Head Over Heels (17 page)

He quickly bookmarked the spot where Jessie had appeared, pulled on his second sock and rushed out the door without having breakfast.

After being off a month, he found the trip through rush-hour traffic more frustrating than he remembered. For the first time, he wondered what kind of traffic Marielle had to drive through, since she started so early, likely before the high point. His office was on the fringe of the busy downtown core because here, rent for Grant was a little cheaper. Marielle worked in the city center, in a huge high-rise tower where there was maximum exposure for a high-priced accounting firm.

He knew that once she found the time to take the courses she wanted, she would move up quickly in the hierarchy.

He arrived at his office building at the same time he always did, and walked up the stairs to his office, as he always did. Grant was there, but no one else had arrived yet.

“How was your time off? Are you feeling better and ready to get back to work?” Grant asked.

Russ's first reaction was to say that he had been ready to get back to work three weeks ago, but in fact,
he'd enjoyed his time off, and if not for the pending vice presidency, he wished he could have taken more time.

“Yes, I'm ready” was all he could say.

He continued into his office, where his new computer sat ready, just waiting for him to install the programs of his choice, then transfer all the data files he'd backed up to the server.

He wasn't as excited as he thought he should be.

Instead of sitting down, Russ moved to the window. He almost expected the action would bring on a headache, but fortunately, the doctor was right. The headaches had faded, even though his memory of the accident still had not returned.

He opened the window, but he didn't lean out.

He
never
leaned out. He often stuck his head out for a breath of semi-fresh city air, grateful that the older building had windows that actually opened. But that's all he ever did. He knew accidents could happen, and he always played it safe.

He tried for only a minute to remember what might have made him lean out so far that he would fall, but then something unusual happened to Russ. His mind wandered.

Instead of wondering about his accident, he became distracted by the downtown skyline, and he thought back to all the references Marielle had made without actually giving him the address. Which of the high-rise towers was Marielle's office?

And then he wondered what she was doing.

And if she was thinking of him, too—

“Russ! Great to see you back!”

Russ spun around to see Tyler, his closest workmate,
approaching, an enthusiastic smile on his face. “Hey, Tyler, it's good to see you, too. Did anybody miss me while I was gone?”

“Did we ever!” said Tyler. “Can I ask you a question about something?”

For the rest of the morning, Russ didn't get a chance to touch his new computer. Instead, he went from desk to desk, helping everyone with problems they'd put aside in his absence.

He ordered in lunch and worked through his break so that by mid-afternoon he had his computer up and running the way he wanted it.

As soon as he had a minute alone at his computer, he checked his e-mail. Instead of starting at the top to catch up on his business correspondence, he started at the bottom, just in case Marielle had e-mailed him that morning.

Instead, there was one from Jessie, which he noted was from an untraceable source.

He opened that first.

 

Hi Russ,

Very clever of you with the webcam. You have seen that I have a file on your old computer that I need. This is a very treasured personal file, one I didn't want anyone to see, so I named it after Byron's account. It is imperative that I get it back immediately. It's too large a file to e-mail, and I don't want it on the company server, so I would appreciate it if you could give me your log-in and password and I'll retrieve it
myself at that old church you've been hanging around at. This means a lot to me, and your cooperation is appreciated.

Jessie

 

Russ read the message a second time. Now that he had discovered what was in the file, he knew what it meant to Jessie was indeed a lot—but a lot of money. He didn't want her to use the video, but since he'd added extra encryption, she could have it. Once she had it in her possession, he had no doubt that eventually she would break his code, but he wasn't going to give her that much time.

Now, all he had to do was figure out how to make sure the police would be there at the same time as Jessie. Once he gave her the password she needed, she would be gone within minutes.

He hit reply and was about to start keying, when Grant appeared in the doorway.

