Worst Date Ever (Scandals #3) (23 page)

The realization that I loved him was something I didn’t have time to analyze right now.  I needed to do something.  But what?

Before either of us had time to come up with a plan, a jingle bell sounded from the computer.

My head snapped around.  The jolly fat man in the red suit had horrible timing.

“Santa’s here!” I said with notably less enthusiasm than I would have had before I started worrying about Cody.  I tossed the towel on the counter and hobbled to the computer.  Nothing may be broken, but I felt like one big bruise.  However, right now I was anxious to see what present Santa brought me.

On the screen was a report.  I hit the PRT SC button and now that it wasn’t being controlled by the hacker’s computer, it printed out several sheets.  I scanned them quickly.  It appeared that all of the transactions had been made in bitcoins at the rate of $50,000 for each ID the hacker sold.  The bitcoins had been deposited in a digital wallet that was being managed by Coinbase which I recognized as one of the larger bitcoin dealers.  I kept reading and saw that Santa even delivered the digital keys to the account, proof that I had hacked through every security level.

Anxiously, I skipped through the details of how to access the account until I found the account holder’s name.

I gasped.  Behind me I heard Liberty’s startled exclamation.  Together, we read the name out loud.

“Amanda Mason!”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Amanda?  You mean nice Amanda who takes care of puppies?”  Liberty was shocked.

“That’s the only Amanda I know.”

“What do we do now?” Liberty asked.

My thoughts had already skipped ahead.  “Amanda has been behind this all along.  She’s got the computer knowledge and the initial access to the accounts.  But why would she try to kill us?”

“Maybe she didn’t like Michael and wanted to get back at him for something,” Liberty suggested.  “He set her up on some dates, didn’t he?  What if they went badly?”

I considered that and added my own spin.  “Or maybe it wasn’t about Michael at all.  I think it’s about Cody.  She might have had a crush on him, but things didn’t work out.  She could have blamed Michael for her not getting Cody.  She would have to blame someone because she would never accept it might be because Cody didn’t like her.”

Liberty nodded.  “She set Cody up by making it look like it came from his computer.”

“Yes, because it was almost too easy to track the hacking from Michael’s servers to Cody.  She knew it would ruin him.”

“And it would have if you hadn’t stuck with this and found out the truth,” Liberty commented with sisterly pride.

At least I was able to save his reputation and his career. But now he was missing…

“Fuck!” I exhaled the profanity as it dawned on me.  “She has him.”

“Amanda has Cody?  But how?”

“Why would she put cyanide on pizza or blow up my car or try to kill me in an elevator?  I’ll bet she even dropped the bag of snakes in his pantry the night she dropped by to borrow some flour.”  I reminded Liberty.  “If he went with her, it was because she lied to him.”

“Or drugged him,” Liberty suggested.

I jumped to my feet.  “I’m going down to her apartment and…”

“And what?  Get yourself kidnapped…or drugged…or killed?”

“I’m going to try to get in and see if Cody’s there.”  Rarely did I act without thoroughly thinking things through first.  Except now.  Without pausing to consider the repercussions, I headed for the front door.  “If I don’t come back in five minutes, call everyone.  And don’t open the door for anyone you don’t know.”

I opened the door and headed toward the elevator.  At the last moment, I turned and took the stairs.  It was only one flight down, so I probably got there quicker than I would have if I waited for the elevator.  Besides, I wasn’t eager to get back in an elevator any time soon. 

I marched up to Amanda’s door and knocked loudly.  My heart had risen to my throat, and my hands were shaking, but I was determined to see this through.

I waited, then knocked again.  This time I pressed my ear against the door, hoping to hear conversation or Cody’s voice.  Still nothing.  I pounded as hard as I could and pressed the doorbell over and over. 

It didn’t appear that she was home.  Or at least that’s what she wanted me to think.  For all I knew, she was standing on the other side of the door, watching me through the peephole and laughing. 

Fuck.

I ran back up the flight of stairs, zipped through the retinal scan and entered Cody’s apartment.  Liberty was standing just inside the door, cell phone in hand, preparing to dial.

“She’s not there or she’s not answering her door.”  I paced around the room.  It occurred to me that she might have planted listening devices or somehow arranged to be able to hear us even with the camera unplugged.  I picked up a pad of paper and wrote down,
I’m going to climb down and look in her patio door.

