convention talking about how she earned more than her male co-lead for this ‘pro-feminist’ movie.”
Anxiety still clawed at her like a wild animal, but now that they were moving and had a plan, it started to subside. The Taser pressed to the inside of her thigh felt woefully inept for such a dangerous plan. Even the backup one stuffed in her bra didn’t bring much comfort.
Charlie sighed. “There’s already buzz online about the premiere being cancelled. Apparently studio reps blamed a gas leak, but conspiracy theorists are spiraling.”
“Are you okay?” Claire whispered to Luke. “You’ve been so quiet.”
“Just worried about Brianna,” he said with a humorless smile. He turned to stare out the window. The streetlights and marquees of the city faded away as they crawled into Laurel Canyon. “It feels the same as it did right after we realized you were missing. Back then, we didn’t even have a hunch, not for hours.”
Claire squeezed his knee. “We’ll find her in time. Don’t worry.”
“Are you saying that to me or yourself?”
“Both,” she admitted, sliding her clutch into its cross-body position. She was going to need both her hands free if the occasion called for dick-punching.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Jack.
“They got the security tapes from the Starbucks.” She pressed play on the video.
In the ten second clip, Brianna approached her car. As she reached to open the driver’s side door, two men wearing ski masks and gloves leapt out of the black Escalade next to her and clapped something over her mouth. She slammed her drink over her shoulder and directly into the face of the figure who had grabbed her. It was unfortunate that her pre-premiere ritual wasn’t a scalding hot latte. Brianna’s body went limp and they dragged her into the car.
“Freaking chloroform,” Claire said, clutching at her throat. She could practically taste the sickly sweet liquid on her tongue. Her heart ached for her sister.
“We’re here,” Charlie said dubiously as the car screeched to a stop outside a mansion.
The trio filed out and waited for the car to drive away.
“Which way?”
Charlie pointed two houses to the north. Another mansion hulked out of the darkness. Behind the wrought iron gate, a circular driveway was lined with at least a dozen cars. Claire’s blood ran cold. Two Tasers were definitely not going to be enough.
“Looks like you were right about company,” Charlie muttered. “They’ll let me in the gate, but I’m not sure how we’ll get you inside. There are cameras along the perimeter too.”
“There has to be a way in. Back gate, secret exit, gap in the fence?”
Luke put a hand on Claire’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about us,” he said to Charlie. “Just focus on getting inside and opening the bathroom window. We’ll find a way in.”
Charlie nodded. “Wait until I go in, then walk past. Try skirting around the back. There’s a house under construction next door. It doesn’t have a fence yet. I was only in the backyard a couple times at night, I wish I could remember more.”
Claire grabbed her sister’s hands. “It’s okay. Be safe.”
“You too.” Charlie turned away from them and squared her shoulders. She put her fists on her hips and stood with a wide stance.
“Are you doing the TED Talk thing?” Claire asked. She did it herself on occasion. Allegedly, striking and holding a power pose gave you confidence and lowered your stress levels.
“Yes,” Charlie said. “I do it before every important meeting.”
Claire mimicked her sister’s posture. Apparently not wanting to feel left out, Luke joined them. What a strange sight it would be for anyone driving by.
Eventually, Charlie pressed the buzzer and went inside. Luke and Claire watched from the shadows as the gate swung shut.
“I hate this,” Claire said as her sister disappeared up the marble stairs. Both of her sisters were now in the lion’s den.
“Me too. Come on, let’s update Jack and find a way in.”
Claire hastily texted Jack and took a picture of the cars outside. Hopefully the picture would be clear enough to get some license plates. She took a couple more for good measure. A potential goldmine of information sat behind that stupid gate. And she wouldn’t rest until every member of ESA paid for what they had done.
“Let’s go this way.” Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her around the western side of the estate. Scaffolding and tarps covered a half-built structure next to them. The heavy brick fence seemed to surround Big Z’s entire property.
Claire’s stomach twisted. How high was it? Eight feet? If she could teach Luke how to do a quick basket toss, she was pretty sure she could make it over.
“Idiots,” Luke muttered into the darkness.
“What?” She whirled around. Was someone else outside? Had they been caught?
He crossed the yard of the house under construction and moved a tarp to the side. An eight-foot ladder rested snugly inside.
“Oh, thank god.” Her knees would have been skinned to shreds if Luke had tossed her.
“Back there,” he said, gesturing at the back of Big Z’s vast estate. “See those trees?”
The tops of what looked to be maple trees towered over the fence.
“You think they’ll provide enough cover?” Claire eyed them dubiously.
He shrugged. “It’s the best shot we have. Come on.”
She trailed behind him as they approached the back of the lot. She glanced over her shoulder repeatedly, but the streets were quiet. One of the security cameras Charlie had mentioned was perched on the top of the fence, but it was pointing away from them.
Luke unfolded the ladder and turned to Claire.
“Don’t even try,” she said sternly.
“What?”
“You were going to try to talk me out of going inside. It won’t work. And we’re wasting time. Hold the ladder.”
He frowned.
“Those are my sisters,” she said with one foot on the bottom rung. “Unless Jack has a secret third family he’s been hiding, they’re the only siblings I have. I have to go.” Her heart jumped erratically in her chest, but she ignored it. The second dose of her medication she had taken at the safe house was probably the only thing keeping her from dissolving into a full-blown panic attack.
