Chapter Twenty-One
Peabody said, “Gosh!”
“Is that real?” McNab asked. “Is that real money?”
“I don’t think she’d lock up play money.” Eve took out a stack. Hundreds, banded. “Two thousand.”
“It’s just full of stacks of money. And are those actually gold bars?” Peabody walked over to peer in. “Gold bars stacked up on the floor of the safe.”
Jenkinson and Reineke came in. “Sorry, LT,” Reineke began. “There’s nothing— Holy shit! Talk about payday.”
“That’s a fucking lot of fucking money. This broad never heard of banks?”
“Banks keep records. Maybe she earned some of this,” Eve considered. “But I’m betting she’s been skimming for a few decades. Dipping her hands in the company till. CFO. It’s an open field. Maybe her father kept some cash around. He’s losing it, so why not take some, sock it away?”
“They’re much the same, aren’t they? Father and daughter.” Crouching down, Roarke lifted one of the gold bars. “I’ll wager this is real enough. He never appreciated how much she took after him, did he? Money being her weakness rather than women.”
“How much do you figure’s in there?” McNab wondered.
“I’d be surprised if it’s less than a hundred million. Mixed denominations on the cash, but a lorry load of it.”
“She could’ve just handed Kruger the cash,” Eve said. “No record, no trail. But she didn’t want to do it all face-to-face. I guess that was beneath her.”
She stepped back. “Peabody, we’re going to need to tap a forensic accountant to go over her books, Zip’s books. Make that a team of accountants.
“We’ll take what e’s there are in so you can go through them at Central. We lock it all back up.”
“Do you take her now?”
“No. We can’t risk her finding a way to warn Magdelana, or Magdelana hearing about the arrest and going rabbit.” Eve shoved her hands in her pockets. “As much as I’d love to bust her myself, the arrest and the auction op go off at the same time. I’ll talk to Whitney about setting that up.”
“Bring her in,” Jenkinson said, “let her call her big-shot lawyer, let her stew till you’re ready for her.” He shot out a toothy smile. “She spends the night in holding.”
“Yeah, that part’s a real shame. Peabody, contact the commander’s office, tell them I need a few minutes.” Eve shoved the safe door shut. “Lock it up.”
Back at Central, Eve went directly to Whitney’s office, where the admin waved her straight through. He sat at his desk, and spoke into his ’link. “I’ll get back to you. Lieutenant.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but wanted to update you immediately on the results of the Joy Barrister search.”
When he gestured to a chair, she resisted.
“It won’t take long, sir. The apartment is largely empty as the remodeling’s going on. However, her home office—securely locked—is not. We confiscated her desk unit, and the clone ’link, discs, police-issue stunner, and cash found in a locked desk drawer.”
“EDD on the ’link and desk unit?”
“Yes, sir. The big one, Commander? Another locked door within the office concealed a large safe. We were able to open the safe. It’s filled with cash, Commander.
At a visual, we estimate about a hundred million, along with sixty-three one-kilo gold bars.
Valued, the expert consultant estimates, between nine and ten million. ”
Whitney sat back. “You always think you’ve heard it all, but you never have and never will. She has over a hundred million in cash and gold in her home office safe?”
“Well, sir, it’s a big safe. We’ll need a forensic accountant team to go over her personal books and the business books.”
“The expert consultant can’t handle that? Joking, Dallas.” He held up a hand. “All that wealth at her fingertips, and she skims and hoards. I’ll start that process.”
“After the arrest, sir.”
“When are you picking her up?”
“I feel the risk, however small, of word of her arrest getting to Long Island isn’t worth taking. I’d like her picked up at the same time we raid the auction. I’d request a pair of experienced detectives, as she will resist. I can brief them on the situation.”
“You could do that. But I’ll take care of it myself.”
“Yes, sir. If I could have the names of the arresting officers when you select them.”
“I said I’d take care of it. I’ll make the bust personally.”
For a second, maybe two, her mind went blank. “Sir?”
“Joy Barrister hired a hit on one of my cops. I’ll make the collar, and I’ll enjoy it. I believe Chief Tibble might enjoy going with me.”
He sat forward again. “Joy Barrister murdered her brother, and her motive appears to be Daddy liked him best. She helped set up the break-in and theft to cover that murder. Over and above all of that? She hired a street thug to stab you in the back. You’re valued, Lieutenant.
The chief of police and I will make this arrest when you signal you’re a go on the auction. ”
“Yes, sir. She’ll lawyer up immediately.”
His eyebrows lifted, with those dark cop’s eyes beneath showing a hint of amusement. “Do you think I’ve forgotten how it’s done, Lieutenant?”
