The Scent of Lies: A Paradise Valley Mystery (19 page)

“Uh, huh.” He paused and listened. “Harry Andropov?”

The mystery man in the dark car?

Colin sat up straighter. “He does? Like what?”

Emily’s ears perked up. What was the caller telling Colin?

“Hmmm, Richard Vale?” Colin wore a focused look on his face. “How much?”

Emily was having a hard time containing herself. “How much what and who is Richard Vale?”

Colin covered the phone and whispered, “I’ll tell you in a minute.” He returned his concentration to the telephone conversation. “Yeah, that changes everything. I need to question him, too.”

What changes everything? Question who? About what?
Emily wanted to blurt all her questions out, but held back. Instead, she stood up and began to pace.

“No, I’d rather talk to him in person—but I’ll have to clear it with my police chief. Then I’ll let you know when I’m coming.”

Where’s he going?

“Okay. Thanks, Joey, I’ll be in touch.” Colin clicked his phone off and stuck it back in his pocket, exhaling loudly.

“Who was that? And who is Richard Vale? And what changes everything?” Emily’s questions spilled out one on top of the other. “What’s going on?”

“Well, Madam PI, it was a New York City detective I know. I had called and asked him to let me know if and when he located Harry Andropov. Joey said they know him well—him and his boss. Harry the Hatchet is what he’s known by—he does the dirty work for his boss, Yuri Imakaev.”

“That sounds like the Russian Mob.” Emily’s eyes widened with the realization of it. She sank onto the sofa.

“Yeah, I think it is. Delia’s husband was involved with some pretty nasty people.” Colin leaned back and stretched an arm out on the back of the sofa.

“What else did your friend say?” Emily asked with growing interest.

“He said they just picked up Harry tonight on drug trafficking charges, caught him and a bunch of others in the middle of a warehouse raid. He said Andropov wants to make a deal, claims he has information about a murder.”

“Our murder?”

“Well, I wouldn’t call it
our
murder, but yes, the Ricardo Vega murder.”

“And who is Richard Vale?” she asked.

“Hey, I think I’ve told you too much already.”

“Fine. I’ll just Google him,” she said.

“It would be better for me if you did.”

She dashed to her laptop that sat on the breakfast bar and searched the internet for Richard Vale. Old news stories popped up, a few with his photo. “Richard Vale is—or was—Ricardo Vega.” She carried her computer to the living room.

“Yes, I know.”

“No wonder Isabel couldn’t find any history for Ricardo before his time in the Boise area.”

“You didn’t hear that from me.”

“I wonder how they found him,” she said.

“Joey didn’t say.”

“I wonder if Harry’s the one who killed Ricardo.”

“Well, he’s not admitting to having killed Ricardo, or Richard.”

“But you think he knows who did?”

“I can’t say just yet. Seems Andropov wants a deal before he gives up any information about it.”

“Then we need to go and talk to him. He can clear Delia.” Emily jumped to her feet. “Where’s my phone? I need to call Alex. Let him know I have to go to New York right away.”

“Whoa! Slow down. Who said anything about you going? After I get the okay from the Chief about this, then I’ll be on the next flight out of here.”

“Not without me. This Harry Andropov could be the key to proving Delia’s innocence. I have to be there.”

“You need to stay here, Emily, and let me do my job.”

“I have a job to do, too. There could be valuable information to be gained from that man that could prove Delia innocent. So, with or without you, I’m going to New York.”

“Are you always this stubborn?” His jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth.

“When I have to be,” she shot back.

“This is a serious murder investigation, and I’m not going to jeopardize it by having you tag along.” Colin was deadly serious about this and she could hear it in his voice. “Do you understand?”

Emily stared at him in silence, biting her lip to keep from speaking her mind. She would not be shut out of going to New York and finding the truth.

“I don’t mean to be so harsh, but I won’t put you in harm’s way.” Colin’s voice softened a bit.

“All right, all right. I understand.” It was a protective reaction, and if she was honest, she rather liked the macho gesture. Emily smiled in spite of herself. “You go and ask the questions, make the deals, and I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

“Thank you, Emily.”

His arms encircled her and she melted into his chest, inhaling his musky scent.

“I said I’d
try
.”

Chapter 17

Colin called the police chief before he left Emily’s house. She heard him explain the circumstances, and how in the interest of finding the truth, he needed to go and question Harry Andropov as a new lead in the Vega murder. The police chief seemed to balk at the expense of going, because Colin went on to say that just because they had arrested whom they considered the prime suspect, they would not want Paradise Valley to be known for putting the wrong person in prison because they couldn’t be bothered to spring for a plane ticket.

Emily listened intently and formulated her thoughts while Colin talked. Then as soon as he was gone, she phoned Alex and recounted everything. She explained that she had wanted to go with Colin, but he had adamantly told her to stay in town.

Emily had other ideas, though. There was more than one flight to New York City in the morning and he had no right to stop her. Although she had agreed with Colin that he would be the one to interrogate Mr. Andropov, she had every right to follow up on leads to clear her client.

“I’m glad to see the police are looking at someone besides Delia,” Alex said.

“So am I. Colin and the ADA were pretty set that Delia had to have done it. It was an open and shut case, as Miss Laraway put it.”

“One question, though, Em. You were with Colin tonight when he got the call from New York?”

“Yes.”

“On a date?” Alex asked.

“Um...yeah,” she admitted cautiously.

“Well, Isabel and the girls will be happy to hear that.”

