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She stares out the window, glancing over her shoulder to check for police. “You don’t get it. His family owns like half the town. Even if you tried to go up against them, they’d investigate your wealth and have you imprisoned.”
I turn down a side street, feeling more confident that we’re not being tailed. “Something you need to understand about people like me is that we don’t go to court. We play dirty. Do you think Eric’s father has the balls to stand up to me after I threaten to blackmail him? You have no idea how easy it would be to find dirt on someone like him.”
Vera sits up straight again now that we’re away from the view of the general public. “I guess so, but... I really didn’t sign up for all that. I really need my education, Ruslan. I’ll get kicked out of school if I get caught doing something like that.”
I hear the conflict in her voice, and I actually feel sorry for her. She’s so consumed by the rules of society that she wouldn’t do everything possible to take her power back. All she cares about is getting a job at a high-rise office with cubicles and holidays off.
“I wouldn’t make you do anything. I can make this all go away for you, but you need to let me to what needs to be done. First, though, I need to find Misha’s killer.”
“Do you have any leads? You seemed pretty convinced that it was me, and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” she replies, looking out the window again as resentment grows in her voice.
“Nothing yet. The only thing they could check for are tire marks, but I doubt they’ve even looked at the camera footage at this point. If I leave it up to the police department, they’re going to drag everything out,” I reply.
She hesitates for a moment, holding her breath as a police car rushes past us. “I could text Eric and try to convince him not to go to the police. I’ll say that I’d be too traumatized to testify against you, and I’d obviously give him no indication that we’d met before. Does that sound like it might help?”
“You really don’t need to do that. I’m not scared of him and his family. They’re just idiots who got lucky,” I say as I park the car behind an abandoned building.
I’d never acknowledge that her efforts are helpful to me, but I can’t deny that I appreciate her willingness to do so. She has every right to go straight to the cops, especially as a victim of a crime involving such a wealthy family. She’d at least get a hefty payout as hush money.
But she’s giving that up for me.
“Hey, I was thinking I’d stop over at the fairgrounds to see if I can investigate the shooting a bit more. Is that something you’d want to do? Or do you want me to take you back to your place?” I ask, suddenly feeling inspired.
Her ears perk up, and I see a slight sparkle in her eyes. “Yeah, of course. I’d love to find out more about what happened that night. It might give me some closure.”
I’m shocked that she’s agreed to go with me, but I’m excited to have her with me. Even if I’m no longer convinced that Vera is responsible, I do think that the person who ordered the shooting is related to the death of my brother.
I said I would do anything to find his killer, and I meant it.
“Are you sure? It’s pretty dark. I wouldn’t want you to feel spooked by that,” I say, giving her one last chance to back out.
She shakes her head. “I promise I can handle it.”
With that, I quickly glance around the neighborhood to make sure that there aren’t any cops approaching. As soon as I’m confident that we’re still clear, I swing the car around and speed toward the fairgrounds.
19
Vera
Ihad to lie to Ruslan for him to bring me here.
I’m absolutely terrified of returning to the fairgrounds, but if it helps resolve this mess, then I’m all in. I have nothing better to do now that I’ve effectively cut ties with Eric. There’s no way I’ll ever be accepted back into that group of so-called friends.
And here we are, rolling back into the fairgrounds where I last saw everyone.
A subtle tremble rolls over my body as I envision the feeling of walking back into the fair, narrowly escaping from a horrible death the last time I entered.
Why did I agree to come with him in the first place?
Ruslan has calmed considerably, but I’m still not convinced that he’s in his right mind. I feel accomplished for being able to talk him down from running us both off the road, but now I realize that I’ve volunteered to risk that possibility again.
I look at him, trying to muster a smile. “So, what is it that you’re looking for at the fairgrounds? What kind of information do you think you’ll need? I feel like the cops have probably scrubbed everything clean now that they’re processing the evidence.”
“I’m not sure yet. I feel like I’ll know once I get there. Cops are idiots, and they don’t know how to think like a criminal. Since I’m a criminal professionally, I’ll have a better sense of what to look for,” Ruslan replies, his voice grave and humorless.
“You admit that like it’s nothing,” I say.
“It’s not nothing. It’s my entire life. I’m a mafia boss, and that’s how it’s always been.”
