Chapter 10 #2
I shook my head so hard that my bangs whipped back and forth in front of my eyes, filling my vision with streaks of pink. “Oh, no. I’m not gonna do anything. Like, of course a guy like that wouldn’t be interested in me. I just like looking at him. That’s okay. Right?”
Clay’s expression pinched tight for a moment, but it was gone before I could identify what he was feeling, and was instead replaced by a smile that didn’t feel entirely genuine.
“Yeah. That’s fine. And, hey, when this is all over, I promise we’ll find someone for you.
But for now, I think we’re needed for some sort of meeting. Hopefully, it’s good news.”
In the end, I didn’t know how to feel about the news we got.
Apparently, the investigators, including Clay’s partner, Logan, had managed to find a new witness against the bell ringers and were in the process of tracking this person to safety.
Another witness would help our case. The more voices the better, after all.
However, there were only so many ways for a person to become a witness.
Either they were a victim of the bell ringers, or they knew someone who was a victim.
Either way, their existence was a reminder that the bell ringers were still out there causing pain while we sat here safe in this underground bunker.
“We can’t tell you much about the new witness,” Kitt said as he spread out several papers over a table. “It’ll probably take a little time for them to get the witness here safely, so in the meantime, we should continue to focus on the case.”
The only place in the bunker large enough to hold everyone at once was a building near the pool that had been meant as a lounge room.
It had a relaxed vibe, with a bar, kitchen, and a lot of beachy decorations along with large glass windows that showed a brilliant view of the pool.
All of this was a stark contrast to the people currently sitting around on the wicker furniture.
Everyone held themselves with stiff shoulders and pensive expressions as they waited to follow Kitt’s lead.
Every witness watched the pages that Kitt was laying out as if the pieces of paper would suddenly jump up and attack, yet none of them were as agitated as the other investigator seemed.
Sebastian Ross couldn’t even bring himself to sit down, awkwardly pacing back and forth as best as his cane would allow.
Just as Kitt set down the last page, Sebastian’s limited patience snapped, and he slammed his fist against the wall hard enough to make the window rattle.
“Damn it, this is pointless.”
Every witness in the room jumped, and Clay and I instinctively gripped each other’s arms. No one commented on it, but Kitt shot Sebastian a glare and the other man sheepishly relaxed his fist and stopped pacing.
One of the pages on the table had fluttered out of place, and Kitt took a moment to set it straight again before turning to Sebastian.
“It’s not pointless. This is how we’re going to win the case.”
Sebastian’s fist clenched around the handle of his cane, but he was careful to keep his movements calm to avoid startling anyone again.
“No, it’s not pointless for you, but it is for me.
I’m a private investigator. I find evidence.
I hunt down criminals. But I don’t...” He gestured toward the papers covering the table.
“I don’t build a case. That’s your job. I should be out there helping them find the new witness. Not sitting here uselessly.”
Maybe it was arrogance on my part, but as Kitt looked over the room and the witnesses gathered there, I could have sworn his gaze lingered on me longer than necessary. It was probably all in my head and just wishful thinking, but wishes were all I had, and there was no harm in letting myself think.
Besides, the flush of arousal I felt from imagining that he was paying attention to me was no less pleasurable, even if it was a lie.
“You aren’t useless,” Kitt insisted. “You’re needed here to protect the witnesses that we do have. I’m not helpless, but I’m also not a trained combatant. I can’t protect them on my own.”
Sebastian’s cane thumped against the floor in imitation of stomping his foot. “Protecting them from what? We’re locked away down here in a bunker that even the military would have trouble infiltrating. The only reason I’m here is to keep me out of the way.”
One of Sebastian’s hands was always holding onto his cane, but the other clutched at the fabric of his pants over his injured leg.
I’d only been given a brief summary of what happened to him, but from what I’d been told, it seemed like the leg would never fully heal.
He’d have a limp for the rest of his life and always need to at least use a cane to get around.
For someone who was clearly a man of action, such a limitation must have been hard to accept.
