Colt Crawford - Chapter 12 (Thursday)

“She’s a smart woman.” Steven Mathis was looking down at the table, his breathing deep and methodical. “You are going to have a hard time finding her.” As Mathis revealed what he knew about Jailene Arroyo, Krissy took careful notes. They had known each other for about five years and had been closer than just friends for much of that time.
Jailene came from a wealthy family and had no need to work. Like so many other spoiled rich kids, she grew up bored of having everything handed to her. When she met Mathis, she saw an excitement to his life that she had never known before. He seemed so normal despite actually living on the edge of danger.

As Mathis built his betting empire, he needed cash to keep him afloat while he waited to collect from some of his slower paying clients. Jailene provided the line of credit he needed, but in turn, she took up a very personal interest in his accounts receivable.

“Tell me about Creighton Ford.” Krissy was digesting all that he had said and wanted to steer the conversation toward the crimes at hand.

“The guy couldn’t pick a winner if his life depended on it,” Mathis said, failing to see the irony of that statement. “He owes me about $50,000.”

“And he’s been paying you off in cash? About $500 a month,” Krissy interjected.

“Yeah. I go to his work and he hands me the cash. Jailene is actually the one who fronted that money and she was getting impatient about his slow payment plan.”

“So you went after his girlfriend to send him a message?” Colt was the one asking now.

“I never went after anyone.” Mathis was frustrated, but he knew he was in deep if he didn’t talk.

“Who attacked her then?” Krissy prodded.

“I don’t know. Jailene made those kind of arrangements.”

“So this has happened before?”

“Not like this. No one has ever gotten hurt before, but there have been,” he paused choosing his next word carefully, “reminders.”

“So what happened with Jasmine? Why would someone go after your assistant.”

“Jailene and I got into a fight last week. I told her that Creighton was paying all he could and that we’ll never get more out of him. She wasn’t happy with that. She wanted all 50 grand right away. She’s never had to wait for anything in her life.” Mathis again collected his thoughts before continuing. “She got mad and told me she would take care of it herself.”

“And what about Jasmine?”

“Somehow Jailene got it into her head that I was seeing Jasmine on the side.”

“Are you?”

“I’ve thought about it, but never did. She’s totally innocent. She handles the yacht sales side of things. She’s never had anything to do with my other business Like I said, Jailene may be spoiled, but she is smart. You are going to have a hard time pinning this on her.”

“She’s a criminal. They are never that smart,” Krissy said.

---Results---

As Colt and Krissy search for evidence of Jailene’s involvement, what should they find?
A) She is hunting down Creighton on her own - 50%
B) She has gone into hiding - 0%
C) She is now stalking Krissy in an effort to intimidate her into backing off - 50%