Silent Partner (30 page)

“Come on, John,” she urged, grabbing the flashlight and heading for the stairs leading down to the first floor.

When the rays of the flashlight disappeared, the leader motioned silently over his shoulder for the other two to follow. The man and woman hadn’t bothered pushing the folding wooden steps back up against the ceiling, so there would be no creaking sounds to worry about. He pulled out his pistol, then carefully began descending the stairs.

There were more desks on the first floor—as well as a closed door. Angela twisted the knob several times when she got to it, but the door didn’t give.

“You want to get in there?” Tucker asked.

“If the door is locked, there must be something important behind it.”

“Get back,” he ordered. He grabbed the knob with both hands, then slammed his hip into it. It swung open, crashing against the wall behind it.

Angela moved into the room, which was filled with file cabinets arranged alphabetically. She moved quickly to the cabinet marked
J
, pulled open the drawer, and found Liv Jefferson’s mortgage application. She caught her breath as she noticed that the Race/National Origin box had been altered from the “white, not of Hispanic origin” box Liv had checked to the “black, not of Hispanic origin” box. “Jesus,” she said to herself quietly.

“What is it?” Tucker asked.

Angela shook her head. There was a memo attached to the file denying the mortgage request because the “applicant is black and is moving into a restricted zone.” “More evidence,” she said grimly, moving further into the room. Jake was going to have to move fast to dump his Sumter shares.

At the back of the long room was a cabinet marked “ZIP file.” Angela opened it and inspected the contents. A cover memo at the front described the long list of five digit numbers as “restricted” ZIP codes.

“What do you think of this?” she asked, holding the cover memo out for Tucker to see.

He read the instructions and shook his head. “This is incredible.”

“Let’s see what else is here.” Angela moved to the next row of cabinets. She pulled open the top drawer of one labeled “General Information,” and whistled to herself as she rifled through the contents.

“What now?” asked Tucker.

“Memos back and forth between ExecCom and Carter Hill,” she answered, her hands trembling as she held up the pages. This was the mother lode. “Memos describing a systematic plan by Sumter to deny mortgages to minorities based upon where they intend to move. It’s all here,” she said triumphantly. “How they review and update the list of restricted-zone ZIP codes once a month. How they use ESP Technologies to screen on-line applicants to determine race if the applicant chooses not to fill in the Race/National Origin box. How people who work at this location must be white and carefully screened to make certain they ‘sympathize.’ ” Angela stared into Tucker’s eyes. “The incredible thing is that Bob Dudley isn’t mentioned anywhere in this information. At least, not that I can find. He’s had Carter Hill do all his dirty work.” She shook her head. “So, they’re both involved.”

“Don’t move!”

Angela and Tucker froze as two men, dressed in black, pistols drawn and leveled at their chests, burst inside and the room was suddenly bathed in light.

“Get down on the floor!” one of the men yelled. “Right now or you’re dead.”

As she knelt, Angela glanced up at Tucker. He was smiling at the men, making no move toward the floor.

“Hey, boys,” he said calmly. “Doesn’t sound like you’re here selling Girl Scout cookies.”

“Get down!” the man closest to Tucker roared. “Now.”

“It’s just that I’ve got this trick knee. An old high school football injury.”

“John, get down,” Angela pleaded.

“Nah.”

The man moved directly in front of Tucker and pointed the barrel of his pistol at Tucker’s forehead. “Down, asshole. Or I shoot.”

Tucker shook his head and smiled. “You really don’t want to do that.”

The man brandishing the weapon smiled back smugly. “And why not?”

“Because if you do,” Tucker answered, “those three men standing at the door will kill
you
.”

Angela’s eyes flashed to the doorway. Three more men were there, aiming Glocks at the two men holding Tucker and her. As she watched, they moved silently into the room, snatched the pistols from the two stunned men, then slammed their pistol handles into the back of each man’s neck. Both collapsed to the floor. The entire series of events had taken only a few seconds.

The leader hurried to where Tucker stood as his two subordinates quickly cuffed the unconscious men on the floor. “The area is secure, sir,” he announced, saluting Tucker.

“Good job, son.”

“We followed you in, as requested. Over the roof and down.” He nodded at the two men on the floor. “We observed these men entering the building through the front door a few moments ago, then moved. I apologize that they were able to threaten you.”

