Chapter 17
Seventeen
T his mystery just kept getting weirder.
What kind of game was Tad Gaultier playing?
Max stood, taking the gloves from his pocket. Flexing his hands as he put them on, he studied what he could see of the map. He just hoped the game was finished.
Agent Dye donned gloves, too, and leaned over as Max lifted it out, spreading it over the table.
“What’s it a map of?” Gallagher asked. “Dye, put me on FaceTime.”
While Dye worked on that, Max read the description. “It’s a Cass County map.”
“What?” Gallagher’s face appeared on Dye’s phone screen. “Cass County, North Dakota?”
“No. Texas.”
“God, this doesn’t make any sense.” Margot leaned her hands on the table. She glanced up at Max and Dye. “Why would he put a map of some place close to here in a safe deposit box but end up dead in North Dakota?”
“When was that deposit box opened?” Gallagher asked.
“That’s a good question,” Dye said. He caught Max’s eye. “Could you go get the manager?”
Max didn’t want to be the lackey, but he knew the agent needed to maintain chain of custody on the map, so he nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
Stepping out, he hurried down the hall. Tess was behind the desk, staring at the sheaf of papers she’d first appeared with. “Ma’am?”
She looked up with a smile. “Are you all finished?”
“Not quite. Could you bring a laptop and come down to the room?”
Her smile turned around. “Sure. I’ll meet you down there.”
“Great, thank you.”
“Not a problem.”
Max turned on his heel. His long legs ate up the carpet. Margot could handle herself, he knew. But this whole thing had thrown her for a loop, and he’d noticed she seemed calmer with him around. If he were in her shoes, he’d probably feel the same way. It was easier to keep it together when you had someone else to share the burden.
When he walked in the room, Margot was pointing at the map.
“What did you find?” He stepped up next to her.
“Tad circled something. An area in the middle of nowhere.”
Frowning, Max studied the spot, then took out his phone. “Let’s see what’s there.”
Margot grinned, shaking her head. “You’re thinking like—” She broke off, rolling her lips in.
“Yeah.” He smirked, catching her meaning as she stopped short of mentioning Asher’s name. “He’s not the only one with a big brain.”
Dye’s forehead furrowed, but he didn’t ask them to explain. Max was glad. He didn’t intend to.
“All right. In that area, there is… not much, honestly.” He found the roads surrounding the circled area and zoomed in. “It looks like there might be a farm. I see a house and a couple of outbuildings.”
“Put a pin in it and tell me the address, please,” Gallagher said.
Max tapped the screen, then read off the address.
The door opened, admitting the bank manager. She froze in the doorway as they all turned to look at her.
Through saucer-like eyes, she stared back, then smiled. “My presence was requested. How can I help?”
It was Agent Dye who spoke. “Can you tell us when Dr. Gaultier opened the safe deposit box?”
A confused frown creased her forehead. She looked at Margot. “You don’t remember when you opened it?”
“I didn’t. My ex-husband is also Dr. Gaultier.”
The woman’s frown deepened. “You’re the only Gaultier listed.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Max shot a quick glance at Margot, who looked equally confused.
He turned back to Tess. “Who else is listed?”
She turned her laptop around. “Just someone named Liam Hughes.”
“What?” Max frowned. There was that name again. He glanced at Margot. Her round eyes told him she recognized it as well.
“You know something.” Dye pointed first at Max, then Margot.
Not wanting to expose Asher or the fact that they’d been investigating behind the FBI’s back, Max quickly answered. “Hughes is Margot’s maiden name.”
“Did he take your name after you married?” Dye aimed his question at Margot.
“No.”
Frowning, he turned to the bank manager. “How was he able to open a safe deposit box? You need an ID, right?”
“You do,” she said. “He’d have had one.”
“Who opened it for him?”
She glanced at the screen again, scrolling. A moment later, the color drained from her face. “I did.” Swallowing hard, she blinked several times. “Oh. I think I need to sit down.”
Agent Dye got up and pulled out the fourth chair.
Tess sank into it. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how this happened. I check IDs. In the past, I’ve turned people away for having fake ones.” She propped her elbows on the table and covered her face, groaning.
“Tell us what you remember about him,” Dye said.
She dropped her hands. “I’d need to see a picture.”
Max glanced at Margot. “Hon, do you still have one?”
“Yeah.” She took out her phone. “Somewhere.” Expelling a long breath, she started scrolling.
“Ma’am, how far back do you keep surveillance footage?” Dye asked Tess.
“Ninety days.”
“And when was the account opened?”
She glanced at her laptop screen. “June seventeenth, this year.”
Margot stopped scrolling and looked at the manager in surprise.
“You’re sure?” Max’s tone turned sharp.
“Yes. It’s right here.” She gestured to the screen.
“That date mean something to you two?” Dye asked.
“It’s the twins’ birthday,” Max replied.
Gallagher muttered a curse.
“Twins?” Dye arched an eyebrow in question.
“My daughters,” Margot answered. “With Tad.”
“Maybe this is a legacy for them.” Max tipped his head, eyeing Margot. “We may not find anything at that location except the property itself. It could be why he left the key in your deposit box. He knows you rarely check it. That what you keep in there is an inheritance for the girls.”
“But why the scavenger hunt? If it’s a property for them, why wouldn’t he just put the deed in my box? Why a betting ledger and a key to this safe deposit box?” She tipped her phone toward the metal container on the table.
Max scrunched his nose. She had a good point.
A moment later, she sat up straight. “I found one.” Setting the phone on the table, she spun it around and pushed it toward Tess.
The woman picked it up, her brow scrunching. “He looks vaguely familiar, but nothing’s jumping out at me.” Face twisting, she looked at Agent Dye. “Sorry I can’t be more help.”
“It’s all right. You’re trying.” Dye glanced across the table at Margot. “Keep that picture handy. We’ll show it to the staff at your bank.”
Margot nodded as she took her phone back.
Dye turned his phone around to speak to Agent Gallagher. “I’ll call you later with updates about what we find at the other bank.”
“Sounds good.”
The two agents hung up, and Dye pocketed the phone.
“So, what now?” Max asked.
“Dr. Gaultier, with your permission, I’d like to take the contents of this box into evidence,” Agent Dye said.
She nodded. “Of course.”
The agent turned to Tess. “Ma’am, do you photocopy identification when people open accounts?”
“Yes.”
“Could you make a copy of his ID for me?”
“Of course.” She pushed her chair back. “Give me just a minute.” Whirling on her heel, she hurried out of the room.
Dye reached into an interior pocket of his coat and produced several evidence bags. “Dr. Gaultier, may I have the journal and the jewelry pieces that were tampered with?”
Margot opened her purse and retrieved the items. Dye bagged them up, writing on the front with a sharpie.
Tess returned. “Here you go.” She held out a sheet of paper to Agent Dye.
Max leaned forward, reading the address listed. It was the same address as the pin he’d dropped just minutes ago.
“Thank you, ma’am.” Dye gave her a polite smile. “We’re ready to put the box back now.”
“Certainly.” She picked it up and headed for the door.
Dye scooped up the evidence bags and followed her from the room.
Margot gave Max a quick look, then trailed behind the agent. Max picked up her purse and followed at a slower pace.
His mind whirled with possibilities of what they’d find at the property in Cass County. Everything from dead bodies to a stash of electronics Tad hadn’t sold scrolled through his mind. Whatever it was, it had to shed some light on why Tad was in North Dakota.
He hoped.