AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She refuses to answer questions and…” Despite obvious apprehension, the nurse focused on Lachlan. “I’m sorry, Detective, but it’s very apparent a crime has been committed.”
“Oh, I’d say so,” Lachlan said it plain. “Can I have a minute with my sister?” The woman nodded and backed off. She didn’t know what to say, but it didn’t matter. Lachlan was set on his sibling. “Where did you find her?”
“On the street,” Sersha said in an obvious lie. The sister didn’t sweat under her brother’s scrutiny. “I’m a good Samaritan.”
“Sersha,” she said, not ready to let her ally go down alone. “I’ll talk to the authorities and—”
“No, Imogen, you will not,” Sersha said. “You keep your damn mouth shut.”
“Hey,” Lachlan snapped. “What the fuck is going on with you?”
“You should thank me, not question me. This is a delicate game. Everyone has to trust me that—”
“Trust you threatening Imogen?”
“It’s not a threat. I can only protect her if she follows my lead.”
“I can protect both of you—”
“No, not tonight, not this,” Sersha said. “This is one of those sibling moments when you look into my eyes and understand it’s best to trust me. Don’t quiz me. I am doing what is best for Imogen, our Jane Doe, and what’s best for you.”
“Because if I know—”
“Then everything gets messy. If the truth comes out about this publicly, you can’t be in three places at once.”
“I’m talking to your Jane Doe,” he said like it was a foregone conclusion.
“Good, yes,” Sersha said. “You make sure this lands on your desk, brother.”
“Because another cop won’t be as understanding. Nice, Sersh, thanks for putting me in this position.”
“You’re welcome!” she called out as her brother passed to go join the nurse.
“Why can’t we tell the truth?” she asked, moving in close. “If we expose—”
“Expose what? That we found a naked woman in a hotel full of hookers? Only Marseille can decide whether to tell the truth. Whatever that truth may be. We don’t know what the hell went on in there or how she got there.”
“The nurse said she wasn’t answering questions.”
“Would you? Seriously?” As they talked, Sersha kept scanning the department. “After what she’s probably been through and with the insurmountable wall of the Manzanis, would you tell the truth? She tells the truth and she’s dead within twenty-four hours. Guaranteed. Set your watch by it. The only chance she has of surviving is to keep her mouth shut.”
“That’s crazy! They’ll just keep—”
“It’s self-preservation. Something you should consider practicing yourself.”
“The point was to expose this. To stop it.”
Still on alert, Sersha smirked. “You can’t stop it. You can’t stop the world turning, Imogen. Women are subject to hellish sexual crime the world over. They’re taken, abused, exploited, and cast aside like trash.”
“Yes, but these women are—”
“What? Respectable? That makes a difference? They’re not hookers so they deserve our intervention? That’s an arbitrary distinction, don’t you think? Sort of elitist. Is one woman worth more than another depending on her economic status?”
“No. No!”
“If you land in the Manzanis’ sights, they won’t come after you. Hurting you isn’t enough. They take everything you love. Everyone you love.” Sersha leaned in and lowered her volume. “They will turn your life inside out and punish anyone who tries to protect you. Know what that means? That means your father and my brother are in the firing line.”
“Lachlan and I split up.”
