Park Avenue (Book Six in the Fifth Avenue Series) (60 page)

“I imagine you would.”

“But you’re here for
another reason, and time is running out.
 
What’s going on?”

“It was a question that
came to me this morning, after I saw the news.
 
If your father is behind all of this,
why would he target Michael?
 
Have
you given any thought to that?
 
Why
Michael?”

Leana looked at
Mario.
 
So much had happened so
quickly, there were still pieces of the puzzle they had yet to put
together.
 
“I don’t know,” she said.

Mario parted his
hands.
 
“Maybe to rattle her?
 
To fuck with her?”

“If he wanted to do that,
I think he would have killed Michael weeks ago.
 
That would have shaken Leana to her
core.
 
It would have distracted her
even more than she’s distracted now.
 
The death of her brother could have derailed the opening of her
hotel.
 
Do you agree with me,
Leana?
 
I don’t want to put words in
your mouth.”

“In fact, it would have,”
Leana said.
 
“I wouldn’t have been
able to concentrate, let alone operate.
 
It would have crushed me to lose him.
 
When it comes to family, and I mean
blood family, he’s the only person I can fully trust.”

“Would Antonio have known
that?”
 

“I’m not sure what my
father knows,” Mario said.
 
“I don’t
know if he knows how close Leana and Michael have become.
 
There’s a reason you’re bringing this
up.
 
What are you thinking?”
 

Marty held up a
finger.
 
“First, let’s track back.
 
Leana, you told me you received a phone
call the night Michael was at the restaurant with his agent.
 
You said you put it on speakerphone so
Mario also could listen.
 
You told
me a little about the man’s voice, which doesn’t jive with the information we
received this morning about Mario’s father’s involvement.
 
That’s an assumption on my part and I
mean no disrespect by it, but Mario knows how his father talks.
 
He knows how his family talks.
 
He would know this better than
anyone.
 
That voice you heard,
Mario.
 
Could it have been a member
of your family?”

A darkness consumed
Mario’s expression.
 
“No,” he
said.
 
“My family isn’t that
sophisticated.”

“What does that mean?”
Leana asked.

“The way the man sounded
was teasing.
 
Almost buoyant.
 
Nobody in my family talks like
that.
 
The younger ones are smart
and well educated, but at their cores, they don’t want to lose face with their
elders, so they act like a bunch of brutes.
 
They talk the talk, and hope to one day
walk the walk.”

“What about your father’s
lawyers?”

“I know them.
 
That wasn’t them on the phone.”

“So, what does that tell
us?”

Leana felt herself go
pale.
 
“That someone else is
involved.”

“I think it’s Cullen,”
Marty said.
 
“I thought it from the
start, and it’s kept at me like an itch.
 
Cullen is nothing if not sophisticated.
 
He does have a buoyant clip to his
voice.
 
I think Louis Ryan knew he
might die that night.
 
I think
there’s a portion of the will none of us saw but Cullen.
 
I think he’s carrying out what his old
friend couldn’t, and I’m sure there’s plenty in it for him.
 
He received all of Ryan’s stocks in
Manhattan Enterprises.
 
He got a
seat on his board, an office in the building.
 
And God knows what else.”

“But when you and your
detective friend—”

“Hines.”

“Hines.
 
When you and Hines questioned him, you
believed him.”

“We did.
 
Maybe he’s that good.
 
Maybe he’s able to put on that kind of a
performance twice.
 
But that’s not
going to stop me now.”

“What do you mean?” Mario
asked.

“I’m calling him out on
it.
 
Right here with you.”
 
He stood and pulled out his cell.
 
“If I’m wrong, then nothing is
wasted.
 
If he is innocent, he’ll
just be pissed off and dismiss me, and then move on with his life as any
innocent person would do.
 
But if
I’m right, then he might rethink everything, and put a stop to anything more
that might be planned.
 
The idea is
to be firm and aggressive with him.
 
He needs to hear from me that I’ve learned that it’s him.
 
That isn’t true, but what does he
know?
 
We’ll see what happens.”

He switched on his phone,
found Cullen’s number, turned on the speaker, and dialed.
 

“Manhattan
Enterprises.
 
How may I direct your
call?”

“It’s Marty Spellman for
James Cullen.
 
We met the other day,
and I have pressing information for him.”

“I’ll see if Mr. Cullen
is available.
 
One moment, please.”

“Thank you.”
 
He looked at Mario and Leana.
 
“Pay close attention to his voice.”

“Hello?” Cullen
said.
 
“Mr. Spellman?”

“Mr. Cullen.
 
It’s good of you to take my call.”

“My assistant said that
it was urgent, so naturally I took it.
 
Have you learned the answers to all of your questions?
 
Do you need my help?”

“Actually, Mr. Cullen, I
have
learned the answers to my questions.
 
I’ve since spoken to Detective Mike Hines, who questioned you, and I
filled him in on what I know.
 
