She thought for a moment, concocting her story. “They said they were going to kill me if I didn’t do as they asked.”
I regarded her with skepticism. “Who?”
“I don’t know. They sent me an encrypted message on Memo of all things.”
“So, they said they were going to kill you if you didn’t arrange for Ava to be disfigured?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Why do I find this hard to believe?”
“I don’t know. I’m telling you the truth.”
I told her the potential charges and how long she’d likely spend in lockup.
That put the fear of God into her.
Her skin went pale, and her eyes rounded. “I didn’t conspire to kill anyone!”
“Yeah, well, the courts might not see it that way.”
“I made a mistake. I’m sorry. I feel terrible about this.”
I didn’t buy it. “What did you think was going to happen?”
Vanessa felt terrible because she got caught. It was a common response among sociopaths. The tears weren’t guilt or remorse.
“I told you, I didn’t have a choice,” she sobbed.
“Keep telling yourself that,” I quipped.
Vanessa frowned and hung her head.
"Why would somebody want you to coordinate the attack? Why would they want Ava disfigured?”
"I don't know. They didn't say.”
"You just went along with this because you felt like they would follow through on their threat?”
"It freaked me out. I didn't know what I was supposed to do.”
"Maybe bring it to the attention of your security staff or the police.”
Vanessa sneered at me. “Yes, that seems like the obvious choice now.”
"You told me you get hundreds of threats every day. Why take this one seriously?” I paused, then answered my own question. "Maybe you wanted Ava out of the picture so you could get back with Sebastian.”
The muscles in her jaw flexed. "I took the threat seriously because they knew details. They had my social security number, bank accounts, the names and addresses of all my siblings and my parents. It seemed like they knew everything about me. I was scared.”
I glared at her. “You know, we’re going to dig into all your financials.”
She stared at me and swallowed. “Then you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”
“Why?”
“Because they paid me.”
I lifted a surprised brow, then exchanged a glance with Jack.I asked Vanessa, "How much? Whatisthe going rate for destroying someone's career these days?”
