Chapter 26
“Next!” the correctional officer called out, his tone indicating a painful level of boredom.
Ann stepped closer, smoothing a hand over her jeans. She and Emily had debated what to wear. Should they arrive looking like hookers? No, they agreed. Ethan Howell wouldn’t take a hooker seriously. He’d be too busy gawking at their exposed skin to listen to their argument. Maybe in demure dresses? Like the clothes the women in his “congregation” wore? No, that wouldn’t work either. Howell beat and demoralized those women. Maybe business suits? No, he’d assume that she and Emily were lawyers.
They’d settled on jeans, tee shirts, and leather ankle boots. The look was about as neutral as possible. It wasn’t particularly feminine or masculine. It didn’t scream corporate lawyer or hooker. In other words, he, hopefully, wouldn’t be suspicious when he was led into the visiting room. A neutral appearance would give them a chance to plead their case before he dismissed them.
Ann and Emily sat in the plastic chairs with a bench between them and a plastic chair on the other side. There were no glass partitions like in the movies. Just the bar that visually separated the prisoners awaiting trial from their visitors. The prisoners would sit on one side of the metal bar and the visitors on the other.
All the visitors had been given a lecture on the proper behavior with the “no touching, no hugging, and no kissing” rules emphasized repeatedly.
Ann and Emily had both shuddered at the thought of touching someone like Ethan Howell, but the other visitors shifted uncomfortably, almost as if they were trying to figure out a way to get just a bit of affection from their loved ones before the guards stepped in.
“This is creepy!” Emily hissed as they sat down. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place with so many bars.”
Ann nodded. “I’m with ya. Can you imagine facing this for the rest of your life?”
Emily shivered. “No, but I’m glad that Howell is. The man is truly a monster.”
Before Ann could respond, a harsh bell sounded and the doors at the far end of the long room opened. A line of men in ill-fitting orange jumpsuits walked in, surveying the room as they looked for their visitors.
Ethan Howell didn’t look like the pictures of him online. The internet showed a robust man with thinning hair and a bit of a paunch. The man walking towards them was shorter than Ann expected and nearly bald. He’d gained about twenty pounds since the picture had been taken, and she doubted all that weight had come from the jail’s cafeteria offerings.
“Who the hell are you?” Ethan snapped, standing next to the plastic chair, but not sitting down. “You’re not my lawyers.”
Ann shook her head. “Nope. We’re not lawyers. Nor are we cops.” She shrugged. “We both work at TBC.” She paused, lifting a quizzical eyebrow. “Ever heard of it?”
Ethan’s features relaxed slightly and he sat down, obviously intrigued. “Yeah, I’ve heard of the priss-ass club. Lots of wealthy prick members, prancing around as if they’re better than the rest of the world.”
Emily chuckled. “Bingo.” She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Glad you understand our clientele.”
Ethan’s watery blue eyes narrowed. “What do you want from me?”
Ann leaned forward as well, giving the man a glimpse of the shadow between her breasts. Ann’s tee shirt was a V neck while Emily’s was tighter, but came all the way up to her neckline.
“We want to make a trade,” Ann explained.
Emily began with her part of the story they’d concocted. “You see, Mr. Howell, we’ve heard rumors that you have some…intriguing videos that might bother various certain important people.”
Ethan had been holding his hands down between his knees, but at the mention of the videos, his fingers curled into fists.
“I don’t know where you…ladies…got your information.”
Ann shrugged. “We’re not saying you have them or not,” she continued calmly. “But just say that you have some…information on someone that could nudge that person’s influence,” she shrugged again and looked to the right. “Oh, maybe if you had some info on an important person, like the governor,” she lifted a hand to stop Ethan when he opened his mouth, “Not saying you do, just…hypothetically…if that video were to go public, the district attorney would have a scandal on his hands. But if you were to give that video to us, then we could…discreetly, of course…speak with the district attorney on your behalf and get him to offer you a deal.”
Ethan chuckled. “Why the hell should I trust either of you?”
Ann grinned. “You shouldn’t. We’re complete strangers to you.” She’d said that specifically. “But I know a lot about certain people since I’ve overheard conversations while serving powerful men drinks.” She leaned back in her chair. “Not saying I know anything that might help you out during your trial. I make no promises. And you shouldn’t trust either of us.”