“It’s all right. You did well.”

“Thank you, sir, but we need to get you out of here immediately. There could be more on the way.”

Tucker looked over at Angela. “Give me a moment alone with Ms. Day. We’ll be right out.”

“Yes, sir.”

The three men were gone a moment later, dragging the prisoners out by their feet.

Angela stood up slowly, mouth open. “That man just called you ‘sir,’ ” she said, her voice hushed. “And he saluted you.”

“So?”

Her mind reeled as the lightning bolt struck. The man standing before her was not who he claimed to be. He was not a ranch hand. The man standing before her was one of the most powerful men in the world. “It’s you,” she whispered. “It’s been you all along.”

Tucker grinned. “What are you talking about?”

Angela swallowed, barely able to speak. “You’re Jake Lawrence.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it?” She pointed at him. “The man who attacked me in the cave in Wyoming said that I was supposed to be with Jake Lawrence.”

“And you had been.”

Angela shook her head. “No. He made it clear that it was his understanding that I was supposed to be with Jake Lawrence at that moment.” And then it hit her. “Oh, Lord.”

“What?” Tucker asked, still grinning.

“The handwriting on that ESP file. The one with the comment in the margin about Sumter and cloak accounts.”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“It was your handwriting.”

“No, no.”

“Oh, yes. It matched the handwriting of the note you gave me in the parking garage that day you surprised me. When I was on my way to Rosemary to pick up Hunter. The note with your cell phone number on it. I knew there was something I was missing all along. You led me to the connection between Sumter and ESP. You wrote that note in the margin of the file while we were sitting at the conference room table.”

Tucker stared back, saying nothing.

“No wonder I didn’t find a record of anyone named Tucker at any U.S. military base in Alaska. That was a lie, designed to keep the illusion intact.”

“Angela, I—”

“That’s why the guy in the woods was asking you about the network after the helicopter was destroyed. That’s why the Jake Lawrence I met with didn’t know whether the Lawrence family was originally from Atlanta or Birmingham, why you ran down Ted Harmon in that parking lot, and,” she hesitated, “how you know about my tattoo. You watched me that first night I was at the lodge. You were behind the bathroom mirror. I know you were.”

Tucker continued staring back at Angela intensely for several moments, his expression grim. Then his smile returned, broader than before. “I had to make certain it was you,” he admitted quietly.

“What?”

“As my decoy told you in the cabin that day, I have to be very careful at all times. I had to make certain you were the real Angela Day. Not some imposter sent by a group trying to kill me.” He chuckled. “My information was that you had a small tattoo of a butterfly on your hip. When I saw that, I was confident I wasn’t dealing with an imposter. I was confident that you were the real Angela Day.” He laughed again. “That was my only motivation in doing that. I assure you.”

She shook her head, the enormity of it all beginning to sink in. “Why? Why all of this?”

“I’ll explain everything,” he assured her. “But let’s get out of here. There’s someone you need to meet with.”

Carter Hill had called another emergency ExecCom meeting. This time they were in the basement of the West End church.

“There’s been a development,” he informed the other three. “The location on the South Side has been penetrated.”

“Holy Christ!” Booker shouted, slamming the bridge table with his fist. “Are you serious?”

Hill nodded nervously. “Yes, I received word an hour ago. We sent people out there, but we think they were neutralized.”

“What does that mean?” Abbott demanded. “ ‘Neutralized’?”

“We sent a second crew out to the location, but the initial team was gone. We think they were—”

“We need to destroy everything at that location,” Booker broke in. “Immediately.”

“That’s already in progress,” Hill agreed. “The operation has been terminated. But there’s still a problem.”

“What?”

“Certain very damaging files are missing. Files that could break everything wide open.”

“What in God’s name are we going to do?” Thompson demanded.

Hill closed his eyes tightly. “We have only one option.”

“What?”

“I am certain I know who was responsible. Or was at least involved in the break-in.”

“Who?”

“Angela Day.”

Booker leaned back in his chair. “Jesus Christ. How do you know?”

“I had people following her tonight. Unfortunately, they lost her, but her actions were very suspicious.”

“So what’s the damn option?” Abbott asked nervously, understanding that all of their lives hung in the balance. “What are we going to do?”

