A few days later, I was tidying up the kitchen at Adrian's house, when I noticed two men in suits showing their identification to Adrian, shortly after he answered the door. I heard them identify themselves as Detectives for the LAPD Special Victims Bureau, and immediately made myself scarce. Even though I was out of sight in the utility room, I peeked through the plantation shutters, and could still hear the muted conversation.
Apparently, a young woman who was a friend of Svetlana's, had reported that she had been sexually assaulted last night, by Adrian.
"We just need to ask you a couple of questions," one of the Detectives said. "Where were you last night?"
"I was hanging out playing pool with Svetlana's friend, Tatiana. My buddy, Chris was here also," Adrian lied, without missing a beat.
"Who is Chris?" the Detective asked, as he scribbled into his notepad.
"My buddy, who also works for me. We spend a lot of time together."
"Is Chris around? Is he working for you today?"
"He is off today, actually," Adrian said, retaining his composure.
"Can you give him a call and see where he is?" they asked him.
"I spoke to him about twenty minutes ago," Adrian lied. "He was going to the movies. I can call him but I imagine his phone will be turned off," he continued, cleverly buying himself some more time.
"Don't bother," the Detective said. "We can talk to Chris later and get his side of the story. In the meantime, can you come with us down to the Police Station to answer a few questions?"
"Are you arresting me?" Adrian asked incredulously. "Do I need my lawyer?"
"No, you are not under arrest," the Detective assured Adrian. "We just want you to answer a few questions, about the nature of your encounter with Tatiana, but it is totally voluntary. You can decide if you want to have legal representation."
"Give me an hour," Adrian said. "I have an important meeting in a few minutes, and then I can come in to the station."
The Detectives seemed comfortable with this, particularly as Adrian was very composed and relaxed. Not exhibiting the body language of a guilty man. I did wonder why Adrian had lied though. I wasn't with Adrian last night. I was home, with Sara. She calls her mom once a week to catch up on all the news, and prefers to call from our house.
After the Detectives left, Adrian called out for me to join him. He seemed a little worried, and a bit less in control than he normally was.
"If you provide me with an alibi for last night, I will let you off the hook," he said, in a very conciliatory tone.
"Let me off the hook?" I asked seeking clarification of what he meant.
"Give you your security tapes, your NDA, and your divorce settlement," he said, as if to assuage my fears.
"I'll think about it," I said with uncharacteristic confidence. "I am not sure I am comfortable lying to the police."
"Please, Chris," Adrian said, his voice trembling a little. "At least drive to the Police Station with me. You can decide on the way if you are willing to help me out."
I felt the power dynamic between us change for the first time in months. Adrian desperately needed my help and there were forces in play, much larger than the two of us.
"Give me my security tapes first, and I will drive with you."
"Chris, please," Adrian asked with deference in his voice, "I have to be there in an hour. You have my word, help me out and I will set you free."
His verbal assurance wasn't enough for me. He had demonstrated such a capacity for deception in the past few months, that I wasn't prepared to leave anything to chance.
"Not good enough, Adrian," I said confidently. "I need the security footage before we get in the car to save your ass."
Adrian is a controlling asshole, but he is also not stupid. He needed my help to extricate himself from this potentially damaging situation, and was fully prepared to cut me loose to save himself. He walked over to his wall-safe, unlocked it and handed me the thumb-drive that Svetlana had told me about.
"Let's go," he said assertively.
"Hold up Adrian," I said trying to maintain my control of the situation. "Log me on to your computer."
I was surprised at how little resistance he offered. We both knew that the longer it took him to get to the Police Station, the more guilty he appeared. A completely innocent man with a rock-solid alibi, would have been there by now, anxious to clear his name.
After I was logged on, I inserted the thumb-drive, briefly verified the contents and wrote down the file name displayed on the screen. After removing the thumb-drive, I typed the file name into the search files window and immediately found the file on his server. I deleted the file and repeated my search for it, to verify it was removed. The file was gone from the server and the back-up hard drive, and I was almost home free.
"Delete that file from the iCloud, and we are good to go," I said, almost tasting my freedom.
"I don't know how," Adrian said.
Even though it was the last thing I wanted to hear, I believed him. So far, everything that pertained to his possession of the security tapes, matched up exactly to what Svetlana had told me. She had indicated that Adrian didn't have the technological savvy to access the iCloud, so I was inclined to believe him.
"Call Svetlana," I said, "she will know how to delete my file from the iCloud."
"Svetlana and Sara are at the massage parlor," he reminded me. "They will definitely have their phones turned off. Please, Chris, I have to get to the Police station as soon as possible. I promise I will have Svetlana delete the files, the second I can reach her."
I looked Adrian right in the eye trying to assess his level of honesty. I called Svetlana and Sara, but both of their phones were off, and I went straight to voicemail. I had a decision to make, and I relented once I saw the fear on his face.
"I promise," he repeated quietly, all of the usual bravado absent from his voice.
"Ok, I will go with you Adrian," I told him. "You can delete my stuff from the iCloud as soon as we can reach Svetlana. Don't fuck me you prick, or I will tell the cops I heard Tatiana crying and screaming here, last night."
As we drove to the Police Station, Adrian and I worked on our alibi. We agreed we played pool and drank a few beers with Tatiana.
"I miss those good old days, Chris," Adrian said, trying to butter me up. "We use to hang out and play pool all the time. We should renew our friendship."
I scoffed at that suggestion. I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself, but resisted the urge. We were never going to hang out, that was for certain. Once my security footage was deleted from the iCloud, I was out of his life, with or without Sara.