Liberty vehemently shook her head in a negative response.  She picked up a pen and wrote,
Are you crazy?  We’re 14 floors up!!!!

I’ve got to find Cody.  Help me get over the edge
, I scribbled. 
Once I’m on her balcony, I’ll look in and if anything looks weird, I’ll let you know and you can call for help.

Why don’t we call for help first?
Liberty responded on the paper.

Because she has our phones tapped, so she would be tipped off.  She might panic.  I don’t want her to hurt Cody
.

Liberty sighed, then shrugged.
OK.  What do you want me to do?

I looked around.  There was a long heavy-duty extension cord connecting Cody’s monitors to a distant plug.  I quickly unplugged everything from it and pulled it out of the wall socket.  I tied one end securely around my waist and the other around the wrought iron railing of the balcony.

Liberty picked up on my plan and, even though she was obviously not completely on-board, she double-checked the knots.  I put my cell phone in my pocket and pointed to hers while I mouthed the words,
Wait for my message
.

She nodded and watched nervously as I tried to steady my nerves before I climbed over the railing and clung like a spider monkey on the outside.  My arms screamed out in pain, and it took a full minute for me to convince my body that this was a good idea.  I squatted down and got a firm hold on the rails, then, one foot at a time, I stepped off the edge.  As I dangled from the rail, I tried not to think about the almost 150 feet between me and the ground.  I dared not look down.  Instead, I focused on the balcony below me.  There were only a few inches of concrete between the floors, so my feet were already in the air space of Amanda’s balcony. 

It wasn’t until that moment that it occurred to me that if she saw me, hanging over the edge, she might just rush out and cut my safety cord or push me away until I fell.  But the thought of Cody at her mercy spurred me on. 

I let go of one rail and got a good grip on the power cord.  I sucked in a deep breath, summoning courage from someplace deep within me that I didn’t even know existed.  I released the second rail and grabbed the cord with my other hand.  I wasn’t athletic, but I was in good shape and swam a lot, so my arms were strong even though they were sore. They just weren’t used to holding my entire weight, and they quivered in protest.  I let my hands slip down the cord, and I dropped a few inches.  I could see the rail below.  I stretched my toes, trying to touch it, but I was still a little short.  Another slide down the cord, and my feet touched metal.  A few more inches and I was below the top rail.  I descended down a little more, and my feet finally reached the concrete floor of her balcony.

My knees collapsed beneath me and I rested on the floor for several seconds before I untied the cord from around my waist.  I leaned out and gave a “thumbs up” sign to Liberty whose face looked as terrified as I felt.

Amanda’s drapes were wide open, so I crawled over to the side and hid behind the wall next to her patio door.  I chanced a quick peek around the edge and gasped. 

Cody, dressed in his AFD uniform pants but with his torso bare, was sprawled on the couch.  Amanda was on top of him, unbuckling his belt.

I was stunned.  Of all the things I had expected to see, this was not even on the list.  I pulled back and leaned against the wall, out of sight. 
Well, fuck.  What do I do now?
I wasn’t strong enough to climb back up the power cord, and I couldn’t stay out here like a peeping Tom watching the man I love have sex with the woman who I was convinced was trying to kill me.  And I certainly couldn’t knock on the glass and tell them I just dropped in for a cup of sugar.

I slid down until I was sitting on the floor.  Even more painful was the thought that I meant so little to Cody that he could make love to me yesterday and now be here with Amanda.  He was everything I had been afraid of…a player…a hound dog…a guy whose brains dangled between his legs.  It was profoundly disappointing…and painful with an intensity so fierce I thought my heart would explode in my chest.

Liberty needed an update before she panicked and did something really stupid like call the cops, so I took out my cell phone and sent her a text,
C & A having sex on couch.  Stuck on balcony.  Any ideas?

She texted me back. 
Door unlocked? Sneak thru apt while they’re busy.

That idea sucked on so many levels. 
Still waiting for a plan. 

I’m thinking.

So was I.  But they definitely weren’t happy thoughts.

In spite of not wanting to actually see the two of them fucking, I decided to sneak another look to see how far along this torture was.  I eased to my knees and peered around the corner.

Cody’s head was lolling to the side and his eyes were closed, but not from ecstasy.  He looked unconscious.  Amanda shifted so I could see Cody’s body.  She had removed his belt, but instead of taking off his pants, she had used his belt to bind his ankles.  His wrists were bound with zip ties.

