Chapter 8 #2
“I need to speak with Cate Marsh,” a woman’s muffled voice said through the heavy wooden door.
“Who are you?” Cate asked.
“Lena Brandt.”
Cate’s eyes widened. A rush of anger flooded her cheeks with heat. In a low, barely controlled tone, she said, “Let her in.”
Draco frowned. “Stay back.”
Cate complied.
Draco eased the door open, his knees bent, ready to spring into action.
The woman on the other side had her hands up. “I’m not armed,” she said with a German lilt to her voice. “I just want to talk. We might be working toward the same goal.”
“I doubt that,” Cate said. “You can come in after he frisks you.”
The inspector turned toward Draco. “Go ahead. You won’t find a weapon. I did not come here to arrest you.”
Draco ran his hands over her shoulders, down her arms, over her waist and hips and the length of her legs. “She’s clean.” He stepped aside, allowing her to enter.
She turned. “Please, could you close the door? What I have to say is for your ears only.”
Draco’s gaze met Cate’s.
She gave a brief nod.
Draco closed the door.
Cate grabbed the chair by the window and set it in front of her. “Sit.”
The other woman dropped into the chair and rested her hands in her lap.
“I am an inspector for the Zurich Kantonspolizei. I inspect various types of crimes. My specialty is financial crimes. I have been tracking a money laundering operation for the past eight months, gathering what little information I could. Last night one of the people I was following ended up dead in the river.”
“Stefan Brunner,” Cate stated.
The inspector met her gaze and nodded.
Cate’s eyes narrowed. “He didn’t commit suicide.”
Again, the inspector nodded. “I know. I wanted to close the case quickly and publicly in hopes it would flush out the other people involved.” She sighed.
“What do you know so far?” Cate asked.
“Everything revolves around a corporation called Alpenhorn Relief Logistics,” Brandt said softly, looking left, right and over her shoulder as Brunner had at the bank. “Brunner managed the company’s banking transactions.”
“What do you know about the people behind the corporation?” Cate asked.
Brandt’s eyes narrowed as well. She studied Cate for a moment before answering. “As I have hit a wall in my investigation, I find that I need a fresh perspective. I have heard you are here in search of one of the men involved in Alpenhorn.”
Cate didn’t offer the woman any information. Instead, she waited for her to reveal what she knew before commenting.
Brandt nodded as if making a decision. “Marcus Calloway has been involved with Alpenhorn from its inception. From what my connections in the US have told me, his wife has been charged with his murder.”
Cate fought to keep a neutral expression, not revealing her anger at the injustice of her friend being charged for the murder of her husband—a husband Cate suspected was not dead at all.
“I know Herr Calloway was a key player in the money laundering that has gone on with Alpenhorn, a fake business that only exists on paper. What I’ve had difficulty with is finding the person in charge. Calloway was not that person.”
Cate lifted her chin and stared down at the inspector. “Why should I trust you?”
The woman spread her hands wide. “You have no reason to trust me. Nor do I have any to trust you. However, I believe we are working the same case and want the same outcome.” Inspector Brandt rose. “I’ve been at this long enough; I want closure.”
Cate stood in front of her, shoulders back, head held high. “And I want to clear my friend’s name and nail the bastard who framed her for murder.”
“I understand your desire to help your friend,” Brandt said. “I want to hold the persons who have been stealing money and running it through Swiss banks to be held accountable.”
“Are you sure you want to go down that route?” Cate demanded.
“More certain than I’ve been of anything in my life.” Inspector Brandt lifted her chin and met Cate’s gaze. “Whoever is in charge made it personal. I’m getting close to cracking this case. So close that whoever is in charge must be getting nervous. He’s made it personal...to me.”
“How so?” Cate asked.
“He sent ten thousand dollars to my bank account, setting me up as a co-conspirator in their money-laundering operation. I take great offense to anyone who questions my morals. I come from a long line of police officers who take pride in our country and the city of Zurich. I take umbrage at being set up to appear as if I have taken a very large bribe. This is my job. I’m good at it.
I do not wish to be forced out because someone has accused me of taking a bribe. ”
“What did you do with the money?” Cate asked.
Brandt’s lips twisted. “I reported it to my superiors. Once they figured out it couldn’t be returned, as the money was deposited anonymously in cash, I withdrew it and gave it to the widows and orphans of deceased members of the polizei.”
Cate stared into Lena Brandt’s clear brown eyes. Maybe she was wrong, but she didn’t see malice or trickery reflected in their depths. Still, she wasn’t sure if she could trust the woman’s story or the information she’d gathered thus far.
Draco, the former Navy SEAL, met her gaze and held it, grounding her in his stoic presence. That he was there was enough for Cate to consider granting Brandt access to what they’d learned thus far.
“Is that as far as you’ve come on the case?” Cate asked. “You know Marcus Calloway is involved. Do you know if he’s alive or dead?”
“Yes, he’s involved.” Brandt shrugged. “I don’t know if he’s alive. I haven’t seen him in Zurich in the past month.”
“Did you get any information from Stefan Brunner?” Cate asked.
“Not enough,” Brandt said. “He was running scared. Now, he’s dead. I believe he was eliminated because of what he knew, and the others involved were worried he would eventually crack under the pressure. I’m also afraid they’ll come after anyone poking around their operation.”
“Including you?” Cate asked.
Brandt nodded. “I’d like to root whoever it is out before more people die.”
Cate drew in a breath and let it out slowly. She glanced across at Draco. “Should I trust her?”
Draco’s eyes narrowed. “At this point, what would it hurt?”
Cate turned to Brandt. “I met with Brunner last night.”
Brandt’s eyes widened. “What time? Where?”
Cate told the inspector of the time and location and how the meeting had gone down.
“He asked to meet with you?” Brandt blinked. “I could never get him to talk with me. He was always out of the office or in a meeting when I went to the bank.”
“He told me he was going to name names,” Cate shook her head, “but something spooked him, and he took off. But not before he handed me the key to a safety deposit box.”
Brandt leaned forward. “And?”
Cate reached for the satchel and emptied it across the small bed. “This is what we found in that box. All the orders and payments related to Alpenhorn.”
Brandt rose and crossed to the bed.
Cate opened one of the envelopes and handed the documents to Brandt.
“Whose name was on the box?”
“Marcus Calloway.”
“The signature at the bottom...” Brandt pointed. “Garrett Sterling signed off on all of these orders. Is he the man in charge of Alpenhorn?”
“He’s a member of the State Department where Marcus Calloway worked,” Cate said. “He may or may not be involved in the money laundering. If you notice, the signature appears to have been stamped.”
“I have been searching for Herr Calloway,” Brandt said. “He always manages to slip into Zurich undetected.”
“Now he has even more reason to lie low,” Cate said. “Since he’s framed his wife for his death, he won’t want to be found alive.”
Draco’s cell phone chirped. He pulled it from his pocket and frowned down at the screen. “Dmytro and Lucie got a hit.”
Cate and Lena Brandt shot a glance toward Draco.
He looked up. “Marcus Calloway was in Zurich as of three days ago. He showed up on historical footage, standing on a tram platform, holding a cup of coffee.”
Cate’s hands clenched into fists. “So, he’s alive.”
“If he’s still alive,” Brandt said, “he might have been the one who took out Brunner.”
“Or he might be the next target of the one who eliminated the banker,” Draco said.