That was Yesterday
Chapter 16
"303 East 57th Street," Alexis told the cab driver and scooted across to give Lanie room to sit.
Lanie tried yet again to stop her. "You really don't have to do this, Alexis."
"You don't have to move in with me. It just so happens to have two bedrooms and three bathrooms and since I'm selling the loft I'll have the money and then some. We can work out what you pay in rent if that makes you happy later.
"Dad's gone." She had given up saying he was dead when she knew good and well that he was anything but dead. Kate had even forgiven him for getting stupid on her and Dad had said he was sorry and wouldn't do it again. Besides Kate had their lone credit card now so he couldn't spend a dime unless it was in real cold hard cash.
"I need the company and with Kate and the guys gone now, so do you," Alexis argued.
Lanie knew Alexis had her there. Kate had killed herself over losing Castle and the guys had moved to Boston to get away from Gates. Thankfully she didn't actually work for Gates or even have to interact with her. She didn't work for the police department. She had her own boss who was happy with her so, yeah, Alexis had her there.
#17CD It seemed like an odd number to Lanie. It was a really tall gray building with tall brick buildings close by. There was even a window washer out washing windows at the time.
The Realtor opened the door and let them go first. "Two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 2,040 square feet. The price has recently been reduced 55 thousand to 595 thousand. The HOA includes gas, electric, and air conditioning. There is a twenty-four hour doorman and a concierge service. It faces south so lots of natural light. Health club, roof deck, spa, and salt water swimming pool. A garage with one dedicated space, laundry, and dry-cleaning service is available.
"Please take a look around. I'll be right here when you have questions. OH, and the apartment comes completely turnkey. There's nothing you need to purchase. Unless you want to," Realtor Melanie Maxwell told them.
There were two closets right inside the front door along with a tiny half bath for guests. A pocket door led to a really small galley kitchen. It did at least have a pantry.
"Look at the size of this refrigerator!" Lanie opened both doors that matched the cabinets then the bottom freezer. "Gas range with a double oven!" It was tiny, a little closed off with limited countertop space, but it had a window and it was nice. The floor was tile.
Next was the dining room that had carpet of all things. There was a built-in cabinet under a window.
The living room was next and both of them looked with wide open eyes. It was completely open, had parquet floors, and lots of windows. There were soffits all the way around that were pumping out air onto the ceiling and they had lots of pot lights in them.
There were two stark white sofas, a coffee table, and a dark gray throw rug. A glass top dining room table with six white cushioned chairs. Two modern chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling. The Roman column at the edge of the kitchen seemed a little out of place but if you looked hard enough you could see the space from part of the kitchen.
A slider led to a small balcony. They had seen those from outside. Everyone had one.
They were now standing in an X shaped space. It led to the living room, the dining room, the hallway to the front door, and a hallway that must lead to two bedrooms and the two bathrooms they hadn't seen yet.
"It's called a gallery," Melanie called out as they stood there.
Down the hall on the left was the first bathroom. It was really a three quarters bathroom since it didn't have a tub. But it did have a small closet. The door to the right opened onto a bedroom. It had the same parquet floors and a large white bed. Built-in cabinets on one wall and another on the outside wall below the window.
"I'm guessing your room and your bathroom," Alexis mentioned since she was the one buying this.
"I like it. So far it's a lot more than I have now," Lanie pointed out since Alexis had been to her place which was New York typical. Barely more than a closet.
Turning left down the hallway they came upon a stacked washer and dryer. A pocket door led into the master bedroom. "WOW!" Alexis really liked it.
"OH-MY-GOD!" Lanie loved it.
There was a king-size white bed with white headboard. And a separate sitting area filled with two white chairs, a glass coffee table, and a modern chandelier hanging over it.
"ALEXIS!" Lanie had found the bathroom. It had a tub shower combo, single sink, toilet, and a bidet.
"TWO CLOSETS!" They were both huge and connected. A pocket door separated it from the bathroom and another pocket door led them back out into the hallway in front of the washer and dryer.
"You can have this one and I'll take that one," Alexis indicated. The one in her bathroom was a little small and she didn't need two huge closets.
Back downstairs they were shown the exercise room with all the equipment anyone could want, all in white instead of silver. Followed by the pool that had glass walls and a glass roof. It wasn't officially Olympic-sized but it was marked in lanes like it was.
It and the lounge area that had forty white lounge chairs on fake green grass weren't on the ground floor. A card was required just to get into the elevator to reach your apartment so the same for the pool. Unless you managed to take the stairs.
