Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
According to the map on Conner's phone, Beth and Conner had a ten-minute drive to reach the apartment of Gavin Pierce, brother of Dameon Wilson. Beth drove Jack's SUV, while Conner gave directions from the passenger seat. Part of the drive took them near the offices of Socrates Chappelle, who had promised to call Sapphire Angel if he found Eric's email on his server. He hadn't called yet, so it was up to Beth and Conner if they were going to find Eric.
"Nice work finding out about this Dameon Wilson guy," she said, glancing over at Conner.
He shrugged. "It wasn't too hard. The hard part was then finding his brother's apartment. I needed to hit the pavement and ask around."
"I have to give you credit. You're good."
Conner nodded. "I am. But in all my digging today, I couldn't find a single thing about the inner workings of WarTech. Somehow you did."
"I just found the right people," Beth said with a shrug, as the familiar pit of angst returned to her stomach.
"Is that all there is to it?" Conner asked, watching her.
"What do you mean?" Beth replied, as the angst turned to annoyance. She wasn't annoyed with Conner, but with the situation her dual life caused. She shouldn't have to lie to the people closest to her.
"Are you sure you don't have a good source here in town, who is giving you info?"
"A good source? I just arrived myself."
"That's not what I mean. Sapphire Angel is here, too."
Beth felt a lump in her throat, but forced herself not to swallow. Did he know? She thought it impossible for anyone to realize she was Sapphire Angel. Had her close relationship with Conner pierced that veil?
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"What I mean is, are you working with her? Is she sharing information with you? I understand if she wants to keep it confidential, but you can tell me."
"No, I'm not working with Sapphire Angel," Beth said with a chuckle, before guilt crushed any feeling of relief. It almost seemed beyond belief he could recognize the coincidence of Beth and Sapphire Angel appearing in town, but not suspect they might be the same person. "That would be quite the story if I was working with her."
"Yes, it would," he said, pausing. "I guess you're just good."
"Or lucky. But what you found might end up being more valuable. After our... talk the other day, I really appreciate your help on this."
"You'd do the same, if I had a friend missing," Conner replied.
"Yes, I would."
"Kind of like old times, isn't it? Like the StarPrime case."
"You mean when you called me an ice princess the first time you met me?" Beth asked, smiling.
"I don't think those were my exact words."
"Oh, I think they were. Either way, it's nice to be working together."
"Just don't hold back on me like you did in that case," Conner said.
Beth tried again not to swallow. The StarPrime case had been difficult, as she had obtained information as Sapphire Angel she needed to share with Conner, without raising his suspicions. She also had to keep track of which information she had learned in both of her personas, so she wouldn't trip herself up.
"I won't hold anything back," she said, before reaching for the button to turn down the heat in the car.
"Good. If we're going to work together, openness and honesty is key."
"Yep," she said and squeezed the steering wheel tighter.
She bit her lip and glanced over at Conner. He was looking out the side window as buildings rolled past. Could she tell him her secret? Ethan had encouraged her to do so, even if it created a host of complications. It didn't matter what she decided, though, as now wasn't the time. They needed to stay focused, and he might get angry with her for lying for two months.
"So what do you make of the fact that Dameon Wilson is a computer programmer?" he asked, still looking out the window.
"An interesting coincidence, which I'm guessing isn't really a coincidence."
"My thoughts, too," Conner said. "I wonder if Dameon was snatched like Eric, or if he went into hiding. Do you think he and Eric discovered something, either separately or together? Something that made them a threat?"
"Perhaps," she replied. " It might be they had evidence of a corrupt business deal, or someone paying off a politician, or something like that."
"I guess it could be anything. Gavin Pierce might be able to help us find his brother, who could answer that question."
Beth nodded but didn't reply. Her stomach was still churning over the lies she had told Conner, and over her inner debate about whether to reveal her secret.
"His place is right up there," Conner said, pointing to a strip of brick buildings. The structures could have been from any urban commercial district in middle America, with their weathered red brick and faded trim around tall windows. "Above that hardware store."
Beth nodded and guided the SUV to a stop at a vacant space in front of the store. A minute after she parked, she and Conner had traversed an empty sidewalk, and were standing in front of a door near the entrance to the hardware store. Conner tested the handle, and the door opened. A set of old wood stairs rose before them.
"It's a second-floor apartment," Conner said.
They climbed the stairs, Conner in the lead. At the top of the stairs, a bright hallway extended to the back of the building, with two doors on each side and a thin green carpet covering dark hardwood. The place smelled musty, like it needed a good cleaning. Beth and Conner headed down the hall, the floor creaking under their feet, until they reached the last door on the left. Conner raised his hand and rapped on the flimsy wooden surface.
