Chapter 35
A little bit later, Peter and Hailey slipped away from the cake line and into the house. They checked to make sure the living room and kitchen were devoid of guests. Then they made their way down the hallway to her parents’ room as Eric had instructed.
They paused at the bedroom door. Though Hailey had grown more at ease after Mrs. Bright’s apology, her nerves were back in full force. Was this a good idea?
Before she lost her courage, she gripped Peter’s hand like it was a lifeline and pushed the door open.
Quickly, she scanned her parents’ room. The lights were out and the blinds lowered, but enough sunshine spilled through the cracks to illuminate a figure standing near the antique wardrobe she and her siblings used to pretend was the famous one from C. S. Lewis’s books.
Though she knew it had to be the agent, her back muscles went tight. For a second, she couldn’t seem to move past the threshold. She’d already defied Mr. Luque by talking to Eric, but this felt different somehow. Brazen, almost—in a way that could get her killed.
“It’s all right, love,” Peter murmured. Gently, he tugged her farther inside and pulled the door closed behind them.
She took a deep breath. He was right. She’d come too far not to at least talk to the man.
The agent extended a hand in greeting. “Special Agent Sanchez.”
Peter shook his hand first and introduced himself. Then the man turned to her.
“Hailey Nieland.” Her voice sounded more confident than she’d expected.
“Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Nieland.” He took a seat in the wicker-back chair next to the wardrobe, and Hailey and Peter perched on the edge of the bed.
“Let’s get down to business. I don’t want to keep you occupied for long.
Detective Thornton has already briefed me on your situation, but I’d like to hear it from you. ”
“Of course.” She moistened her lips before beginning the run-through. She gave him the details of what she’d discovered in Eukaria’s accounts, the warnings and attempts on her life, and the ultimatum Alessandro Luque had presented her with on Friday.
Peter let her talk. They both knew this was her battle.
He would jump in if needed, but he was mostly here for moral support, not to speak for or over her.
She loved that aspect of his character. His quiet confidence that emphasized his own strength while declaring he had total respect and confidence in hers as well.
Finally, she reached the end of her tale.
The agent rubbed his chin. “Thank you, Mrs. Nieland. I appreciate your willingness to cooperate with our investigation. Truth is, we’ve been watching Eukaria Investments.
We haven’t been able to determine whether the CEO is involved.
He might be clean. But Alessandro Luque has been on our radar for a long time, since even before he took the position of chief financial officer. ”
“Then why haven’t you done anything?” The question held indignation, but she didn’t care. If they knew this guy was dirty, why was he still walking around threatening people?
“We can’t make an arrest over suspicions. This man is slick. Calculated, as I’m sure you’ve observed. We’ve never been able to pin anything on him, and there hasn’t been enough proof to warrant a full-fledged investigation.”
“Is my account enough to initiate that investigation?”
The man frowned. “Yes and no. If you make an official statement of your conversations and sign an affidavit, supply the account statements and records that made you suspicious, then, yes, we could get started. We’d probably even have enough to convince a judge to sign a warrant without any trouble. ”
“I’m more than happy to do so.” And more than a little afraid. But if it would put this man behind bars—
“The problem is that your statement likely won’t hold up in court without corroborating evidence. It would be a ‘he said, she said’ situation.”
“And the records themselves might not lead back to him.” Hailey felt herself deflate as she finished his thought. She’d figured that out days ago.
“So what are you suggesting?” Peter asked.
The agent’s gaze didn’t waver from Hailey’s face. “We need you to keep that meeting with him tomorrow and get proof that he is involved.”
Alarm bells began going off in her brain. Peter started to speak, but Hailey beat him to it.
“Did you forget the part where he demanded I give him an answer at that meeting and threatened me if I don’t comply? Besides, I don’t know what you think I can do. I’m just an accountant.”
“And you’re already involved.” Special Agent Sanchez held up a hand.
“Not willingly, we know. But you’re involved nonetheless.
You have an in that we’ve never been able to establish.
We want to equip you with a camera and listening device.
Pretend like he has the upper hand, that you’ve decided to be compliant. ”
The first part of that wouldn’t be hard.
Mr. Luque did have the upper hand. Hailey rubbed her forehead.
This conversation was starting to give her a headache.
“Look, I’d like to help. Really, I would.
But I’m a single mom. If something happens to me, my daughter will be left without either parent.
And if something goes wrong and he escapes your custody, she’ll be in extreme danger. ” The thought made her feel ill.
“I understand.” The agent leaned forward and spoke calmly, as if trying to soothe her.
“But as you just said, you’re both already in danger.
And that fits with what we know of Alessandro Luque.
Though we haven’t been able to prove it, we’re convinced the man doesn’t take kindly to not getting his way.
Unless you’re prepared to break the law and risk prison for him, you don’t have a lot of choices. ”
Images of Stefania popped into her head. She hadn’t viewed the crime scene photos, but the description she’d heard was enough to give her nightmares. Had Mr. Luque killed her?
As if he knew exactly where her mind had gone, Agent Sanchez pursed his lips. “Several people with loose associations to the man have turned up dead. Murdered. Your coworker and a man by the name of Todd Rickman—”
“Todd Rickman had a connection to this guy specifically?” Peter broke in.
“Yes. I’m assuming you were the one who informed local police of the similarity between his murder and Ms. Novak’s?”
Peter nodded, his face a shade paler than it had been a moment ago. “My agency was providing him protection. I’m the one who discovered his body.”
The agent grimaced. “That was a horrible scene from what I’ve heard.”
“It was.” Peter seemed to shake himself. “So you’re saying this Mr. Luque may be behind these murders?”
“These and a few others that we know of. But right now, the evidence is purely circumstantial, nothing that would hold up in court. So far, we haven’t been able to prove he’s ever even met Ms. Novak, but there are definitely connections.
Her fiancé, whom nobody has heard from in several days, is a high-level staff member in Eukaria’s internal finances division.
And then there’s the mutual link to Pendleton Accounting, of course. ”
He paused, giving them a chance to digest the new information. From somewhere in the room, a clock ticked. The marking of each second felt like an ominous countdown to when she’d have to make the decision that would seal her fate.
“I really don’t have a lot of choice, do I?” she finally muttered.
“You could still choose to disappear,” Peter said. “No one would blame you.”
Agent Sanchez sat back. “He’s right. You could try to disappear.
And maybe you’d be successful. But there’s no guarantee of that.
You’d be on your own, and without your help, it could take us a long time to dig up enough evidence to put this guy away.
With his resources, there’s a really good chance he’d find you in the meantime.
At least by cooperating with us, you’ll have law enforcement close by and ready to act. ”
She let his words settle over her. She didn’t like it—not at all—but deep down, she knew he was right. That was the primary reason she hadn’t already fled. That and the fact she’d be leaving far too many loved ones in danger.
“And if Mr. Luque realizes what I’m doing?” she asked wearily.
“You’ll have a code word to signal us if you sense things are going awry—we won’t be far away—but it shouldn’t come to that.
All we need you to do is get him to clearly acknowledge he is aware of the money laundering.
” The agent held her gaze. “With video and audio evidence that he’s involved, we can take him down, and this will all be over. ”