Page 54 of Riptide

“He didn’t talk to me about you.” She looked to Seth and sighed.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way but maybe you didn’t know him that well.”

“You don’t know anything about our relationship,” she challenged with a raised voice. “We talked about things that matter. Like our love of astronomy and playing chess on a dark night at sea. Evan kept secrets. Like the fact that he wanted to move away from California and go live in Hawaiʻi. He was a proud veteran, but he was tired of being deep in the secret spy shit. He was done with corporate life too. He was planning on quitting his job at Emerson Industries. Was going to chase a little bit of peace and quiet. Spend his days ripping waves and snorkeling with turtles. He loved kids, especially his niece and nephew on the East Coast. He’d already begun a foundation for STEM. Even though he felt like he’d waited too long, he was ready to find a nice girl and settle down, maybe have a kid of his own. That was Evan.”

Seth fought to conceal his reaction to her statements. Even before he’d met Kaimana, he’d thought of leaving Emerson as well. Though he loved Garrett like a brother, the corporate life had grown dull. But listening to Kaimana speak of Evan with familiarity brought an unexpected twinge of jealousy.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you, Kaimana,” Marcus said with sincerity. “It’s just a stretch to think he’s alive. So all I’m saying is please prepare for any and all possibilities. It seems like you really do know and care ‘bout Ev. But these kinds of people are ruthless. Gutter scum. When you think about what they did to you…well,” he gave a laugh, “Just imagine what they could do to him. And if they find out Joli has been feeding you info after you escaped…that’s gonna be a problem. For her and for you. They’ll try to take both of you out. Who knows if Joli is still alive? And before you say anything, I know about the matchbox. I’m just saying she might not be alive.”

“She has to be alive.” Kaimana’s voice disappeared into a whisper, her demeanor solemn.

“I don’t want you to get your hopes up. But we’ve got a girl,” he told them. “Fits the description you gave. Red hair. ‘Bout five eight. She lives in a building next door to Xtra. We’ll give it a shot.”

“No, Joli lives downtown.”

“The girl’s name isn’t Joli. I have a few pictures I want to show you.” Marcus reached for his phone, slid his finger across the glass and held it up to show her. “Meet Magic. She only goes by Magic by the way.”

“That’s her,” Kaimana replied. “She looks different. Her hair. It used to be blonde.”

“Magic? Is she a witch?” Seth asked.

“Makes people’s money disappear. Does that count? She seems to be very popular at Xtra.” Marcus set down his phone. “She’s got a boyfriend. Adam Marretta. Name sound familiar?”

“It’s a family business.” Seth shook his head.

“It’s all about the family. Dom’s a nephew. His sister’s kid.”

“He’s Joli’s boyfriend?” Kaimana asked.

Marcus looked to Seth, giving pause on his answer. “No. He’s her pimp.”

“Why does she need a pimp for Xtra?” Seth asked.

“As far as we can tell, they work it for jobs. Meeting up with wealthy couples and then making arrangements for discreet sex. Standard prostitution.”

“It’s sickening,” Kaimana commented.

“But lately it looks like blackmail is raking in more cash,” Marcus disclosed.

Seth scrubbed his fingers over his chin. “What’s the angle?”

“They involve a couple under the guise of a swap or whatever. Sometimes it’s just the girl. Sometimes it’s both of them. Whatever goes on, he video tapes the encounter. Later he shakes down the couple for cash. Guess they can grab more that way.”

“No one has told on them?” Kaimana asked.

“Until recently no one had dimed them out.”

“It’s embarrassing to be threatened with a sex tape. People don’t want to come forward, but we just got a lead last week. The couple is from New York city and were pissed enough to call us. We almost have enough evidence to bust them. But I don’t want it to slip through over a technicality.”

“So what are you saying?” Seth cocked his head in confusion. “You don’t want us to go talk to her?”

“I’m saying we’ve got to do it when he’s not around. But maybe we can use this as an opportunity to flip her. If she knows Kaimana’s working for us, she might be more likely to turn state’s evidence. We were already planning on flipping her, but this just gives us an excuse. If she says no or they try to fly, we’ve got eyes on them. That’s the end. If she flips, we’ll spend more time using her to get intel before going after Marretta.”

“You can’t ask her to do that. It’s too dangerous.” Seth shook his head.

“I have to do this. She trusts me. But the deal is that if she flips, she gets off. As in all the way off. Joli’s had a hard go of things. She didn’t choose this life. It was forced upon her. How many times was she beaten before she agreed to do what she’s doing? I saw all the women locked up. They were terrified. And when I saw her in LA, she was still terrified.”

Marcus shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m going to have to talk to my boss.”