SWNOVELS Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY- ELENA’S BLACKMAIL
Pulling up outside Claire’s townhome, Jasmine didn’t even bother knocking, just let herself in urgently with the spare key and strode through the living room in search of her friend.
“Claire? Claire, we have a huge situation on our hands!
Sounds of rushed footfalls echoed from the hall before Claire emerged, eyes wide with evident concern at Jasmine’s disheveled, wild–eyed appearance.
“Jas? Jesus, are you okay? Did something happen with Elena again?”
“That’s the understatement of the century,” Jasmine spat out, shoving her phone into Claire’s hands so she could read Elena’s threatening message.
She watched tightly as her friend’s expression darkened with simmering outrage, lips pursing into a thin line as she handed the phone back over.
“That twisted little bitch,” Claire hissed, blue eyes smoldering like chips of arctic ice. “Seriously, Jasmine- what are you going to do here? Because there’s no way in hell I’m letting her terrorize you, or your parents, with whatever nastiness she’s cooked up.”
Jasmine swallowed hard, steeling herself with a deep fortifying breath. “I think…I think I have a way to finally stop Elena once and for all. To shut her down completely, Clare – but I need your help.”
Over the next two hours, Jasmine outlined her rapidly–forming plan to bring Elena’s malicious schemes crashing down around her. It was an extremely risky, potentially dangerous gambit that would require meticulous coordination and more than a little legal maneuvering.
But as Claire listened raptly, a look of fierce respect and determination bloomed in her expression. By the end, she was nodding in solemn vehemence, squaring her shoulders as she prepared for battle alongside
her friend.
“I’m in,” she stated in a tone that brokered no argument. “Whatever you need from me to nail that unhinged psychopath to the wall, you’ve got it, Jasmine. No questions asked.”
Jasmine felt a surge of gratitude and affection for her oldest friend, the familial bond between them strengthening like steel cables as they mentally girded themselves. Offering Claire a grim smile, she squeezed her hand tightly.
‘Thank you. This may get very, very messy before it’s all over.”
With that solemn pronouncement, the two women got to work, dividing responsibilities and setting their intricate counteroffensive into motion.
Claire’s first series of calls were to a couple of trusted contacts within the NYPD, laying the initial groundwork and feeling them out for potential cooperation in bringing down Elena. Emphasizing that this was a delicate, personal situation that would require discretion of the highest order, Claire outlined the barest bones of the details and legal clearances they would need to pursue.
Though skeptical at first, the seeds of their plan took root as Claire deftly stroked egos and outlined the high–profile, high–reward nature of the operation.
At last, she was able to secure a direct line to a lieutenant named David Kessler, a wily veteran with the force who had a reputation for bending the rules when it suited his needs. His interest was immediately piqued by Claire’s proposition.
“Let’s assume for a moment that I’m inclined to assist in your…extracurricular activities, Ms. Garrett,” Kessler’s gruff voice crackled over the speakerphone she had Jasmine joined on. “What exactly would
you need from my personnel to pull this off?”
Jasmine leaned forward, keeping her tone brisk and professional as she outlined their requirements.
“A few plainclothes officers to assist in staging the sting, of course. Maybe a few suited uniforms for authenticity’s sake. More importantly, though, we need state–of–the–art concealed surveillance and recording equipment.”
She paused for emphasis, allowing the weight of her next words to hang in the air like a garrote between
them.
“I want to catch this woman red–handed, committing multiple criminal acts. And I want it all on the highest–quality audio and video feeds you can provide for undeniable evidence.”
There was a considering pause on Kessler’s end before his reply rumbled across the line.
“Alright, say I can make those resources available for you – what’s my incentive here? Normally a situation
I like this would require… reciprocal considerations to grease the wheels, you understand.”
Jasmine’s answering smile was as razor–edged as a baring of fangs.
“Let’s just say your full cooperation would…eliminate certain issues that could prove quite embarrassing down the line for your department, Lieutenant. I have a way with words, or so I’ve been told.”
