Taken by the Con (3 page)

Interesting observation. Arrogance and control went with the territory. “We’ll follow up.”

“Do you want me to call Georgiana? I could take her to dinner and see if I can learn anything from her.”

Imagining Cash on a dinner date with the beautiful, younger woman annoyed her and Lucia couldn’t answer that question objectively. “Talk to Benjamin about it.”

“Is that how this partnership will work? You’ll pass me off when you don’t want to discuss something?” Cash asked.

Lucia continued toward the car. “It’s not a partnership. Benjamin sent us out together to handle these interviews. In future tasks, hopefully you’ll be assigned to work with someone else.”

“I like working with you,” he said.

“Why?” Lucia asked, drawing to a stop and looking at him. Few others did. Either she was accused of going by the book or being too impulsive.

“Why do I like working with you?” he asked.

At her nod, he rubbed his chin. “You’re smart. You’re strong. You’re spunky.”

“Spunky?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. “You’re making this fun.”

She sensed something unsaid. “I guess that’s something. I think you’re angling for something from me and I need to be up-front with you. I feel badly about your son and I appreciate that you were honest about your situation, but I won’t interfere in a domestic matter.”

He blinked at her and held up his hands. “Understood.”

“Let’s finish these interviews. Don’t you have a happy hour to attend?”

* * *

Preston Hammer’s Georgetown townhouse was located in a small community where ten million was the going price for houses. Hammer’s was four townhomes gutted and converted into one large, stately unit. Lucia knocked on the door, surprised when Hammer answered the door himself.

Lucia showed him her badge. “We spoke on the phone, Mr. Hammer.” She introduced herself and Cash.

Hammer stepped back from the door and gestured for them to come inside. The interior wasn’t what Lucia was expecting. The foyer was stacked with brown moving boxes, each labeled in precise printing.

“Relocating?” Lucia asked.

Hammer gestured at the grand Juliette staircase, oak handrails, the shiny hardwood floors and the insets along the wall containing artwork illuminated with custom lighting. “Do you think I can afford to live here? After what Holmes and White did to me, I’m lucky I have food to eat.” He mumbled something else under his breath Lucia didn’t catch. “Come into the kitchen. We can talk there.”

Cash wandered over to one of the pieces on the wall. “Is this a Monet?”

“Interested? It’s headed to auction in a few days,” he said. Hammer started down the hall and Lucia and Cash followed.

“That artwork is probably worth more than this place,” Cash whispered to Lucia.

One of Cash’s areas of expertise was art forgeries. If Hammer was liquidating his assets, he hadn’t saved much of his eight-figure salary for a rainy day.

The kitchen was large, extending almost the length of the houses. Butler’s pantry, gleaming granite countertops and maple cabinets indicated luxury living.

“Your former employer tells us you were let go because Clifton Anderson reported to you,” Lucia said. Leonard Young had also implied that Hammer should have caught the accounting fraud before it reached massive proportions. She dangled the information to garner his reaction.

“Anderson did report to me. He also reported to ten other managers between his level and me. No one caught him. I was the scapegoat. Highest paid non-executive. Holmes and White wants me to take the fall.”

Lucia didn’t want Hammer to become so mired in anger that he couldn’t answer her questions. “Clifton Anderson is good at what he does. Holmes and White isn’t the first firm he’s duped during the course of his career,” Lucia said.

Hammer walked to the wet bar and opened the top cabinet. “Doesn’t change anything. They needed someone near the top to take the heat. The press has been all over me. Do you know how many death threats I receive every day? Angry people want their money back.” He threw a glass against the wall and it shattered. “News flash! I don’t have the money. I don’t have a dime to my name. Where do these people think I invested my money? The same place they did. Anderson robbed me right along with everyone else.”

That explained where Hammer’s money had gone. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Lucia said. Hammer had been through an ordeal, but his reactions were overly volatile. Was he under the care of a psychiatrist? On medication?

“What about you two?” Hammer pointed at Cash. “Are you working this or did your boyfriend tag along in case I went crazy?” Hammer took another glass and set it on the counter.

Denials about Cash’s relationship with her sprang to mind. Remembering her training, Lucia checked her words before she spoke. Defensiveness would make her look like a liar. “I already explained that this is my colleague.”

“He didn’t show me a badge,” Hammer said, pouring a large amount of scotch into the glass.

“I’m not an FBI agent. I’m a consultant,” Cash said.

Hammer took a long swig from his drink. If it wasn’t his first of the day it would explain his strange, erratic behavior. Most people didn’t think it was wise to question the FBI while they were investigating a crime in which they were involved. “Right. You can call him a consultant if you want.” Hammer took another swallow of his drink. “You two are sleeping together.”

If he hoped making accusations would throw her off the reason she’d come, he was wrong. “I’m here to learn more about Anderson and what it was like to work with him. If you’re planning to make incorrect guesses about people, then we can finish this interview at headquarters.” No one liked making the trip to the FBI’s interrogation room.

