The next morning, I called Mia Grey and she arranged to meet Kate and I at a local cafe in Bellevue. On our way there, my head was buzzing with a zillion questions that I wanted to ask.
At first, I'd thought Christian Grey had clearly not gotten any outside help. After all, how could he have when he had such an appalling sentence? If his brother and sister had helped, how could he have had such terrible lawyers? Unless they didn't have any money either...but what about his parents? As I said, my head was swarming and as soon as I arrived, I left the car quickly, heading over into the warm little cafe.
Inside smelled of strong coffee and sizzling bacon. It was warm and compact and I spotted the Grey's almost straight away. They were sat near the back, heads together intently with hands wrapped around big blue mugs of coffee. Mia saw us first and stood, motioning us over.
"Thank you for meeting me," I said, sitting down next to the brother, Elliot.
Kate sat opposite, next to Mia.
"We appreciate you looking into his case," she said, smiling and shaking my hand.
"We really do," Elliot confirmed. "It's been difficult for all of us. I'm glad you're willing to give him a chance. Not many people have been."
As I looked at her, I realised that neither she nor Elliot looked nothing like Christian Grey physically. They were extremely different from him. Both of them had light blonde hair and blue eyes, a sharp contrast to Christian. However, regardless of their physical differences, they all seemed to elude the same sense of class and self-worth. Clean clothes. Guarded expressions. Excellent speech. They were very much siblings in all the ways that mattered.
"I'm Ana's friend," Kate introduced herself. "I'm Kate and I'm going to be helping with the case."
I watched as Elliot's eyes focused on her as she spoke. He studied her intently, not unlike the way I sometimes caught Christian studying me.
"So, what made you want to look into it?" Mia asked, taking a sip of her drink.
Something about the way she asked made it sound as though she was a little sceptical. I couldn't blame her. If this was my brother, I'd be just as suspicious and curious too.
"I'm studying law," I told her truthfully. "I was asked my by professor to gain a confession on the whereabouts of Amy Evan from your brother. Once it became clear he didn't know where she was, I asked him more about the case and why he continued to insist on his innocence. He told me about Elena Lincoln and how he feels she has set him up because of what he saw."
"She did set him up," Mia corrected me. "Christian would never in a million years kill someone. Let alone a defenceless girl. He's the best man I know."
Elliot nodded. "She set him up good and proper. We've been trying to prove it for the last few years but since we've got nothing concrete, our appeals have been constantly dismissed."
I nodded, taking out my notebook and pen.
"Who's your lawyer?" I asked.
"We've had all different ones," Mia sighed. "None of them any good. It's hard when you can't afford the best."
Kate looked at her, a little confused.
"I did some research into your family," she said to Mia. "Your parents specifically. Grace and Carrick Grey are both very successful. Also, your father is a lawyer. Quite a good one who's won a lot of difficult cases. I know he doesn't work in criminal law but still."
Both Elliot and Mia scoffed before Elliot leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table.
"Our dad wants nothing to do with the case," he stated. "And mom won't betray dad. We haven't spoken to him properly since Christian got locked up. You think he's gonna pay for Chris' lawyers? Nu-uh. No way. Were on our own. We can afford some decent ones, but nothing major. Plus, we've got to live. Mia's just finished grad school and I'm still working my way up in real estate. Lawyer money doesn't just come from trees. "
"Our relationship is very...estranged," Mia settled on, laughing humourlessly. "Far as he's concerned, Chris is a cold=blooded murderer that deserves to rot."
"Your own father?" I asked, disbelieving.
"The one and only," Elliot confirmed. "He's always been a dick. It's not really surprising."
"He seriously won't help his own son?" I asked, not quite believing what I was hearing.
"Nope," Mia popped the P. "He believes in the evidence they have against him. As a lawyer, he thinks it's legit. Plus, he doesn't like him very much and never has."
"But what about your mother?" I asked, outraged. "Can't she convince him?"
