Enough greenery to rival a small jungle softened all the glass and glossy metal.
“Afternoon, ma’am,” the security guard said as she approached the counter. “You have an appointment?”
“The Colby Agency.” She drew her wallet from her bag and produced her driver’s license. “Eva Bowman.”
The guard checked the computer screen, scanned her license into his system, then handed the license as well as a visitor’s badge to her. “The elevators are to your right. Fourteenth floor is where you’re headed. Your code for the elevator is on the back of the badge. Just drop the badge off here as you leave, Ms. Bowman.”
“Thank you.” As she moved toward the bank of elevators, she checked the back of the badge. Eight-two-six-seven. She clipped the badge onto the lapel of her sweater and tapped the call button.
The doors opened to a vacant car. Deep breath. She stepped inside and selected floor fourteen. The keypad warned that a code was required so she entered the necessary digits. When the doors closed she stared at her reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator interior. She’d taken care to dress professionally. The soft blush color of her pants and sweater set complemented her too-pale skin. Matching leather ballet flats were easy on the feet. Her first month as an ER nurse had taught her to appreciate good shoes made for comfort. She’d swept her blond hair into a loose bun at the nape of her neck and she’d gone easy on the makeup. Just a touch of lip gloss and a swipe of mascara.
Calm. Collected.
The car bumped to a stop and the doors slid open to another lobby. A receptionist looked up from behind an opaque glass desk and smiled. “Good morning. Welcome to the Colby Agency, Ms. Bowman.”
The next five or so minutes passed in a blur. After the offer of refreshments, which she declined, another receptionist appeared and escorted her to Victoria Colby-Camp’s office, a large, elegant space with a wall of windows that overlooked the city from a prestigious Michigan Avenue address.
Eva had done an internet search on Victoria and her agency, but she hadn’t been adequately prepared for the sophisticated woman standing behind the beautiful mahogany desk, the wall of windows a stunning backdrop. She wore her salt-and-pepper hair in a French twist. The turquoise suit fit as if it had been tailored just for her. Probably had been. Though she was no taller than Eva, her presence was commanding. The most surprising part was how incredibly youthful and fit she looked. According to Google, Victoria Colby-Camp was nearing seventy. Eva could only hope she would look that good in another forty years.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Eva.” Victoria smiled. “Please sit. Let’s take a moment to get acquainted.”
“Thank you.” Eva settled into one of the two champagne-colored upholstered chairs in front of Victoria’s desk.
“My intern, Jamie, will be joining us shortly,” Victoria said. “I’ve reviewed your file. You’re a nurse at the Edge. Dr. Pierce and I serve on Chicago’s civic committee together. The Edge is an incredible step toward elevating emergency care to the highest level. We’re all very proud and duly impressed by his advances in the field.”
Eva nodded. “Dr. Pierce is an amazing man. His methods are changing the landscape of emergency medicine.” The Edge was his brainchild. Whether it was a heart attack, a stroke or some sort of physical injury, the Edge was where everyone wanted to end up when an emergency occurred.
“You have family in the city?”
Eva smiled. Her first of the day. “An older sister, Lena. You may know her. She’s an investigative journalist at Channel 7.”
Victoria nodded. “I do, indeed. Lena Bowman is a household name in the city of Chicago.”
Eva nodded. “She was determined to become one for as long as I can remember.”
Victoria tilted her head ever so slightly, her expression turning somber. “I’ve also had an opportunity to review the Chicago PD’s file on what happened Friday night. It’s an outright miracle no hostages were killed. You and the others at the Edge handled yourselves extraordinarily well.”
Eva nodded in acknowledgment of her kind words. “Since you read the file you must know about Diego Robles’s death.”
“Captain Cyrus explained what happened. He’s very concerned that you’ve been approached and threatened. Dr. Pierce is immensely concerned as well. Why don’t you start at the beginning and tell me what’s happening.”
As much as Eva had dreaded this part, somehow Victoria made her feel relaxed and comfortable—at least as comfortable as she could be under the circumstances. Eva started with what the second man who came into the bathroom on Friday night said to her. She moved on to the ones who’d shouted at her on the street on Saturday, the confrontation on Sunday, the visit at the ER last night and then to the carful of thugs who had followed her to the parking garage three blocks from here. Thankfully, they hadn’t yelled more threats at her...they’d only watched her. Their hateful eyes on her had been equally threatening.
Victoria studied Eva for a moment after she finished recounting the events of the past three days. “I have full confidence the police are watching Robles’s men, but they can’t watch every move each of his hundreds of followers make—not with the budget cuts they’ve suffered recently. You haven’t been assigned a protection detail for the same reason. Until a law is broken, the police can’t afford to shift the resources.”
“I might be dead by then.” Eva hated to say the words aloud but they were true.
“Which is why we’re here. We can fill that void.” Victoria folded her hands atop her desk. “Since Dr. Pierce and I are well acquainted, he asked that I assign the very best to your security and he insisted that I send the bill to him.”
“What?” Eva shook her head. She couldn’t have heard correctly. “I’m prepared to pay for the services I need.”
Victoria held up a hand. “I’m certain you are, Eva. But Dr. Pierce feels responsible. He would like to handle this and, frankly, he can easily afford to do so. Trust me, you should take him up on his generous offer.”
Eva wanted to argue, but Victoria was right. She had scratched together the retainer but she would be hard-pressed to come up with more than a week’s worth of the required fees. She wanted to be upset that Dr. Pierce had been brought into the financial aspect of this arrangement but she supposed it was the right thing to do. I know what you did. The note someone had left on his desk blotter flickered across her mind. She had no idea what the message meant or who left it. She had wanted to ask Dr. Pierce but with all that had happened that night and then the threats, she’d forgotten. In truth, she didn’t feel comfortable discussing it with him after his reaction that night. She wasn’t worried that he somehow felt she was involved or aware of who went into his office, but she couldn’t quite dispel the idea that he’d looked at her with doubt for just a moment.
“I suppose I can do that.”
Maybe when this business with Robles was behind her she would come clean and tell Dr. Pierce she’d lied about being in his office. God, Eva, you’re such an idiot. It would have been so much easier if she’d told the truth in the first place, but it had felt so awkward in that instant. As badly as she felt about that decision, she had far more serious issues with which to deal at present.
“Good.” Victoria picked up a manila folder on her desk and