Hill gazed at Abbott, fighting desperately to stem the awful panic that was building inside him. How could he not have seen this coming?

CHAPTER NINETEEN

“Where are we going and why won’t you explain what’s going on?” Angela dialed Liv’s cell number for the third time since she and the man she now believed was the real Jake Lawrence had hurried back to the Jeep through the woods and raced away from the business park.

“Relax. You’ll get your answers. I promise.”

Angela listened as the phone rang over and over. “Dammit.” She ended the call, a wave of fear washing over her.

“What’s wrong?”

“I left Hunter with Liv Jefferson tonight,” she explained. “There’s no answer at her apartment.”

“Liv is the newspaper reporter?”

“Yes.”

“Well, she probably just turned the ring down because she didn’t want Hunter to be awakened if someone called.”

That made sense. “I hope so.” Angela checked the side mirror. The guards were behind them in a van. Also in the van were the two prisoners and several incriminating files she had directed the guards to take from the Sumter location. “I don’t even know what to call you now,” she murmured.

“Jake. It’ll be refreshing to hear someone call me that again after so long. Especially you, Angela,” he said quietly, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing.

She glanced over at him. She wanted to squeeze his hand back. She wanted to let him know how she felt, but her mind was still reeling after learning his true identity.

A few miles down the lonely road, Jake pulled to a stop at the entrance to a driveway. The driveway leading to the farmhouse the Lawrence camp was using as its base of operations near Richmond. Two armed men moved out of the shadows to intercept the Jeep, then waved them on when they saw Jake and he answered their query with the evening’s password.

When they reached the house, Angela hopped out of the Jeep, trotting to keep up with Jake. He held open the farmhouse door, ushering her inside and directing her down a narrow hall and then into a quaint living room. As Angela rounded the corner into the living room, she stopped short and brought her hands to her mouth. Bob Dudley sat in a large chair near a fireplace, arms folded across his chest.

“Hello, Ms. Day,” he said quietly.

Angela turned to run, but Jake caught her, immobilizing her. “How could you do this to me?” she shouted, struggling to break free.

“Easy, Angela,” Jake urged. “It’s okay. Bob’s on our side.”

She stopped struggling and looked up into his large brown eyes. “What?”

Dudley rose from the chair. “It’s true, Angela. Carter Hill and the ExecCom members are responsible for what you found. I wasn’t certain who was involved until you led Jake to that Sumter location.” He took a deep breath. “Candidly, I wasn’t really even sure what, if anything, was going on until tonight. But now I know. My bank has been engaging in some despicable practices,” he admitted dejectedly. “It appears that the documents you obtained tonight prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. I’ll need to review the information but, as difficult as it is for me to find out how dreadfully we have treated people, I’m glad to know that it will continue no longer. I owe you a large debt of gratitude.”

Angela’s arms dropped slowly to her sides as Jake relaxed his grip. “You aren’t involved?” she asked suspiciously, her eyes flickering back and forth between Jake and the Sumter chairman.

“No, I’m not,” Dudley said firmly.

“I’ve been working with Bob for months trying to figure out what, if anything, was going on,” Jake confirmed. “And, if something was, how to uncover it.”

“But you’re the chairman of the bank, Mr. Dudley,” Angela pointed out. “Why didn’t you just carry out your own investigation?”

He nodded. “First, as I said, I didn’t really know for sure anything actually
was
going on,” he explained. “Six months ago I received an anonymous tip that Sumter Bank was engaging in discriminatory lending practices. And that a company named ESP Technologies was somehow involved. That was it. Though I still don’t know for certain, I assumed the tip came from someone inside ESP. Or, based upon tonight’s events, someone out at the South Side facility you and Jake penetrated.”

Angela spread her arms wide. “But if you remotely suspected that something was wrong, even just on the basis of an anonymous tip, I still don’t understand why you didn’t carry out your own investigation.”

“I didn’t know whom to trust,” Dudley replied. “I had already turned the bank’s day-to-day operation over to Carter Hill, and I had never really been close to the ExecCom members: Booker, Abbott, Thompson. And there’s something you need to understand about being the chairman of an entity as large as Sumter, Angela. You can’t even use the men’s room without the whole bank knowing. My every move is carefully monitored. My fear was that I would do as you suggested, commission my own investigation, and that the discriminatory practices, if they were really being employed, would be covered up by people I didn’t know I couldn’t trust. Or, that they would simply suspend those illegal operations until the storm blew over.” Dudley’s expression turned grim. “I also assumed that they would figure I had a deep throat, figure out who that deep throat was, and do something to that individual. As we now understand, these men are evil. For all I knew they would seek revenge on the whistle-blower. That was something I was not willing to take responsibility for.” He gestured at Jake. “So, I contacted Jake Lawrence.”