I felt bad for him, but I was even more concerned by the lines I could see creasing Kitt’s brow. Our lawyer was already juggling so much trying to get our case back on track. He didn’t need more stress on top of that.
Maybe I could help.
“Um, Mister... er, I mean, Sebastian,” I spoke up, stumbling over whether or not to address him by his first name.
We weren’t familiar enough for me to call him Sebastian but calling him Mister Roth made me feel like a child addressing a teacher in the classroom.
“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I would definitely feel better if you stayed here.
The bell ringers tried to kill me just a few days ago, and I’m certain that they aren’t going to give up so easily. ”
Looking back at the other witnesses, I was surprised to find them nodding along with me.
“Yeah,” Thomas agreed. “We’ve seen the kind of resources that those bastards have. This bunker may be safe, but we’re risking everything by agreeing to testify. So, I’d rather be safe than sorry when it comes to protection.”
Several different emotions passed over Sebastian’s face, like he could decide which to focus on, but before he could make up his mind, Kitt pressed a cellphone into his hand.
“Here. This is a secure line. Go call your cute little nurse and calm down. I’ve got things handled here for now.”
At first, it looked like Sebastian wanted to argue, but in the end, he accepted the phone and stepped outside.
Or at least, he stepped out of the building into the fake outside.
At the same time, Clay quietly grabbed my arm and looked pointedly in the direction where Sebastian had disappeared. He didn’t say anything, but his meaning was still clear just from the look in his eyes and the movement of his eyebrows.
“Look. See, I told you.”
In response, all I could do was shake my head.
I understood exactly what message he was trying to convey; I just had no idea what it meant.
What had he told me?
Had we ever even talked about Sebastian before?
At the front of the room, Kitt paused to rub the bridge of his nose for a moment before straightening his shoulders again addressing the rest of us with his usual confidence.
“All right. So, have any of you heard the phrase ‘A hunter that chases two rabbits catches none’?”
Thomas and Clay both looked like they were considering raising their hand, but inevitably no one said a thing.
I didn’t even pretend to have heard such a phrase before.
I wasn’t the most well read person, and these kinds of references often went over my head.
I wasn’t illiterate or anything, but growing up as a pawn of the bell ringers hadn’t given me a very good education.
It had been enough of a struggle to eventually earn my GED, and that was where my education stopped.
Kitt didn’t look surprised when no one answered him and carried on as if he had expected our silence.
“The basic meaning is that trying to pursue too many things at once will only result in failing to achieve anything. That is the dilemma we find ourselves with now. Mister Emerson has kindly provided us with a lot of information, but it is, odd to say, too much. We cannot hope to pursue every potential lead, so I need the rest of you to take a look at the pictures and information here and compare notes, so to speak. This way, we can hopefully narrow it down to a select few names that we can focus on. We aren’t going to take out the bell ringers all at once, but if we can take out a few of their most important individuals, that will open the door for us to bring down the rest.”
He gestured toward the table neatly covered with papers, inviting everyone to come take a look. I already knew what was on them, I’d been the one to supply the information, after all, but curiosity still got the best of me, and I joined the rest in circling around the table.
There, side-by-side, were copies of all the pictures I’d helped the sketch artist make, along with a list of information about the identity of each person.
Personal information, such as how I’d interacted with these people, had been left out, which I appreciated.
Just because everyone in this room had experienced some kind of trauma didn’t mean that I wanted to give them all a play-by-play of my own experiences.
“I recognize this guy,” Clay said, pointing to one of the pictures. “Along with this guy as well.”
“I’ve also seen that one,” Thomas agreed. “But I’m having trouble remembering where. He wasn’t a... I mean... we never...”
“You never engaged in sexual activity,” Kitt summarized for him.
Thomas pulled a face, like he’d just eaten something disgusting, but ultimately nodded.
“Yeah. That.”
During the whole exchange, the two sisters, Madison and Maria, were busy whispering amongst themselves.
“We’ve seen that guy before,” Madison said, pointing to one of the pictures. “He was there when our brother was kidnapped. He seemed to be in charge of things. He was inspecting the “new product” along with this woman.”