Her blatant threat hung in the air, saccharine and venomous. Claire’s eyes widened fractionally at her daring play before Kessler’s bark of dark laughter resonated from the speaker.
“Well well, look who suddenly grew a set of brass balls,” he chuckled in an approving tone. “You’ve got a deal then, little lady. Just tell me when and where, and we’ll be ready to spring your trap. I do so love flushing out rats
With the police assistance secured, Jasmine and Claire moved on to the next critical phase of their strategy – luring Elena directly into their controlled sting environment. Using the element Jasmine had seeded of needing to leave the gallery accessible, they chose a different nearby art space as their arena.
A few cautious inquiries were all it took to confirm the place would be closed up and deserted for routine cleaning that same evening. From there, it was simply a matter of procuring the high–end security keycodes to disarm the premises.
As the hour grew late and they’d solidified those final details, Jasmine sat in tense silence, her pulse thundering like an anxious drumroll. From her encoded phone, she sent Elena the innocuous details she’d demanded:
“Shaughnessy Gallery, 102 Broadway. Midnight. Code to disable the alarm is 2894BLUE.”
Taking a calculated gamble, Jasmine allowed ten minutes to elapse before following up with a second,
more reluctant message.
*Happy now? Your little scheme can proceed tonight, if that’s what you really want.”
With a resigned exhale, Jasmine typed out one final message, hoping beyond hope that she was notursor devastating mistake.
“I’ll be there too. Maybe we can find a way to make this right between us after all.”
Send.
Claire looked up sharply at that, alarm flaring in her eyes. “Jas, what the hell? You’re not seriously going to put yourself in the line of fire for that psychopath, are you?”
But Jasmine just shook her head tightly, her gambity written in the taut lines of her expression. “I have to, Claire. It’s the only way she’ll take the bait and show up. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful – you two have my back
out there, remember?”
The gravity of the situation resonated between them in loaded silence. They were well and truly committed now, slowly tightening a intricate web of deception around Elena from which there would be
no escape.
As the late evening hours crawled by, Jasmine tried to distractor focus on last–minute logistical preparations. Donning an inconspicuous dark jacket and caps, she and Claire met up with Lieutenant Kessler and his plain–clothed team in an umbernear the target location to go over the plan one final time.
“Our covcops will be stationed in a perimeter around the gallery’s side entrances and loading bay,” Kessler outlined in a low growl, puffing on a cigar. “You two stay outside and feed us the go–ahead signal to breach once your sister’s inside. We’ll have her caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar before she knows what hit her.”
Claire ran a nervous hand through her blonde locks, nodding tightly in understanding. Jasmine felt numb, the impending confrontation weighing on her like a stone tethnikka lead balloon. She simply nodded, the rest of the evening’s events drifting by in a detached blur.
At 11:45pm precisely, her phone vibrated with an incoming text from Elena’s number:
“I’m in position. Get yoursself over here now, we’ve got a small window.”
Jasmine tried not to read too deeply into the implications of “small window” regarding whatever criminal plot Elena was attempting to execute. Drawing a fortifying breath, she gave the predetermined hand signal to the lieutenant, who immediately began relaying hushed commands into his radio.
Uniformed officers began seamlessly peeling away from the nearby patrol cars and melting into the inky shadows rining the gallery. Red laser sights from their drawn weapons blinked ominously as they took up overwatch positions.
“Alright, move to the front entrance but maintain distance,” Kessler muttered under his breath. “Our eyes and ears inside are ready. Let’s be sure to get plenty of audio and visual before we spranreaming in.”
Pulse thundering in her ears, Jasmine moved forward with Claire at her side. The knowledge that undercover cameras and microphones were already feeding live intel was like a lead weight in her stomach.
Every step they took, every shallow breath, Jasmine felt like she was slowly tightening a hangman’s noose around her own sister’s neck.
She had no idea what to expect from Elena, what new depths of duplicitous manipulation the woman was capable of. All she knew was that this had to end, one way or another.