“That’s how you knew I had gone to Wyoming in the first place,” Angela whispered.

“Yes,” Dudley admitted.

“But why would you think Jake Lawrence would, or
could
, help you?”

“Our families have known each other for a hundred and fifty years,” Jake explained, before Dudley could answer. “Bob’s one of my closest friends. However, because of the illusion my father created thirty years ago, we aren’t able to communicate much. But Bob was one of the few individuals that my father confided in when he sent me underground.”

Angela could barely believe what she was hearing. “Why did your father do that?”

“We were already very wealthy at the time. But my father realized early on that his computer investment with the Harvard nerd was going to take us to a wealth level usually attained only by oil sheikhs and dictators. I was the only child, and he wanted to make certain I lived.” Jake raised one eyebrow. “As you now know, Jake Lawrence is a constant target. My decoy told me you were skeptical when he made that remark to you in the cabin, but it’s true.”

She nodded. “I do understand that now.”

“My father and I decided when I was young that I wasn’t going to sit around with all of his money and do nothing. We decided, for better or worse, that I was going to take sides. That I was going to get involved. I’ve pissed off an awful lot of people in the process, and supporters of mine have paid the ultimate price. But they knew what they were getting into, and I have no regrets. Behind the scenes we’ve made a difference in many corners of the world, and I’m proud of that. Sumter Bank is just the latest example. We’re about to win an important battle in the war on racism. I’m not naive enough to think that we can ever wipe it out, but I need to do my part. We all do.”

“This is incredible,” she said, her voice hushed.

“I try to make a difference, Angela. I can’t just sit idly by and let the bad things go on. I’ve been given the ability to help. I’m driven to do so. It’s my passion.”

“How rich are you?” she asked.

“Let’s put it this way. When the world finds out what was going on at Sumter, the bank’s stock price is going to take a hit. Probably a big hit. Even if it goes to zero and completely wipes out my investment, my financial advisors will barely notice.”

“Be more specific,” Angela pushed.

He smiled. “As you might imagine, my net worth changes on a minute-by-minute basis. But, as near as I can tell, it’s close to $500 billion.”

Angela gazed at Jake, astounded. “My God.”

He nodded. “A little intimidating, huh?”

“Yes.”

Jake chuckled. “I just have to hope that the United States’ budget deficit doesn’t get too bad because they might send somebody to kill me.”

“Why?”

His eyes got big. “Estate tax rates are more than 50 percent. Killing me would be a quick way for the Feds to get their hands on about two hundred and fifty billion.”

Dudley chuckled as Jake explained.

Angela smiled when she understood. “But why did you need to buy such a huge stake in Sumter?”

“To make the illusion seem real,” Dudley answered for Jake. “I suspected that Carter Hill would be involved if there was anything to the tip. So Carter couldn’t think that Jake and I were working together.”

“So I kept buying Sumter shares to convince Carter that Bob really did hate me,” Jake added. “To convince Carter that I might actually be secretly trying to take over the bank, and to put Bob out of a job. And to convince you, as well. You couldn’t suspect the Jake Lawrence connection to Bob, either,” he said, his voice dropping. “You had to believe everything was as advertised. Which was also why I instructed my decoy to make a pass at you in the cabin on the mountain. I needed Carter to believe that you hated me. Otherwise, he’d suspect that
you
and Jake Lawrence were working together.” Jake reached out and took Angela’s hand. “I’m sorry about that.”

She nodded, then shook her head, impressed. “That’s one hell of a plan.”

“Yes,” Dudley piped up. “Right down to me getting into that public spat with your reporter friend Liv Jefferson at the Richmond University business forum. Carter, or whoever was responsible, had to believe that I wouldn’t have cared what they were doing anyway. I made Carter believe that I wouldn’t be looking for the operation. I knew that if the tip was accurate, someone would be watching me.”

“But there was a memo.”

