Reese was stumped. She honestly couldn''t think of anywhere safe to put Alex right now.
George picked up on her hesitation. "Don''t worry, Alex. I''ll take care of your amodation. I promise you''ll be safe."
Reese let out a breath she didn''t realize she''d been holding, then looked at Alex. "So, when do you think you can head back home to get the recording with Grace? "Or, if it''s easier, just tell me where it is. I can have someone pick it up for you."
Alex opened his mouth, paused as if weighing something, and finally said, "Ms. Meyer, it''s not that I don''t trust you, but let''s be real. This is a transaction between us. How about this? When you tell me what''s going on with Nicole, I''ll tell you exactly where the recording is. Deal?"
Reese''s disappointment flickered in her eyes, but she nodded. "Alright."
She knew there was no point in pushing. Standing up, she said, "Okay, that''s settled. Go with George for now. I''ll reach out as soon as I have any updates." Alex gave her a grateful look, then followed George out of the private room.
Left alone in the cafe, Reese sat quietly, tapping her fingers on the table as she got lost in thought. After a while, she pulled out her phone and called Roman.
"Mr. Sanchez, can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead, Ms. Meyer." Roman sounded busy, with distant office noise in the background.
"I ran into Alex recently. He admitted to me that Grace was the one who told him to hit my mother with his car. Is that enough to reopen the investigation?"
"Are you serious?" Roman''s voice sharpened. He signaled for quiet on his end. "I have a recording. He also said Grace reached out to him afterward, and he recorded that conversation as well. The catch is, he won''t tell me where the recording is until I update him about his daughter. And his daughter is Leslie."
Silence stretched between them.
Everyone in Bridger Lake had heard about the case with Sebastian and Leslie, and Roman definitely knew who Leslie was. Through Peter, he also knew that Reese and Matthew had set up the sting that caught Leslie.
"Where''s Alex now?" Roman asked.
"He''s been under Grace''s watch, but after seeing the news tonight, he ran. He''s with mywyer now," Reese replied honestly.
"George?"
"Yeah."
"Got it. I''ll reach out to George and send some people over. Maybe we can get him to talk." Roman paused for a moment. "Send me the recording you have. I''ll get the case reopened right away."
"Will do."
After she sent the file to Roman, Reese hesitated for a second, then dialed Matthew''s number.
"Hey, Reese?" His deep, smooth voice came through the line, instantly easing some of her tension.
"Matthew, I need your help with two things," she said, skipping any small talk. "First, can you dig up everything you can about Leslie, especially what she was doing before and after she went overseas?" She really needed to know how Leslie
managed to leave the country at all.
“And second, what''s thetest on the espionage case?”
Keystrokes clicked in the
background. After a moment,
Matthew answered, "I''ll have Leslie''s
info for you by tomorrow, at thetest As for the case, I just got an update. Sebastian''s interrogation wrapped up. He''s standing by his story that he only worked with Big X on regr business consulting, nothing rted to core technology. All files were archived and destroyed when the partnership ended."
Reese arched an eyebrow. "And Leslie''s statement?"
"She''s still insisting there was a tech exchange,” Matthew''s voice was cooler now. "But I checked. The coboration between Big X and Ratcliff Global at the time
didn''t involve any artificial intelligence whatsoever."
So Leslie really was trying to drag Sebastian down with her.
"Also, something else. Big X''s headquarters has been moving. Two of their top executives entered the country three days ago. They''re headed for Bridger Lake. Most likely, theyre here to lock in the espionage charges and deal with Leslie, since she''s be a liability."Matthew paused for a beat. "I''ve got people watching them. I''ll update you if anything happens."