"Ladies?" She wanted to know what they thought.
"Give us a minute, please," Alexis smiled. She walked a short distance and went outdoors onto the lounge area. "We could get a tan out here."
"No Jacuzzi, no hot tub, no sauna but it has a pool," Lanie noted.
"Is your space big enough?" Alexis questioned her and Lanie stared at her like that was a stupid question. "This kitchen is tiny and it isn't going to get any bigger. Ever," Alexis said.
"I don't cook. I have have teased Kate about all the take-out she ate but I'm just as bad," Lanie finally admitted.
"No worries, Lanie. I cook," Alexis said. "Dad taught me all I know. He was pretty good too. It's big enough for me. Two thousand square feet means a lot of space. The HOA isn't that bad especially if they're going to take care of all of the gas and electricity we use." That was what made it as high as it was. "Not to mention water and they generate the hot water instead of us like at the loft.
"We need insurance, naturally. Is it close enough to work for you? You have to be to a body in what, thirty minutes or less? We're on the edge of Midtown East and Sutton Place. The Queensboro Bridge is like two blocks down over Roosevelt Island and the East River."
"It's close enough. Not sure I want to walk to Central Park. It's your money." Lanie left the decision up to her.
"But you're my roommate and that's why I'm asking. Everyone else is gone, Lanie. That's why I'm asking." Her dad and Kate weren't really gone as in dead, but she couldn't reach them except by her SATPAQ and she could hide that in her room or closet somewhere. Leave her cellphone in plane sight and hide the other cellphone and SATPAQ device.
"I like it. You got yourself a roommate. Besides now I can hook you up with men to date." Lanie smiled a huge smile since she already had plans.
Alexis tried to nip that in the bud – right now! "I'm in college, Lanie, and your men are too old for me. I'll be fine."
"DRAT!" She had a point. It only meant Lanie had more of a challenge to overcome to find Alexis someone. She didn't give up that easily.
"We'll take it. At the listing price contingent on the sale of the loft I own now," Alexis told Realtor Melanie Maxwell.
Melanie smiled. "Great, follow me and I'll write it up and you can sign it, then we wait."
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
They were headed to Lanie's place after picking up some take-out since Lanie didn't cook and Alexis didn't have classes.
"So what are you selling the loft for? If I may ask?" It wasn't her business so she wouldn't be offended if Alexis didn't tell her.
"A little over five million," Alexis replied matter-of-factly. Then she opened her meal and took her chopsticks out of the paper wrapper.
"Five…five." Lanie stumbled over the word five and was shocked.
"I still own the house in the Hamptons which is worth just about as much. And Dad owns something out in California, of all places. It's presently rented so I don't know much about it. A company is handling that for me since Dad had them doing it for him. It brings in a little money each month." She was doing a little better than what she had told Kate.
She had done it so maybe Kate would light a fire under her dad and get him under control. Or she might end up in financial trouble.
"Five?" Lanie asked her again and saw her nod and grin. She had just spent 600K of that five million. Now they needed to discuss how much Lanie was going to pay her to live there.
-.-. .- ... - .-.. .
Martha was walking since the view really was lovely. She hadn't been up there in a really long time and she lived in this city. Most of the people up there were likely tourists; it was late so they could see all the lights of the city which made her wonder yet again why she had taken so long to come up here.
She was only there because her granddaughter had asked her to meet her there. But why did she want to meet here of all places?
"Hi, Grams." Alexis had arrived and walked right up to her and hugged her.
"Not that I'm not glad to see you, dear, but why are we way up here?" She still liked the view.
"It seemed like a nice safe place to talk." Even the tourists were thinning out. They weren't totally alone but no one up here was totally alone so that was good.
"Safe? Why would we need a safe place to talk? Alexis?" What had she done?
"I got you up here for a few reasons. One is I'm putting the loft up for sale. No one lives there so I don't see the need to keep it." She could live there when school was out for the summer. But it was kind of big for just her.
"Alright." Martha could see that. She had her own apartment now and she was actually doing pretty well financially for a change. Losing her son still hurt. Add losing Katherine as well didn't help.
She had long suspected that Katherine loved him. She just hadn't seen her killing herself after losing him.
"I've asked Lanie to move in with me. She's still going to help me with my classes and let me work with her in the morgue," Alexis said, her blue eyes bright.
"So you're really going to do it." Martha knew about her plan to be a State Medical Examiner. She even liked the idea. "I'm happy for you, Alexis. But what does that have to do with being way up here?" They were at the top of the Empire State Building. It had even cost both of them to get up here. People didn't get up here for free any longer if it ever was free.
