9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Daniel
“Here you go,” Andreas says, handing Daniel a small dark plastic bag. “Do I even want to know why…” he trails off, waving his hand dismissively. “You know what? Don’t tell me. With you, I’m going to pretend I don’t know anything.” Andreas heads back to his house, shaking his head in disapproval.
Andreas is right. He shouldn’t know what Daniel has planned. First, he’d definitely disapprove. And second, his friend will need plausible deniability if things go sideways—and with Daniel, things always have the tendency to go in that direction.
“Thanks, man,” Daniel calls after him, tucking the bag into his jacket. He climbs back into his car and drives off before Andreas can reconsider.
Later that week, after Daniel’s relentless barrage of text messages, so insistent that they were toeing the line of being considered stalkerish, Aurora finally agreed to hear him out and watch a movie with him. As friends. And his treat.
Daniel was surprised by the second condition. He thought she’d want to avoid any date-like behaviors, but he figured that her financial situation might be more dire than he originally thought. He set aside that information for future consideration.
When he pulls up to the one-story house Aurora gave him the address to, he finds her already waiting outside.
He rushes out, instantly noticing the apprehension in her eyes.
Forcing a smile, he tries to ease the tension between them.
Once she’s inside the car, he jogs to the driver’s side, not wanting to leave her alone any longer than necessary, fearing she might change her mind.
He slides behind the wheel and turns the key. “So, how have you been?”
“You wanted to explain. So, explain,” she says, gesturing toward him with one hand while clutching her purse.
He hopes Aurora will get comfortable enough to loosen her grip on it. Otherwise, Daniel’s plan will be much harder to execute.
He takes a deep breath, trying to organize his thoughts.
He knows that he needs to tread carefully, to choose every single word, every syllable with intention.
“I caught a case and it… consumed me,” he finally says, his voice steady but guarded.
He doesn’t want to share more than he has to.
Not yet. “It consumed me, and I couldn’t… do anything but focus on it.”
Her eyebrows pinch together, eyes narrowing as she asks, “What type of case?”
“A murder,” Daniel says, tightening his hold on the wheel.
Aurora’s expression softens, and she reaches toward him, stopping short of touching his hand. “I’m so sorry, Daniel.” Her voice is filled with a sincerity that cuts through him like a sudden, hidden blade.
“Thank you,” he replies, feeling a mixture of relief and guilt. “How are you? What have you been up to?”
When Aurora doesn’t respond immediately, he wants to push, as the need to uncover is second nature to him, but he forces himself to keep his mouth shut.
Pretend you’re Andreas, he tells himself.
Be the good cop. Because here, with Aurora, he can’t be his usual self.
He needs to be gentle, walk the line cautiously, so he doesn’t spook her and risk her closing up, leaving him with no answers.
Aurora turns away from him and stares out the window. “Not much. Life threw a wrench in my plans and, um… my financial situation took an unexpected turn.” Her voice is soft-spoken and hesitant. “But I think I might’ve caught a break with a real job.”
A job.
“Honestly, you should consider yourself lucky. You didn’t stick around to see the hot mess my life has become,” she says more lightheartedly.
“Now I feel like a first-grade prick.” Daniel scratches his head. “What type of job?” he asks, not missing a beat.
“A nanny job,” she says, confirming his earlier suspicions.
She’s Misha’s nanny. She’s going to be close to Sergei.
Daniel’s mind is racing again. “No kidding,” he responds, trying his best to mask the emotional rollercoaster engulfing his mind. “How do you like the job?”
“It’s only been ten days, so we’ll see.” She shrugs and moves the purse further away from her body, relaxing as their conversation unfolds.
“But the boy I’m caring for is so sweet.
” Her real smile makes his own facial muscles envious of not being able to form such a masterpiece.
“My heart completely breaks for him. He just lost his mother, and—” Aurora keeps speaking, but Daniel can no longer process the words.
His mother. He lost his mother. Because Sergei killed her.
“Daniel?” Aurora notices his silence.
What else did she say?
“Sorry to hear that. It sounds tough. How’s he holding up?”
“He’s a bit behind on verbal expression, but his receptive language is pretty good.” She shifts closer to Daniel, lowering her purse to the floor. Good. “But I think that’s not too atypical. He’s learning two languages and doesn’t have much socialization with kids his age.”
Daniel whips his head toward Aurora. “He’s behind developmentally?”
“I mean, I’m not a speech pathologist, so I can’t give a clear diagnosis or anything, but I’m already implementing a plan to get him talking more. We started lessons at home and ventured into the city for social interaction with other kids his age.”
Lessons at home. She’s going to be inside his apartment. She’s going to be inside his apartment every single day.
“The kid is lucky to have you in his life,” Daniel says as he parks outside the movie theater. The words are like ash in his mouth. He should be embarrassed for manipulating her, but he’s too laser-focused on his goal. He sees nothing, and no one else, in its path.
Aurora is quiet for a few moments, her eyes searching his. What she’s searching for, he isn’t sure, but he hopes she finds it there. Daniel doesn’t dare to breathe until she says, “Thanks.”
Daniel pays little attention to the thriller playing in the background. That isn’t why he’s here. His mind is set on the mission at hand. He made sure to get Aurora the largest drink available, setting his plan in motion.
Recognizing how some women are attached to their purses, he figures there’s a fifty-fifty chance she’ll take hers to the restroom. When Aurora excuses herself in the middle of the movie, leaving her purse at the foot of her lounger, Daniel takes it as a sign to proceed with his plan.
Bending down as if to tie his shoelaces, he slips the small black device inside the empty inner pocket of Aurora’s purse. He hopes this means she doesn’t use the pocket frequently and won’t discover the device anytime soon.
Daniel places the purse back down, adjusting it to match its original position, then sits back up, relaxing slightly against the comfortable lounger.
When Aurora returns to the auditorium, he realizes he forgot to turn the device on.
Shit.
She’s only a few rows down, already ascending the stairs. Leaning forward, he pulls the zipper open, but as he grabs the device, it slips from his fingers.
Fuck.
Panic surges through his body as he picks it up, flipping the switch from “OFF” to “ON,” cursing the inventor of the device for making such tiny buttons.
If Aurora sees what he’s doing, there will be no going back. He’ll lose his one chance, and everything will be ruined.
Daniel straightens in his seat right as Aurora steps onto their row. He leans back, hoping she doesn’t notice the sweat beading down his temple. His heart pounds, threatening to break through his rib cage with each beat.
“You okay?” she whispers, leaning toward him.
He swallows hard. “Yeah, it’s… hot in here.” He fans his shirt a few times.
“Sure…” She raises her eyebrows and pulls her jacket tighter around her.
Now, Daniel simply has to wait. It won’t be long before the device is close enough to Sergei’s phone or laptop, and Daniel will be able to access everything he needs to finally prove that Sergei murdered his wife.