Shadow Account (30 page)

Bennett had explained all of this to Lucas as the young accountant from Baker Mahaffey was first beginning to cough up blood.

When Lucas was at Exit 8 on the New Jersey Turnpike, an hour outside New York, Bennett had called again to tell him that it had been Conner Ashby who had escaped from Baker Mahaffey with Phil Reeves’s binder. There was a surveillance camera at the accounting firm’s office, and they’d taken possession of the tape to make certain no one at the firm saw footage of Lucas and the other two men breaking in. From that tape they’d also identified Conner Ashby.

It was four o’clock in the morning when Lucas and the other two men pulled up in front of 662 Greenport Avenue. Amy Richards was waiting on the sidewalk, as Bennett had assured Lucas she would be. The man in the front seat got out and opened the rear door of the sedan for her.

“Thank you for meeting with us, Ms. Richards,” Lucas said politely as she slid onto the seat next to him and the car accelerated away from the curb.

“No problem,” Amy answered. “I’m happy to do anything to help you get Conner Ashby. I had no idea he was a criminal. Just another Wall Street insider trading thug, huh? At least, that’s what Paul told me.”

“Mr. Stone is exactly right,” Lucas agreed, acting as if he actually knew Stone. “Conner Ashby is a criminal.” She’d bought the story about Ashby so easily. Because she wanted to, Lucas realized. Less than thirty-six hours ago she’d called Stone from a cab outside a Manhattan restaurant to tell him that she’d do anything to take Conner down. In turn, Stone had called his contact at Justice. Five minutes later, Bennett had known about it, too. “Stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from ordinary people like you and me.”

“I hate him,” she snapped. “He’s a snake.”

“So you’ll help me find him?”

“Yes, I will.” Amy smiled. “And I know just how to do it.”

Amy Richards ended up in the East River. Her body was never recovered.

23

Conner trudged across the terrace toward the table. He’d driven all night on the back roads of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Wary of using Interstate 95 or the New Jersey Turnpike to get to New York. It seemed obvious that they would cover the major routes to try and intercept him. Once through New York, he’d followed the same procedure on Long Island, staying off the LIE and the other primary roads. It had added a couple of hours to his trip, but greatly increased his chances of getting here—and surviving.

“Good morning, pal,” Gavin said cheerfully, putting down his newspaper. “How are you?”

“Okay,” Conner answered. He ought to be exhausted. Strangely, he wasn’t. Once he’d made it past Manhattan, he’d caught a second wind. He eased into a chair opposite Gavin, taking in the scents of the ocean and the freshly mown grass. “Always on Wednesday,” he murmured, gazing down the terrace at the waves breaking onto Gavin’s beach. They were small, nothing he’d bother surfing. Suddenly, he wanted to go to Hawaii.

“What was that?” Gavin asked curiously.

“They always cut your grass on Wednesday. It’s Thursday morning and it smells like they just cut it. It was the same last week.”

Gavin chuckled. “I think you’re right, pal. I think they do cut it on Wednesday.”

Conner began to recline into the chair, then forced himself to sit back up. He couldn’t allow himself to get comfortable. He could feel exhaustion coming on again, and he needed to stay alert. “It’s nice out here.”

“Yes, it is. I love it.” Gavin folded his hands in his lap. “Well, you’ve had yourself a hell of a few days.”

“Yeah, I have.” He’d called Gavin after making it out of Washington and relayed what he’d uncovered over the last twenty-four hours about Global Components—and Paul Stone.

“Two billion dollars a year of buried expenses in Minneapolis,” Gavin said softly.

“Thanks to Global’s accountants at Baker Mahaffey.”

“It’s incredible. Global has always been such a great company. I never did any business with them during my career at Harper Manning, but I always admired the numbers they put up.” Gavin paused. “Except for that one time a few years ago. I guess we know now how the execs were able to get the numbers back on track.” He shook his head. “Still, it’s going to be terrible watching the company crash and burn when word gets out.”

“Just another example of corporate executives taking advantage of their positions,” Conner observed. “Defrauding shareholders for their own gain.”

“I can’t believe all those things about Paul,” Gavin said sadly. “The insider trading. Allowing those two women to stay at my place in Miami. Setting you up by using one of them.” He glanced over at Conner. “Did you ever have any idea that Liz Shaw was working with Paul?”

“Not until yesterday.”

“I ought to be pissed off that you found out about my place in Miami by snooping around my apartment. But, under the circumstances, I guess it’s a good thing you did. If Paul had been able to follow through with this Global Components scam, there’s no telling what might have happened to Phenix Capital. If he’d been caught, and I’m sure he would have been,” Gavin said, interrupting himself, “the SEC might have shut us down. At minimum, we all would have been caught up in the proceedings against him.”

