Farouk nodded slowly, then stepped inside the elevator. “Let’s talk outside.”
Mena rode down the elevator in silence with Farouk. Fingering the charms on her bracelet, she rehearsed her next move as the elevators opened. Farouk led her outside to a deserted outdoor sitting area that surrounded a wishing well.
“Where’s my money?” Farouk asked.
“There won’t be any more money. You didn’t hold up your end of the bargain—”
“The hell I didn’t! I confessed to the cops like Adam told me to and kept his name out of my official statement. I told them it was a voice distorter, and I didn’t know who I was talking to. I could still get fired for what I did, and now that bastard is trying to renege on paying me. What the hell? Do you understand that my son is dying in there? The treatments that are saving his life cost five grand a day! The Rakestraw Blake Center doesn’t do charity. Once the initial 10-day payment is up, they will ship him right back to St. Basil General where the disease will start back ravaging his body. I need that money,” Farouk said.
“I’m sorry about your son,” Mena said, regretting her decision to try to get Farouk to help her and Julian. They weren’t the only ones fighting for their lives. Farouk’s son needed the money that Farouk was expecting from Adam.
“You tell Adam he’s the one who’s going to be sorry. Payment for the next round of my son’s treatments is on Monday. If I don’t have the money in my hand, I’m going to the cops with evidence that could put him in prison for a very long time,” Farouk said.
“What kind of evidence do you have?” Mena asked.
“I’m not stupid. I know Adam was just following Priscilla’s orders. He’s been her head of security for years. Everything that happened in that anteroom was exactly what she wanted,”
“What do you think you know?” Mena asked, heart pounding in her throat.
“I heard Priscilla make a phone call to that ex-SEAL who was arrested for attacking her. She lured him back there and I’m guessing everything played out exactly like she planned. Now, I don’t know what went down in that room while I was gone, but I don’t believe for one second that he tried to kill her. When we rushed into the room and saw her convulsing on the floor, I knew I was dealing with some dangerous people. I figured it might come to this, so I made sure I had some insurance. I saw the cell phone in her pocket as I helped the EMTs get her on the gurney. I grabbed it and hid it in my pocket.”
“You have the cell phone,” Mena whispered, stunned.
“Damn right, I do. You know what else is on that phone? Texts between her and Adam talking about setting the guy up. So, you tell Adam that my fee has doubled to a hundred grand. That will pay for all the treatments my son needs and I’ll hand over the phone,” Farouk said, then stood.
“Wait a minute,” Mena grabbed his arm. “Where is the phone now?”
“A place where I can easily get it,” Farouk said.
“I’ll have a cashier’s check within the hour,” Mena said, grateful that Julian had put her as a secondary owner on a few of his local bank accounts. “You better have that phone when I get back.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Mena pounded her fist against the door. Again. Her hands aching, she glanced at the SUV in the narrow driveway of the modest home in Cashew Groves. Hands on her hips, she stepped toward the window to the left of the door and tried to peek inside. Curtains blocked her view. Mena raised her fist to knock again as the door opened slightly.
“Mena, what are you doing here?” Kendrick asked, frowning.
Pushing the door open wider, Mena forced her way past him into the living room.
“I have evidence that proves Julian is innocent,” Mena said, spinning around to face him. “I need you to get it authenticated so the charges can be dropped.”
“Wait a minute. What kind of evidence?” Kendrick asked, crossing his arms over his chest. He was closed off, guarded, his eyes wary as he stared at her.
Mena reached into her purse and pulled out the quart sized Ziploc bag with the burner phone inside. “This is the phone that Priscilla used to call Julian. There are also text messages on here between her and Adam discussing their plan to set Julian up.”
Stunned, Kendrick took the bag from Mena. “How did you get this?”
“Does that matter? Why can’t you just trust me and take it to the station?” Mena asked.
“Because evidence needs to follow a chain of custody to be certain it hasn’t been tampered with, Mena. Where did you get this burner phone?” Kendrick asked.
Mena stifled her rage. The look on Kendrick’s face frustrated her. He didn’t believe she was telling the truth. Taking a deep breath, Mena said, “I got the phone from Farouk Essa. He took it from the courthouse after Julian was arrested to use it as blackmail to get more money from Adam Russell.”
“Adam Russell?” Kendrick asked.
“Let me start from the beginning,” Mena said, sitting down on the leather recliner. Over the next thirty minutes she told Kendrick everything Julian had found out from Uma, except she told Kendrick that Uma had called and given her the information. Then she explained how she met up with Farouk at the Rakestraw Blake Center and got the burner phone.
“So, Adam Russell is behind the bribes. He got his new girlfriend Uma to deliver the cash to Essa. A second payment is owed to both men, but Uma hasn’t received directions from Adam on when to deliver it. You went to Essa and confronted him about this and he hands over the burner phone he was holding to blackmail Adam? Something’s not adding up here,” Kendrick said.
