The Bricklayer - Boyd Noah - Страница 35

“I guess we’re pretty lucky to get the three million dollars back.”

“Speaking of which, are you going to leave it there?” Vail asked.

“Oh God, I forgot about it. A couple of the accountants were supposed to come up and count it, but they’re all on some fraud special, so it might be a day or two before they can get to it. That’s why they brought the safe up. I checked a few of the serial numbers and they are from the tunnel drop. I guess we shouldn’t leave that much money lying around.” Opening her desk drawer, she took out a piece of paper and handed it to him. “Here’s the combination. Would you mind?”

He looked at the numbers and handed it back to her. “If it’s not here when you get back, promise you’ll give me a twenty-four-hour head start.”

A strand of hair had fallen over her face. With a coffee cup in one hand and a notebook in the other, she tried to blow it to one side. “Only if you promise to send for me.”

NINETEEN

KATE QUIETLY CLOSED THE DOOR BEHIND HER AND LOOKED AROUND the SAC’s conference room. The briefing had begun and Kaulcrick shot her a deadpan glance in reaction to her tardiness. He was sitting at the head of the table, and the SAC, Mark Hildebrand, sat to his right. She was surprised to see Tye Delson there, who nodded and gave Kate a half smile. Kate also recognized a couple of the supervisors, one of which was Allen Sabine, who had the enduring misfortune of supervising not only Stan Bertok, but Vince Pendaran, the new focus of the extortion investigation. Also sitting at the table was an agent from the Evidence Recovery Team. Off in the corner, as far from the table as he could get, Tom Demick sat in a chair against the wall, trying to remain unnoticed.

Kate pulled out a chair, and Kaulcrick asked, “Where’s Vail?”

“He went back to the hotel. I think he just needed a little downtime.”

“Just as well.” A young agent walked in and handed the SAC a sheet of paper, which he glanced at and then handed to the assistant director. Kaulcrick read it, setting it on the table in front of him. “Kate, we were just discussing where we wanted to go next. The evidence has become fairly strong that Pendaran is part of this.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” she said, “but I think we have to be careful. Remember how strong the evidence was against Stan Bertok.”

“Okay,” Kaulcrick said, slightly annoyed, “let’s review, Kate. Pendaran had a grudge against the first victim, Connie Lysander—motive. Someone had to come up with Bertok’s name for the Pentad—opportunity. He purchased the gun barrel used in the murders with his undercover name, Galvin Gawl—means.” Kaulcrick held up the sheet of paper that had just been delivered. “And now this. Remember those documents you found hidden behind the vanity in Bertok’s bathroom, the Florida birth certificate with the whitened-out name? Well, the lab was able to remove the Wite-Out, and the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics has confirmed the original document was applied for using the name Galvin Gawl—method. And there’s been a strong indication from the beginning that the Pentad has been operating with inside information. I think we’re safe in assuming that Pendaran is part of this.” He turned to the AUSA. “Miss Delson, I assume that’ll be enough to obtain search warrants for his apartment and car and anything else we’d like to get a peek at.”

“It’s more than enough, but I’m not sure that the ‘inside information’ is legally quantifiable. It could be argued that everything the Pentad knew about this case, they could have gotten through criminal experience, books, movies, or newspapers. The defense could easily demonstrate that at trial. Let’s not give them any help. Everything else is very strong.”

“As long as we can get a search warrant, you can leave out whatever you want,” Kaulcrick said. “Now, does anyone have any ideas how we can identify the one other member of the gang, the one driving the Honda?”

Hildebrand said, “Salton and Pendaran are the only known connections to him. Since Salton’s dead, Pendaran is our only hope. Once we take him into custody, we can threaten him legitimately with the death penalty. If he didn’t commit any of the murders, we can offer him a deal to give him up.”

Kaulcrick turned to Tye. “Which means we’re going to want those search warrants as soon as possible, but I’d like to give surveillance another twenty-four hours to see if he’ll lead us anywhere or to anyone. How’s this time tomorrow look?”

She looked at her watch. It was almost 6 p.m. “We’ve got plenty of probable cause for nighttime entry. Have an agent in my office at four p.m. tomorrow to swear to the affidavits.”

Kate leaned back in her chair. There seemed to be an undercurrent of self-congratulation in the room. The mood was almost giddy. Pendaran was going to be charged in the case even though the evidence had unfolded in a manner not unlike it had for Stan Bertok. Yet no one seemed wary of that. The FBI was finally about to win, and everyone could claim to be part of the success. Kate suddenly realized that she was developing Vail’s need to look beyond the obvious. Because everything had fallen into place so neatly, Pendaran, she decided, was in all likelihood not involved.

VICTOR RADEK SAT on the motel bed trying to ignore the room’s sour odor, which was made worse by a cheap, flowery deodorizer. A box containing the remaining two million dollars sat next to him. Two million dollars and he had to hide in this dump. He punched the box relentlessly until he noticed that his knuckles had started to bleed. Then he began pounding it harder.

How had this happened? He closed his eyes and could hear that agent’s voice on Salton’s cell phone, mocking him, telling him he’d now have to rename the Pentad because there was one less of them. He was the problem, Radek decided. He had failed to die in the railroad tunnel. And he had somehow killed Lee, taking back the three million dollars they had worked so hard for. There had to be a way to get that money back. He considered the possibility of another high-profile murder, but by now they had identified Salton, meaning they were one step closer to finding out who he was. There wasn’t enough time to plan another murder. And with Salton gone, he doubted that any of the remaining members of his gang could pull it off. Again he could hear that agent’s voice, so insulting, so defiant—he was the one who had brought the FBI one step closer to finding him. Before Radek could make any move to recover the three million dollars, he had to kill him.

IT WAS A LITTLE after 5 a.m. when Kate was awakened by a knock on her hotel room door. Before she could get up, a second one came. She reached for her automatic on the nightstand. As quietly as possible she walked to the door, not wanting to alert whoever was on the other side. Through the peephole she saw Vail and unlocked the door.

She sat down heavily on the bed and put her gun back on the side table. “Guess you were still sleeping,” he offered as an apology.

She was wearing a short nightgown and noticed that Vail had discovered its thinness. “You should see me in this with my hair combed and some makeup.”

A quick flash of red rose and disappeared from his face. Even the slightest embarrassment in him pleased her. “I’ve got time,” he said.

“Is that why you came?”

“If I say yes, what happens?”

“Sorry, no hedging your bets.”

“Ahhh, yes,” he offered.

“Oooo, so close, but not quite sincere enough.”

He walked over to a chair where she had left her robe and handed it to her. “In that case…”

She pulled the robe on and tied the belt loosely. “You don’t look like you’ve been to bed.”

Vail rubbed the stubble of his day-old growth. “Not yet. I just finished rereading the file.”