A few seconds later, the door open and they found themselves face-to-face with a tall, thin man. His short brown hair was matted down on his head and looked like he hadn't washed it in days. He had a gaunt visage with large, bulging eyes.
"Gavin Pierce?" Beth asked.
He nodded, an appreciative smile crossing his face as his eyes traveled up and down Beth's lithe figure, before settling on her angelic face.
"Can we talk to you for a few minutes?" she asked.
"Who's asking?"
"I'm Beth Harper, and this is Conner Bennett. We're trying to find someone who has disappeared. We think your brother might be able to help."
"I don't know anything," Pierce replied.
As he spoke, Beth looked past his slim form into the apartment and did a double take. Posters and photographs of Sapphire Angel covered the walls. Sapphire Angel paraphernalia was now a big business, but this guy's collection defied belief.
He noticed Beth's gaze. "She's damn hot, isn't she?" he asked with a grin.
"She's, uh, attractive," Beth stammered. "But we're not here to talk about her. We'd really like to talk to you about your brother."
"I already told you, I don't know anything."
"Anything about what?" Conner asked.
"You mentioned my brother. I assume you want to find him. I have no idea where he is. He just takes off sometimes."
"Takes off to where?" Conner pressed.
"If I had any idea, I wouldn't be saying I didn't know where he was, would I?"
"Just because you don't know where he is doesn't mean you don't know where — " Conner cut himself off with a frustrated wave of his hand. "So you're not sure where he is. Where does he like to hang out?"
"Are you guys cops? Because if you're not, I need to get back to my game. My guild raid is about to start."
"Your what?" Beth asked, contorting her face in puzzlement.
"My guild raid. We've been getting ready for months and are ready to take down Firebrand the red dragon."
Beth rolled her eyes. "You don't even care about finding your brother?"
"Who said he needs to be found? I'm sure he'll show up when he's good and ready. Now sorry, I need to go."
Before Conner or Beth could object, Gavin shut the door. They heard a latch being fastened.
Beth and Conner looked at each other, both with gritted teeth. They stared at the door for a moment, before Conner turned and headed back down the hall.
"You're giving up?" Beth asked, hurrying after him.
"We need to find another approach."
"You think he'd be a least a bit concerned about his brother," Beth fumed as she followed him down the stairs.
"I don't care if he's concerned," Conner replied. "I just want to find out if he knows where his brother is."
"Even if he knows something, it clearly won't be easy getting him to talk."
They stepped outside and made their way to the car.
"I almost wish you had been lying to me about not working with Sapphire Angel," Conner said. "If you could somehow snap your fingers and make her appear, I'm sure he would talk to her."
Beth looked straight ahead as she pulled the car onto the road. "Yeah," she murmured. "I bet he would."
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (this book - Book 3)
“If we’re going to work together, openness and honesty is key.” AHHHHHH, IT HURTS! (grabs chest and nearly faints)
I don’t think I can take much more of this. I’m not even IN her position, and somehow I’m more freaked out over it than she is. Guess your writing just has that great of an effect. Part of me genuinely thinks he doesn’t know and that everything he said in that exchange was just a coincidence, and another part of me thinks he somehow got past the “doubt aura”, already does know, and is just tearing her apart from the inside until she caves.....though I can’t imagine he’d be mean enough to do that considering he’s her lover and all. I still miss John......
Moving on, Gavin Pierce strikes me as that kind of, uhhh.....”nerd” type. Constantly plays video games, is lazy, has rarely any social contact, and is obsessed with Sapphire Angel. I wouldn’t really think much of him---not even for his Sapphire Angel fascination---if it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t be bothered to help assist in the search for his own sibling; it’s like he doesn’t even care about where he is at the moment or what his potential captors could be doing to him. I hate to say it, but since this guy obviously has a thing for Sapphire.....our only hope of getting him to talk might be to have her go in and, umm......”satisfy” him. (throws up)
Then again, she sure acted....”decisively”.....with Conner in the previous novel, even before they became a thing---so I suppose it’s not entirely new---but every single ounce of my being is screaming at me that this is not love. What if Sapphire does go in, tries to interrogate him that way, and if things go south, Conner can just stand outside with a pistol and immediately dash in and shoot him dead before she gets violated? Not much can be accomplished without taking at least a few risks, and, well.....our leads are getting fewer and fewer by the chapter.
Not sure if that whole scenario was what the ending part of this chapter was hinting towards, but I guess we’ll see later! Keep ‘em coming.....this really has me involved!