The Seventeen. Joel Arcanjo
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Название: The Seventeen

Автор: Joel Arcanjo

Издательство: HarperCollins

Жанр: Ужасы и Мистика

Серия:

isbn: 9781472096302

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ style="font-size:15px;">      She paused for a second. “So the girl was found today?”

      “As far as I know,” he replied.

      “But was she killed today?”

      “All I know is what I overheard the ginger apeman say to another cop. Something about TOD, whatever that means, then a time. Seven o’clock two days ago. Then he said that I didn’t have an alibi for the murder. Does that help?”

      “TOD means time of death. She was killed at seven two days ago. Do you have an alibi?”

      “Officially, no. They must have somehow got access to all my official appointments for the day to figure that out though. God knows how they did it,” he said, looking bemused.

      “It’s called a warrant. Your DNA was all over the crime scene. That’s probable cause. You’re telling me you’ve never watched any cop shows?”

      He just stared at her with a blank expression on his face.

      She flapped a hand at him. “Never mind. So you don’t have an alibi then?”

      “I never said that. What I said was I don’t have an official alibi.”

      “Well, what the hell does that mean?”

      A broad grin broke out across his face. “It means I’ve got an alibi.”

      She let out sigh. That would make things much easier. She whipped out her notepad and asked, “Who and where?”

      “That’s the thing. I’d rather not give you that information,” he said, scratching his neck again.

      She just stared at him for a while. Then raised her voice a little. “You asked for my help. If I’m going to be your lawyer you’ve got to be honest with me Lex. If this person can get you off this, you have to tell me who they are. No judgement.”

      He looked to be weighing up his options in his head. Don’t tell and go to prison or tell and go home. The obvious won out. “OK. My guy Sammie was taking care of me. It had been a while and it had been a stressful week. It was exactly what I needed as well. Afterwards I felt great.”

      Bella’s face contorted for a moment before she controlled herself. “What is the name of your...male escort?”

      “My what?” Then the realization of what he had said dawned on him. “No, no Sammie is my manicurist! I was getting a manicure! God, how could you even think...?”

      Bella could tell she was going red. Her cheeks were filling with blood fast. How embarrassing. But what happened next was out of her control. She began to giggle. Quietly at first, then louder. Not finding time between bouts of laughter for taking in air was always a problem for her. The whole time Lex was saying, “You promised me there was no judgement.” By the end she was gasping for air. Her eyes watering and her cheeks hurting from smiling.

      Lex continued. “Let me get this straight. Me going to a male prostitute is less funny than me getting a manicure?”

      That nearly set her off again but she controlled it. “I’m sorry about that. No judgement at all. Can I have his details please?”

      “A manicure isn’t just for females you know. Males do it too. I mean for God’s sake it’s got the word MAN in!” he protested.

      “Yeah. No judgement. Things have obviously changed since we were together,” she joked. “The name, Lex?” she said, making a kind of whirlwind action with her hand in an attempt to hurry him up.

      He gave her the name. She wrote it down and got up to leave. Then a question came to her which she felt she had to ask before she did anything else.

      “If you didn’t go see her that night, how is you DNA all over the crime scene?”

      He looked up at her, genuine pain in his eyes. “Someone’s setting me up, Belle.”

       Chapter 5

      Someone was setting him up. Someone that had seen the geared up cops come in and drag him out. Someone that hadn’t pointed and whispered, but instead had smiled. That someone didn’t like to think of themselves as someone at all. No. They were known as THE One. More specifically the number, One. The One behind the master plan. The One who had set everything in motion.

      Had it really been that easy to take down a member of the most powerful family in New York? All it had taken was slitting the throat of some busy-body corporate nobody to do it. It had felt like One was right there doing the cutting again. Feeling her fear. The quickening of her pulse. The warmth of her fresh blood covering One’s hands. One had killed her.

      One wasn’t anywhere near Tech Tower anymore. One was far away now. Walking the streets of New York, looking for a Cafe to enjoy an afternoon coffee. A good mood was something that the One cherished. It was always swift. Always fleeting. A drive-by of good energy. Then on to the next job. This was slightly different though. It was a huge deal. Taking down one third of America’s perfect family. The son. He seemed a smart kid, but naive. One had met him several times. He was impressive looking, but incredibly vain. The kind of guy that would check his reflection in his cell phone. His English accent had always gotten on One’s nerves. It grated, like nails on a chalkboard. God knows how his employees could put up with it. Ten minutes of that incessant noise was all One could take. Now that the incessant noise was locked up, One could sit in the glorious afternoon sun and bask in the plan’s success. At times like this life felt so simple. So easy. Time really did fly when everything was going right for you.

      But One knew better. One had seen it all before. The slow rise to the top and the inevitable crash back to earth. The group One led had no official name. It was not a gang because it operated under the radar. It was a collection of seventeen of the most powerful people in New York City. Their aim was to keep the rich richer and let the poor fend for themselves. They did this by identifying individuals or corporations that were a potential danger to them, find their weak spot and strike fast. A cheating partner, unpaid taxes or a hidden secret. It didn’t really matter. They found it.

      No major deals happened without them knowing about it. The group had been founded three years previously by an anonymous benefactor they called Zero. Zero was their voice and One was their face. No-one had ever seen Zero’s face. All they had ever heard was Zero’s electronically altered voice giving them instructions. Many had questioned why they should be led by an anonymous coward. Those that had questioned were found days later face down in the Hudson River. But Zero had conceded that a leader with a face was necessary. The position of One was born. The Seventeen elected their leader. Even after being elected by their peers, their position was not guaranteed. Zero would then test them to judge their suitability for the job. If they passed the test, they were One. The first One had lasted an impressive three years. The position had been vacated as One had left overseas on a mission for Zero and had not returned. That is when the present One had been appointed.

      A worthy successor. A fearless leader. Greatly respected by the Seventeen. Zero had sent four tests One’s way and One had obliterated the first three with ease. This was the fourth and last. The toughest, true, but child’s play for a mind like One’s. The request was simple. “Get the kid, Lex Archer, sent to jail in any way possible”. Zero had told the Seventeen that he believed the Archer family to be becoming too powerful. They needed bringing down. Their son being imprisoned would be the start.

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