Chapter 375

As I prepared to fight for my life, my body trembled while I struggled to control my breathing. Anna was flat against the wall beside the door, ready to surprise anyone who walked in the door.

We had a fair chance of survival, of winning the fight. We knew they were coming, but our presence would surprise them.

Anna and I needed to strike them hard and quickly without giving them time to think or react.

It seemed to take forever as the men walked our way, discussing ways of selling more Ice.

My heart was pounding in my ears when they reached the door to the room Anna and I were hiding in. But we silently held our positions, hoping they would keep moving down the hallway.

When the door didn’t open, and we heard them moving past us, we stayed as we were, ready to fight until their footsteps faded away.

Relief made my heart slow, and my trembling quickly eased, but I knew we still had to get out of that building.

Anna read my mind. “We shouldn’t use the hallway. They’re out there somewhere.”

“Maybe we can go out the window,” I suggested. “I’d rather get caught outside than in.”

She nodded and ran to the dusty, double-hung metal-framed window and tried to turn the lock.

“The lock won’t budge,” she groaned. “I wish I had a wrench or something.”

I looked around for tools and spotted something that could help. I picked it up and moved to the window.

“Let me try this hammer,” I said.

“Don’t break the glass,” Anna hissed. “They’ll hear it and know we’re here.”

“No, I’m going to use the other end to pry the lock loose,” I explained.

“Oh.” Anna bit her lip. “Hurry in case they come back.”

The idea of being tossed into the incinerator had us both terrified. But we had to remain calm.

Using the claw end of the hammer, I pried at the rusty lock until it yielded.

Anna helped me push the window up far enough for us to climb outside, and we were both soon standing on the grass in front of the building.

“Hurry, but don’t run back to my truck,” I told her. “It will look suspicious.”

We speedwalked back to the Hummer and climbed inside.

“That was scary,” Anna said as she buckled up. “Do you have enough evidence to go to the cops yet?”

“I’d like to know where the drugs are coming from,” I replied.

“The one guy kept mentioning the boss,” Anna said. “How can we find out who he is?”

“We could follow Rodney.” I pointed at the van going down the street in front of us. “He told Rocky he was returning to headquarters when he left.”

“Stay back enough that he doesn’t see you,” Anna advised. “I would like to see those scumbags go to prison. I can’t believe they are selling that poison to college kids.”

“All they care about is money,” I said. “It’s disgusting. There’s a young man who had a bright future ahead of him. But because he tried Ice once, he’s probably going to spend his life in prison.”

“That’s so sad,” Anna murmured.

I stayed behind the van as it left the city and sped onto a two-lane highway. I followed a few car lengths behind it until Rodney sped around a curve, and the van disappeared near a gravel road.

I pulled over. “There’s nothing down that road except an abandoned metalworks factory,” I said. “Would Rodney go there?”

“I doubt it. That place has been closed for five years,” Anna said. My cousin worked there until they went bankrupt.”

I pulled down the road and stopped fifty feet from the factory entrance. “The gate looks new,” I pondered. “And look at the brand new security cameras.”

“Maybe the owner has been having problems with vandalism or something,” Anna suggested. “I don’t see any sign of the white van.”

“Me either,” I sighed. I had no way of knowing if the van even pulled onto the gravel road.

“We should head back to the mansion now,” Anna said. “Mr. Klein is taking you out to dinner tonight, and we need to start getting you ready.”

“Yeah, I do enjoy Gilded,” I said, thinking about their delicious steak tartare.

I turned around and headed home. “We should start a whiteboard with all the information we have so far.”

“I’ve heard of whiteboards,” Anna said.

“They help you organize information during an investigation,” I explained. “We’ll start one before I take a shower.”

At the mansion, Anna and I set up the whiteboard in my library. I printed out stills of suspects, the drugs, the Reed building, and the abandoned factory.

Even though I had no proof the factory had anything to do with the drug dealers, the place gave me an odd feeling.

I made notes under the photos before letting Anna whisk me to my room to prepare for date night with Victor.

Anna had me ready on time, and Victor and I were in the Lamborghini in plenty of time to make our reservation.

“So, what were you up to today?” Victor asked.

I cringed a little, knowing he wouldn’t be happy with the truth.

“I met with another of Allen Cross’s clients at the prison,” I replied. “It’s such a sad situation.”

I told Victor about Kyle Rinna and how he didn’t remember murdering his girlfriend with a knife.

“I’ve heard all about Ice,” Victor said. “Alex and I are assigning a task force to find out where it’s coming from and stop the flow of the drug into the city.”

I decided not to say anything to Victor tonight that would ruin our evening. After I had more information about the drug ring, I would hand it over to his task force, and they could arrest the suspects.

Gilded was packed, but our table was waiting for us. I ordered sparkling fruit juice to drink, a shrimp cocktail for my appetizer, and steak tartare for my main course.

“I’ll have the same as the lady,” Victor told the waiter. After he left, Victor turned to me. “I have the feeling you're hiding something.”

We were too attuned to each other to hold anything back.

“I was upset about the drugs on the streets and started my own investigation,” I admitted.

“What did you discover?”

“I spoke to a lower-level dealer and spied on her source,” I admitted.

“What did your spying reveal?” Victor sipped his drink and waited for my answer.

He would know if I was lying. “While observing the next-level dealer, I saw a van deliver drugs to a campus storage building. Rodney Wells was behind the wheel of the van.”

Victor was more shocked than I had been. “Rodney Wells is involved in the distribution of Ice?”

“Yes,” I confirmed. “I recorded him and a janitor named Rocky repackaging Ice for street sales in the basement of the Reed Building.”

“Daisy!” Victor put his head in his hands. “You must stop taking chances like that.”

“I will turn over everything to your task force,” I argued. “I’m just investigating. I’m not going to attempt to apprehend anyone.”

“If Rodney is involved, it means John Cameron and the faction are too.” He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Selling Ice is where their money is coming from!”

“Yep,” I agreed.

“It’s too dangerous, sweetheart,” Victor pleaded. “Please don’t pursue this anymore. Let my task force take over.”

Before I could answer, a female shrieked near the restaurant entrance. Our heads whipped toward the sound, and I gasped at the sight of a young male holding a knife to the female hostess’s throat.

“Open the cash drawer,” the robber demanded.

“I will. Don’t hurt me,” the hostess cried. The poor girl was scared to death.

I didn’t blame her. There was a desperate look on the young male’s face that told me he wanted the money bad enough to do anything.

“Daisy, stay here,” Victor ordered.

“Where are you going?” I asked. “Victor, he has a knife.”

Victor rolled his eyes. “Call the police.” And he strode to the robber’s side.

“Put the knife down,” Victor demanded.

“Walk away, dude, or I’ll cut her,” the robber said. His voice was shrill and scared.

Victor grabbed his wrist and squeezed it until the knife clattered to the floor. The robber looked at Victor open-mouthed.

“Do as I say, and you won’t get hurt,” Victor told him. “Sit on the floor with your hands on your head.”

Instead, the frightened boy turned and ran. Victor muttered a bad word and chased him out of the restaurant.

Was he crazy! I couldn’t sit at the table and not know if Victor was okay. I kicked off my black pumps and ran after him.