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“Because I found you, uh, fascinating,” she whispered, “and my need to know only got worse after I went to the club that night.”
“And now? Do you still find me fascinating?” he pressed, leaning forward.
“Yes, Sir, more than ever.”
“What about the Zeppelins?”
“Max is the one fixated on them. I couldn’t care less. All I know is what he told me.”
“Which is?”
“What I just said. They’re gangsters out of Eastern Europe, although,” she added, “he also said he doesn’t understand why you want anything to do with them.”
“Where are all the photographs you’ve taken? We only found a few on your laptop.”
“I had a feeling you’d spotted me, and I was worried you’d track me down and steal it. That’s when I started hiding it in my garage locker when I went out. But I was still nervous about it, so I bought an external hard drive and downloaded them all, then deleted them.”
“Where is this hard drive?”
“At my next door neighbor’s place,” she admitted with another sigh. “She’s away for work and gave me her keys so I could water her plants. It’s under her sofa. She’s not supposed to be home for at least another month, but I put it there in case she came back early.”
“Do you have the keys with you?”
“They’re in the zippered compartment in my bag.”
“Besides photos of the Zeppelins, did you take any pictures of me with anyone else?”
“The two men in the picture I stole from Max’s. I don’t know who they are.”
“Is there anything more?”
“Just, uh, how sorry I am,” she said, dropping her eyes, “and, uh…” She caught her breath.
“This is your chance, Steph,” he said softly. “Don’t blow it.”
Swallowing back the lump of lava in her throat, she slowly lifted her gaze.
“I don’t believe you’re involved in the awful things those brothers are doing, and I don’t believe you want to be in business with them, not in a million years. I’m sure something else is going on, and that’s the other reason I kept following you. I was trying to figure it out.”
“And what conclusion did you come up with?”
“I think you’re working with the authorities, and that’s why you’re so freaked out. It would be really bad if the Zeppelins suspected you of—uh—double-crossing them.”
“I’m not freaked out, Steph. I never freak out.”
“No, no, I just mean, really worried,” she said hastily, then taking a breath, she softly asked, “Am I right?”
“You’re already going to be punished. Do you really want to add to it by asking questions you shouldn’t?”
“No, Sir, sorry,” she whispered, the butterflies in her stomach bursting to life.
“What’s your neighbor’s apartment number?”
“It’s the one to the left if you’re facing my door. 224.”
“Anything else? “
“I’ve told you everything Max told me, and why I did what I did,” she said thoughtfully. “You know what I found and what I think, and when I said I didn’t look at the flash drive, that was the truth. I tried, but it’s encrypted and I couldn’t get in.”