“I figured you’d say that. Hurry up.” He nodded at the ladder.
Claire took the rungs one at a time until her head popped over the gate. This was no time to be hasty. If she tumbled into Big Z’s garden with a crowd full of witnesses, she would ruin everything.
She peered around the branches of the maple tree. Other than a gently tinkling fountain and dreamy-looking pool, the backyard was empty. All the owners of the cars must be inside.
“What do you see?” Luke called from the ground.
“Backyard is clear. I’m going over.” She put one foot on the top of the fence. Thank god for emergency flats. She managed to shift until she was sitting down, then dropped heavily onto the soil below. Her knees creaked, but nothing seemed to be broken.
“Come on,” she whispered to Luke. She ducked behind a shrub and surveyed the back of the house.
A lavishly decorated patio connected the house to the backyard. A massive pool with a swim-up bar and hot tub stood to one side. Several phallic-looking metallic sculptures were sprinkled throughout the space. A statue of Priapus, a Greek fertility god with a monster dong, peed into a pool below him. Tacky.
She narrowed her eyes. There, toward the left side of the house, was a small window. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it looked like it was cracked open an inch. Luke landed beside her, as agile as a cat.
“How do we cross without being seen?” she whispered.
“I have an idea.” He pulled a handkerchief and a lighter out of his suit jacket. “If we cause a distraction, we won’t have to worry about them seeing us on the cameras.”
“What are you planning to set on fire? And why do you have a lighter? You don’t smoke,” she said.
“I don’t know yet. And you’re right, I don’t smoke. But all the big studio executives do. You always want to have a light for them at the after party, trust me. It’s basically a networking tool.”
Claire shook her head. Her eyes swept the yard for dry kindling or anything that looked flammable.
“Luke,” she said as her gaze fell on the wet bar. “What do you say to a little feminist Molotov cocktail?”
“Can we get there without being seen?” He craned his neck.
“Let me.” She eyed the back of the property. Trees and shrubs were planted all around the outside edge of the yard. It wasn’t perfect, but they had no choice. Charlie could only stall for so long.
“I don’t like this,” he said.
“You’re going to like it even less when I tell you what comes next.” Claire hitched her dress up around her thighs and tied it into a knot. She got on all fours and crawled behind the shrubbery. A chipmunk skittered across her path and she nearly screamed.
With one eye on the cameras that continuously swept overhead, she crawled forward until she hit the next wall that flanked the property. She leapt behind a bush as one of the cameras swept toward her and prayed that it hadn’t caught her. When no one came rushing out of the house, she crept forward. There was the wet bar.
She slithered inside behind the counter and popped open the cabinet door. Vodkas, rums, and tequilas lined the shelves inside. She grabbed a bottle of high-proof tequila and shoved it down the front of her dress.
She was considerably closer to the house now. Whose voice was that? Charlie? A feminine laugh came from inside, and Claire exhaled noisily. Charlie was still okay. Maybe this crazy plan would work after all.
Claire reversed her course and crawled back among the foliage. She yanked the bottle of tequila out of her cleavage and handed it to Luke. He looked at it warily.
“You have to throw it in the front yard to draw the attention away from me,” she said, but her voice shook. “You have to go back outside the wall.”
He shook his head. “No way. If I throw it in the front yard, I won’t have time to jump back over before they start searching the property.”
“I know. But you have to do this. You’ve seen my hand-eye coordination. The chances of me throwing it over the fence, let alone in a good spot, is less than zero. Every second we waste right now is another second Bri could be tortured.”
A shadow fell over Luke’s face. He tucked the tequila into the inside pocket of his suit jacket—how was he still so clean? She looked like she had just crawled through a war zone. He grabbed her by both arms and drew her into him. Her arms snaked around his neck. He kissed her like it would be the last time—and if they weren’t careful, it could be.
“Be safe,” she whispered to him when they broke apart. “Here.” She hiked her dress up even further and propped her leg out. “You need a boost. Put your right foot here, then I’ll cradle your left foot at chest level.”
“You sound suspiciously informed at scaling fences,” Luke said as he planted one dress shoe on Claire’s bare thigh.
“I did cheerleading in middle school.” She grunted as Luke put his entire body weight on her. He weighed significantly more than an eighth-grade girl.
“I want to hear about this later,” he said as he pushed off her chest and disappeared over the wall.
She took a moment to make sure her collarbone was still intact. There weren’t any bones protruding through her skin, so she crouched back down and waited. The minutes ticked by. Had Luke gotten lost? Had he thrown it yet?
In the distance, glass smashed on the ground. She peeked around a bush and craned her neck toward the house. Had they realized yet? The fire wasn’t visible from here, but she could smell it. It wouldn’t be long now.
Shouts echoed from inside the house. Was that the sound of the front door opening?
Claire’s phone buzzed. A text appeared.
Luke: Go NOW.
Claire slung her clutch across her torso and sprinted across the dark stretch of grass. She nearly slipped in the dew but pressed forward. The panicked shouts grew louder.
Finally, she hit the flower bed that lined the back of the house. Adrenaline propelled her forward. Using every last ounce of strength she had in her, she put her hands on the windowsill and hoisted herself up onto the ledge. She slid the window open and slipped inside.