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She smiled in appreciation and continued the story. “We weren’t given much time to gather our things before we were taken to our nearest relative, but we grabbed what we could of our mom’s stuff, instead of our own toys and things, because we wanted to have something of hers. And then, years later, amongst her things, we found evidence that Apollo Brock was up to no good in the warehouse. That our mom knew about it. And that the ‘accident’ she was involved in may not have been an accident at all.”
“Oh my god.”
“Yeah. I won’t go into the details here. I’ll tell you another day, if you want. But we started a campaign against Apollo when we were teenagers. We couldn’t get the police or anyone to listen to us, so we went around trying to find other people whose relatives died while working for Apollo, or ex-employees who had tales to tell. We gathered too much support. And one day, all the evidence we’d gathered went missing. We were young, we hadn’t made copies or kept anything particularly secure, not by corporate standards, anyway. But it hadn’t been stolen. In the end, it turned out Helli had turned over all the evidence.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Bought out by Apollo, I presume? I’m not sure. I didn’t believe it myself, until she told me with her own words that she had done it, that she didn’t want anything to do with the campaign or with me anymore.”
“That’s wild.”
“Yeah. Quite a big betrayal. That’s why I keep to myself a lot these days.”
“I bet. Well, I promise you that I’m not working for Apollo. I can’t give any more details than that. But, Jenni... if there was a way to get back at Apollo and your sister... something you could do... would you do it?”
Jenni nodded. She looked the most serious, the most calm I’d ever seen her. “In a heartbeat.”
I laughed nervously. “Alright well... stay tuned...”
Hanging out with Jenni was nice, but it was sadder than I’d thought it would be. I felt for Jenni. She had been abandoned by her sister, who had also been her closest friend, and she was alone in the world.
But apparently, if given the opportunity for revenge, she’d ruthlessly take it. That could come in handy if I could figure out a way of using this to our advantage.
I walked to the bus stop, and checked my phone while waiting. I smiled. A message from Forest.
Forest:You want to test our relationship strength?
Forest:I’m in need of a date on Friday to a public event
Forest:My brothers will be there
Ria:Sure. What’s the event?
Forest:My brother Jude, his wife Elsie is the co-founder of a charity. They’re celebrating some milestone or other. It’s publicity for the charity, really. It’ll be nice, not too formal
Ria:Don’t you love ‘formal’?
Forest:When did I ever say that?
Forest:I’m a notorious party animal
Forest:I’ll send you the details. I’ll get a car to pick you up on the day
Ria:Do I get a new outfit gifted to me for the occasion?
Forest:You choose this time. Or I’ll have to start paying Mrs J significantly more as your personal stylist
FOREST
“Iwent for drinks with Jenni.”
We were sitting down for a midweek dinner date at the same restaurant as last time. I’d not sent a dress on this occasion, to Mrs J’s disappointment. But Ria had come in one of her own that, despite being much less expensive, was almost as stunning.
I mentally slapped myself out of it.Keep your head in the game. “I saw. On CCTV.”
She toyed with the loose strands of her hair. “Are you always watching that CCTV?”
I swirled the whisky in my glass around, then met her intense eyes. “Only when I know you’re about.”
