Chapter 18 #2
I’d had plans for today, goddamn it. I was going to go to the bank, find the jewelry and then come up with a plan for what to do with it that wouldn’t get anyone else killed.
The fact that Alice had tracked me down and interrupted those plans had lodged something painful in my chest. Being acknowledged by her was hard enough. Being cared for by her felt impossible.
Alice reached for my hand, encouraging me to open up, and I let her take it. For a few minutes we walked through the weaving paths of the park in companionable silence, and then I took a deep breath.
‘I know where the jewelry is,’ I whispered when we got far enough away from other people.
‘You do?’ Alice replied, shocked.
‘Yeah.’
‘Before you tell me how you figured it out, will you please explain what happened last night?’ Alice asked for a third time, and because she was more concerned about me, rather than where her jewelry was, I told her the truth …
editing the story heavily to not make Alice mad at me again for taking stupid risks.
‘So I’m pretty sure the jewelry is in a safety deposit box at the bank on Wall Street, and my mom likely dropped it off there just before she walked down the street and got shot by Wilson.’
‘Oh my God,’ Alice murmured. ‘You don’t have to go back there right now, Kendra.’
I hadn’t expected her to say that.
‘Of course I do.’
‘You really don’t,’ she insisted, squeezing my hand and tugging me to the side of the path so we could stop walking and talk face-to-face instead. ‘We can leave it there for as long as you need.’
I attempted a smile. ‘I don’t think it’ll ever get any easier.’
‘No, that’s true. But we do need a solid plan for what we’re going to do once we have it. I’m not giving it back to him, Kendra,’ she said defiantly. ‘The thought of giving it to that man is totally unacceptable.’
‘I don’t think Wilson is going to give up without a fight. And I’m so sick of fighting,’ I said wearily. ‘I’m sick of the assholes I have no choice but to work with. I can’t help but think that …’ I trailed off.
‘What?’
‘It’s never going to stop, is it? Even after this is over. There will always be another bastard criminal, another dangerous situation …’
I looked into my future and all I could see were more nights like the one in Tanoshimu – me and the people I cared about being threatened, or even killed.
Would I ever be able to get married, have kids, without putting my family in danger?
Would I ever be able to let my guard down and just enjoy my life, or would I always need to watch my back for another Wilson lurking in the shadows, waiting to fuck everything up?
And, if I was really honest with myself, Marcus disappearing had shaken me more than I wanted to admit.
He wasn’t dangerous – he was an informant who worked for everyone, on all sides, which should have protected him.
But someone had decided he was a threat and he’d been moved on or even killed because of it.
The thought that maybe I was responsible for his death had been haunting me, too.
Had Wilson taken him out because Marcus had fed back information about him?
‘So get out,’ Alice said, interrupting my thoughts. ‘Sell the business.’
I laughed. ‘I can’t.’
‘Of course you can.’ Alice rolled her eyes. ‘Family businesses are supposed to be an opportunity, not an obligation. Maybe if you had worked with your mom for another twenty years then you’d feel differently about it, but you didn’t. And you don’t.’
‘What sort of daughter would I be if I threw all of that away?’ I asked, watching a squirrel dart through the undergrowth instead of looking Alice in the eye.
Alice caught my chin and gently turned it toward her. ‘A really strong one,’ she said, and my eyes filled with tears. ‘Your mom raised a fierce, independent daughter, and I think she’d be proud of you for forging your own path instead of blindly following one that was laid out for you.’
‘Maybe,’ I said. ‘I don’t know.’ I angrily pushed the tears away, hating that they’d appeared in the first place.
‘I do,’ she countered. ‘I know you can do whatever you want, because your mom thought you could. And I trust her.’
‘I trust her, too,’ I murmured.
‘So, what do we need to do?’ she pressed.
‘I need to fix this.’
‘No,’ she told me sharply. ‘We need to fix this by finding the jewelry and moving it somewhere that will be safe for the long term. And we need to get Wilson put in jail. Maybe not in that order.’
‘I think we need to do more than that,’ I said. ‘We have to take down his entire empire so, even if he does get thrown in jail, there’s nothing he can do to get at anyone ever again.’
‘That sounds complicated,’ Alice said.
‘So there’s no time to waste.’
I was sick with nerves as we walked up the steps of the subway station and weaved through the afternoon crowds along Wall Street to the bank.
