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“Yeah, we met there. You weren’t with me when I found Marseille.”
“I wasn’t?”
“No,” Sersha said with a shake of her head. “Protection, remember? You had nothing to do with it. I found her and took her to the hospital all by myself. And if there’s any doubt about that, I have insurance.”
“Insurance?”
“Against any witnesses who might try to say otherwise. Insurance that guarantees certain key players will protect my ass. A hierarchy of protection, you might say.”
“What insurance?”
“You wanted to know why I hit record?” Sersha asked. “You wouldn’t believe the faces we have on camera running from that building in all kindsa undress and trussed up in freaky shit. I picked up my phone last night after the hospital.” Unlocking her elbows, she leaned closer. “Insurance.”
“How do you know all this? How do you know how to do this?”
Because she couldn’t imagine Lachlan thinking the same way.
“I learned from the best.”
“Lachlan isn’t—”
“No, he isn’t. This protects him too. It protects all of us. Ford, Strat… Jagg.”
Understanding crept over her. “You talked to Lachlan today.”
“Sure did.”
She inhaled. “You told my dad about—”
“Yeah, and you’re welcome.”
“Why would you—”
“Trust me, it’s better that it came from me than you had to face that conversation. He does not like to be blindsided.”
“He punched Jagg in the face!”
“And you don’t think that could’ve gone worse if he didn’t have the time to process in the drive over there? I’m sorry if it was supposed to be a forever secret, but telling Lachlan suggested you wanted it out there.”
Her father’s reaction was his own, whether she agreed with it or not. Standing in front of him, saying the words. Yeah, that was an experience she was glad to miss. Sersha could’ve asked first, though the woman was closer to Strat than she could claim to be.
“You know my dad well.”
“He’s not a tough guy to get to know,” Sersha said, smiling. “You should try it sometime.”
Sersha’s arms dropped like she intended to go.
“Wait,” she said. “I… I need to find Bryan.”
“No, you don’t.” With an almost eye roll, Sersha turned all the way back. “You find Bryan, what will happen? He’ll be stressed, freaking out, tweaking, and here’s his story: there was a woman, guys, pressure, everyone was doing it, and he fucked her. He didn’t know they were going to kill her. That she was going to die, blah, blah, blah.”
“He can tell us where the women are. If they’re still alive.”
“If. Big if. Bryan isn’t the key to that. You think the Manzanis clued him in on their fallback plan? Not a chance. You want to be a white knight? Forget Bryan. Sweeten the pot for Silvio.”
“What?”
“The only way you get those women back is to swear you’ll never point a finger at him. Sell the Manzani version. Bryan went rogue. He’s the sole murderer. No matter what you print, he’ll go down for this. That’s a foregone conclusion. The cops just need to find him. Think strategically, you want the Manzanis to owe you.”
