The previous day, Debbie had been upset because she thought she might have actually broken the jade unicorn figurine. Alex had wanted to comfort her, so he had allowed Caroline to pay for it, but then Debbie felt guilty that someone had to pay for her mistake.
After that moment, Alex just wanted to know the truth. Until he could explain everything to Debbie, he wouldn't be able to forget about it.
Rufus pushed his plate aside. "I've had enough of this nonsense," he said, glowering at Heather. "Let's just hand them over to my men, and maybe they can get some answers."
Heather shuddered. "No!" she exclaimed, looking around at the men. "I'll explain everything. We all work for Desmond Lang. He collects damaged figurines and gives them to us."
When she stopped, Alex signaled for her to continue.
"Serenity Gifts pretends to sell us trinkets and provides fake receipts, and then we carry these broken pieces everywhere to find people to bump into," she said. "If the target argues, we take them back to the store, where the manager provides a fake certificate of authenticity.
"We also have people standing nearby to back us up and tell the target they should pay for what they've broken. Under all that pressure, they usually give in and pay the money."
"Keep going," Alex said, watching her carefully.
"We saw your girlfriend walking down the alley, and she looked like an easy mark," Heather said, glancing away. "We thought she might have some money, so we decided to approach her."
Alex narrowed his eyes. "Does Caroline Hall work with you?" he asked.
"No." Heather shook her head. "Caroline often goes to Serenity Gifts, but she doesn't know about us. Mr. Lang won't allow us to harm Caroline, so we had to make sure she wasn't out of pocket."
She peeked at him. "We thought you looked honest, so we assumed you'd pay Caroline back, and then nobody but you would have made a loss."
Alex watched her, saying nothing.
"We've used that particular jade unicorn many times already," she said, sighing. "But I guess we'll have to come up with a new trick."
"You're already thinking of your next scam?" Rufus asked, annoyed at her attitude. "What do you think you'll be able to do once we call the police?"
Heather's lip trembled. "Is that really necessary?" she asked. "I'm sure we can work something out. Besides, it won't make much difference. Mr. Lang can fix anything for us. He has a contact in the Chamber of Commerce, and when he's in trouble, they step in to handle it for him."
She knew she was in a tough spot, and Rufus didn't seem inclined to be reasonable, so she was willing to say anything to save her own skin.
"I know I've done the wrong thing," she said, blinking up at him. "But I was just running errands for some extra cash. My eighty-year-old grandmother is seriously ill, and I needed the money to help her."
She squeezed out a tear. "Please forgive me," she begged. "I promise I'll never do it again, and I'll give you back the money."
"Do you think you deserve to be forgiven?" Rufus asked.
"Please, sir," Heather said, keeping her head down.
"Do you know how many lives you've ruined?" Rufus said. "How many people are drowning in debt because of you?"
Alex looked at her. "She's cooperating with us," he said. "Maybe that'll knock a little time off her prison sentence."
He had recorded her confession, and he sent the recording to Debbie. Then he called Ronald Cartwright, the council member for the Central District of Baltimore, and reported the situation to him. Ronald then informed the police.
No matter how powerful Desmond was, Ronald didn't intend to be lenient. He investigated the matter thoroughly, and then he made a phone call.
**
At seven o'clock that evening, Alex went to the Regal Hotel to attend the reception for the Baltimore Martial Arts Association.
He went alone, knowing Jessop would arrive later.
The hotel was busy with cars coming and going. Most members of the martial arts community were there, and so were many other important people, like the Hall family, the Palmer family, the Robinson family, and the Clifton family. The Steadmans were also in attendance, including Oscar and Art.
Many businesspeople stood around, drinking champagne and chatting. The men all wore expensive suits, and the women were dressed in elegant gowns in a variety of colors.
They were all waiting for the guest of honor to arrive.
Desmond, Caroline, and Joe were there, and they spotted Alex straight away.
"Is that Alex?" Joe asked, craning his neck to get a better look.
Desmond frowned. "What is he doing here?"
"Didn't Luke say that it was hard to get tickets?" Caroline asked. "He couldn't get any extra ones, so how did Alex get in?"
"I just don't understand it," Desmond said. "Who would have given him a ticket?"
"He's absolutely shameless," Caroline complained, shaking her head. "He always seems to ingratiate himself with rich people, and then he dresses up to attend high-class functions like these. But he doesn't belong here."
"He's bringing down the tone of the place," Desmond said, his lip curling with contempt. "Someone should do something."
They believed Alex must have bought the ticket from someone else at a reduced cost, and they were unimpressed.
Joe walked over to Alex. "I didn't expect to see you here," he said.
He was wearing a custom-made suit, and he seemed much happier than he had been earlier.
"Yeah, I thought I'd come and check it out," Alex said, choosing to be polite.
"Check it out?" Joe repeated. "This isn't a tourist attraction."
Caroline stalked toward them, her lips pursed in disapproval. "You don't belong at this kind of high-class party," she said to Alex. "Did Luke bring you? Never mind, it doesn't matter. You don't belong here, so you need to leave. Don't think you can use your connection to Joe for your own gain. Get out of here, and don't let us see you again."
She turned to Joe. "What are you doing?" she demanded. "You're supposed to be staying away from him, remember? There was no need to come over here and speak to him."
She scowled. "If you're seen talking to him, people will look down on you. We can't have people thinking we're like him. Do you understand?"