“No, sir. I apologize for giving that impression. I want to say Aileen Carville won’t believe it, but her oldest daughter, Chloe, will. If you drop some of the details during the arrest.”
“And she’ll help her mother deal with the shock, likely stop her from offering assistance, as in contacting the lawyer for her sister-in-law. All right.”
“Buys just a little more time.”
“Leave it to me. And you can leave it to me with some confidence.”
“Complete confidence. I’ll signal when it’s a go. Thank you, Commander.”
“In this case, I’m thanking you, Lieutenant. Like I said, I’m going to enjoy it.”
As she left, she admitted, she’d have enjoyed it, too. But she had plenty to do before the op—and busting Magdelana? That went beyond enjoyment. It might even hit orgasmic.
While approaching the glides, Feeney tagged her.
“You want to come up to the lab.”
“I’ve got to—”
“Come up to the lab,” he said, and clicked off.
“Fine, fine, fine. But since I’m up here, it’s down to the damn lab.”
So she took the glides down to EDD, strode straight to the lab and in. Everything smelled like a fizzy. Candy sweet.
She noted they’d even dragged Roarke onto the fizzy team.
“We got into the clone out of the locked drawer. Conversations on it,” Feeney added.
“It’s pretty common to have conversations on a ’link.”
“Conversations between Barrister and the blonde.”
“Okay.” Eve flicked a glance at Roarke, who stood silent, but she saw the ice in his eyes.
“We just started at the last convos. We’ll work our way back, but you want to hear this one. Callendar, give us the playback when she contacts the blonde the first time yesterday.”
And Magdelana’s voice filled the room.
“Joy, sweetheart, you know you shouldn’t contact me at this point.”
“I’m on the clone, and I’m alone. She knows something, that Dallas creature. She was at Barrister House again, and those idiot servants told her about you.”
“About me?”
“Enough about you—a young blonde he called Ms. Fancy—your visits to my father, so she’s having a police artist come, work with them. And I don’t like the way she looks at me. It’s falling apart!”
“Calm down.” Now Magdelana’s voice turned hard, hard and cold.
“Everything’s going to be fine. It’s gone exactly as we planned, hasn’t it?
You’re now in charge of your family business, aren’t you, and the thief’s on the hook for your brother’s tragic demise.
She has no reason to look at you. Why is she looking for me, or a blond woman? ”
“I don’t know! How could I know? She has this idea my father told someone about the vault. And he did! He told you. And one of them might have seen us together when you were here. She’s relentless, this policewoman. You need to call everything off and go away.”
“I’m not going to do that, Joy. We’ve come too far. You got what you wanted, and I intend to get what I want and what I’ve invested in. There’s a simple solution. I know someone in New York who can take care of this.”
“Who? How?”
“Timothy Kruger, a professional. I’ll give you his contact information. For a fee, he’ll eliminate her.”
“Elim—kill her?”
“She’s a thorn in your side, isn’t she? Pull out the thorn, Joy.
With her out of the way, the entire thing bogs down.
I’ll get what I want, and the rest won’t matter.
No one will have any reason to look at you for your brother’s death.
Delaney will go into the wind, or, if necessary, we’ll take care of her.
It won’t matter if anyone saw you with me.
I was simply visiting Henry, that’s all.
And they’ll never find me once this is done.
“I’ll give you Tim Kruger’s contact information.”
“No. No, you set it up. You do that. I’m not speaking to a hired killer. You tell me his fee, where to wire the money, but I won’t speak to him or meet with him.”
Magdelana sighed. “Joy, you’re so delicate. All right. I’ll take care of it and get back to you. It shouldn’t take long.”
“That ties it all up nice and neat, doesn’t it?” Eve said when the call ended.
“They both had video blocked, so we don’t have that. But?” McNab lifted his fizzy like a champagne toast. “The voiceprints do the job.”
“The blonde got back to her. Deposit of seventeen-five on fifty K, gave her where to wire it.” Feeney pursed his lips. “No contact since.”
“Magdelana’s busy with auction prep. She did her part on it, and has other potatoes to fry.”
“Fish,” Roarke said, despite himself. “Fish to fry.”
“Make it fish and chips. She’s not listening for reports on some guy getting splatted by a cab. As for Barrister? She’s probably waiting to hear the job’s done.”
“You could pick her up now, on this.” McNab gestured again. “Hold on the murder.”
“No, still a risk. Plus, it would spoil Whitney’s fun. He plans to arrest her tonight, with Tibble.”
Feeney let out a snort. “He’ll get a charge out of that one. Okay, what we’ll do is get you a transcript of the convos.”
“Get me the audio, too. I want to hear it. Thanks.”