Chapter 263 (interval): Show and Tell (2/2)

Erika’s face scrunched with unwillingness, but she gave a slight nod.

“I don’t like this,” she said.

“The people behind this don’t want you to like it,” Adam said. “They want you to shut up and stop poking into this or they’ll kill you.”

“Are you seriously suggesting I would be murdered by some conspiracy group? That’s absurd.”

“Mrs Asano, those deaths I mentioned? There weren’t any murders. There were car accidents. House fires. Suicides.”

“Which could be exactly what they seem.”

“Suicide will be how they do you, by the way. Celebrity chef kills herself after brother’s tragic death in gas explosion. Friends say she became erratic in the months following her brother’s death, obsessed with conspiracy theories. She was known to associate with disgraced former detective…”

The return of the waitress with their drinks forestalled Erika’s response.

“Do you really expect me to believe any of this?” she asked, once the waitress was gone again.

“I barely believe it,” Adam said with a wry, weary smile. “But remember, you were the one who found me. We both know this thing has stunk from the word go. But don’t make my mistakes. You have people that can still get hurt.”

He placed a hand on the folder.

“This is almost everything I’ve been able to put together, from copies of police reports to my personal notes. You can take it, but I’m asking you not to. Go home and look after your family.”

“Detective… Mr Cosgrove. I did come to you. I can’t help but feel I am, in part, responsible for the circumstance you find yourself in.”

“I may have bought a first-class ticket for the self-pity train, Mrs Asano, but I know who put me where I am, and it wasn’t you.”

She looked at the folder under his hand for a long time before standing up without touching it.

“I’ll take your advice, Mr Cosgrove. I know we probably won’t meet again, but do not hesitate to contact me if you ever need something. I appreciate how much you’ve sacrificed looking for the truth about my brother.”

“It was never about you or your brother for me, Mrs Asano.”

“I appreciate it, nonetheless.”

She took out some money, leaving it next to her untouched tea.

“For the drinks.”

Adam shuffled wearily through the bottle shop. Standing in front of the bourbon was a woman dressed in an exquisite suit. She was looking right at him. His memory stirred.

“You’re one of them,” he said. “You were there, when Asano’s apartment went wherever the hell it went.”

“I was there, yes, although we never actually met. You have a good eye and a sharp memory, Mr Cosgrove. It’s what makes you a good investigator.”

Adam snorted.

“Being a good investigator is about legwork and persistence,” he said. “You can shove that Sherlock Holmes crap up your arse.”

He moved forward to take a bottle and she stepped into his path.

“Lady, if you think I won’t kick your arse right here then you’re underestimating how little I’ve got to lose anymore.”

Adam drew a sharp breath as the woman’s presence seemed to strangely swell until it felt like she was towering over him, despite not having moved. He suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable and exposed, with no idea why. He fought back against the feeling by calling on the wellspring of anger that had been simmering inside of him for months, grabbing the front of the woman’s suit with both hands. Her own hands gripped his forearms like a pair of industrial clamps, pulling his hands off of her with a mechanical inexorability.

“Jesus, lady. Are you a frigging terminator?”

“Mr Cosgrove, I’m here to offer you the thing you have been chasing since this all began. The things that destroyed your life. The secret you’ve been circling without ever being able to see.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“We’ve been watching your efforts, Mr Cosgrove. You are a dogged and determined investigator who looks beyond the obvious and is unflinching when others lack resolve.”

“And hasn’t that worked out well for me?”

“Mr Cosgrove, come work for us. All the answers you’ve been looking for are just the beginning of what you’ll receive.”

“You want me to work for you?” he asked, incredulous. “Everything you’ve done and you want me to throw in with you?”

“Mr Cosgrove, your life is not in a good position right now.”

“Because of you, you wretched harpy.”

“We can make amends and more.”

“And if I tell you to shove it up your arse?”

“Then you can drink yourself to death in ignorance,” she said. “You don’t have the credibility to cause us any problems. Convincing Erika Asano to let it go was a smart move. You were wrong though; it wouldn’t have been suicide.”

Adam’s hand flashed out, snatching a bottle from the shelf and swinging it at her head. Her reflexes were too fast for him to follow and the next thing he knew he was stumbling back and falling over, the bottle in her hand.

“That’s disappointing,” she said as she put the bottle back on the shelf. “I think you could have been quite remarkable, Mr Cosgrove.”

She waked away as Adam pulled himself to his feet. She turned the corner and he didn’t see her again.

Adam walked out of the bottle shop with a half dozen bottles in a cardboard box. He glanced around the parking lot, habitually taking in the details. There was a man who had been sitting in a car before Adam arrived, who now got out and started walking in his direction.

“She’s a bitch isn’t she?” the man called out. He was wearing a pastel shirt with the top two buttons undone and a white jacket over white slacks. He was white, looked around Adam’s age and had an American accent.

“Excuse me?” Adam asked.

“Miranda,” the man said. “She probably didn’t tell you her name, though, did she?”

“Look, Miami Vice,” Adam said. “I’ve had my fill of mysterious pricks, so how about you sod off.”

“Yeah, I get why you’re bitter. Can I call you Adam?”

“You can bugger off.”

Adam resumed the walk to his car.

“She’s not the only one who can tell you the big secret, you know,” the man called after him. Adam stopped and turned around.

“Save it, mate. I’m not buying.”

The man chuckled.

“I’m Dash,” he said. “And yeah, I’d like to recruit you as well. Say what you want about Miranda, but she knows good material when she sees it.”

“I told her to stick it up her arse,” Adam said. “You can stick it up her arse too.”

Dash laughed again.

“You know, I like you Adam. Here’s the difference between me and Miranda. She’ll let you in on the big secret if you agree to join her little group and follow orders like a good boy. Me, though? I’m going to tell you the secret. Right here, right now. If you want to throw in with us after, then great. If not, then all it cost me was a little time.”

“You’re okay with me knowing, then just going my own way?”

“My organisation isn’t like Miranda’s. We don’t care about keeping the secret. The thing is, the secret wants to be told. Every year it gets harder and harder to keep it under wraps, and we have no interest in helping.”

“Then what do you do?”

“We’re getting ready for the day that the secret isn’t a secret anymore. I’ll be happy to tell you all about it, but you’re going to want answers first. What is this great, big, important secret that I’m walking around?”

“You’re going to tell me, just like that?”

“If I just told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Dash said. “I’m going to show you.”