Chapter 15 #2
“Are you ready to proceed, Ms. James? Once I insert the key and confirm the match, your guest and I will wait outside, while you conclude your business with the box.”
Mads eyes darted between me and Marlon. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that my unpleasant companion thought I put Marlon up to it. That I had manipulated the situation to get myself alone with the safety deposit box.
And while I wouldn’t have put it past me, I had gone into this knowing that Mads was eager to get his hands on half of the cash. Then, and only then, was it possible for him to stop using his cult-infiltrating tactics to insert himself into my life.
But Mads would only give up on that if he was certain he got what he was due.
Which meant I couldn’t have him guessing how much cash was left in that box or whether or not I gave him half.
He’d need to see that he got his fifty-percent so that there were no more unexpected apartment break-ins. Or accidental roofying.
“It’s fine, he’s with me,” I offered, even though Mads was giving off bad-guy-energy, and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. “We’ll open the box together.”
Marlon pursed his lips. “As you wish.”
We slid the keys into place, and pulled the safety deposit box out of the wall. Once the lidded metal box was placed on the provided table, our bank provisioned supervisor left with the simple note to holler when we were ready to lock up the box.
For whatever reason, people at this bank really enjoyed their yelling.
“You ready for this, Delilah?” For all his eagerness, Mads took a moment to slow down, to check-in.
Was I?
An inconvenient wave of nausea rolled through me.
Like I hadn’t already damn-near eaten an entire candy store.
Or maybe it was because I damn-near ate an entire candy store.
Either way, I popped a piece of gum in my mouth and nodded, which was just about the only confirmation I could muster without the risk of my stomach turning over.
Breathing deep, I pressed the pads of my fingers to the lid. Opening this box needed to be like ripping off a band-aid. Fast, so that I could get the pain over with.
Without allowing myself any more fanfare, I slid open the top.
Oh. My. God.
My nausea all but forgotten, I spun to face Mads. “Did you know this was in here?”
Mads double blinked. “I knew he had cash left, but,” he took a step closer, “I didn’t think it would be this much.”
The safety deposit box was brimming with cash. Stacks and stacks of what appeared to be hundred-dollar bills. There had to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in there. And sitting right on top was a piece of cardstock. With my name on it.
With a shaking hand, not daring to touch any of the cash for fear it might be an illusion, I plucked the card and flipped it over.
144442454344121132151143
Another cipher. Grand. Just what I needed when in a state of shock.
Good thing I’d memorized the Polybius square Lawrence used to code his previous letter. My mind made the necessary substitutions.
The message was bad news.
I TRUSTED MADS.
Past tense.
?
Great. Wonderful. Now, I was walking out of a bank with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, in a flimsy bag, with a man who shouldn’t be trusted. Great. Just great. Not only did I get another problem to add to my never-ending list, but I was leaving with more questions than answers.
Like why the hell did Lawrence get involved with Mads in the first place? Why did he give Mads the key if he no longer trusted him? And how the hell did Lawrence manage to save up this much money?
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
There was still a block to go before we reached our cars, and my phone was vibrating like it was intent on slithering out of my pocket.
“You gonna answer that?”
You gonna answer that? It took all of the mental strength I had left not to parrot the sentiment back like an angry fifth grader.
Mads seemed to have a thing for wanting calls to be answered, and alarms to be silenced.
Like anything that took my attention away from him was a nuisance.
“You know for someone who knows so much about me, you clearly don’t know when to mind your own business. ”
“I just know those agents of yours have you on a tight leash, and you’re expected to answer when they call.”
I was curious how he knew that bit of information when the details of my contract hadn’t been made public knowledge. One thing was certain, he knew a lot more than he was letting on.
But as an unknown number flashed on my screen, Mads had gotten at least one thing wrong—it wasn’t one of the agents who’d called.
Botan ignored my greeting as he rushed his words out. “Delilah, your guy, Mads, I did some digging. He’s bad news. Bad, bad, news.”
“Oh, yeah?” I tried to sound nonchalant, keeping my face unreadable, as my heart leapt into my throat. Since Botan had gone through all the trouble of using a burner, daring to call me on my FBI-given device in the middle of the day, I’d expected his message to be urgent. “I’m with him now.”
Mads shot me a look that made my skin crawl, I held up the one second gesture because while I had been telling Botan my predicament, I couldn’t have Mads figuring out what was going on.
“He’s doing a lot better than when I saw him last. Still doesn’t know who I am, but that’s what I expected.” That last bit, was a bit of truth, but was in reference to my brief visit at the nursing home, not Mads.
The sandy freckled man didn’t take his eyes off me. His glare was boring a hole into the side of my head. And while I was certain the volume on my phone was too low for him to hear, I didn’t want to take any chances.
“You need to get out of there now. Now, now. Do whatever you need to, but get the hell away from him.” I’d seen Botan calm, cool, angry, and frustrated, but hearing the worry in his voice was a first.
Still, I kept up my coded responses. “I’m just leaving him now. Were you just calling to check in on me Agent Hess, or do you have an ask?”
“This guy got Lawrence on the Seal case, Delilah. When I look further back, I found a lot more shit than I was expecting. I’m pretty sure he’s killed people, and he has a very keen interest in you. Stay on the line, I’m not leaving you with him.”
Mads got Lawrence on the Seal? If that was true, Mads was more of a risk than even I bargained for. But it did start connecting some of the dots in my head… and the picture it painted wasn’t pretty.
“No, that’s alright, I’m headed to the car now. I’ll talk to you soon. I’ll hurry back as soon as possible.”
Botan let out a frustrated groan. “You’re killing me here. Say ‘banana’ if you understand your risk.”
Easier said than done. Banana was not that easy to work around without alerting Mads that something was off. Botan really should have given his codeword more thought. “You’re bananas. Everything is fine. Promise.”
“It sure as hell better be. Take care of yourself, Delilah, because I fully expect you to reimburse me for this burner.”
The line went dead. And I was alone with the man who had a lot more involvement in messing up my life than I’d expected. He had a part to play in Lawrence’s death.
He was dangerous.
Mads and I walked in silence as I processed Botan’s warning. A trickle of sweat beaded down my neck, snaking its way down my spine.