Part 5 The World’s Greatest Detectives #6
All of the calls and texts had gone to:
yasmina k.
‘Yasmina King?’ Bill said.
We scanned a few of the texts:
Dec 1 at 10:01 AM
SEND THE MONEY AND I’LL
COMMENCE PREPARATIONS.
YASMINA K.
MONEY SENT
RECEIVED. EVERYTHING IS SET.
IT’LL TAKE PLACE ON DEC 21. IN THE
TOWER. BE READY.
Dec 19 at 9:44 PM
TO SELL THE ILLUSION, I’LL NEED
TO PUT YOU AND YOUR SON IN
JEOPARDY (YOU ON THE ROOF,
HIM IN THE ELEVATOR SHAFT) BUT
YOU’LL BOTH BE PERFECTLY SAFE
YASMINA K.
I UNDERSTAND
AS FOR FINAL PAYMENT, I KEEP
ALL RANSOMS AND YOU INHERIT
EVERYTHING WHEN YOUR HUSBAND
RUNS OUT OF OXYGEN AND DIES
YASMINA K.
DEAL
‘Holy shit . . .’ Bill said, reading the texts over my shoulder. ‘His wife arranged it all.’
Right then, the circus arrived: a bunch of NYPD cruisers and FBI Buicks bearing Special Agent Hooper, Director Longmuir and at least a dozen other agents.
Longmuir went straight to Aristo King.
Some agents went over to take a statement from the gardener, Maria Dubrowski.
Hooper charged over to us.
‘What the fuck is going on—?’ he began.
‘Special Agent Hooper,’ Garrett said firmly, ‘call the NYPD at the tower. Tell them not to let Yasmina King go anywhere. She may be involved in this. Call financial crimes, too. Get them to start doing checks into all of her recent bank transfers.’
‘Yasmina King?’ Hooper said quizzically.
‘She and the Grandmaster were in contact,’ Garrett said, holding up the cell phone.
Hooper pulled out his phone and stepped away to make some calls.
I just stood there in the old graveyard, in the falling snow, gazing at the open grave and the three dead bodies, thinking.
In addition to all that we’d just been through—in particular, Audrey getting shot—there was still something on my mind, something that evidently wasn’t on anybody else’s.
I looked over at Director Longmuir, standing protectively over Aristo King as the billionaire sat on the rear fender of the ambulance.
Longmuir looked very pleased with himself. He’d led the mission that had saved the world’s richest man.
Merritt Garrett went over to them. I saw King shake the detective’s hand vigorously.
A few steps behind me, Special Agent Hooper was speaking into his phone.
‘What a day,’ Bill said. ‘Thank God it’s over.’
‘It’s not over,’ I said.
‘What? Why?’ Bill said.
‘We still have one unsolved problem. We still need to find Aristo King’s youngest daughter, Katya.’
‘Were we ever given a riddle about her?’ Bill asked.
I nodded at the yellow Post-It still pinned to Aristo King’s t-shirt, visible just above his blanket.
‘It’s over there, on King’s shirt, a note saying “Titanic Oscar2”. If we hadn’t killed the Grandmaster, I imagine saving her would’ve required one last ransom.’
‘Can you figure it out?’ Bill said.
‘I already have an idea where she is,’ I said. ‘And that riddle confirms it.’
‘It does? Where is she, then?’
‘Remember when I was up on the 98th floor—the blow-through level directly beneath the roof—and I glimpsed somebody dressed in white coveralls?’
‘Yeah . . .’
‘Well, he was over by the garbage chute,’ I said.
‘Titanic Oscar squared could be rephrased as “Titanic Oscar x Oscar”. So we need to identify two Oscars. I think the first Oscar is a reference to the Academy Awards: when did the movie Titanic win all its Oscars? That’s easy: 1998.
So, it’s the 98th floor. And who’s another world-famous Oscar?
How about Oscar the Grouch, from Sesame Street, who lives in a garbage can? ’
Bill shook his head and smiled at me. ‘Son, sometimes you’re way too clever for your own good.’
‘Tell me about it,’ I said. ‘That garbage chute’s too small for an adult to fit inside, but a small child would definitely fit.’
‘I’ll call the cops back at the tower and get them to look,’ Bill said. ‘Go to the hospital, son. Look after your lady. I know you want to.’
‘Thanks, Bill.’
He stepped away, pulling out his phone.
I turned, trying to figure out how I’d get to the hospital. Maybe I could get a ride with one of the cops.
I’d just found a junior cop who was heading that way when Bill came back, calling, ‘Sam, wait up.’
‘What is it?’ I said.
‘They found the little girl right where you said she’d be.
Tied up inside the garbage chute on the 98th floor, suspended above a very high drop.
Two dead adults were found stuffed in a cabinet nearby—her bodyguard and her current nanny—both shot in the head.
But, Sam, when I called the cops back at the tower, they were already heading for that spot. Someone called them just before I did.’
‘Who?’ I asked, perplexed.
Bill jerked his chin over my shoulder . . .
. . . at Special Agent Hooper who was staring right at me, a sly grin on his face.
He’d been close to us when I’d told Bill my idea about the girl.
Had Hooper heard me and made a call before Bill did, so he could take the credit?
Special Agent Trey Hooper grinned smugly at me and strode off toward his boss and Aristo King.
Motherfucker . . .
I turned to Bill.
‘I’m done here. I’m going to the hospital to check on Audrey.’