“I wasn’t snooping around your apartment,” Conner replied. “I told you, I was just looking for a—”

“It doesn’t matter,” Gavin cut in. “Jesus, what an idiot I am. No wonder Paul wanted to know where I was all the time. He was afraid I’d go to Miami without him knowing and find out he was keeping strippers in my condo.”

Conner looked up. “You really had no idea Paul was letting those women stay there?”

Gavin shook his head. “No. I’d given him the keys to the place a few years ago because he said he wanted to take Mandy down there for a romantic weekend. He must have made copies of the keys then.” Gavin banged the table. “You think you know someone, pal, but I guess you never really do.”

“You know me,” Conner said firmly.

Gavin nodded. “Yes, I do,” he agreed quietly.

Conner glanced toward the ocean again. “What are you going to do?”

“The only thing I can do. Turn Paul in.” Gavin sighed. “This will present quite a challenge for Phenix Capital, Conner.”

“Actually, it will present a
problem
, Gavin. Not a challenge.”

“Right, a problem.” Gavin hesitated. “Will you stay on at Phenix?”

“If you want me to.”

“Of course, I do,” Gavin said firmly. “In fact, I’m going to need you to take on more responsibility. This weekend we’ll discuss your equity stake in Phenix. And how I’m going to get Paul’s back,” Gavin muttered under his breath.

“Thanks. I appreciate that.”

“You deserve it.” Gavin rubbed his eyes. “How could I have been so stupid? I’m usually a better judge of character. I should have listened to you before.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Conner said gently, standing up.

“I’m sorry I lied to you about Pharmaco,” Gavin offered. “That was wrong. But I knew you were very worried about our financial condition. Look, this other mandate is real,” he said firmly. “It’ll be at least a twenty-million-dollar fee.”

“Great.”

“I’ll let you talk to the CEO yourself.”

“Okay.”

“There will be at least a couple of million in it for you.”

“It’s all right, Gavin. I know you’ll take care of me.” Conner nodded across the terrace at the mansion. “I’m going to catch a few hours of sleep. Can I use the same bedroom I did last time?”

“Sure. And help yourself to whatever you want. Grab a bite to eat before you go upstairs. There’s plenty of stuff in the kitchen.”

“Thanks.” Conner took a couple of steps toward the mansion, then stopped and turned around. “There is something I want to talk to you about.”

The old man was about to pick up the newspaper. “Oh? What’s that?”

“Remember when you told me that senior guy from Baker Mahaffey called you the other day?”

“Vaguely.”

“That was how you knew I was in Washington.”

“Oh, right,” Gavin said, snapping his fingers.

“What was his name?” Conner asked.

“
You
met with him.”

“I know, but I can’t remember. How did he introduce himself on the phone?”

“Victor Hammond.”

“Did the conversation go well?”

“Very well. We spoke for at least ten minutes. He’s a good man. I think there’s a lot of business we can do with him.”

“Did he ask you to call him anything else during the call?”

“No.”

Conner looked off toward the ocean. If they’d spoken for ten minutes, Hammond would have asked Gavin to call him Vic. “Did Hammond really call you, Gavin?”

“What? Of course,” Gavin retorted angrily. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

“I don’t know.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Conner. Go get some rest. You’re just tired.”

“Yeah, maybe. One more thing.”

“What now?” Gavin snapped, his irritation boiling over.

“About a year ago you bought your wife a one-way ticket to Miami. Why did you do that?”

Gavin’s eyes flashed to Conner’s, a strange smile playing across his tanned face. “What?”

“Last July, you bought Helen a one-way ticket to Miami. You booked her on a United flight from LaGuardia to Miami. But you didn’t buy a return ticket. You bought yourself a return ticket, but you didn’t buy her one.” Conner spotted Gavin’s fingers curl tightly around the arms of the chair.

“What are you talking about?” Gavin asked nervously. “I didn’t do that.”

“Yes, you did. I checked your expense files at Phenix. It’s very clear.”

“I must have put the return trip on another credit card.”

“I suppose you could have. But that would seem like a strange thing to do. Don’t you think?”

“What’s this all about?” Gavin demanded, standing up.

“It’s just that I had a long time to think about this thing while I was driving up here from Washington.”

“Yeah. And?”

Conner hesitated. “It’s hard for me to believe Paul Stone could pull it off by himself. Without you at least figuring out what he was doing.”

The veins in Gavin’s neck began to bulge. “Conner, you better be careful what you—”

“Then I remembered something Liz said to me yesterday. She said that a couple of times over the last year and a half she and her roommate had to clear out of the apartment because Paul had warned them you were coming down to Miami.”

“So?”