Amanda stood back and surveyed her captive.  I wished I could see her face.  I couldn’t tell if she was happy, angry or frustrated.  All I knew for sure was that she was bat-shit crazy…and Cody was in danger.  I felt a twinge of guilt that I had suspected Cody, and I resolved to make it up to him…if we made it out alive.

I watched as she went to the giant tote bag she always carried. She reached inside and pulled out a box.  I strained to see the label.  There was a picture of a dog next to the word pentobarbital.  I quickly typed that into Google on my phone, and several websites popped up about using it to euthanize animals. 
Respiratory failure…cardiac arrest…quiet, peaceful death within thirty seconds
.  Those words jumped out and I knew I didn’t have time to wait. 

I sent Liberty a quick text to call the police, then looked back in time to see Amanda stick a needle into a small glass vial. 

I was really out of my comfort zone here.  I was not comfortable with confrontations of any kind.  But now it was obvious that it couldn’t be avoided if I was going to stop her from killing Cody. 

Quietly, I reached out and tried the door.  It was locked.   Damn, shit, fuck!  I looked around.  Inside, I could see Amanda moving toward Cody, the needle in her hand.  Without considering my next step, I started pounding on the door.

Amanda jerked around, startled.  Our gazes met, but instead of being upset that I was there, she seemed pleased.  In fact, she smiled.  She held up the needle so I could see it clearly, then she turned and continued her walk to the couch.

Damn, she didn’t give a shit that I was there.  She knew there was nothing I could do to stop her.

Desperately, I looked around.  I had to get in there.  There was a small lightweight table and two chairs.  But what caught my eye was a large ceramic potted plant.  I didn’t hesitate, but ran to it, picked it up…with every ounce of my strength…and hoisted it through the double French doors.  Glass and wood exploded inward as the pot landed and shattered into a pile of ceramic clay, dirt and broken fronds of an unfortunate palm tree.  I jumped through the hole, avoiding the jagged pieces.

“What the hell?” Amanda frowned at me.  “Look at the mess.  You’re going to have to pay for that.”

“What the fuck?” I echoed.  “You’re worried about some dirt on your floor when you’re about to kill Cody?”

She glanced back at him and shrugged.  “He’s a liar and a cheat.  You should know.  I watched you seduce him…which I could understand.  But he didn’t stop you, and that’s unforgiveable.  I had plans…big plans…but he spoiled everything.”

So, she
had
been watching us.  “Was this your big plan?  To kill Cody?”

She snorted.  “Of course not.  I wanted to marry him and have his babies.  But Michael ruined that.”

“What did he do?”

“He kept sending Cody on dates with other women.  Cody stopped calling me, and Michael told me he wasn’t interested.”  She held her arms out.  “Can you believe that?  I’m the whole package.  I’ve fucking spent the last five years becoming the woman he should be with.  There’s no way, he would have rejected me if it wasn’t for Michael.”

“So, that’s why you set Michael up?”

Amanda threw back her head and laughed. “I just wanted to make him as miserable as he made me.”

“That’s why you killed Tamara?”

“Collateral damage.”  Amanda shrugged it off as if she had no concept she had taken a human life.

“But why involve Cody if you hoped to hook up with him?”

“I was going to sweep in and fix that.  He would see how good I am for him and realize he was in love with me.”  Her expression darkened.  “Then you showed up.”  Her gaze raked down my body.  “I don’t know what he sees in you.  You’ve got nothing going for you.”

I would have protested except I had often wondered the same thing.  I tried to keep her talking to stall for time until the cops arrived.  “Why would you put poisonous snakes in his condo?  You were putting Cody at risk.”

She laughed, a wild, crazy cackle.  “I dropped them in his pantry the day I borrowed the flour.  I got them from the shelter.  Can you believe anyone would be stupid enough to raise poisonous snakes?  But no, I just wanted to give him a scare.”

“You certainly did that.  You’re lucky his penis didn’t get bitten off.”

Her glare pierced me like a sword.  “You stupid slut.  If he hadn’t been sleeping on the floor, he wouldn’t have been in danger.”  She took a step forward.

“Why sell the IDs?” I asked, hoping to distract her.  She seemed to like bragging about her achievements.  “Those people didn’t do anything to you.”