Page 57 of Illusive
Gideon removed his hat and tossed it on the coffee table before running a hand through his hair. He glanced over his shoulder at Boudreaux, who gave the appearance of being busy reading, before lowering his voice and asking, “How was she found, Shelley?”
The detective set her elbows on her knees. “She killed her captor and escaped. She got herself out.”
His mother’s gasp was a sharp, pained sound in the otherwise quiet room. A sudden rush of blood in his veins caused a ringing in Gideon’s ears. The room felt as if it tilted slightly.
“She got her hands on his cellphone,” Shelley continued, “and attacked him with it.”
“A cellphone,” Elizabeth repeated blankly.
Shelley nodded. “Wielded properly, a cellphone can cause significant damage to soft tissue and bone.”
Eva looked over her shoulder at Gideon. “We’ve practiced using one defensively at Parker’s studio.”
His thoughts swirling and emotions in chaos, he managed to say, “Then I owe Parker a great debt.”
Shelley’s expression was somber. “I’m told the crime scene is…horrific. One of the techs lost his lunch, and he’s not new to the job. That guy now has a mental snapshot to haunt him, but Ireland has the whole experience, frame by frame, in her head. She’ll need time and help processing it.”
Sobbing quietly, Elizabeth dug in her purse for tissues.
“Where was she found?” Gideon asked.
“In a luxury building here in Manhattan,” Shelley answered. “In a condo owned by a foreign national who’s never set foot in the place. We’re not sure at this point whether the owner has ever been to the United States. Vega and Jang will figure out how the abductors got access to the unit.”
“I want to knowwhy,” Elizabeth said hoarsely, her fingers twisting and pulling at the tissue in her hands. “Why did they do this to Ireland? To my family?”
Eva’s breath left her in a trembling sigh. “With all three men dead, who’s left to tell us?”
Shelley met each of their gazes before answering. “Ireland told the responding officers that she heard her abductor talking to a woman over the phone—and possibly, in person—many times.”
“Could be the person who’s been calling me,” Gideon said grimly. “Who is possibly not a woman at all, since we know the voice is being modulated. It could be anyone of any gender.”
The detective nodded. “Since the other two men were killed at the parking structures before Ireland was taken to the condo, we know there’s someone still out there. And we’ll find them. TARU is reviewing the CCTV footage from the building where she was being held.”
Eva turned a little in her seat to look up at him. “Is it at all possible that Ireland overhead the guy talking to an AI chatbot? Could he have prompted a machine to make those calls to you?”
Gideon set his hand on her shoulder and realized that he, too, was unsteady. “Maybehewas talking to a chatbot, butIwasn’t. The conversation was too sophisticated and emotional. They were getting genuine pleasure in causing me pain. Maybe TARU knows of something I don’t, but it’s certainly beyond the capabilities of anything we’re developing in R&D.”
And Cross Industries was more than dabbling in the rapidly advancing technology. Their cloud-based personal assistant, Lauren, was embedded in nearly every venture Cross Industries had, as well as in certain systems of the Crossfire Building itself.
“Oh.”
The soft sound Eva made was heavy with disappointment. He knew his wife could accept never knowing the motive if itmeant that the threat was over. Her fear seemed visceral to him, and he didn’t know where to direct his anger. All signs were thathewas the target of this campaign of terror, and everyone around him was collateral damage. Ireland had thus far paid the highest price, but everyone was now suffering and potentially endangered.
A figure filled the sitting room’s open doorway, drawing everyone’s immediate attention.
“Daniel!” Elizabeth cried, quickly standing. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
His mother’s fiancé entered the room with a brisk, assured stride. “Yes, at last. How’s Ireland?”
“Oh, Daniel.” She covered her mouth to quiet a sob. “They hurt her.”
Gideon watched as Daniel pulled his mother into a tight, rocking hug before they spoke in hushed tones. It was a relief to have someone present who could better look after her. He felt useless.
There’d been a time, long ago, when he’d felt helpless and to blame. To feel that way now, when it was imperative that he find some fucking calm and stay in control, triggered raw memories of the isolated boy he’d once been, throwing his equilibrium off balance. He knew he had to keep his shit together and focus on the next steps, but his growing apprehension was impossible to ignore.
How would Ireland view him and his actions after what she’d suffered?
Shelley looked his way again. “The three deceased suspects were all career criminals, but they weren’t known associates. Someone put them together. And detectives are still investigating whether the written threats you received are related. The two-year time lapse between the earlier ones andthe most recent can be a valuable clue. We’ll have to figure out the context.”