"Anastasia," Mia chided. "Do you not think we've had the same arguments with our parents a million times over the past few years? It's a lost cause. Let's move on."
I took a deep breath, nodding. Now was not the time to argue over family politics. It was time to find out what information they had on the case.
"So, mistress Elena Lincoln," Elliot started, taking out his own folder. "A lovely lady I'm sure you'd agree?"
I smiled wryly, shaking my head.
"Do you really believe she owns a brothel that pimps out girls?" I asked him.
Both Mia and he nodded at the same time.
"Of course she does," Mia stated. "We just can't find it."
Kate interrupted, telling them about the flat we'd trailed her to, but Elliot shook his head.
"We've been there a dozen times," he announced. "It's a dead end. Nothings in there."
"You got in?" I asked, shocked.
He nodded.
"It's just an empty dirty flat. We think it's just her meeting spot with the men that do her dirty work. We have no idea where the real place is."
"You've not tailed her?"
"Of course we have," Mia said. "But whenever she goes there, we don't stand a chance. There's always a car in front and behind and we get blocked at both ends. She's smart and besides, we don't think she keeps all the girls in one place. That would be too easy to find. Too risky. She goes in too many directions. We think they're all over, in different houses."
I nodded, jotting it down. It made a lot of sense that she wouldn't keep all her eggs in one basket.
Kate sighed, tapping her pen against the table. The waitress came over and I ordered an English breakfast tea whilst Kate had a green tea and breakfast sandwich.
"I like a girl that eats," Elliot winked.
She rolled her eyes, taking a big bite.
"So, what's your plan?" Mia asked, after I'd taken a few sips of my tea. "Because we're honestly at a loss right now. We really do need the help."
I nodded and told them about my meeting her. I also told them that Christian had warned me away. They both agreed wholeheartedly.
"She's dangerous," Mia said anxiously. "If one of her men got to you...we'd never find you Anastasia. You'd end up like Amy Evan. Missing for five years. Don't meet with her again, please. It's too risky."
"Missing?" I questioned. "You think Amy's missing, not dead?"
"We think she was sold," Elliot stated grimly. "Elena would never kill a girl that had that potential. They're worth much more alive."
"Then why kill Leila?" I asked desperately. Like before, it just didn't make sense. Why kill a rich girl that she could also potentially get a lot of money for? If she wanted to set Christian up, she could have framed him for the murder of anyone, right?
Mia shrugged. "Collateral damage I guess," she said sadly.
"So if Amy Evan is alive," Kate said, drinking her tea, "then all we have to do is find her."
"And do what the police haven't managed in five years?" Elliot scoffed. "Easy peasy."
"Because they're looking for a body," Kate said, irritated. "They're not looking for a girl who's alive. They think she's dead. That Christian killed her, just like Leila."
I nodded in agreement and watched as they both thought it over.
"If we find Amy," I said, feeling my heart rate pick up. "Then we can prove Christian is innocent."
"What was Christian's relationship with these girls anyway?" Kate asked, and for some unknown reason, the question made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Elliot gave her a knowing look and Mia seemed suddenly very interested in her cold coffee.
"Let's just say Christian had quite the reputation and appetite," Elliot sighed. "Elena made sure of that. She hand-picked all the girls for him herself. Apart from Leila."
Maybe that's why she chose her. She was angry Christian was seeing a girl she hadn't selected. She hadn't approved of. Maybe it was revenge.
Mia shifted uncomfortably. "She's disgusting," she said, suddenly angry. "It's her that should be locked up. Not my brother. He did nothing wrong."
Elliot wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and I sat up straighter.
"I think that the next plan of action should be to go after Amy," I said determinedly. "If we find Amy, we can end this."
"Where do we even start?" Elliot asked.
"I'm going back to see Christian," I announced. "I want to know exactly where Amy went after he left her. I want to find where Elena goes."