“A memo?” Dudley prompted.

Angela nodded. “Yes. I found it behind a shredder in Ken Booker’s office a few weeks ago. It alluded to the discriminatory practices.” She pointed at Dudley. “It was from the chairman to Booker, Abbott, and Thompson. Carter Hill wasn’t mentioned anywhere.”

“I assure you,” Dudley replied coldly, “that memo wasn’t from me. Whoever used the term ‘Chairman’ was using my authority as a cover.”

“Did you pass that memo on to Liv Jefferson?” Jake asked.

Angela nodded. “Yes.” She glanced at Dudley—his expression was serious but not unkind—then looked back at Jake. “You were telling me the truth about not being Liv’s contact. You weren’t the one in the parking garage the other night. The one who told her about Mr. Dudley being from Birmingham. About him owning a consulting firm named Strategy Partners in Birmingham?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

That person had also conveyed to Liv that Dudley was using Strategy Partners to defraud Sumter. And that Dudley was a Klansman. Now that she knew the extent of Jake’s relationship with Dudley, it was clear to her that Jake hadn’t been the contact. All of the information the contact had provided was intended to incriminate Dudley.

“Strategy Partners?” Dudley asked.

“Yes,” Angela responded, still trying to figure out who Liv’s contact had been. Or, at least, who they were representing. “The person met Liv in a downtown parking garage one night last week and told her you were using a firm by that name in Birmingham to defraud Sumter. That you owned it and that you were having Sumter pay the company significant sums of money for doing nothing. There were wire transfers. Ten million dollars’ worth. I’ve confirmed that.” She was certain now who was responsible for those wires. And, by extension, who Liv’s contact was. “But now that I understand what’s going on, I’d be willing to bet a year’s salary that Carter Hill was responsible for those wires. That the whole thing was an effort to frame you.”

“He would have been able to arrange that,” Dudley confirmed. “And he certainly had the motive.”

“He wanted to run the bank,” Angela said. “He wanted you out. He confided that to me at one point.”

“Yes. He knew I wasn’t going to recommend him to become my replacement when I stepped down as Sumter’s chairman. I had told another board member that, and it clearly got back to Hill.”

“It’s all beginning to come together,” she said quietly. Then she frowned. “What about Cubbies, though?”

“What about it?” Jake asked.

“I went through the client records at ESP and Cubbies never licensed their software. But I did some research and found that one of your entities did buy the chain.”

“My decoy threw you that one at dinner to whet your appetite. You’re right. Cubbies was never a client.”

Angela glanced at Dudley, then back at Jake. “But why me, Jake? Why was
I
involved?”

“I needed someone who knew the bank,” Jake explained. “Someone who could move around it without creating a stir. Someone who had witnessed racism from a front row seat, too.”

“Sally,” Angela murmured.

“Yes. And I needed someone with incentive,” he continued.

“Hunter.”

Jake nodded. “You have my word that I will continue that battle. And that you will win it.”

A thrill coursed through her. Jake was one of the most powerful men in the world. Sooner or later he would prevail.

Jake smiled. “Plus, you’re damn smart and you don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” He leaned down and kissed her hand. “Bob and I
both
owe you a debt of gratitude.”

When Jake rose back up she stepped toward him and slipped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank you.”

“No, thank you. You have an incredible resolve about you. It is inspiring.”

She stepped back, looking up at him. “Does Bill Colby know who you really are?”

Jake shook his head. “No. As a matter of fact, I was getting worried that Colby was catching on to me a few months ago, so I used you to convince him I was a traitor, and not even close to the real Jake Lawrence.”

“How did you do that?”

“Through connections of mine, I commissioned a former CIA officer to assassinate Jake Lawrence. He’d become a soldier of fortune and was willing to make the hit. I had this individual shadow you with orders to kill me when I showed up on your doorstep.” Jake laughed. “But the pictures I gave him of the supposed Jake Lawrence were fuzzy as hell and of no one even remotely related to our camp, so I doubt he could have actually identified anyone. Of course, you never know what those guys are going to do. Anyway, we apprehended this man on the lawn of the house across from your apartment and brought him here to be ‘interrogated.’ During that interrogation, and after, I’m fairly certain I convinced Colby that I was helping this man. And, in the process, that I wasn’t the real Jake Lawrence.”