Chapter 24
“They call him Rook. He tells us what to do, and we do it.”
“By we, you mean…?” Jane leaned forward, wanting to pull the words out of the shaken man.
Ray sat across from her with his notebook, allowing Jane to take the lead in their interrogation. No more good cop, innocent bystander.
Now it was stern agent, guilty-as-sin coconspirator.
“The Collective. I know you know all about it,” Harte added in a waspish tone. “You got Dave Duvall killed.”
Jane refused to take the blame. “No, you got him killed. You and the other conspirators buying policies and votes.”
Stephen blinked. “Huh? Conspirators? The Collective is an investment group, Agent Cannon. What exactly do you think we do?”
“Really? You’re sticking with that even though Rook sent someone to kill you and your family?”
“If he wanted us dead, we would be,” Stephen snapped.
“If he didn’t want you dead, what did he want?” Ray asked.
“And why do you think he won’t want you dead now? He knows we’re here. And that I saw his face,” Jane added with satisfaction.
Ray grunted. “Can’t wait to see that BOLO coming.”
She nodded.
Stephen swore. “Look, we’re just a group of concerned citizens. We’re trying to make the world a better place.”
“By conniving to fix votes and encourage politicians and policies that you ten agree on, no matter what the public wants?”
“You can’t be so na?ve you think the people’s will is what matters?” Stephen scoffed. “It’s always been about who holds the biggest wallet. That’s who makes policy. That’s who determines how we live our lives.”
“And who’s giving you your marching orders?”
“I don’t know. Nor do I care.”
Ray huffed. “Seriously? Are you stupid?”
“Are you?” Stephen waved at his room. “Look around. I’m living here with my family. We’re living the dream.”
“You call it a dream when a masked man comes into your house and threatens your family? What did he want, Stephen?” Jane asked, her tone even.
Stephen looked as if he meant to resist, but then he stared at the wet footprints on the floor. “They wanted what we had on the drives.”
They, he said. Not he. “What drives?”
“I don’t know. The others pay me to talk to people for them. I’m a lobbyist. But I do most of my work for Castle Capital.”
“Castle Capital,” Jane mused. “Any relation to the Castle Club William Malk is a part of?”
Stephen nodded. “The corporation owns the club. Castle Capital is a private equity company that hires me to influence policy. It’s all legal, okay?”
“Then why did a man come here in a mask wielding a knife?”
“He wanted the drives. Look, I’m as confused as you are because I do as I’m told. Always. I never try to cut out the boss or the middleman. I am the middleman. But today, he came.”
“Who was he?” Ray asked.
Stephen shrugged. “No idea. But he said he works for Rook. He scared the crap out of me the way he looked at my children. I couldn’t see his face under that mask, but I felt that ugly focus.
Especially when he said he felt bad that he couldn’t treat my wonderful children the way he’d treated the others. ”
“And by others, who do you think he meant?” Jane asked.
Stephen audibly swallowed. “I assumed the Duvalls, Coatneys, and Strands. The guy wasn’t all there. He kept crooning some Polish lullaby.”
“You’re sure it was Polish?” Just as she’d thought.
He nodded. “I’ve done work with a few corporations based in Warsaw. Holly and I had a holiday there two years ago. It’s a beautiful country.”
Jane brought him back on topic. “But this man wanted something from you. Drives, you said.”
Stephen motioned for them to follow him. They entered his study, the grand desk a mess of papers and items strewn on the desktop and around the floor. Behind it, in the wall, a safe door remained open and empty.
“What did he take?” Jane asked.
Ray poised his pen to write down notes.
“Four drives, a cold wallet, and ten grand in cash. That’s it.”
“Where did the drives and cold wallet come from? Do you have any idea what was on them?”
“Well, that’s what’s funny. I have another safe upstairs that holds all my personal information. We’re talking access to millions.” Not quite a humble brag. “But I also have two drives with data from the Burgesses and Pryors. Before you ask, I have no idea what’s on them.”
The Pryors and Burgesses were another two names on the Collective list. The Pryors were involved in steel, and the Burgesses were heavy into textile manufacturing.
Stephen continued, “The thief didn’t know about them. Or at least, he never asked for them. Just the information from the Jacobsons and Browns, which are—were—in this safe. I also kept cash in here so it would look like my main storage for valuables.”
“Smart.” Jane nodded. “Those drives, how long have they been in there?”
“Two weeks.”
“The thief knew you had them.”
“I’m not sure how unless the Jacobsons and Browns told him, and that doesn’t track.
They’re pretty secretive.” Stephen sighed.
“We all are. Were. Hell, I’m not supposed to talk to anyone about what we do.
To be honest, I’m not really sure what that is.
I just know I collect money and data from certain people. I pass it along.”
“To who?” Ray asked.
“To a drop box that changes each time I’m scheduled to deliver. But I have nothing left to drop off.”
Jane frowned. “What about what’s in your main safe? You mentioned you wanted this one to look like it was the main one.”
“Yeah. I’ll show you.” He led them upstairs. Hidden in the supply closet of the office, the panel blended seamlessly with the wall until Stephen pressed it open. He entered the code and his thumbprint, and the safe door opened.
A few stacks of bills and some jewelry sat inside, untouched.
Ray shook his head. “Not this. The real stuff you’re hiding.”
Stephen flushed and moved those items out of the way. He pushed at the back, revealing a hidden panel that slid to reveal another pocket of space.
Empty space.
Stephen gaped. “He didn’t break in here. I swear. He came in this morning at gunpoint. Sabrina led him to me. I was watching the kids play with Holly. Then he ordered them upstairs and told me if I did anything, he’d kill them. I didn’t move.”
“He could have broken in while he was upstairs with them and your wife.”
“But he only asked me for what was in the safe downstairs. I swear he didn’t know about this one.
No one does. Not even my wife knows I keep anything more than cash and some of her jewelry in here.
The hidden back is just for me.” His eyes widened.
“Sabrina sometimes comes in to dust the office and straighten things. Maybe she spotted something?”
They went back downstairs and found Holly Harte and her children as well as two police officers.
“Where’s Sabrina?” Jane asked.
Holly answered, “She had to run to her car to grab something.”
“Where’s her car?”
Stephen answered, “It’s the white Volvo in the garage.”
They followed him.
The car was still there. Inside, Sabrina sat behind the wheel.
Slumped back, her mouth partly open.
A bullet to her brain allowed a slow trickle of blood to slide down her mouth and stain her pretty, floral tank top.