"I"ll bear that in mind. Although with Chomper it just meant enrolling him in puppy pre-K. He"s finally learning some manners."
"He got off easy."
"Seems so." Blake jerked his thumb toward the kitchen. "I"ll get the coffee. How do you take it?"
"Black."
A minute later, Blake carried out two steaming mugs, handing one to Monty and taking his own over to the leather wing-back chair positioned across from the sofa.
"What can I do for you?" he asked, sitting down.
Monty took a deep swallow of coffee, gazing steadily at Blake. "You asked for a face-to-face meeting. Here it is."
"That was fast." Blake glanced at his watch. "Eleven fifteen. You must have ambushed Devon as soon as she woke up. Is that standard procedure, or just when she"s been out with me?"
Monty"s brows arched. "Don"t flatter yourself. It"s standard procedure. Especially when I"m not sure if I trust the guy she"s out with."
"I"m hoping to change that."
"So I gather. Is that to catch the murderer, or to score points with me?"
"The truth? I wouldn"t mind accomplishing both."
"Honest and direct. Good start." Monty gave an approving nod. "Okay, let"s hear what you"ve got."
"What I"ve got?"
"Uh-huh. You"ve obviously given it thought. Enough to come up with what you think is my take on things. If you had time for that, you had time to work it through. Where"d you come out?"
Blake met Monty"s challenging stare. "I didn"t. I"m not objective enough. Not when my family members top the list of suspects."
"Fair enough. So where do we go from here?"
"You talk. I fill in blanks, give you perspective, and offer insights. Together maybe we can paint a picture that neither of us could paint alone."
Monty reflected on that for a moment. "We could give it a shot. Let"s start with your cousin James."
A faint smile. "Now, why doesn"t that surprise me?"
"Because you"re smart. Otherwise, I wouldn"t be here."
"What do you want to know?"
"How much is Golden Boy capable of? Cheating? Doing drugs? Bribery and fraud? How about murder?"
Blake frowned, giving an ambiguous shrug that told Monty he"d already contemplated all this. "I don"t know. James is shrewd, ambitious, and insecure. I"ve seen him straddle the line between legal and illegal. I"ve never seen him cross it. Would he? Maybe. Depending on how high the stakes were."
"Stop being vague. Talk specifics."
"James wouldn"t do drugs for kicks. But performance enhancers? I can"t dismiss the idea. He"s determined to win. Is he capable of committing the crimes you just mentioned? I suppose. All except murder. I just can"t visualize him as a cold-blooded killer."
Monty took that in without comment. "What was James"s relationship with Frederick like?"
"Strained. Frederick was more by the book than either James or my grandfather. He wasn"t thrilled with James"s cavalier approach to business. Even Philip Rhodes reined my cousin in, and Philip was a rule bender." Blake set down his coffee mug, steepling his fingers in front of him and regarding Monty thoughtfully. "Devon knows about the extortion scheme, doesn"t she?"
"Yes." Monty didn"t hedge. "That"s one of the things she and I talked over this morning. She wanted my okay to break confidence so she could discuss it with you."
"And you agreed?"
"Not happily. But my daughter seems to trust you." A weighted pause. "I hope that trust is warranted."
"It is," Blake answered quietly. "You"ll have firsthand evidence of that - soon. Reserve judgment till then. Establishing trust takes time."
"Yes, it does." Monty took another gulp of coffee. "To be blunt, I"m not convinced we have any blackmail scheme here. I"m leaning toward it all being a setup."
"You think James staged everything."
"In a word? Yes."
"I can"t say that shocks me. But even if it"s true, how does it tie into Frederick"s murder?"
"Not just Frederick"s. Rhodes"s. And I"m not sure it does. The MO was wrong for blackmail from the beginning." Monty cleared his throat. "Let"s digress for a minute. While I was questioning your grandfather, I got the distinct impression that you had your own doubts about Rhodes"s death being a suicide."
