We took Jenny’s Packard and drove away after I made sure no one was looking out at us when we left the building. Sure enough, not long after we left, a black and white car with a tiny flashing red light and a blaring siren went speeding past us.

  “Head to my office,” I reminded Adele.

  She nodded absently, and I watched her for a moment. Like me, I knew she carried a multitude of questions and concerns. As I finally let out a breath, I felt a weariness covering me like a blanket.

  “Do you think Jenny will be alright?”

  I forced myself not to shrug and nodded.

  “Sure, they’ll fix her up in no time. I mean, look how well they treated me.”

  “I don’t know how you can come up with those lies while you are talking with people.”

  She looked tired, and her face remained swollen on one side.

  “Besides, you don’t know that Winton will help us. Lees acts like he has everything figured out.”

  “You know that you’re beautiful,” I said from the heart. “You really came through and saved us. I’m sorry that I got you in the middle of this.”

  “We don’t have time to discuss that. Do you think Lees will go after her, then us?” Her voice suddenly showed the icy distance like earlier in the evening.

  Her tone made me pause before I let out a long breath.

  “I’m not sure, but as soon as I get to a telephone, I’ll call Tom Winton and give him the full story. We can hope that he’s not on Lees’ payroll.”

  After a long pause, I continued.

  “Ok, I’ll admit I’m not sure. Still, Judge Seabury told me Winton was honest. He had no reason to lie to me about that.”

  Adele sighed, her lips a thin line of determination.

  “God, it’s so frustrating.”

  “I know what you mean. I think…”

  She cut me off.

  “That’s not what I’m talking about! You always act like you can handle it all. Maybe your idea at the hospital was the best option,” Adele glanced over. “Or maybe you’ll get Jenny killed. Either way, you act like it doesn’t affect you.”

  An awkward silence fell between us as I sat there, unable to think of a response. Her assessment was correct. I didn’t care if Jenny lived or died.

  “I still don’t know why you think I recommended your office. It’s the second place they’ll look for us,” she finally spoke as we got closer to downtown. “Not that it matters, I guess.”

  I stared at her.

  “Wait a minute, I heard you whisper the idea. When we get near there, we park the car in an alley, and we keep off the lights. Like I said, it’s a good idea. Otherwise, you’ll need to leave town on your own. It’s not like I can go with you.”

  “What’s the point?”

  I wasn’t sure that I heard her correctly.

  “What do you mean? We have to get people to go after Lees. Otherwise, it’s everyone against us.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about,” she suddenly hit the brakes and pulled the car along the side of the street.

  Shocked by her sudden change, I held on as we hit the curb. Then I watched her quickly turn off the engine and get out of the Packard. I slid out of the passenger side and hurried toward her.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  “You’re going in the wrong direction,” I said.

  Adele glared at me and continued walking.

  “Can’t you tell me what the hell you’re doing?”

  “It doesn’t matter. You should go to the office and call Winton.”

  Her attitude finally pissed me off. When I caught up with her, I grabbed her arm, and she tried to pull away.

  “Damn it, we’re in this together. What the hell are you doing?”

  Adele stopped and stared at me. Under the streetlight, her face carried the bitterness of her words.

  “Are we? He called me a familiar, you’re the outsider. You knew about this, didn’t you?”

  “The first time I heard about an outsider was when you and I heard it from Seabury,” I said. “I told you I don’t know what’s going on. Why can’t you believe that?”

  “You heard Lees say I was expendable, like a PN, something or other,” she shook her head, suddenly looking lost.

  If was any other time, I’d smile while trying to explain a non-player character. But this wasn’t a game. People got shot, bled, and died.

  “But I think I understand what Lees meant. I don’t count, do I? The only reason I might die is because I was involved with you. The expression on your face told me you understand something about this whole affair that Lees spoke about.”

  She paused, looking down.

