Ring of Lies (26 page)

Grace
blanched
.
‘
Half a
million dollars
?
’
She quickly did the math.
‘
W
hy
,
that’s
nearly
two
hundred
and fifty
thousand
pounds.
W
here did
Daniel get
that amount of
money?
’

‘
Guess
.
’

‘
Honestly, I have no idea.
’

‘
Well,
start thinking.
T
his
ain’t no board game, honey.
You don’t
collect two hundred pounds every time you pass go.
He got
the cash
from somewhere
very real
, Grace
.
’

‘
Do you
think Daniel embezzled the money from his clients?
’

‘
No,
the deposits are regular and
the sum
s
involved
are
too great.
My
bet
is on
a money laundering scam.
’

‘
Money laundering?
’
She stared
at him, baffled.

‘
The
criminal takes his
profits from drug trafficking
or other activities
and moves
it
from one offshore account to
another
or
from
one
offshore
company to another
.
They may do this
several times
every day
.
By the time
the money
arrives back in the country
,
no one know
s
that it was
anything but legitimate.
It’s been washed clean, so to speak.
’

‘
Can’t the authorities do something
to stop
this
?
’

Jack shot her a twisted smile.
‘
B
anks
follow pretty strict codes, so
it’s not easy following the paper trail.
It’s
like
trying to net a
single fish in a shoal of thousands.
Offshore banks and secrecy havens
make it easy for
drug traffickers to
build
complex international networks.
Asia, the Caribbean, Central America
,
and Europe all have major offshore
centres
.
’

Stunned and sickened, Grace gazed at Jack in despair.
‘
You’re kidding me.
’

‘
Nope.
’

‘
And you think Daniel was involved
in a scheme like this
?
’

‘
There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind.
I’m also sure
that when we dig deeper, we’ll find this isn’t the only account
your late husband
had.
Go grab your purse.
There’s someone I want you to meet.
’

Grace shook her head.
‘
Where are you dragging me
to
this time?
’

‘
I’m taking you to meet my boss.
’

Her hands clenched.
So did her whole body.
‘
Wait a minute.
I thought you worked for the embassy?
’

Jack’s green eyes narrowed.
‘
I was on secondment
.
’

‘
What are you
?
S
ome sort of cop?
’

‘
Not exactly.
Now
, are you ready
, or do I
haul you out of here
in
steel bracelets
?
’

‘
You wouldn’t dare.
’

The glint in his eyes said he would.

‘
Mike doesn’t like to be kept waiting.
’

Grace blinked and re-
focused her gaze.
‘
You
’
re unconscionable!
’

‘
That’s putting it nicely
.
Anyway, l
et’s hope that Mike believes your explanation
.
’

Grace
said nothing
on the drive
downtown. S
he
looked out the windshield, unblinking, filled with icy rage.
B
y the time Jack
pulled his SUV into
the
parking lot
the silence had become unbearable
.

Despite
the anger seething in his blood,
hi
s voice remained
smooth
and calm.
‘
You asked for my help, Grace, and
that’s exactly what I’
m giving you.
As much as I’d like to keep this
just
between us, I can’t.
It’s against Bureau
policy
.
’

‘
What Bureau?
’

‘
There’s only one.
’

‘
As in FBI?
’

Jack nodded.
‘
Before I met him,
Mike worked with a
number
of
international
organisations, including
your
Serious
Organized
C
rime Agency
.
He
cracked quite
a few
money laundering
rings
in his time
.
’

‘
Which is why you want him to meet me.
’

‘
Which is why I want you to meet him.
’

They
walked toward
an unremarkable
single-storey
grey concrete
building
.
T
he Bureau’s Miami field office looked the same as
every
other building on
the block.
There was no sign.
It didn’t need one.
At the door,
Jack showed his ID to the guard on the desk,
signed in,
and handed Grace a visitors’ badge.

‘
This way.
’
He took Grace’s hand an
d ushered her down a long
corridor and into a
sterile white
office.
T
hree
darkly suited
men and a
n equally darkly suited
woman sat in front of a bank of computers.
They murmured a brief ‘hello’ in acknowledgement of Jack’s presence then wen
t back to what they were doing.

At the far end of the office was another room.
Jack knocked on the door and then stood aside to allow Grace to enter.

‘
Grace, meet
Special Agent in Charge,
Mike Zupanik.
Mike’s
head
of th
e
field office here in Miami.
’

Mike shook her hand then rested his hip against the corner of this desk.
‘
Mrs.
Elliott
, w
hy don’t you take a seat?
Jack’s
already
filled me in on
why
you’re
here
.
’