Emily stepped in now. “But, if you were to suggest a place where we could look for these hypothetical videos, then maybe we could talk to a few people.” She looked around and sighed. “You’re obviously not in a position to…uh…pass those videos along to the right person.”
Ann lifted her hand. “We would be happy to provide that service.”
“Why?” Ethan demanded.
Emily shrugged. “We’re sick of these guys getting away with their manipulations. It’s our turn to do a bit of manipulating.”
Ethan was silent for a long moment, staring first at Ann, then Emily. They’d anticipated this perusal and sat very still, waiting.
Finally, Ethan shrugged. “What the hell! I don’t trust either of you bitches, but you don’t look like cops. You’re too soft.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair, his hands resting ridiculously close to his groin. “But here’s the thing! I’m not getting out of here. The cops have too much evidence on me. So, I’m going to have to trust you to release the videos into the world. There’s zero chance that handing over a video to the district attorney will help my case. So I’d rather up my credibility inside prison.” He chuckled and looked around, obviously relishing whatever he was about to say. “So, here’s what you’re going to do.” He leaned forward. “You’re going to release every damn video once I tell you where they’re stored, understand?”
Ann and Emily were stunned. Neither thought that the man would be this willing to cooperate. They’d thought to give him their names so that he could search for them online. Howell could discover that Emily and Ann were who they said they were – just ordinary women working in a place that served expensive liquor to executives who got paid far too much to manipulate stock and product prices.
“Either of you ever been to Todras?”
Emily shook her head. “Nope.”
Ann shook her head as well, but remained very still, trying not to betray her excitement.
“The cops must have searched my house there.” He chuckled. “They’ve presumably found an interesting room there. But I didn’t store anything important in my Todras home or the other places I own. The stuff I have on some of these pricks is too good. They were eventually going to come after me, so they could save their perverted hides.”
Ann thought it was ironic that this creep called other people perverted. This man had done things that she didn’t want to even think about.
“Go to Bailey Middle State Park. There’s a waterfall there. You’re going to look under the stones to find a metal box. Inside, you’ll find a bunch of…” he chuckled and rubbed his hands together, “… interesting movies stored on a flash drive.” He clapped his hands. “When you release the videos to the press, make sure to give me credit.” He grinned. “I might be in prison, but I’m going to be freakin famous!” He threw back his head, laughing. When he stopped, his creepy eyes were lit up with his deranged happiness. “Do you know how many women get all lovey dovey on famous inmates? Hell, I might marry one of the bitches just to get conjugal visits!”
With that, Ethan stood up and waved to Ann and Emily. “See ya later, bitches!”
And then he was gone.
Ann sat there for a long moment. Emily didn’t seem to be able to move either.
Finally, Ann turned to stare at Emily. Both were too shocked to speak. Quietly, they stood and left the jail. Tazim was waiting for them by a black SUV and Mike was leaning against another. Hendrix was chatting with Tazim’s bodyguards, but they all straightened as soon as Emily and Ann stepped out into the bright sunshine.
“What did he say?” Tazim demanded, taking Ann’s hands and searching her face.
“He told us where the box containing the videos is hidden,” Ann whispered.
Tazim and Hendrix were stunned for a long moment. Then Hendrix said, “He just…told you where they were?”
Emily nodded, wrapping her arms around herself as if she were cold. Immediately, Hendrix shrugged off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
“Yeah,” Emily confirmed, pulling the jacket closer. Did she inconspicuously sniff the fabric? “He thinks that he’s going to be famous in prison once the videos are released. The other inmates will revere him, or something like that.”
Ann leaned against Tazim, needing his strength and his warmth. There was something chilling about looking pure evil in the eye.
“Let’s go find it, Hendrix.” Emily looked up at the man. He hesitated for a moment, looked at Ann, then at Tazim.
“Maybe we should–”
“No,” Ann interjected. “We know where the box is. What if he decides that he doesn’t trust us and tells someone else? What if he makes a phone call and gets one of his friends to grab the box before we can?” She looked around, noting that Tazim’s bodyguards as well as Hendrix’s team all agreed with her.
“Please?” she whispered, looking up at Tazim. “We need this. I need this.”