Chapter 3 #2
‘And because she thought it was just a box of fancy jewelry –’ I said, continuing to talk to stop her from getting another word in – ‘it looks like she decided to use it in a kind of … game.’
‘A game?’ Alice echoed.
‘Yeah. Like a scavenger hunt. This is the first clue.’ The third clue, actually, but I didn’t need to give Alice every last detail. ‘If we follow the clues correctly, the jewelry will be the prize at the end.’
Alice said nothing for a few long seconds. ‘You realize that this is incredibly weird, right?’
I shrugged. ‘For you, maybe. My mom and I play games like this all the time.’
We used to. I pressed my hand to my sternum to keep the sudden, stabbing pain to myself.
‘Okay,’ Alice said eventually. ‘So what does S A S stand for?’
‘I’m not sure,’ I murmured. I was suddenly aware of how close we were pressed together, Alice’s face almost jammed into my neck so she could get a better look inside the safe. I shivered and moved away. ‘But I think it’s telling me where to go next.’
Alice straightened up and brushed her hands off on her dress, even though they weren’t dirty. She gave me a pointed look, her eyebrows pinched together. ‘And where is that?’
‘That’s what I need to work out.’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Does your family have any connection to the Biltmore?’ I asked. ‘Or the Vanderbilts?’
‘Not that I know of. Why? Is that relevant?’
I shrugged. ‘It could be.’
‘Do you think the jewelry was stored here at some point?’ Alice demanded loudly, and I shushed her, not wanting anyone to hear us and come to investigate why we weren’t still with the tour group.
‘It’s not impossible. You heard Gina. The vaults at the Biltmore were considered one of the safest places to keep valuables. The jewelry was high class and must have been expensive when it was bought. It’s not impossible that it was put here for safekeeping.’
‘I guess,’ she said, and I could tell she was coming around to the idea. ‘But why would my family have kept jewelry in a hotel vault? We’ve lived in New York for a long time. And I’m still struggling to see what that’s got to do with the fact it’s missing now?’
‘Honestly, Alice, I don’t know. That’s the point of all this. I have to figure it out from the clues my mom left me.’
I pulled my backpack off my shoulder and took out a bottle of hand sanitizer and an old Kleenex so I could scrub off the ink inside the safe.
‘You really think someone else could find the code?’ Alice asked.
‘Potentially,’ I said. The tissue came away stained with black, and the message was gone. Then I glanced up at her and realized I needed to do more to diffuse her nerves. ‘I’m being overly cautious,’ I added. ‘Don’t worry about it.’
‘What would anyone even do with that information?’ she asked, sounding a little hysterical, and I reminded myself I needed her not to freak out and run to the police.
‘Okay, think of it as me removing graffiti, if that sits better with you?’
She scowled, so clearly that hadn’t worked.
I stood up and put my backpack on, pulling the straps to keep it tight to my body. Alice straightened up too and gave me a look that said, Well?
‘Let’s go,’ I said.
‘Go where? It’s probably too late for us to catch up with the tour now.’
I shook my head. ‘We found what we needed, so we can get out of here. If anyone asks, we’ll say I wasn’t feeling well.’
‘Fine.’
Alice led the way back out of the maze of corridors, which was a relief, because I hadn’t been paying attention to the route on the way in.
We were halfway across the concourse when I noticed them. Alice seemed oblivious, and I wanted to keep her that way – she was more likely to panic and draw attention to us than help. And I needed a couple of extra seconds to confirm my suspicions.
While she went over to the information desk to give back our lanyards, and apologize and make excuses, I hovered, pretending to be a tourist gawking at the elegant design on the ceiling. Though I was sure that wouldn’t fool the guys who were slowly, patiently stalking me.
I watched them surreptitiously, just to make sure I wasn’t being paranoid. Lucas last night. Two guys today. It didn’t feel like a coincidence.
When Alice turned back, she must have seen something in my expression, because her brow furrowed and she hesitated mid-step.
‘What?’ she asked.
I considered not telling her the truth. Except she could already tell that was what I wanted to do.
‘Kendra?’
‘Okay,’ I said, wincing. ‘We need to be careful. There are two guys following me. Don’t look, for fuck’s sake,’ I finished as she tried to glance over my shoulder.
‘What do you mean, following you?’ she asked.
‘They were hanging around the door that took us to the staff-only area earlier, and now they’re hovering over by the platforms.’
‘You can’t be sure they’re the same guys,’ Alice scoffed.