“I just got the strangest e-mail. I haven't heard from Jessie in a month. We've phoned and left messages, I've mailed her letters and she hasn't responded, and all my e-mails bounced back. She just quit. She said she'll forward copies of all the work she's done for us that isn't finished, without charging us for it, if you'll send her a file from that project you were working on together for Byron. A number of things got held up because of Jessie disappearing. If you send her that file, and then she sends us what she's got, that would really help tie up loose ends.”

“I just got an e-mail from her, too.”

“Do you have that file she's talking about?”

Russ found the different story she had told Grant disturbing, but he couldn't lie. “Yes, I have it.”

“Good. Send it to her right away. I need those files she's got.”

“Are you sure she's really got anything? I remember the day of my accident, Jessie talked about her laptop crashing, and she said she lost everything.”

Grant shrugged. “It sounds like she's got something that she didn't have backed up on our server, and it sounded important. I don't know if I trust her now after all this, but if she's got something that's more current than her backups, we need it.”

Russ thought it more likely that she was simply baiting Grant, using her story for leverage to get what she wanted. Grant had no idea what was going on. Russ didn't want to tell his boss what he'd found, because so far he didn't have proof that Jessie was actually doing anything to extort Byron. So far, it was only a theory, based on Byron suddenly postponing finishing the project. That was enough for Russ to guess what was going on, but it wasn't proof.

Grant handed him a folder and left the room, allowing Russ to continue with his e-mail.

 

Hi Jessie,

I happen to know that your file isn't just family photos. I suggest it would be best if you don't have this file, and that I will keep it for you. Also, on the Properties function it clearly shows your name as the creator of the file, just in case you get any ideas.

Regards,

Russ

 

He hit Send, then opened up the folder Grant had left and was beginning to read, when the phone rang.

“Hello, Russ.” The sharp tone of Jessie's voice sent a chill down Russ's spine. “I don't think you understand something. I need that file, and I need it
now
.”

“That's too bad.”

“You really don't understand, do you. Do you think I can't do the same to your little church friend that I did to you?”

Russ's blood turned to ice.

“I didn't mean for you to hit the ground. I only meant for you to land on the balcony below. But I think you can see what I'm willing to do for that file. I can easily arrange an accident for your friend.”

As in a nightmare, echoes of Jessie's voice calling him to the window rolled around in his head. Dizziness surged through him and he pressed one hand to the desk to support himself.

“I think you also know that I'm not working alone,” she said.

The woman in the video. The man in the video whose real face had been covered. At least one of the teens at the youth center. He now didn't know if it was male or female.

“A little money goes a long way, Russ. Or a lot of money.”

“You're sick.”

Jessie laughed. “You're naive. I'm going to e-mail you an address, and I want you to upload my file to that server. Call the police if you want. If you do, you might get me arrested, but not for long. My friends will be watching out for me. And my friends will be watching your little friend.”

Before Russ could respond, Jessie hung up.

Russ turned and stared at the window.

It hadn't been an accident.

Jessie had done something to make him fall. And if he didn't cooperate, she would hurt Marielle.

He felt like he might throw up.

On shaky legs, he walked across the office to close the door. He unclipped his cell phone from his belt and dialed Marielle's number at work.

“Hi, Marielle. Have you got a few minutes? I need something.” He could have asked Grant, but he didn't want his boss. He also didn't want just a friend. He wanted Marielle.

“Sure. What do you need?”

“Jessie just phoned me, and something she said is starting to make things come back.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I need you to help me walk my way through this.”

“Where are you?”

“I'm in my office.” He moved across the room and opened the window. “I remember Jessie's voice calling me to the window. I'm going to lean out now.”

He did so, and looked down. He didn't feel dizzy or afraid. Trying to remember Jessie's voice, he looked down at the two-inch-wide ledge running beneath the window. “She asked me to look at the ledge. I remember that.” He trained his eyes on a spot directly below the window. “It's not there now, but I remember seeing something shiny. Something gold.” He squeezed his eyes shut. No headache felled him; he was thinking rationally. “A necklace. She said the clasp had broken, her
necklace had fallen off and landed on the ledge, and she couldn't reach it.”

