Catching the Bad Guy (Book Two) (Janet Maple Series) (12 page)

David suppressed his irritation. Was
Magee questioning him on the rudimentary principles of financial markets?
“Typically, once the merger is announced, the stock of the acquiring company
would decline in price, while the stock of the company that is about to be
acquired would appreciate in price. Of course, that depends on the conditions
of the merger. If the company is being bought at a discount—”

“It’s being bought at a premium,” Magee
interrupted, “and a handsome one at that. And what would you do if you were to
know about such information several days before the merger was to be
announced?”

“I’d buy call options on the stock of
the company that’s being acquired. This would require a smaller financial
commitment than buying actual shares of the company and result in a much
greater gain. Of course, I’d have to be sure that the information is reliable,”
David added.

“It is ironclad, which is why it is
imperative to proceed with great caution.”

“Oh, calm down, Kevan.” Finnegan poured
himself another drink. “David is not a novice. He knows what he’s doing.
Besides, as New York attorney general, I’ve got everyone covered.”

“I do not doubt you, Cornelius, but I do
remember a certain investigation involving Bostoff Securities and Emperial
hedge fund, the latter of which, if memory serves me correctly, David was the
owner.”

Magee’s black, button-like eyes burrowed
into David’s face; in them, David saw ruthless shrewdness. If anything were to
go wrong, Magee would not hesitate to cut anyone’s throat, including
Finnegan’s, in order to save his own neck.

“Like I told you, Kevan, I’ve got your
back, just like I’ve got David’s. Who do you think put the kibosh on the
Bostoff investigation?”

“I do not doubt your abilities,
Cornelius. I am merely anxious to ensure that everyone’s interests are
protected.”

“I know that, Kevan, and I give you my
word that we can trust David. I trust the man with my daughter. Is that not
enough for ya?”

Here, David felt a pang of guilt, as he
thought about the microphone in his jacket pocket.

Magee took a sip of his scotch. “It is,
Cornelius. The question is, is it enough for you?”

Noticing the exasperated look on
Finnegan’s face, David decided to intercede. “Kevan, I understand that we just
met, but I hope that Cornelius’s word will suffice until we become better
acquainted. In the meantime, please feel free to ask me any questions you may
have about my background or professional experience.”

Magee nodded. “David, I hope that you
will not take me the wrong way. I do not have any doubts about your knowledge
or trustworthiness. I am merely concerned for the safety of everyone involved.”

Finnegan grunted. “We understand that,
Kevan, but from what you told me, this deal is going to come down soon, and
unless you’ve got someone else in mind to trade for us, you’d better tell David
what it is he needs to do.”

An hour later David left the Carlyle,
smiling like a cat that ate a canary. Even better than the prospect of making a
hefty profit from Magee’s information was the knowledge that David now had
Finnegan and Magee—the maggot, as David had nicknamed his new acquaintance—by
their balls. Even Finnegan’s connections would not save him from the scandal
that would unleash if David were to release the recording of their
conversation. Finally, his luck was turning around. David signaled to an empty
cab that appeared by the curb—more evidence of his newly found luck—and gave
the driver the address of Mila’s new apartment. Soon he would be able to see Mila
as frequently as he wished.

Alex Kingsley checked his schedule for
the day. He had a one-hour space between meetings, which would give him plenty
of time for a quickie with Georgiana. This was truly the perfect job. Alex was
about to buzz his assistant in when her number rang on his telephone. “Mr.
Kingsley?”

“Georgie, you must be psychic. I was
just going to call you. Get your hot behind in here.”

“But Mr. Kingsley, I have Mr. Finnegan
on the line for you.”

Alex gulped, his desire draining right
out of him. “Put him through please.”

“Cornelius? How are you?” Alex’s
shoulders tightened with apprehension. Why was Finnegan calling him now when
Alex had just given him a report two days before?

“Hello, Alex. How’s the job treating
you?”