“But then I thought about your expense files again. You’ve been going to Miami at least once every few weeks since about six months before Helen died. Sometimes more often than that. That’s a lot more than
a couple
of times in the last year and a half.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“And I thought about how it didn’t bother you that Paul was having an affair with Rebecca. How you blessed that affair, so to speak. ‘Got Rebecca for Paul,’ I think you told me. So I couldn’t understand why you’d care if he was keeping a couple of strippers in Miami. It didn’t fit.” Conner stared straight at Gavin. “Then it hit me. Paul didn’t set up this thing with Global Components. You did. You saw it as a way to make a lot of money fast. A way to get yourself out of a financial hole you dug by starting Phenix Capital.” Conner’s eyes narrowed. “How long have you been seeing Ginger?”

Gavin gritted his teeth. “You son of a bitch. You don’t know what you’re talking about. How can you accuse me of this? After all I’ve done for you?”

“Don’t deny it, Gavin. I know everything. Liz told me.”

It had become clear to Conner as Liz was telling him how men were always trying to impress her at the club. Trying to make themselves seem different from all the rest. It was Gavin who was behind everything, not Paul. Paul was just the errand boy.

Liz had denied it at first. So Conner had forced her face down toward the scalding water again. With no intention of actually pushing her head beneath the surface, but Liz hadn’t known that. All she knew was that she’d screwed him. And she was petrified.

She’d admitted everything as he’d held her face two inches from the water’s steaming surface. Gavin had met Ginger one night at the Executive Suite about eighteen months ago, and they’d begun a torrid affair. Gavin had lavished her with gifts, then encouraged her to move into his condominium. And allowed Liz to move in as well when Ginger had asked. When Conner let Liz up from the tub, she’d shown him the love letters Gavin had written Ginger, stashed in a shoe box in Ginger’s closet.

A few months after Gavin and Ginger had begun seeing each other, Liz had overheard the Global Components executives bragging about the fraud while she was with them at the Executive Suite. And she had approached Gavin about it on one of his trips to Miami. Gavin and Liz had hatched the plan to manipulate Conner into finding out exactly what was going on at Global. Not Paul and Liz.

“You’ve been having an affair with Ginger for more than a year,” Conner said quietly. “I saw the letters you wrote her. Liz showed them to me. Which is why you murdered Helen. Helen wasn’t going to just step aside and let you have your fun. Not after all those years. She suspected something. She didn’t know where or with whom, but she had a feeling.”

Gavin stared intently at Conner for several moments, then sank slowly back into his chair and ran his hands through his gray hair.

“Liz Shaw overheard those executives from Global Components talking about the fraud they and the accountants were committing in Minneapolis. They were bragging their asses off because they were drunk and they wanted to impress a beautiful woman, even if she was a stripper. They never thought a stripper would be able to take advantage of what she overheard.”

“No, they didn’t,” Gavin agreed, his voice barely audible.

“They had no idea her roommate was having an affair with one of the biggest names on Wall Street. Even if they had, they would have had no idea how far that man would go because they wouldn’t have known what sorry financial shape he was in.” Conner shook his head. “But that’s what made you such an incredible investment banker. You’d do whatever you had to do to get a client. So executing this scam involving Global was nothing for you. Even if it involved screwing a young guy who thought you walked on water,” Conner said bitterly. “You convinced Liz to seduce me. You faked her murder. Then you sent one of your ex-FBI boys in to chase me through the subways of New York, even shooting me in the arm just in case I had any doubts about how real the whole thing was. Then you sent a man who claimed to be a private investigator to scare the shit out of me. To make me take action to save my own ass. You even brought back Amy Richards to really throw me off my game. Had Paul tell her I was having an affair with Mandy so she’d watch me every minute of the day. All to get me to find out what was going on at Global Components.”

Gavin nodded slowly as he stared down at the grass. “Yes.”

“How did you kill Helen?” asked Conner directly. “Did you take her out on a pleasure cruise under the guise of reconciling, then push her overboard? You feed her to the sharks?”

Gavin dropped his face into his hands. “Yes,” he admitted.

“Then Ginger and Liz could live in the condominium and not have to worry about a surprise visit from her.”

“Helen was going to divorce me. I couldn’t have that.”

“So you made up a phony story about a sailboat accident off Shelter Island for the cops. But why did you tell me about it? I would never have asked about it. But
you
brought it up.”

“I thought you’d relate to it because of everything that had happened to your mother,” Gavin mumbled. “I didn’t think you’d check it out.”

“You probably didn’t think I’d check out your expense statements either. Buying that one-way ticket for Helen was so stupid, Gavin. You’re usually much smarter than that.” Conner shook his head. “But why me, Gavin? Why didn’t you have Stone go down to Baker Mahaffey himself? Why didn’t you have him go see Glen Frolling?”

“We wanted to keep our distance from the situation in case something went wrong.” Gavin looked up at Conner, glassy-eyed. “I knew you would figure it out if I gave you the right incentive. You’re one of the most capable people I’ve ever met.”