And on that Puller picked up his pace, and Pine had to hurry to keep up.
Chapter 25
SO YOU KNOW TONY WELL?” asked Pine.
She and Blum were sitting across a café table with a young woman named Lindsey Axilrod. She was in her midthirties, medium height, wiry, and fit, with sandy brown hair and pretty features accentuated with a freckled complexion. Axilrod had been on the list that Puller had given her.
“Yeah, he’s a nice guy. I like hanging out with him.”
“And you met him at Fort Dix?”
“Yes. I’m not in the Army. I’m a civilian, like Tony. I do back-office stuff. I’m in IT, so I basically troubleshoot any technology problems we have.”
“You will never be without gainful employment then,” noted Blum. “Folks with your knowledge rule the world.”
Axilrod smiled and folded the paper wrapper she had taken off the straw for her iced tea. “I don’t know about that, but it’s challenging work, which I like. Every day is different, so there’s not much monotony.” She paused and looked up at Pine. “So, why is the FBI interested in Tony?”
“When was the last time you saw him?”
“About a week ago. He hasn’t shown up for work lately. Did something happen to him?”
“He’s actually gone missing,” said Pine.
“So something has happened to him, then. I thought so.”
“We’re trying to find him. So whatever you can tell us would be appreciated.”
“I’m not sure what I know that would be helpful.”
“You’ve gone out with him?”
“Yes, both in groups and just the two of us.”
“Any place you’ve frequented over others?”
“No, not really. We went bowling once. He’s a really good bowler. Bars, clubs, basketball games, restaurants, that sort of thing. Nothing really regular.”
“We understand he visits a place in New York?”
Axilrod’s eyes widened. “Oh, right. So you know about that?”
“We’d like to know more.”
“It belongs to some guy. They became friends. Real tight.”
“This friend have a name?”
“Randy, at least I think. He founded some company and then sold it to Google or somebody like that for a gazillion bucks. He’s not much older than me, but he’s set for life, lucky bastard. Place has a doorman, and a private elevator that opens into the foyer.” She shook her head. “I’ve only seen stuff like that in the movies.”
“So you’ve been there?”
“Oh, yeah, a number of times. I go with Tony. Only way I can get in.”
“How did a guy like Tony meet a guy like Randy?”
“Randy wasn’t always rich, apparently. He and Tony knew each other before. Tony was like only eighteen or something. I don’t know particulars, but after Randy hit the big time, he didn’t forget his old friends.”
“Where is this place?”
“Fifty-Seventh Street.”
“Billionaires’ Row, maybe?”
“Yeah. It’s a pretty new building. The parking spot fee is probably five times what I make in a year.”
“And I heard he drives up there in some sort of exotic car?”
Axilrod smiled. “The Aston Martin. Yeah, that belongs to Randy, too. He lets Tony drive it sometimes. If you’d asked me a year ago if I thought I’d ever be driving around in an Aston Martin, well, the answer would have been no! But what a sweet ride.”
“Did you ever meet Randy?” asked Blum.
“No. Tony said on any given day he might be in Beijing or Paris or Rio. He has his own jet. I can’t even imagine a life like that. But apparently the guy likes to share the wealth, so that’s cool.”
“So you drove up there to the penthouse and…?”
“Just hung out. Did some drinking. Played some video games. It’s got this whole room just for gaming. We’re both big gamers, although, not to toot my own horn, I’m a lot better than Tony.”
“So you two are dating, then?”
Axilrod frowned. “I’m not sure I’d call it that. We were just hanging out. There were no plans to get married, if that’s what you’re asking. I’m about ten years older than Tony.”
“So you were never intimate?” asked Pine.
Axilrod’s frown deepened. “I don’t feel comfortable answering that. And what does that have to do with finding Tony? And why all these questions?”
“We’re just trying to get a fuller picture of his life. I wouldn’t want anyone to ask me that question, but it is standard protocol for the Bureau.”
Axilrod still looked put out. “Well, I’m just sticking with ‘we were friends.’”
“Okay, was he ‘friends’ with anyone else?”
“I don’t know if he was…intimate with anyone. He never said.”
“When you went there each time was it just you and Tony?”
“Oh, no. There were lots of people there.”
“Friends of Tony’s?”
“Maybe some of them.”
“The others were associates of Randy’s?”
“I guess. Or friends of his. Look, it’s not like anything weird is going on there. People with too much money like Randy like to play the big man, right? We go there, we drink and have fun, and we do gaming and fool around some. That’s all. There’s nothing more. Stuff like that goes on in New York all the time.”
“Maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you other than everything I’ve seen there is legit. Just harmless fun.”
“Does Randy let parties go on there every day?”
“Of course not. Tony told me he’ll get a call that tells him it’s party time there. It’s not that often. Once or twice a month. But I always look forward to it. I mean, come on, how else would I ever get into one of those places?”
“Okay, let’s switch gears. Have you seen anything unusual at Fort Dix?”
“Unusual how?”
“Just out of the ordinary?”
“No, never.”
“Because Tony was manufacturing and selling drugs, Lindsey.”
Axilrod shook her head and said vehemently, “No way you could get drugs on the installation. They have dogs sniffing for stuff like that, and vehicle searches.”
“Okay, this place in New York. You could find it again?” Even though Pine knew the address, she didn’t want to let on to Axilrod that she had that information.
“Why?” she said warily.
“I’d like to check it out for myself. We can go together.”
Axilrod shook her head, looking nervous. “I don’t think I want to be part of anything that’s going on here.”
“If you don’t I can have a warrant issued and a team can be there within an hour. But I’d prefer not to have to go down that route.”
Axilrod tensed. “You’re putting me in an impossible situation. If you do that and Tony finds out I talked to you, he’s going to be pissed.”