“It’s going well, thank you, sir.”

“Any new developments?”

“Not that I am aware of, sir.”

“Perhaps you’ll be interested to learn
that Jon Bostoff has started a consulting company: a white collar crime
consulting service, to be precise.”

“I see.” Alex wondered what Finnegan was
driving at. It was not uncommon for former crooks to offer consulting services,
Frank Abagnale being one of the most famous examples. Why couldn’t Bostoff do
the same?

“Do you?” Finnegan added meaningfully.
“Reformed sinners can be very dangerous. We wouldn’t want Bostoff in his new
capacity to start digging under Muller.”

“I understand, sir.” Alex could have
kicked himself for being so dense. He knew personally what a pest a reformed
sinner could be: Dennis Walker was the perfect example. With Muller let off the
hook, Bostoff would be out for blood, and if he was anywhere as good as Walker
was, both Finnegan and Alex would have to watch their backs.

“Perhaps I should remind you that
Bostoff has been barred from the financial industry for three years. I think
that it is the responsibility of the Investigations department—and by that I
mean it’s your responsibility—to ensure that this sanction is enforced.”

“I understand, sir. I will take care of
it.”

“Make sure that you do.”

Before Alex had a chance to utter any
more assurances, Finnegan hung up.

Alex stared at the phone. He had made
the decision to trust Janet as his eyes and ears at the office. Yes, she had
put up resistance at first, but he had attributed her initial refusal to
scorned pride: what woman did not hold a grudge against her ex-boyfriend?
Still, that did not mean that the two of them could not look past their
differences and become allies. The past weeks had proved that Janet had finally
learned to adapt: she had provided Alex with detailed reports on her colleagues’
activities. Alex had specifically instructed Janet to notify him of all the
developments related to the Bostoff and Muller case, and she had repeatedly
told him that there were no new developments. Was the bitch lying to him? He
would find out right now.

Alex picked up the phone and dialed
Janet’s extension. “Janet, please stop by my office immediately,” he barked and
hung up.

***

As she headed toward Alex’s office,
Janet wondered about the reason behind her summons. She had been feeding Alex
with fake reports ever since the commencement of his tenure at the Treasury.
Could it be that he was on to her?

“Janet!” Laskin’s voice made Janet stop
dead in her tracks.

“Hey there, Peter.”

“How’s it going, Janet? Boy, I tell you,
either you’re really busy or you’ve been avoiding me because I haven’t seen you
all week.”

Avoiding running into Laskin, and when
failing to do so coming up with excuses not to meet him for drinks or any other
of the outings that he so tirelessly suggested, had become Janet’s routine in
the past few weeks. “You guessed it—it’s the first one—I’ve been really busy.”
Janet hoped she sounded convincing. She only had to keep up her charade a few
more days until Lisa’s wedding, which was on Saturday.

Laskin eyed her dubiously. “So you
haven’t been avoiding me?”

“Come on, Peter, you know better than
that! Why would I be avoiding you?”

“Oh, I don’t know ... For the same
reason you’ve been blowing me off every time I ask you out for a drink.”

Janet widened her eyes, feigning a hurt
look. “Me, blowing you off? I’ve just been real busy, that’s all.”

“So we’re still on for the wedding?”

“Of course we’re still on for the
wedding. You’re my date, remember?”

“What’s all that wedding talk about?”
Alex’s Kingsley’s voice made Janet freeze with her mouth agape.

“Good morning, Alex. I was just on my
way to your office with my report,” Janet rattled off.

“And you were doing that by chatting
idly in the hallway?”

“Actually, sir, we were just discussing
one of our latest leads,” Laskin cut in. “I think we might be on to a tax
evasion scheme.”

“Tax evasion, huh?” Alex smirked. “So
what’s tax evasion got to do with a wedding?”