"I did and I do. The pieces just don"t fit."
"I agree." Monty lay another of his cards on the table. "I"ve had Jenkins at Pierson & Company all morning. He brought in a computer whiz, who"s a.n.a.lyzing Rhodes"s hard drive as we speak. I"m hoping they find something."
"Something the killer deleted."
"Right. Rhodes"s uptight manner, his paranoia, and his phone call to your grandfather - he knew something. Something that got him killed." Monty blew out a breath. "Tell me about Louise Chambers and your uncle."
"They were involved. On again, off again for more than a year."
"Did it start when your aunt was alive?"
"Not to my knowledge. But can I swear to it? No. I wouldn"t put it past Louise. She goes after what she wants. But Frederick - he"s less clear-cut. Very ethical. Not the type to have an affair. Plus, he was consumed by Pierson & Company. Between that and my aunt Emily, he had his hands full."
Monty motioned for Blake to wait. "What"s the scoop with your aunt? Was she a shrew?"
"Not at all." Blake shook his head. "She was frail and sickly, for as long as I can remember. Especially those last couple of years, when her health took a rapid nosedive. During that time, Frederick was totally devoted to her." A frown. "On the flip side, I doubt they had a viable marriage during those final years. Emily"s failing health prevented it. So, could Frederick have taken up with Louise? I suppose so."
"I didn"t know your aunt was chronically ill."
"She had a heart condition. Even as a kid, I remember her popping nitroglycerin tablets. Toward the end, it was really bad. She was frail and weak, to the point of being housebound."
"For how long?"
"A couple of years, I"d say. She became a total recluse. She stayed in their apartment and saw no one."
Something was nagging at Monty. He just wasn"t sure what - yet.
"What about Pierson & Company?" he asked. "Was Emily involved in the business?"
"Nope. Not even when she was stronger. She never walked into the building."
"Okay." Monty processed that. "I think we"ve covered enough for now. Oh, except for one thing. Devon"s going through with her date with James tomorrow night."
Blake"s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"
"Because I asked her to. She"ll be wearing a wire. And I"ll be listening."
"I see," Blake replied slowly. "She"s hoping to get some kind of confession."
"Uh-huh." Monty set down his cup. "Here"s the part where you earn your trust wings. Not a word to anyone - especially your grandfather. Not about tomorrow night, and not about my suspicions that James set up the whole blackmail scheme. Edward will move heaven and earth to protect James. I won"t. Will you?"
"I"m being tested," Blake a.s.sessed flatly.
"d.a.m.n straight." Monty didn"t mince words. "What"s more, you can"t open your mouth even if tomorrow night turns up something incriminating. I"ll need time to get my ducks in a row."
"And if I agree?"
"Then you pa.s.s the test."
"s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g my family in the process."
Monty"s jaw set. "No one"s getting screwed. If James is innocent, he"ll walk away smelling like a rose. If he"s guilty, it"s better that I find out before the cops. I can help with damage control."
Reluctantly, Blake nodded. "I"m counting on your discretion."
"You"ve got it."
"Also, I want to be kept up to speed."
"Fine."
Monty"s acquiescence was just a little too quick.
A corner of Blake"s mouth lifted in a wry grin. "More opportunities to test my integrity?"
"You bet. Worried?"
"Fascinated. You"d move heaven and earth for her, wouldn"t you?"
"Devon? You bet your a.s.s. Heaven, earth, and then some. So don"t hurt her."
"I don"t plan to."
The fervent exchange was interrupted by the ringing of Monty"s cell phone.
He whipped it out and glanced at the display. "It"s Jenkins. Hang on." He punched the Talk b.u.t.ton. "Hey, Jenkins. Got something for me?" A weighted pause. "I"ll be right there." He punched off the phone, vaulting to his feet. "Want to start keeping your mouth shut sooner than expected?"
"Yeah." Blake was already grabbing their coats. "Let"s go."
FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, they were gathered in Rhodes"s office, along with Jenkins and his computer whiz, Len Castoro.
"It"s an Excel spread sheet," Monty p.r.o.nounced, peering at the computer monitor over Castoro"s shoulder.
"A deleted Excel spreadsheet," Castoro amended. He was seated at the desk, flanked on either side by Jenkins and Monty.
"Detailing what?" Blake demanded, striding behind the desk so he could scan the information. "And how did you find it?"
"Detailing the transactions of an offsh.o.r.e bank account," Castoro replied. "As for how I found it, fortunately no one"s used this computer since Rhodes"s death. I simply used special "undelete" software." He pointed to the floppy disk drive. "In layman"s terms, the software scans and restores all possible deleted files on the computer"s hard drive. I monitored the process, undeleting any file that looked even remotely suspicious. I"ve been at it since seven this morning. Finally, I hit pay dirt." He stood up, whisking the hard copy out of the laser printer and stepping away from the desk. "This transaction ledger was deleted the night Philip Rhodes died."
Monty s.n.a.t.c.hed the pages. "Receipts. Disburs.e.m.e.nts. All from an account in the Cayman Islands." He shot Blake a look. "What a coincidence. That"s where our blackmailer wanted his millions deposited."
"It"s not exactly an unusual spot for an offsh.o.r.e bank account," Blake reminded him.
Monty blew off the comment, shoving the pages in Blake"s direction. "Recognize any of those names?"
Blake looked. Abruptly, he sucked in a sharp breath. "Yeah," he said indisbelief. "Some local bureaucrats and politicians we wined and dined to win contracts."
"Pretty expensive wining and dining." Monty pointed at a couple of entries. "Two hundred thousand dollars. A hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Not what I would call a little palm greasing."
"s.h.i.t," Blake muttered, dragging a palm over his jaw.
"They"re payoffs. Big ones. The question is, who made them? James? How"d he get them by Frederick? By embezzling? If so and if Frederick found out, did he threaten to take him down, nephew or not? Is that why he"s dead? Did Rhodes stumble onto all this? Is that why he became a threat?"
Blake didn"t respond.
"Let"s start with the basics," Monty said. "Did you know this account existed?"
"Not a clue."
Monty nodded, glancing over the other entries. "These two names show up repeatedly - Lawrence Vista and Gerald Paterson. Mean anything to you?"
"One does," Blake supplied in a flat monotone. "Vista. He"s an equestrian vet and genetic consultant. He works for my grandfather. From what I understand, Vista"s advising my grandfather on the best breeding partners for his show horses."
"And getting paid a king"s ransom to do it. A dozen monthly payments of twenty grand each, during last year alone. Quite a hefty consulting fee. Not bad for equestrian matchmaking. What about Gerald Paterson? Know him?"
Blake shook his head. "Never heard of him."
Monty studied the details more closely. "The payments were transferred to Paterson"s bank in Colorado Springs. Castoro, start there. Do an extensive computer search on this guy. Find out who he is and what he does."
"Okay." Castoro"s fingers flew across the keyboard. "Let"s start simple. Just what"s publicly available." A few seconds pa.s.sed. "Looks like Paterson"s an average Joe with a house and mortgage. Nothing too exciting. Now let"s wake up the feds and some IT security weenies. Hacking time." He fired up some programs and responded to their prompts, gaining access to the restricted systems. "Here"s something interesting. He"s an IT guy. And his employer is the US Antidoping Agency."
Blake swore again, turning his back to the group and glaring out the office window. "If he"s being paid off, it must be to relay advance information on event testing."
"Yup," Monty agreed. "That way whoever"s paying him will know which events need fixing. It"s a different kind of hands-on approach. Very clever. There"s no need for James to take drugs. Instead, he makes sure others take them, at just the right time and place. I"ll bet if we check, we"ll find a few of his closest compet.i.tors were disqualified for drug usage - even though they probably swore they never used."