You
should soon be hearing from him officially.”

“Officially?”

“That’s right.
 
Mr. Cullen, the reason for my call is
simple.
 
For you, it will be
complicated.
 
But if you’re smart,
you’ll do the right thing.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“It comes down to
this.
 
Through whatever means,
you’re working for Louis Ryan.
 
You
have targeted Leana Redman and Michael Archer, and at some point, I’m certain
that you will target George Redman.
 
Right now, their murders haven’t been committed, but through you, I know
they’re coming.
 
My intelligence
sources tell me that things already are underway for their murders to take
place as soon as this evening.
 
This
is a warning to you, Mr. Cullen.
 
Before you get any deeper into this than you already are, I would
recommend that you call off your team now.
 
You already have blood on your hands—specifically, Louis Ryan’s
beneficiaries.
 
You had them
murdered, which was part of Ryan’s plan.
 
The evidence I have in my possession now, not to mention all I was able
to learn about you already, is going to send you to prison.
 
If you add three more people to the list
of those you’ve had killed, I can only imagine how long you’ll linger
there.
 
I can see you scrubbing
toilets with little brushes, just like you said Elizabeth Redman is doing.
 
But in your case, you won’t be dodging
dykes, as you put it when you spoke of her.
 
Instead, you’ll be dodging men.”

“I don’t know what you’re
talking about, Mr. Spellman.
 
But
you do spin a fancy tale, don’t you?
 
It is entertaining.
 
Have you
considered writing fiction?
 
I think
you’d be marvelous at that.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to
say anything less, Mr. Cullen.
 
But
listen to my recommendation.
 
Call
off your team.
 
Put an end to this
now.
 
And if you’re swift, who
knows?
 
You might still be able to
jet out of the country before it’s too late.
 
Mike Hines moves quickly, but even with
your bum leg, which I’m sure slows you down, I bet the incentive of potential
freedom could move you faster than you’re accustomed to moving.
 
Knowing what’s coming your way, I’d highly
recommend your leaving here while you can.”

When he hung up the
phone, he immediately called Mike Hines.
 

“Mike,” he said.
 
“Marty.
 
Listen to me.
 
Call LaGuardia and Kennedy.
 
Ask them to be on full alert for James
Cullen.
 
I just confronted him.
 
I think he’s been lying to us from the
start.
 
I suggested he get out of
the country while he could.
 
If he
does, we’ve got our man.”

“He also could go by
road.
 
I’ll get an undercover car
over there and see if he leaves the building.
 
If he does, I’ll alert the state
police.
 
If he bolts, we’ll know.”

They hung up.
 

“I can’t be sure, but I
think that was the voice,” Leana said.

“I figured as much.”

“I said I’m not sure.”

“I heard you.
 
What did you think, Mario?”

“The tone was different,
but the phrasing wasn’t.
 
I’d say it
was him.”

“What do we do now?”
Leana asked.

“If I’m right, he’d be a
fool to go forward with anything tonight.
 
But we can’t rule that out, so nothing changes.
 
Your security team remains on high
alert.
 
If he goes for the airport
or takes off by road, Hines will intercept and let me know.
 
Here are your next steps.
 
If any of this happens, Leana will need
to call her father and tell him what’s taken place and that his own security
might be compromised.
 
That’s all
assuming that Cullen hasn’t called off the dogs.
 
Will you do that?”

“Of course I will,” she
said.

CHAPTER
EIGHTY-SIX

James Cullen picked up
the phone, called Spocatti, and waited for him to answer.
 
When he did, he told him about his
conversation with Marty Spellman and asked for his best advice on what to do
going forward.

“You go nowhere,”
Spocatti said.
 
“If you run, they’ll
assume guilt.”

“Those were my thoughts.”

“Then at least your head
is clear.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Have you called
security?”

“I haven’t.”

“You should have done
that first, but you’re using a satellite phone, so this is your lucky day,
James.
 
It’s untraceable.
 
I want you to hang up now, call
security, and tell them that you’ve been threatened.
 
Call the police and tell them the same
thing.
 
Act shaken.”

“I am shaken.”

“Good, then you’ll come
off well.
 
Now, get off the phone
with me.”

“Go forward with
tonight,” James said.
 
“Nothing
derails this.”

“We’re prepared for
tonight.
 
We’re going through with
it.
 
Goodbye, James.
 
Call me tomorrow afternoon on this
phone, but only when you’re alone.
 
Do not answer this phone unless you are alone.
 
Understood?”

Before he could reply,
the line went dead.

And James Cullen
stood.
 
He thought better on his
foot.
 
He leaned against his desk,
went through everything in his mind, and decided yet again that there was
nothing they could pin on him.
 
He
took a deep breath before calling security and then the police.

And then, within an hour,
he was faced with a barrage of questions from those he least wanted to answer
to.

CHAPTER
EIGHTY-SEVEN