Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
“Lindley?” Danica asked. “Are you okay?”
Her friend was just sitting there, unmoving. Then she pulled her hand from her purse.
Lindley was holding a gun.
“Drop your phone, Dani.”
“But…” She couldn’t be serious.
“Do it.”
Danica let go of the device, raising her hands. The phone thudded to the rug.
“When I came here tonight,” Lindley said, “I didn’t know if I could go through with this. But now… I’m sorry. I don’t think I have a choice.”
Aiming the weapon, Lindley darted forward and snatched Danica’s phone. She powered it off.
“Whatever is going on, we can figure it out.” Thoughts flew through Danica’s mind as she tried to put the pieces together. “Does this have something to do with Jason Gerrig? Valoris Security?” Lindley had seemed unsettled, but still okay until Danica had mentioned the Valoris connection.
Lindley flinched at the mention of his name. “He came to the museum about three months ago. Threatened me. Told me if I didn’t do what he said, he’d hurt me and my family.”
Danica’s hand flew to her mouth.
“But if I complied? I’d get paid. I never wanted to do it. I swear to you. If there’d been any other way…”
Danica tried to think. “Let’s just calm down. Both of us. Whatever happened, Jason is dead now. He can’t hurt you or anyone.”
Lindley’s knuckles went white against the gun.
“All of this can hurt me. Don’t you see that?
” Tears spilled from her eyes. “Everyone’s going to figure it out, and what then?
What am I supposed to do? I gave those men your schedule.
After they failed the first time, I stayed up all night figuring out how to delete part of the surveillance video.
Even though it was Jason who messed up and let the camera see him, not me.
At the gala, I disabled the alarm on the emergency exit for them. ”
“We’ll explain to the police that you were under duress. We’ll tell them—”
“No. Don’t you get it? It was never just Jason Gerrig, Danica. He was hired by someone else. And if I report them, they’ll kill me.”
Someone else.
Who? she wanted to demand.
Noah was still upstairs. But if she screamed, Lindley might shoot. And she wasn’t standing close enough for Danica to disarm her.
Do I even remember those moves? Shit. She hadn’t seen her Krav Maga teacher in months.
This wasn’t like with Jason at the gala, where Danica had been able to take him by surprise despite his training. Lindley was too wary of her. Too skittish already. Lindley’s hands were shaking, and it would be easy for her trigger finger to squeeze. Or even slip.
Lindley gestured with the gun at the door. “We’re going to walk outside now. I don’t want to hurt you. But if you try to get Noah’s attention, I will. It’s my life or yours, Danica, and I’m sorry, but that’s not much of a debate.”
“What then?” Danica asked quietly. “What are you going to do?”
“Give the people who hired Jason what they want. You.”