“Oh, that sir, absolutely nothing sir,”
Laskin replied coolly. “Janet needed a date for her friend’s wedding, and I
agreed to accompany her, that’s all. We were just confirming the details since
the wedding is this Saturday.”

“I see. Excellent. Carry on Peter. I
sure would like to see a report on that tax evasion scheme you mentioned.”

“I’ll get it on your desk as soon as I
have all the details, sir. See you later, Janet.” With that, Laskin left Janet
alone with Alex.

“Shall we?” Alex motioned toward his
office.

“Of course.” Janet followed Alex into
his office.

“So, what’s the department been up to
this week?” Alex asked after he took a seat in his chair and propped his feet
on his desk.

“We’ve had a very large number of alerts
this week,” Janet began, “and we are still going through all of them to select
positive leads.”

“Sounds promising, but I’ve got
something more important that I’d like you to focus on. Apparently, Jon Bostoff
has returned to the financial industry, this time in the capacity of a white
collar crime consultant. Were you aware of this development?”

What is he after? Janet wondered. Of
course she knew that Jon Bostoff had started his own business, and judging by
the look on Alex’s face, he suspected as much. Her choices were to lie and
appear clueless (and if Alex knew anything about her it was that she was not
clueless) or tell the truth and take her chances. She chose the latter. “Yes.”

“And you didn’t think it important
enough to bring it to my attention?”

“No. I didn’t think there was anything
wrong with Bostoff’s new company. Is there?”

Alex frowned. “You are aware that
Bostoff signed a settlement that bars him from the industry for three years,
and here he is, violating the very agreement that saved him from going to
jail.”

“Alex, with all due respect, Jon Bostoff
is not conducting any financial operations. He is merely advising companies
that are concerned about white collar crime.”

“Sounds like you know a lot about what
Jon Bostoff is up to. Oh, that’s right, I almost forgot—that friend of yours,
Lisa, she was involved with Jon’s brother, wasn’t she? Are they still
together?”

“Yes, they are getting married this
Saturday.”

“So that’s the wedding Laskin is taking
you to?”

“Yes.”

“I see. Wish all the best to the bride
and groom for me.”

“I will.” Janet rose to leave.

“And Janet, I’d like you to keep an eye
on Jon Bostoff. Once a crook, always a crook. You wouldn’t want him to be on
the loose again, would you?”

“Of course not. I’ll get right on it.”
Janet rose from her chair. “I’ll see you later, Alex.”

***

After Janet left his office, Alex
wondered if she was telling him the truth. Did she really not think it
important enough to tell him about Jon Bostoff’s new business venture? Maybe
she did but he was still not convinced, and he could not afford to take any
chances.

Finnegan had made it clear that he
wanted Bostoff erased from the map. Now Alex had to come up with a pretext to do
so. Too bad that he had only just learned about Janet’s invitation to Bostoff’s
wedding; he would have certainly liked to be the one to accompany her to that
interesting get-together.

Alex glanced at the calendar on his
computer screen. Today was Wednesday, which left plenty of time until Saturday.
Move over, Laskin, Alex thought, Janet Maple is about to get herself a much
more suitable date for the Bostoff wedding.

When Janet got home, Baxter’s excited
barking erupted from behind the door while she fumbled with her keys. At least
there was one male who was always happy to see her, and the fact that this male
just happened to be a Jack Russell terrier did not make his welcome any less
enjoyable. “Hey there, Baxter. Did you miss me?” Janet asked as Baxter jumped
up and down excitedly, making it clear that his answer was affirmative.

“Do you want to go for walk?” The
question was rhetorical: usually, whenever she knew she would be home late,
Janet asked her neighbor Mrs. Chapman to stay with Baxter, so Janet knew that
Baxter had already been walked. Still, she could use a walk tonight, and she
knew that Baxter never minded a chance to get outdoors again, which he
confirmed by barking excitedly. “Come on, then. Let’s go.” Janet secured the
harness of Baxter’s leash around his chest. “Come on!”