I could, because I recognized them. They worked for Wilson. I fought down my instinctive anger. Wilson either really wanted to know what I was up to, or he was seriously trying to fuck with my head. Either way, it wasn’t great news.
‘I can,’ I said mildly. ‘Because I know them. Sort of. They’re not good guys.’
Alice’s expression turned panicked. ‘Oh, God. Should I find a cop?’
I grabbed her wrist to stop her. ‘No, absolutely not.’
‘Are you insane?’ she said, her voice rising as her eyes got wider.
‘Yes. We need to run.’
‘Run? What? Why?’
I ignored her questions. Explaining would take too long.
‘How in shape are you?’ I asked instead, hoping to distract her for a second.
‘I’m in excellent shape,’ she said indignantly. ‘I ran the marathon last November, and I play tennis and –’
I cut her off before she could launch into a tirade. ‘Great. Let’s run for the subway.’
‘I don’t like this, Kendra,’ Alice said, but I could tell she was willing to listen.
‘Me neither. But calling the cops will only make it worse. Do you trust me?’
‘No,’ she said with a slightly hysterical laugh. ‘I don’t even know you.’
‘Good. Trusting people, especially strangers, is a terrible idea,’ I said.
Then I reached out to her, offering my hand. Alice hesitated for a second, looking between my palm and my face. She seemed to make up her mind all at once and slapped her hand into mine.
‘Ready?’ I asked.
Alice nodded.
‘Go.’
I couldn’t help but bark with laughter as we took off at a decent speed.
We raced down the tiled corridor, dodging tourists, who looked scandalized at the sight of two girls sprinting through the terminal.
I wondered if we’d catch the eye of Grand Central security, but we soon burst through the gate that would take us to the subway, and there were no guards on our tail.
Alice shrieked as I leaped over the barrier. I felt, rather than saw, her follow me, vaulting the barrier and landing in a crouch. We ran down another set of stairs to the platform and the screech of the rails told me there was a train approaching.
The train pulled in on the southbound side of the platform, so I grabbed Alice’s hand again and dragged her onto it. As the doors closed, I saw the two guys from the concourse, wearing black camo pants and sweat-stained T-shirts, racing for the train.
The first one – curly-haired with a bruise under his eye – slapped his hands against the window. The woman next to me jumped back in shock.
‘What the hell was that about?’ Alice asked, panic creeping back into her voice.
‘I’ll tell you later,’ I said, looking pointedly at the busy train carriage and the people around us.
She nodded, and I was grateful for the chance to come up with a decent explanation. My role in the business often meant lying to people, sometimes to their faces, and I was surprisingly good at coming up with fake stories on the spot.
At 33rd Street, a bunch of people got off the train, leaving two seats free for me and Alice to slide into.
I kept an eye on the door as people piled out and in, and was grateful when no one seemed to pay any attention to us.
Alice started to ask where we were going, but I subtly shook my head, and she took the hint and shut up again.
We got out at 14th Street and I ducked into Union Square, hoping the park would give us some cover. As we walked down the tree-lined paths, I kept my eyes peeled for the guys from the station.
‘Do you see them?’ Alice asked as we wandered, looking for a bench.
‘No.’
‘Who were they?’ she asked, clearly agitated. I needed to be quick and smart with whatever I said next. It sucked that I wasn’t feeling quick or smart at all.
‘You get to know a lot of people, working in the antiques business,’ I said vaguely. ‘They work for one of my professional … associates.’
‘But why were they chasing us through Grand Central?’
‘I don’t know, Alice,’ I said with a heavy, dramatic sigh. ‘I’ve been kind of off the radar these past couple of months and I think they’re trying to figure out what I’ve been up to and if I’ve acquired something valuable.’
‘Really?’ she asked.
I picked a bench and took a seat, stretching my legs out and scanning the park for anyone who looked out of place. Alice sat down next to me and seemed to be more interested in watching me than anyone else.
‘Yeah. It happens. If I’ve just bought something big, then the people I work with start paying particular interest. It wouldn’t surprise me if one of my contacts is sending people to follow me to try to get inside information.’
It was all plausible – Wilson had asked me last night about new antiques that had come into circulation recently.
‘Oh,’ she said softly. I swallowed hard, trying to keep myself calm to hopefully keep her calm too. ‘Are they going to try to hurt you?’
I forced myself to laugh it off. ‘No, Alice. If they hurt me then they won’t be able to get their hands on whatever they think I’ve got.’
‘And do you have anything new?’
‘No,’ I said honestly. ‘I had to take some time out for … personal reasons.’
‘The family emergency,’ she said, echoing my words from earlier.
I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I just nodded.