“Again, what do you want?” I said. “Didn’t we settle everything the other day?”
“You know, I really appreciate the thousand dollars that you gave me, but that was before I knew about this.” She held up a jump drive she’d pulled from her pocket. “I mean, this changes things drastically, don’t you think? And it got me to thinking, how much is someone’s life really worth? You know, if someone wanted to keep their life from spiraling out of control, would they pay a million dollars? I know I would. So I got to thinking of the gold mine that I was holding.” She fingered the jump drive.
“I don’t have a million dollars.”
“I know that, silly. I mean, I was there when you found out your parents had let their life insurance policies lapse so you and your sisters got nothing.”
I couldn’t believe she would bring that up, but I merely said, “So, if you know that, why am I here?”
“Well, you may not have a million dollars, but you aren’t poor either.”
“I can’t do this with you for the rest of my life.”
“Oh, you won’t have to,” she replied callously, “because here’s how this is going to play out. You’re going to give me enough money to go away. I’m going to move to Los Angeles and become an actress.”
“Really, Sabrina? You’re thirty-five years old, and you’re going to become an actress?”
“Gabrielle union is forty years old and getting all kinds of big offers. So is Angelina Jolie.”
I was about to point out the obvious, but then it dawned on me, I didn’t need to be discouraging her from trying to go after her dream in LA. I needed to be encouraging that any way I could.
“You’re right. You have the total package to make that work.”
She smiled like she knew I was BS-ing her. “But the way I see it, me and the whole starving artist thing—that doesn’t work too well. So, I was thinking that you could give me seed money. Look at it as an investment into my career.”
“Again, I don’t have that kind of money.”
“And again, I’m sure you can figure out a way to get it.”
“I can’t.” I was not going to let her continue to blackmail me. And that little clip she’d sent me could be explained away.
“Did you not see the video I sent?”
I tried to play it cool, even though I was anything but. “Yeah, I saw it, and it looks like two innocent friends having a drink. Yes, Paula may be a little mad that I didn’t tell her I was there, but she’ll get over it.” I hope I sounded more confident than I felt.
Sabrina gave a sly smile. “Will she, huh? Wonder if she’ll get over this.” She propped open her phone and pressed some keys, and then turned the phone around to face me. My mouth fell open as the video played of Steven looking nervously around as he went to the elevator. A few seconds later, I followed behind him. Then the image switched to a hallway: Steven went in a room, and seconds later, I went in the same room.
Sabrina pressed stop. “Now unfortunately, I don’t have video inside the room, so I don’t really know what went on. I’m sure you could convince Paula that you all just sat and talked about old times. I’m sure she’d buy that, right?” I was speechless as I stared at her. “Shall I keep going, because I do have the part where you leave the room in a panic the next morning—but Steven doesn’t.”
My eyes filled with tears at that terrible memory, but I refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing me cry. “How much?” I asked. “Because I know that’s what this all boils down to with you.”
“Twenty-five thousand,” she said without hesitation. She held up a finger before I could say anything. “And before you balk, I think I’m being quite generous. My good buddy in security—he thinks I’m trying to catch my cheating boyfriend—gave me this digital file. Now, I could give it to the cops.”
“I-I didn’t kill him,” I stammered.
“Don’t tell me. Tell the cops. And your husband. And Paula,” she said matter-of-factly. “I mean, I’m not sure what kind of time you can get for leaving a dead body, but I’m sure you don’t want the hassle of an investigation and all. So that’s why I’m coming to you first. The way I see it, you need to be thanking me.”
“This is extortion,” I said.
She handed me the phone. “Call the cops, then.”
“I don’t have that kind of money,” I said again, my voice cracking this time.
“Well”—she cocked her head to the side—“guess I’ll have to see if Paula does. I’m sure Steven left her a hefty insurance policy. Wonder how much she’ll pay for the tape. Probably more than twenty-five Gs, you think? Especially since she just called me to see if I’d found out anything. I haven’t had a chance to call her back yet, but maybe I’ll call her as soon as I leave here.”