“Yes,” Lucy said. She had been completely supportive of it initially, but now that Max was here, she was torn. Well, truth be told, she was torn now because they had merged the two cases and juggling a criminal investigation with what Max was doing was difficult at best. And could get Lucy in a lot of hot water.
“And … I take it you’re not happy about that?”
“Sean and Max? That’s fine. It’s an interesting case, nothing is cut-and-dried, and it’s local. He doesn’t want to travel right now as Jesse’s getting adjusted to his new situation.”
“Understandable.”
“It’s just that Max’s case has collided with my investigation.”
Lucy took the opportunity to explain everything to Dillon. Her brother, more than anyone else, could assess the complexities of motive better than anyone she knew. She told him everything, including a civilian joining Nate to retrieve Ricky Albright.
“Are you worried about Nate?”
“He’s a federal agent in Mexico. I have his badge and service weapon with me, but it’s sensitive.”
“I’m aware, but Nate knows what he’s doing.”
“I’m not really worried about them—I’m worried about Ricky. And not just because he lost his family. He’s a witness, and if the killers know that not only is he alive, but he was in the house at the same time they were— Nate and I already agreed that we’re putting him in protective custody. At least until we get this case resolved. Ricky can identify a corrupt cop—a cop who may have killed his parents. But I can hear the defense now. That he was scared and mistaken. He was hiding in a closet. He didn’t see what he thought he saw. I need to find solid evidence before they return.”
“Do you think he’s safer in Mexico?”
She hadn’t thought of it that way, but as soon as Dillon said it she realized that she was more worried about Ricky’s safety than she thought. “He’s been there for three years, and while on the one hand I want him home, because he has family who are worried about him, I don’t want to put him in danger. We have a lot of questions and no answers. Even Max connecting the cases is just a theory with no hard proof. Any judge would laugh us out of his courtroom because it’s a fishing expedition. To pull something like this off with so many people knowing parts of their plan—the bank manager, a cop, everyone surrounding Victoria Mills—they need lots of moving parts.”
“Slow down, Lucy. You’re talking about a large conspiracy, but not about the endgame. What were they doing? What was their goal?”
She was about to say, I don’t know, except they did know some things. “Denise was an accountant. Her best friend was Victoria Mills, who was a Realtor who primarily handled large land transactions. Before Stanley Grant was killed, he told Max that Victoria was working with Harrison Monroe, but he specifically said he didn’t know who he was. Yet we learned that Monroe went to college with Stan and the others, so of course he’d know him. My guess is that it’s some sort of money laundering, but how and why? I don’t know anything about land fraud, but there would have to be a paper trail.”
“Only if someone is looking. And with people on the inside knowing how to report information, how to set up the taxes and deeds—it would be extremely difficult to uncover a crime unless someone came forward.”
“They killed an entire family, Dillon. For what? Money. It sickens me.”
“Use it, don’t let it eat you up. And that’s the key: Follow the money.”
“And we’re at a dead end. The money that Denise Albright allegedly embezzled is gone, and the money Stan embezzled— Oh. Oh! There is a paper trail on Stan’s embezzlement, and it’s much newer.”
“Provided he didn’t actually do it.”
“We have a trail of the Albright embezzlement up until we lost it overseas. I need someone really good to compare them.”
“Max’s boyfriend Ryan is an SSA of White Collar in New York. And you can always call Dean in Sacramento.”
“That’s going over everyone’s head in my office, but maybe. Sean pulled all the recent land transactions that Victoria’s company was involved with, but we haven’t been able to make heads or tails of the information. It all seems standard. Maybe the gambling was a red herring, so to speak.”
“Whoa, what? Gambling? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Grant’s motive for embezzling money from his own company was that he went back to gambling. He had a problem in college. But Sean couldn’t find any recent gambling debts. We think he used that as a motive that people would buy, because of his past. But everyone Max talked to said Grant hasn’t gambled since college.”
“You said he had a problem in college—high-stakes illegal gambling is a huge business. It’s not really under the purview of the Violent Crimes Squad, but Kate’s been working on a project with national headquarters related to illegal gambling on the dark web. And while Internet gaming—legal and illegal—has exploded, old-school gamblers prefer face-to-face games. Poker, blackjack, things like that. High stakes.”
“This is completely out of my comfort zone. I’ve never investigated illegal gambling.”
“I bring it up because land would be a good way to wash the money. Eventually, someone might ask where the money came from, but a good accountant can show it came from other sources—and I mean a really good accountant. That’s a bit over my head as well. You really should talk to Ryan. He might see something other people miss.”
“I have to run that through my boss—I can’t go outside without permission.”
“But Max and Sean don’t have the same problem.”
“Except now that we’re working together, I have to take responsibility. I worry about giving a clean case to the AUSA.”
“It puts you in a tough spot. But I also know you’ll tap into any and all resources to solve these crimes.”
He was right. And now that Ricky was coming home, Lucy didn’t have time to waste.
Chapter Twenty-one
Lucy asked to meet with her boss to go over the case. She dreaded the conversation, but she had to come clean about Nate. They’d discussed it and he agreed—she wouldn’t have said anything unless Nate was on board. But this had a direct impact on their case, and the fact that a cop may be party to a capital offense meant that the higher-ups needed to know.
Nate could be brought up to the Office of Professional Responsibility. He could be written up, suspended, demoted—but he was no longer a rookie, and that gave him a bit of protection. He took a sick day and was off the clock. The problem was the government had strict rules about federal employees traveling to Mexico and Central America even on their personal time.
Lucy also needed a warrant. She wanted Denise Albright’s signatory card from the bank, and an expert to compare it to the Kiefer authorization they had. If she could prove that Pollero was lying, she could compel him to talk to her. He might call for a lawyer, but eventually he would need to answer questions if she proved that the woman he said was Denise Albright wasn’t Denise Albright. That would make him criminally liable for the $3 million he helped steal from Henry Kiefer.