  “It’s not just that. Jenny told me things about you having something to do with Childress. And you helped Sally after I asked you not to get involved. When I think back to all the hints you gave me, I ask myself why couldn’t I see it? You didn’t tell me everything about you? You are what they call an outsider.”

  I realized something from her hurt tone. Adele suddenly questioned her existence, her memories, and what she believed. I knew from the look that she couldn’t trust me. For that matter, she wasn’t sure of anything. Lees told her I was another Lane Dagger. She realized if he’s telling her the truth, then she had no idea about her marriage. Lees’ insistence about multiple men being her husband was too much for Adele to handle. Hell, I still didn’t have a grip on the idea myself.

  “Adele, I don’t believe everything that Lees told us. He’s tried to kill us because he’s afraid. Think about that. He’s afraid of what we can do if we find the truth.”

  She looked at me; her bruised face showing her crushed appearance. The fight was gone. Yeah, I’m a jerk since my first thought was that I needed her to fight. So, I redoubled my efforts to get her back into the game.

  “Listen, back in the hospital, I told you nearly everything. Well, at least as far as I could go. That’s the gospel truth. If I told you the rest, you’d be hauling me to a psycho ward with a padded cell. I’ve seen and heard some crazy stuff.”

  I stepped closer, and she continued to look at me, her eyes searching for something in my expression.

  “You must believe that I’m on your side. Let’s help your friend with a call. Then, we save ourselves.”

  “I don’t know what to think,” she admitted.

  Putting my arm over her shoulders, I turned her around on the sidewalk to face the direction of my office building.

  “Babe, I’m in the same boat since the start of my time here. Let’s find a quiet place to talk after we get the D.A. involved. I’ll tell you everything that’s happened to me. Then, you can decide if I need a padded cell.”

  She nodded slightly and slowly walked with me with her head down.

  “I’m not sure I want to understand,” she warned me.

  We arrived at the office. It was dark inside and I only turned on the desk lamp on Alice’s desk. I found a phone book inside my secretary’s desk and found the home number for Winton’s house. I found it funny how open everyone used to be with their address and phone numbers which anyone could look up. But the thought quickly receded when I watched Adele sitting on the couch.

  A man finally answered the phone. It was a servant named Hopely who worked for the Winton family. Only after I pointed out there was an attempted murder and a gunfight at the Elder mansion did Winton finally get on the line. I quickly explained everything to him, including Jenny’s condition and the guard at the hospital. I even mentioned my part in the shootout with O’Conner.

  “They say you’re an honest person who believes in justice,” I stated. “I just gave you the whole truth, but I’m not coming in for questioning unless it’s you and me alone. I don’t trust anyone in this city. Lees is too damn clever, and I won’t trust him as far as I can throw him. By the way, my wife threw scalding water into his face when he threatened her, so he’s probably pretty pissed off about it.”

  I quickly hung up, then smiled at Adele.

  “No doubt, he’ll try to figure out where I called from. Looks like we’ll need to leave soon.”

  “That’s unnecessary! I’ll take care of it,” a familiar female voice spoke from the entrance into Lane’s office.

  I turned around as Adele hurriedly stood and backed away from the couch.

  Damn, this is getting tougher to explain!

  Cora Elder stepped into the room. Her cosplay costume was different. Adele unconsciously gasped at the sight. This time she wore a sexy white dress with a tight corset with plenty of skin showing to go along with her cleavage fetish.

  “It was you who set us up!” My anger was already near boiling point when I lashed out.

  “You watched that bastard try to kill us! What the hell are you doing playing around with us like we’re fucking toys?”

  Her mischievous smile flickered, and I felt the repercussions of my outburst. The wave of pain through my brain sent me to my knee. However, I didn’t give a damn as I forced myself to stand. I looked at her through my nearly closed eyes.

  “That’s no way to talk to me! I brought you here in order to save you.”

  “Just fuck off and leave us alone, you damn demon!”

  Her irritated expression turned to anger. Then I saw the floor racing to my face before everything went black.