A cold sweat had broken out all over my body, a headache was straining against my temples and my stomach threatened to revolt at any moment.
And, still, I knew I had no choice but to get through this.
My heart was in my throat as I walked past the patch of sidewalk where my mom had died, refusing to look down and instead focusing on the steps of the bank. How I got up them, and inside, was beyond me. It felt like I was sleepwalking.
The open, cavernous space murmured with activity – people’s shoes squeaking or clicking on the mosaic tiled floor, or rushing to the tellers, or to meetings.
It would forever be a mystery how the bank had escaped modernization – either in the eighties, to turn it into something gray and dull, or in the past decade, to turn it into something white and shiny and boring.
But all the old features remained, making it feel like you’d stepped back in time.
I made my way to one of the windows, Alice close on my heels.
‘How can I help?’ the man asked, offering me a smile.
‘Hi,’ I said. ‘I have a safety deposit box that I need to collect something from.’
‘Do you have an appointment?’
‘No,’ I admitted.
‘No problem. If you could just wait over there, I’ll send someone over to take you to the vault.’
I nodded my thanks and moved to the area he’d pointed at. Alice put her hand on my elbow as we walked over.
‘Breathe,’ she murmured.
‘I’m breathing,’ I said, irritated.
‘Breathe some more.’
The irritation melted away and I laughed, just once.
‘Miss?’ someone asked. My head whipped round to look at the bank employee. He seemed young and was wearing a poorly fitted suit. ‘You wanted to access a deposit box?’
‘Yes,’ I said quickly.
‘Do you have the key?’
It took me an awkward second to dig around in my backpack to find it, before I produced it in the palm of my hand, still attached to the business card.
‘Great,’ he said. ‘Follow me.’
My stomach was full of butterflies as we descended into the guts of the building, to a small, dark-wood security booth where we both had to sign in. The security guard checked both of our IDs before waving us through to the vaults.
‘Have you been here before?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ I said, still feeling sick.
Inside the vault, the walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with safes.
The doors were various sizes, from much larger boxes on the bottom row to smaller ones up high, suitable for paperwork and not much else.
In the middle of the room was a table and two chairs, which I assumed was for inspecting whatever you took out of your vault.
Because of how old this bank was, the vaults were ornate, beautifully designed, not like the standard metal boxes I’d seen in more modern buildings.
‘It’s number three-four-eight,’ I said, holding out the key again for the employee to inspect.
‘Give me just a second,’ he replied.
After he’d swiped into another room, Alice turned to me.
‘So, how does this work?’ she asked. ‘I’ve never been in a bank vault before.’
‘It’s actually kind of simple. Every safety deposit box has two keys – one kept by the owner, the other kept by the bank. You need both keys to open the vault.’
The employee returned and ushered us over to vault 348. Then he inserted the bank’s key into the first lock and turned back to me.
‘You can take as long as you need, miss,’ he said, and nodded before discreetly slipping away.
I waited until the door had closed behind him to insert my own key into the second lock.
‘Here goes nothing,’ I muttered as I turned it.
The door swung open on silent hinges. Inside was a small metal briefcase with an envelope stuck to the top. I pulled out the case quickly and took it over to the table.
‘It looks like you need a code to unlock it,’ Alice said.
‘Yeah, and the code’s probably not been left in the vault, right?’ I said, attempting a joke as I peeled off the envelope.
‘That feels unlikely.’
The sick, sweaty feeling was back as I carefully opened the letter and pulled out a slip of paper.
Kendra,
I’m so proud of you for getting this far. I know this one hasn’t been easy. But where’s the fun in that?
Just in case anyone other than you is reading this, I’ve secured the case with a pin number that only you will know. It’s nine digits, and the case is rigged to explode if the wrong number is entered. Be careful!
I’m about to set off on a trip to London for a meeting with the National Maritime Museum. They’re building a Titanic exhibition, and that feels like the perfect home for the Insect Brooch. It’ll be kept safe there, and its incredible story will be shared with the public.
Call me when you read this message and I’ll arrange for you to fly out to London to join me. We can celebrate your birthday here, together.
Be careful out there, my darling.
Speak soon, and Happy Birthday.
All my love,
Mom x
‘She was going to London,’ Alice murmured.
I couldn’t say anything, not yet. Not yet. I glanced over at Alice, and she met my eyes for only a second before pulling me into her arms.
‘Are you okay?’