Enzo
As soon as I printed out all of the statements from Seb’s careful work, I called Detective O’Brian. O’Brian had worked on Hodges’ case all those years ago, and while I knew that he wouldn’t exactly be pleased to see me, I felt that there was at least something valuable that I could offer him.
At the same time, I wasn’t exactly dying to speak to him. Anything I gave O’Brian reflected on my character as well, and I wasn’t about to be the guy who went to jail for bringing down the bigger criminal. And the kind of thing I was doing could very well put me in jail. After all, I wasn’t exactly blameless. I’d willingly worked with Richard all those years before. I didn’t know that he was doing anything illegal, like laundering money, but deep down, I’d always had the suspicion that he wasn’t as good of a guy as he pretended to be.
“Chicago Police Department, how may I help you?” The receptionist sounded bored.
“I need to speak with Detective O’Brian. Quickly, please.”
She sighed. “There’s no use rushing me, sir, we’re all in a hurry today.” The response was mechanical, as if she had to use it multiple times per day. “Hold, please.”
Before I could agree, I was put on hold. Sappy, instrumental music played in my ear, and I rolled my eyes and put my office phone on speaker. I was too tense to look away from the phone though. My foot kept tapping up and down, and my muscles were clenching so hard that my body was starting to ache. I didn’t like this. Not at all. I hated not having any idea what had happened to Audrey, and the longer I took to find out, the more bad shit could happen in the meantime.
“Sir, he’s in a meeting right now,” the receptionist said drolly. “Can I take a message?”
“No,” I snapped. “I’ll wait. I need to talk to him now. It’s very important—it’s about a case from a few years back.”
“Fine. Hold, please.”
Again, the music returned before I could even agree. By the time O’Brian picked up the phone, I was halfway to deciding that I was just going to walk down there and show him the files myself.
“This is O’Brian speaking.”
“This is Enzo Lennox calling. I need to speak with you about a Richard Hodges. You worked on his arrest a few years ago—white-collar crime. I don’t think he did time in prison, but he was close.”
“Oh yeah.” There was a chewing sound. “I remember. Real asshole of a guy. Real smug fuck.”
“Yeah,” I said, feeling lost. “He’s threatening me, and I have financial statements that prove he laundered more money than was proven years ago.”
There was a pause.
“And how did you get that information?”
“I’d prefer not to say at this time,” I replied. Sweat broke out on my forehead, and I sighed. “Can we meet? I need you to go after him, I can’t wait any longer.”
“Why not? Kid, if something is goin’ on and you don’t tell the truth—”
“I can’t say right now, but trust me, please,” I begged. “This is really important.”
“I’ll meet you somewhere and take the information,” O’Brian said sharply. “And I won’t ask again. If this is what you say it is, then, well, I’ve been looking for this guy for a long time. And I—”
“Can we meet this afternoon?” I jumped out of my chair. “I can meet you outside of the station, or anywhere that works for you. This is important, and we have to get it taken care of now.”
There was another long pause. “I’m clear,” O’Brian said gruffly. “There’s a Starbucks in the Loop, across from the Randolph station. Meet me there in half an hour. And bring every single document you have, don’t leave anything behind. If I wanna get this guy, I need to have all the evidence you have.”
He hung up without giving me a chance to reply. Panic surged through me as I printed out extra copies of all the documents. I wasn’t giving Hodges a chance to get away, not this time. If O’Brian wouldn’t help me… well, I didn’t want to think about that. Not just yet. Not now.
With a quick exhale, I gathered together the papers and stuck the flash drive in my pocket. Seb had done a great job helping me out, and I wanted to make sure there was no way to implicate him. I knew that if I wound up sending him to jail, I could never count on him for another favor again.
My heart seemed to harden in my chest as I glanced around my office. Would O’Brian arrest me, too? Would this be the last time I was in LennoxCo as the CEO? What was going to happen to my company, especially if I couldn’t get to Richard in time?
And above all, Audrey’s name was pulsing in my head like the beat of a drum. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her pale skin, her brown hair, her blue eyes. I shuddered as I imagined Hodges hurting her, or making her cry, or doing anything to make her uncomfortable.
I swallowed. I’d never had these kinds of thoughts before. So stop it, I thought in irritation. Don’t waste time worrying about this girl when you have business to take care of.
The big clock outside my office chimed the half-hour mark. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I knew that it was time for me to go and meet O’Brian.