Martha suddenly found herself being hugged again and since she didn't mind and liked it she hugged her granddaughter in return. "I have something to tell you and you're not going to like it," Alexis began.
Now Martha was worried. But that still didn't explain why they were way up here.
"I'm tired of lying to you, Grams, and I can't take it any longer." Alexis felt tears welling up. Grams was going to be angry and Alexis had been hurting ever since being told not to tell anyone.
"Nothing could be that bad, dear." Alexis didn't get into trouble. Her son, yes. Alexis, no.
Alexis sighed and decided then and there to rip the Band-aid off. "Dad's not actually dead." There she had told her.
Except Martha just stood there and held her. "Say that again, Alexis." Martha was sure she had heard wrong.
"Dad's not dead. He's in witness protection. He has been for almost two years." Alexis looked up and she couldn't remember the last time she had ever seen her grandmother cry, but she was crying silently now.
"Kate's not dead either. She's with him." Alexis kept breaking new news to her and now she knew she was crying. "I'm sorry, Grams. They told me not to tell anyone. Not even you."
"Richard and Katherine?" Martha freed a hand to wipe away her tears.
"They got married and Kate just gave birth to a baby girl. She's not even a week old yet. Kate named her Katarina. I think it's Russian but don't quote me." Alexis didn't let go of her and wasn't going to let her get away from her either.
Martha was being too silent so Alexis looked up and saw nothing but tears. "Are you okay? I'm still really sorry, Grams."
"No." Martha was anything but okay. She was barely recovered from having her son be dead, followed by Katherine only to be told they were never dead. No, she was anything but okay.
"How do you know all this?" Not just why here but why just her?
"I talk to them all the time now. I even went to see them. You remember that vacation I went on? I met them there. Not that they live there." That was partly true. They didn't live in Auckland, New Zealand. They live in Picton, New Zealand.
"You're not…?" Martha knew Alexis wouldn't lie. Certainly not about this. Just that she had been lying to her. "You're telling the truth here?" Martha looked down at her.
"I promise. You can talk to them too. Well message them, actually, not literally talk to them." Alexis amended that statement.
"Why?" Martha meant why everything. From why is her son dead to why is she being told now.
"Dad dug too deep into why Kate's mother was killed. He's a really bad man, Grams. A truly evil man. Dad and the FBI think that if he knew Dad and even Kate were still alive he would kidnap you, me, Jim, and pretty much everyone they know and care about, then threaten to kill all of us if they didn't just hand themselves over to be killed.
"Then simply kill us as well. No loose ends. I hate that man." Alexis had nothing but loathing for Bracken.
"Does this mean you know who it is? Why can't they just arrest him and lock him up?" Her son and Katherine could come home.
"His name is William H. Bracken," Alexis replied
"Where have I heard that name before?" Martha knew that name but just couldn't quite place where.
"Do you remember that US Senator that the FBI tried to arrest but he fled to Serbia in a US military jet at tax payer expense?"
"That's it! That's where I know that name. And they can't just go get him?" It sounded simple enough to her. Go there, arrest him, and bring him back. Then put him on trial and lock him up forever.
"There's no extradition treaty with the US. He's safe with his hundreds of millions in offshore bank accounts. The FBI think that if Dad and Kate come out of hiding he'll use his millions to have them killed in revenge. He is so wicked, Grams."
"That's why you can't tell anyone anything ever for any reason. If he finds out then Dad and Kate and their baby are dead. And maybe us as well. He will have them killed, Grams. He'll do it. So you need to promise. This is important, Grams. We might all die if you don't keep your promise to never, ever talk about it. Not to anyone anywhere." Alexis needed her to swear and keep it.
"It's that bad?" Martha had only heard about such evil people in history. Not locally and certainly not affecting her directly.
"Worse than that bad. We might all die slowly or die in a blast that kills us so fast we never even know we're dead. More likely slowly to drag Dad and Kate out of hiding.
"And the FBI can't reach him. They almost had him but he was tipped off and ran. Now he's sitting there drinking expensive wine and smoking expensive cigars in an expensive house." Alexis didn't know this for a fact but she could see it.
"Promise me. You need to really promise, Grams. A life and death promise." Alexis looked up her.
"I can talk to them?" Martha asked her.
"I promise. It's just messages but they 're untraceable. Dad has even done something stupid finally and pissed Kate off. But I think they're better now.
"Then I promise. We will never speak of this again, not even to each other." Now she understood why they were way up here.