“Hey, you found Uma? What happened?” Mena asked, lowering her voice and checking over her shoulder to make sure she was still alone in the workshop. She hadn’t bothered to go home after Julian left to find Uma. Mena had taken a shower, then slipped back upstairs and changed into the set of workout clothes that she kept in a gym bag in her office.
“Let’s just say she wasn’t the wealth of information that I was hoping for, but I learned that Russell told her to bribe the correctional officers.”
“I should have guessed that Adam was involved. Is she okay? What does he have on her to force her to do that?” Mena asked.
Julian chuckled. “She did it willingly. They fell in love after he refused to carry out Dumay’s orders to kill her.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mena said, pacing around the workshop. “Uma really knows how to pick them, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, and interestingly enough, she’s waiting on one more call from Russell for another payoff to the guards. Russell gets instructions to them, but Uma wasn’t sure how. Once they’ve done their part, Russell calls Uma and tells her where to deliver the money. They were paid half the fee up front and will get the other half after they finish all the tasks. But Uma said Russell hasn’t told her to make the second drop yet.”
“The guards admitted to the bribes. The cops know that they were paid off to leave Dumay alone in the courthouse. Adam’s not going to give them the rest of the money now,” Mena surmised.
“That’s what I thought too, but Uma heard from Russell this morning. He made it clear the deal was still on and that she’d have to deliver the second payment. I’m sure Russell knows about the guards’ confession,” Julian said.
“What do you think is going on?”
“My guess? The confession was part of what Russell told them to do. It’s no secret Dumay wants revenge on both of us. I get thrown in Tiverton to await trial for attacking her, then the cops find out about the bribes to the guards. Conveniently, Uma—your former assistant—was the one who gave them the money.”
“And it looks like we orchestrated all of it to try to kill her,” Mena said, pacing across the workshop toward the window. A shimmering orange glow spread across the sky as the sun began to rise. “Now those two guards are probably waiting for the rest of their payoff.”
“Money they haven’t gotten yet. I’m sure the more time that passes, the more anxious they’ll be,” Julian said, then paused. “I hate to do this, but I need a favor.”
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you,” Mena blurted.
“Really?” Julian’s question lingered in the air.
Guilt slammed into Mena as she realized what he must be thinking. She had turned down his marriage proposal when she knew it was the one thing he wanted most for them. She hadn’t told him the truth. She couldn’t marry him when she was still legally married to someone else. A situation she still hadn’t figured out how to resolve. Knowing that Michael was somewhere in the Caribbean could work for her. What would happen if she called him? Pretended to worry about how he disappeared over the weekend. Could she still trick him into signing the divorce papers?
“Yes,” Mena whispered. “I would do anything for you. Just name it.”
Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for his response. Julian was quiet for longer than she expected. He cleared his throat and said, “Kendrick needs to know about this second payment and use that as a reason to put some pressure on the guards. If one of them cracks, they could tell the cops the truth. Adam Russell is the one who orchestrated the bribe with Uma and not me and you. That’s why I called you from Uma’s phone. You’ll have to tell a little white lie and say she admitted all of this to you. Think you can do that?”
Mena exhaled slowly. “Piece of cake.”
An hour later, Mena rehearsed the details of her modified plan as she drove her SUV onto the ferry to the Aerie Islands. She was taking a risk, going rogue from what Julian expected her to do. Julian never would have agreed to let her help him like this. But Mena knew in her heart this was a better approach than trusting the cops to do the right thing. She had to give Kendrick something more concrete and definitive to prove Julian’s innocence.
Placing the car in park, Mena stared out the window at the deep turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. St. Basil grew smaller in the distance as the ferry chugged across the open waters toward the Aerie Islands. She didn’t have much time. Grabbing the printouts, Mena studied Julian’s notes. He had meticulous intel on both Farouk Essa and Whalum O’Keefe. Research he’d left behind in the basement of the Genesis Gallery—addresses, phone numbers, family members, friends, frequent hang out spots. Mena didn’t believe for one minute that either officer would flip on Dumay under police interrogation.
They would need a better reason to tell the cops what they knew. She planned to make sure they had one.
Her plan had come together when she’d read a critical detail in Julian’s notes. Farouk Essa’s son had a rare medical condition. He was transferred to the Rakestraw Blake Center the weekend after Dumay’s attack. Julian believed that Farouk was using the money to help his sick son. If the second payment hadn’t been made yet, Farouk was likely the more desperate of the two officers. She could appeal to his better nature, helping him to understand how his actions to save his son were going to put an innocent man in prison for years. Maybe if he listened to her, she could convince him to come clean to the police about Adam Russell.
As the ferry docked, Mena started the SUV and drove across the island to the Rakestraw Blake Center. Julian’s notes had indicated Farouk was on medical leave since the trial. She couldn’t imagine he’d be any other place but at the hospital with his son.
The pediatric ICU was on the fifth floor. Mena stepped into the elevator and pressed five. She took a deep breath and said a silent prayer.
The door to the fifth floor opened. A man stepped inside, then paused.
“I’m sorry. Ladies first,” the man said. His voice low and pained.
Mena recognized him. The man she’d come to see—Farouk Essa.
“Mr. Essa,” Mena said.
“Yes, do I know you?” Farouk asked.
“No, but I have information to share with you from Adam,” Mena had chosen her words wisely, in case the man was concerned about further implicating himself.