He stared down at the ledge. It was a stretch, but not completely out of range.

“I'm going to reach down and see what happens.”

“No! Russ! Don't!”

“I have to do this.”

He reached out his arm. “I'm about eight inches short of reaching the ledge if I lean out at the waist. I'm going to put the phone down on the windowsill for a minute so I can hang on while I lean down farther, to see if I can touch it.”

He balanced the phone on the edge, then spoke loudly enough for her to hear. “I'm leaning down now,” he called out to the phone. “I can almost touch the ledge.” He reached farther, but it wasn't enough. To give himself that extra inch, he pushed himself up on the tips of his toes, hanging on to the window frame for dear life with his left hand as he reached with his right. “I'm touching it now.” As his fingers made contact, he almost felt the quick pressure of two hands from behind, and a sharp thrust.

A sensation of falling.

He remembered hitting something hard, everything spinning as he fell.

He stared at the balcony of the second-floor office, just big enough for one person to stand on, surrounded by a metal railing.

“She pushed me,” he said to the phone on the sill. “I bounced off the railing at the second floor. That's how I got these cracked ribs.”

The falling continued after impact. Everything turned
to a cold, nondescript gray—the color of Marielle's car—and then he felt a jolt of searing pain and saw a flash of colors exploding in his head. A second jolt followed, not as extreme, and he was blinded by the glare of daylight, then everything faded to black.

That would have been when he slid off the roof of Marielle's car and landed on the hood.

He pushed himself upright now, barely able to hold on to the smooth wood edge of the sill as he steadied himself. His palms were slick with sweat, his forehead dripping, his armpits damp.

He swiped his hands on his pants and picked up the phone. “Wow. I think I need a shower. But, Marielle, I remember everything. Praise God I'm alive.”

His knees began to shake, so he crossed the room and sank into his chair with a
thud
.

“Are you okay?”

Russ leaned back, letting his head fall against the high backrest. All the strength leaked out of him, leaving him completely drained. He barely had the power to raise one arm to touch the bump on his nose. It was nothing compared to what could have happened.

“Yes, I'm okay.” He kept the phone pressed to his ear. It wasn't much of a connection, but it was the only connection he had. Even if all she could do was listen, he was grateful for the technology that had allowed Marielle to be with him, so he hadn't had to go through it alone.

He paused and inhaled deeply a few times, and slowly, his strength returned. “So now I know what happened. No wonder Jessie went into hiding. I could charge her with attempted murder.”

“Are you going to?”

Jessie's threats of her partners doing harm to Marielle echoed in his head. He really didn't know how far the woman would go, but what she'd done to him was far more mercenary than what he would have considered her capable of. He couldn't take the chance that Jessie and her cohorts would hurt Marielle. But he couldn't tell Marielle what Jessie had said—not until he had figured out a plan.

“I don't know yet. I have to think. It would be easy enough for her to say I just leaned too far and fell. Then it would be her word against mine.”

“If she pushed you out the window to get that file, how come she didn't then get it?”

“She must not have realized that I had just started rebooting my computer when she called me to the window. After it finishes rebooting, you need to enter the password. Otherwise, she would have had it.”

“Why didn't she just wait for you to leave the room? That's how she would have gotten the file on there in the first place.”

“My only thought is that she needed it that same day. She probably transferred it to my computer the day before when I was out for lunch, because that's the only time I wouldn't have been in my office. I'm guessing she was going to burn it onto a DVD, but my burner is on the fritz. But the day of my accident…” He squeezed his eyes shut. All this time he'd been saying it was an accident, but it wasn't. He thought of what Jessie had said in their last conversation—she hadn't meant for him to hit the ground—it made sense now. Maybe she thought he would land on the balcony below, but it
hadn't worked out that way. He'd hit the railing, and then continued downward to the ground below, saved only by the grace of Marielle's car being in the right place at the right time, by God's timing.