Surprise Bidder

Fiona touches my hair. “Oh, sweetheart. I know you’re just saying that because you’re scared. You’re worried about your future, aren’t you? But don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Things will still go according to plan. You’ll still get your money. We just have to find you another protector after you give birth. Maybe Goldberg.”

I tense. “The man who tried to abduct me? I thought he’s no longer a part of Ambrosia.”

Fiona shrugs. “He can be brought back. After all, it’s true that his car was tampered with. That’s why he was late for the auction. You should have been his.”

No way in hell.

“Don’t worry.” Fiona pats my shoulder. “Everything will be alright.”

“I don’t understand,” I tell her with a frown. “Why do you believe Gavin is a murderer? Haven’t you known him longer than me? Don’t you know him better? Aren’t you friends? I mean, he told you about his sister.”

“Well, I have known him longer,” Fiona admits as she pulls her hand away. “But I don’t know if I really know him. I mean, I only know he had a sister. I barely know what happened to her.”

“But surely, you know he’s not capable of murder.”

“Oh, sweetheart, everyone is capable of murder given the right motive. I mean, think of Nadine. She tried to kill her own child for love. You should have seen that look in her eyes before she threw herself down the stairs.”

“But…”

“Besides, darling, there’s evidence. It doesn’t matter what I know.”

I snort. She calls everything she told me evidence?

“You mean the handkerchief?” I ask.

“Also, if you still don’t think Gavin is capable of murder, let me tell you he sent Owen Reed a threat. You know, that man who…”

“I know who Owen Reed is.”

“Well, Gavin seems to think he also touched you, so he sent him a threat. He said he was going to kill him for what he did.”

Gavin did? “But we weren’t here.”

“E-mail, darling,” Fiona says.

Well, I guess that’s possible. It’s possible that Gavin sent a threat to Owen even though I told him he doesn’t have to go after him. Still…

Wait a second. That night of the Ball, I had Gavin’s handkerchief in my purse. And I lost my purse. Someone could have taken it and planted the handkerchief in Elias’s apartment.

What if Owen did it? What if he was the one who killed Lawson? He’s a scumbag, after all. He said he received a threat from Gavin? I bet that’s a lie.

“Has anyone seen this e-mail?” I ask.

Fiona shrugs. “I guess.”

I bet not. I bet Owen is lying. That’s what he does best, after all. And if that threat is a lie, then everything else may also be a lie. And he’s likely the one who started spinning all this web of lies.

I press a clenched fist to my chest.

“I have to see the e-mail,” I tell Fiona.

“What?”

“Maybe you’re right. Maybe Gavin is capable of murder. But until I see proof, I won’t believe it. I want to see that e-mail.”

Fiona scoffs, then chuckles. “Darling, what are you going to do? Walk up to Owen’s door and ask him to show you that e-mail? Do you really think he will? Do you remember what you did to him?”

I frown as I recall the gash I left on his face. I guess I can’t exactly ask him a favor. Besides, if he is the one framing Gavin, he’s definitely not going to show it to me.

“Do you think you can get me inside his house?” I ask Fiona.

Her eyes grow wide. “What? Isn’t that a crime?”

“I’m not going to steal anything. I’m just going to look at his laptop. That’s all.”

Fiona’s eyes narrow.

“Please,” I beg her. “I need to do this or I won’t be able to move on. I won’t be able to sleep or eat. That’s not good for the baby, right?”

Fiona frowns.

I take her hands in mine. “Please, Fiona. I promise I’ll never ask for anything else.”

She purses her lips.

“Besides, don’t you want to know the truth, too?”

For a long moment, she stays silent and deep in thought as she looks out the window. Then she meets my gaze.

“Alright.” Fiona nods. “I’ll get you in there.”

~

Owen’s apartment is just as big as Gavin’s. It doesn’t look elegant at all, though. In fact, I find it… disturbing.

Everywhere I look, there’s something grotesque. A deer head hanging from the wall next to the rifle that was probably used to kill it. A rug that looks very much like a real lion with its eyes and mouth wide open. That’s not real, is it? A chainsaw on the wall with blood on its blade- what’s up with that? Pictures of naked women in various poses.

I suppress a shudder. The sooner I’m out of here, the better.

I take the piece of paper that Fiona gave me out of my pocket. She might have been reluctant at first, but in the end, she even drew the layout of Owen’s apartment for me so I could easily find his office, which is likely where his computer is.