“I’m sure they will be. Now let’s get back to the case, Alex.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Andropov is alluding to the fact that he knows who the killer was. I’m just holding my breath hoping he doesn’t say it was Delia.”

“Oh, man, that would just put the final nail in her coffin. You didn’t say that to Colin, did you?”

“Of course not.”

“Whew.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Alex. I’ll let you know what happens.”

“We’ll just sit tight and wait to hear from you. Stay safe.”

* * *

The next morning Colin was on a flight to New York City, not reaching the east coast until early evening. He hopped in a taxi and went directly to the police station where Detective Joey Marconi was waiting for him.

“Hey, Colin,” Joey called out as Colin stepped off the elevator, giving his friend a bear hug.

“It’s good to see you, man. What’s it been? Six years?”

“More like seven,” Joey replied.

“You look good, old man,” Colin kidded.

“You, too. That small town life must be agreeing with you.” He laughed. “Oh, before I forget, there’s someone here to see you.”

“Me?” Colin questioned warily.

“Yes, here she comes,” Joey replied, gesturing toward the young woman walking up behind Colin.

Colin spun around to see who it could be. “Emily?”

“Hello, Colin. Did you have a good flight?” she asked with a satisfied grin. “You didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easily, did you?”

“You know this girl?” Joey asked, eyeing Emily flirtatiously.

“Yes,” Colin replied, pausing as he breathed in deeply. “This is Emily Parker,” Colin introduced.

“A friend of yours?” Joey asked Colin.

“No, I’m a private investigator, just here to find out what I can about Mr. Andropov.”

“A lady PI—well, well,” Joey teased. He leaned over to Colin and whispered loudly in his ear. “She’s smokin’ hot, man. You and she?”

“No,” Colin responded quietly, glancing over at Emily.

She returned his gaze, clearly overhearing every word and understanding he did not want to divulge their personal relationship.

“Mind if I, uh...” Joey implied.

“Not a good idea, my friend,” Colin said.

Emily scowled, looking a bit taken aback by this New Yorker’s audacity.

“Okay,” Joey responded, “moving on. I had Andropov brought up from holding, so he and his attorney are waiting for us in the box. Right this way.”

“The box?” Emily asked quizzically.

“The interrogation room,” Colin explained. Emily nodded, fishing her pen and pad out of her leather handbag. “But you can’t be in there.”

“I’ll just stand in the corner and take notes. I’ll be quiet as a mouse,” she promised. “Please.”

“Sorry,” Joey told her. “Tell you what I can do—I’ll let you watch from the observation room.” He looked to Colin for the okay.

“I guess that’d be all right,” Colin reluctantly agreed.

Joey showed her to the observation room and left her there to watch them at work.

Harry Andropov and his lawyer looked up when the two detectives came into the room. Harry was a man of average height and build, and appeared to be in his middle to late forties. His graying dark hair was cropped short and a day’s worth of stubble covered several scars on his hardened face. Anyone could see this man had lived a hard life, likely both in his native Russia as well as his more recent time in the U.S.

Joey set a tape recorder on the table and they took a seat across from them. “We’ll be recording our conversation, if that’s okay with you.”

“Fine,” the attorney agreed.

Colin pushed the record button on the device and began the interrogation. “Detective Marconi tells me you have some information on a murder in Paradise Valley.” He leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “What do you got?”

“What are you offering?” the attorney asked.

“The drug arrest would probably get you fifteen to twenty,” Colin replied. He turned and asked Joey, “What would information on a murder be worth to the state of New York?”

“I could probably get five or ten years knocked off, but the information would have to be good,” Joey responded.

“How do we know
you
are not the murderer?” Colin asked Harry.

“No, Mr. Andropov is not the murderer,” the lawyer responded for his client. He leaned over and whispered something into Harry’s ear, and Harry whispered something back. Andropov raised questioning eyebrows at his attorney.

“Mr. Andropov would like to tell you what happened, but he needs your assurance that you will not hold him accountable for anything he did or conspired to do in Paradise Valley,” the lawyer said.

“Aside from murder, you mean?” Colin asked. “Because there’s not a chance in hell we would let this guy walk on a murder charge.”

“Let me assure you, Detectives, Mr. Andropov did not kill anyone in Paradise Valley. However...he may have done some things that might possibly be construed as
illegal
. So, in exchange for his cooperation and testimony, if he tells you what he knows, he wants full immunity from prosecution on those acts, in addition to a reduced sentence on the drug charges here in New York.”

“He doesn’t want much, does he?” Joey quipped.

“I can’t speak for the State of New York,” Colin said, glancing at his friend, “but I believe I can do something to help you in Idaho, assuming you have good info and you can prove you’re not the murderer, Harry.” He would have to get any deal he made approved by the District Attorney, but if he didn’t promise help to Andropov in some way he’d probably never know the truth of what happened.

The lawyer nodded to his client to proceed with his story.

“The man you call Ricardo Vega, his name is Richard Vale,” Andropov said in a thick Russian accent, “like I told other detective yesterday. He owe my boss couple hundred thousand. He disappear a few years ago and we try to find him ever since.”

“How did you know Ricardo, or Richard, was in the Boise area?” Colin questioned.

“My niece. She live in that area. She write to me that she have new boyfriend named Ricardo and send me photo. Picture is of her and Richard. Picture look like she cut other people out, so I ask her why when I phone her and she say she cut out ex-wife. She did not know we have been searching for Richard.”

“Who is your niece?” Colin asked.

“Anna Petrova.”

“Anna Petrova?” Colin was stunned and he was sure Emily was in the other room feeling the same state of shock he was.