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Smart woman.“Little did I know I was talking to the head of the group.”
Retta’s mouth flattened. “One of them.”
Interesting.“Sorry. Did I offend you by suggesting someone else is in charge?”
“We had an understanding, Gabby.” Retta’s tone took on a scolding note. “We talked about this.”
“You threatened me while I was standing in the room with a man who I knew had killed at least two people.” Gabby gave the unknown man with them a glance, but he didn’t have any reaction to the murder talk. “Pardon me for panicking and silently conceding to your Darren or Liam challenge.”
“The police cleared Liam this morning.” Retta counted out her list on her fingers. “The site that leaked the information about Kennedy and Liam being father and daughter was discreditedlast night. The story is now that an individual blackmailing Liam—”
“A person who doesn’t exist.”
“—framed Liam and spread information about Kennedy that may or may not be true in an attempt to extort money from him. This individual also planted evidence at Liam’s home, which after being tested has no connection to Baines’s death. So Liam is clear there, too.” Retta wrapped her arms around her. “He looks like a victim. A man still grieving from his brother’s death who became a target of someone looking for a quick payday.”
“Is there a PR team at the Foundation that comes up with these lies, or is that part of your job?”
Retta shifted, suddenly sitting forward. “Don’t underestimate Faith.”
“She killed her best friend to protect a secret society. I’m quite clear about how dangerous Faith is.” Gabby had spent five of the last six nights not sleeping. She had a bat next to her bed and a knife under her pillow.
Retta frowned. “Then why are you inviting her to be an enemy?”
This topic wouldn’t take them where Gabby wanted to go. They could talk in circles, but she’d come here for a reason, and not the one Retta thought.
“We need a new deal,” Gabby said, sounding more secure than she was.
Retta smiled. “You’d need leverage for that.”
“Did I forget to mention I have this?” Gabby reached into her bra and pulled out a memory stick. “You stole Jessa’s bag, but Ihad this. Well, not this one specifically. This one is a copy, because this isn’t my first day dealing with you. I’ve learned a few things.”
Retta glanced at the man who’d conducted the patdown then to Gabby again. “I don’t know what you think—”
“Your files. Jessa collected them from the firm’s top secret partner closet... or vault. I’m unclear on what it is. There’s probably a technical name for it, but that’s how she described it.” Gabby set the stick on the table between them.
“Get to the point.”
“Happy to. Do your fellow group members know you have a file on each of them? The information in there about Faith and what she did in the Young case to hide that mother and her kid and frame the dad for murder... how she lied to the police and the court.” Gabby whistled. “Pretty damning stuff.”
“What do you want?”
Gabby had more to spill first. “Then there’s the files you kept on each of the Foundation votes. You handed down your special kind of justice a lot over the last three years.” When Retta didn’t say anything in response, Gabby continued, “Those folders don’t have names on them, but I doubt it would be hard to connect the fact patterns with some of the mysterious deaths in the area.”
Retta snatched the stick and closed it in her fist. “Congratulations. You played this game smarter than I thought you would. Actually, that’s not true. I’ve always said you were one of my best students.”
Gabby ignored all Retta’s fake sucking up. She’d long ago lostthe need to win over people she viewed as teachers and mentors. And she didn’t think of Retta as either anymore.
Gabby stayed focused. She had a list of things she needed Retta to agree to. She’d gone over all of this, made contingency plans, and now it was finally time. “You’re speaking on behalf of the entire Foundation?”
“Yes.”
Gabby didn’t fully believe that, but she pressed on. “To start, my family stays out of all of this, and no one goes near them. Ever.”
“I already agreed to that.”
She did. Faith hadn’t, and that distinction mattered to Gabby. “Darren goes to prison for something he did and not for the murder. Jessa becomes an unsolved murder statistic and gets a shelter or something named after her that you fund. Most important, the Foundation immediately stops its nonpublic, behind-the-scenes pseudo–justice work.”
Retta’s eyes narrowed as she listened. “You’re on dangerous footing.”
