Chapter Twenty-Nine

Walking

Nora waited at the bar. Her hair was pinned up under a fedora like the one Dan wore. She sipped on a glass of vodka while she waited. Strictly speaking, she wasn't supposed to be drinking on the job, but she had a cover to keep. Who goes to a bar and doesn't drink?"

"Daniel?" a woman's voice called from behind her. Nora spun around with a grin. Pierce's smile faded and she took a step back. "You look a little different in your profile picture."

"Good different or bad different?"

Pierce narrowed her eyes. "I'm not into women, sorry." She turned to leave.

"Stay," Nora insisted. "Stay just for one drink. I promise you, it's worth your time." Slowly, Pierce took a seat next to Nora. Nora turned toward the bartender. "Another Ketel One on the rocks, please. Thanks."

"Who are you?" Pierce asked.

"I'm the girl who set you up," Nora lied. "The FBI was sitting on Christopher Gray's house because I tipped them off."

Pierce glanced over her shoulder nervously, making sure no one was paying them any attention. "And why would you do a stupid thing like that?"

Nora pulled a photo of the jade elephants out of her pocket. "So I could get to these first."

"You got Daniel Picah's," she mused, slowly becoming less skeptical of Nora. "How did you get to it so quickly?"

Nora shrugged. "Guy like Dan is a sucker for a pretty face and a couple compliments."

"I take it you don't approve of my methods."

"I think there are smarter ways of getting what you want," she allowed.

Pierce raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"I find you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar."

Pierce scoffed. "I've never been the 'honey' type of girl, I suppose. I have to work with what I've got."

"Slightly jaded perspective," Nora mused. "Excuse the pun."

"I don't think so," she laughed. "I have a lot to work with."

"I'll drink to that," Nora joked, taking a drink before leaning forward. "You do have something I want."

Pierce cocked her head to the side innocently. "And how do you propose we solve that?"

"Team up," Nora said simply. "I got two, you got three. Separate, we're worth about two million." She shrugged. "That's not bad. Together, we're worth two hundred million. Which, if you're bad at math, is significantly higher."

Pierce considered it for a moment. "I prefer to work alone." She turned to leave.

"Then enjoy your two million," Nora called after her. She turned back to the bar and waited, pushing Pierce's untouched glass off to the side. A moment later, Pierce returned and picked up the drink. "So you are good at math."

Pierce grinned. "You underestimate me."

"Miss me, Caffrey," an all too familiar voice said, coming up behind her. God, not now. Nora turned to see an angry Alex standing over her.

Nora sighed. "What are you doing her, Alex?"

"I don't see you for five years," she spat, "and within minutes of waltzing back into my life I've got the FBI checking up on me?"

Pierce glared daggers at Nora. "This is another setup."

"No, it's not," Nora tried, but it was too little too late. Pierce headed for the back. Nora pushed past Alex to run after her.

"It stings when someone messes with your job, doesn't it," Alex called. "FBI ran my prints. That's bad for my business."

Nora spun back around. "It's not what you think, Alex." I don't have time for this. Pierce was getting away. She hurried toward the kitchen.

Nora caught up with her as she headed down a back street behind the bar. "Not much of an escape route," Nora mused.

"I'm good on my feet." She turned away.

Nora grabbed her and pulled her back. "I want the jade," Nora insisted. "You're not going anywhere without me."

"Is that so?" By the time Nora noticed Pierce's hand had slipped into her purse, it was too late to do anything. Pierce pressed a pocket knife against Nora's ribcage.

"Oh, you're gonna stab me?"

"Not quite." She and twisted around in Nora's arms, holding onto her wrists so Nora couldn't let go. Pierce started screaming bloody murder. "Help! I'm being mugged! Someone help me! Please, someone help!"

"Get your hands off of her," a man's voice boomed as a group of angry stockmen from a business across the street raced over. Pierce let go of Nora as the men swarmed around them, dropping the knife to the ground.

Two of the men grabbed Nora, and Pierce ran off into the night. Another man kicked the knife away. "There's been a misunderstanding here, guys," Nora told them. They held her arms tightly and Nora gasped in pain. "She's crazy."

"Call the cops," one of them told another. "Don't let her go until they get here."

"FBI," she heard Peter call as he sprinted across the street. Relief flooded Nora. "Let her go. Let her go!"

The grip on her arms slacked. "She was mugging some woman," one of the guys explained.

"Alright," Peter said. "I'll take it from here."

"Thank you so much for that," Nora sighed, rubbing her sore biceps. "Thank you. Thanks."

Peter ignored her and pulled out his phone. "Lauren, I got Nora. Pierce disappeared into the crowd." He hung up. "You see where she went?"

"No," Nora snapped. "I was a little preoccupied with the large men restraining me."

"Yeah, we weren't expecting your old friend to show up," Peter huffed, much to Nora's confusion. "I know about Alex." Nora didn't say anything, just sighed deeply.

They headed back toward the car. "She disappeared again," Peter sighed after getting off the phone with Lauren. "What the hell happened back there, Nora? What was your fence doing walking through the middle of our operation?"

"What were you doing pulling her prints?" Nora shot back, letting her anger bubble to the surface. "What? I welcome you into my home and you run a file on my friend?" Peter didn't answer. "You can't trust me. After everything."

"You tell me. I know you're looking for the music box. Maybe you're looking to pawn the jade too." Nora stared in disbelief at the accusation. "You let Pierce walk because you're playing your own angle?"

"There were three of them, Peter," she spat.

"You shouldn't have let her go."

Nora saw red. "Okay, you know what? You think what you wanna think. I'll walk from here." She turned away.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," she hissed. "Something you don't have right now. If you don't trust me, you can check my anklet."

"I will."

"Do it." She started walking

Peter sighed. "Nora, get in the car. It's not safe to be out walking this late."

She froze, glaring over her shoulder at him. "Why? So you can accuse me some more? I'll take my chances." Peter didn't say anything after that, and she walked slowly, hoping the night air would help to clear out her mind. She wondered idly if Peter was going to return to June's, but then decided she didn't care either way.

Perhaps he would be more reasonable in the morning.