Hammer set his glass down hard. “I’ll tell you what I know, but there’s nothing new that I haven’t already told you people a dozen times.”

Lucia walked Hammer through what he knew about Anderson and how the scheme had unfolded. He didn’t reveal anything she hadn’t read in the case file. While she spoke, Cash wandered to the sliding glass door and looked out into the yard. She didn’t blame him for being drawn to sunlight and the outdoors.

“Tell me more about being in the upper echelon at Holmes and White,” Cash said, turning away from the door as the conversation lagged.

Hammer poured himself another drink. He wasn’t pouring more than a finger or two at a time, but he was drinking steadily. “Imagine being the king of your own domain with a personal assistant to take care of your every need. You hire people and you fire them at will. You’re available around the clock, but when you have down time, it’s spectacular. Five star hotels and the best restaurants in town. Wine and women and parties. I lived the life and I loved it.”

Lucia let Cash continue to engage with Hammer. She sensed this could be a topic Hammer was more comfortable discussing with Cash.

“What happened to your personal assistant?” Cash asked.

Hammer stiffened. He let out a long breath before answering. “She was fired the same day I was.”

Hammer slid his drink back and forth between his hands. “Keep her out of this. She didn’t do anything wrong. She signed the nondisclosures and the confidentiality agreements. She left town and is living with her parents while she puts her life back together.” He sounded like a heartbroken teenager.

Lucia would follow up on Hammer’s personal assistant. She remembered reading about her in previous interviews and her instincts tingled that the FBI hadn’t heard her whole story. What was her name? Kresley? Katie?

“It must be hard to have lost so much so quickly,” Cash said.

Hammer looked at the table and then lifted his head slowly. His eyes were rimmed with unshed tears. Compassion tugged at Lucia’s chest. Was Hammer a hapless victim of Clifton Anderson or had he been involved in the fraud? Neither the media nor the FBI could directly connect him to any legal wrongdoing. Unless he was hiding the money well, Hammer hadn’t been paid for any assistance he’d given Clifton Anderson.

“You have no idea. People lost their retirement accounts and their savings, but I’ve lost everything. Everything.”

Was his former personal assistant included in “everything”?

“We’re doing our best to find Anderson,” Lucia said.

“I’ll be long gone before you find him,” Hammer said.

Lucia didn’t like the sound of that. Was he planning a suicide? To run? “We’ll need you around throughout the course of our investigation.”

“Yeah, yeah, right.”

“Do you have a forwarding address?” Lucia asked.

Hammer ran his hands through his hair. “To add to my nightmare, I’ll be moving in with my brother and sister-in-law. She’s a shrew who hates me.” Bitterness touched every word.

She sensed his cry for help. Lucia would ask Benjamin to provide Hammer with any counseling resources they may have. “We’ll be in touch if we find anything or have more questions,” Lucia said.

“Great, you do that,” Hammer said. “If I never see another FBI agent again, it will be too soon.” Then he mumbled something about how useless the FBI were. Lucia ignored the comment. Hammer was a man on the edge and she wasn’t looking to push him over it.

Hammer walked them to the door. Lucia handed Hammer her business card, which he threw to the floor. Again ignoring the rudeness, Lucia and Cash took the marble stairs to the sidewalk.

Hammer slammed his front door.

“He picked up on something between us,” Cash said as they walked. “Do you want to talk about that?”

“He’s half drunk and out of his mind with bitterness,” Lucia said. “What is there to talk about?”

“If you want to ignore it, then fine.”

“Yes, I want to ignore it.”

“We need to go back and check on him,” Cash said, turning back toward to the townhouse.

Lucia held up her hand and stepped in front of him. “Check on him? He will not let us back into his place.”

“He could be a danger to himself or others.”

Not in the immediate. “Cash, what are you playing at?”

A mischievous look danced across Cash’s face. “Let’s see if round two helps us.”

Cash circled around to the back of the group of townhouses, cutting down the alleyway between the sections. The alley behind the townhouses was narrow, passable by no more than a single car. The yards behind each home were beautifully landscaped.

Cash hopped the white chain-link fence into Hammer’s backyard.

“You’re trespassing,” Lucia said.

Cash extended his hand to help her over. “Come on. I have a feeling.”

They couldn’t waltz into someone’s backyard. Anything they heard or saw would be obtained illegally and inadmissible in court. Add to it how furious Benjamin would be, and it had the makings of a bad plan.

“Have courage, Lucia.”

Courage? She had courage in spades. Was he calling her a wimp? Knowing she was being baited into complying and unable to help herself, Lucia took his hand and climbed the fence. At least this way, she could keep an eye on Cash and if he learned something, she would be in the know. Cash took the steps to the deck, pulled opened the sliding glass door and stepped inside.

He had unlocked the door while he had been pretending to admire the view. She should have found his gall appalling, but Lucia was impressed by his planning.

They stepped inside and Lucia’s heart beat faster. If they were caught entering Hammer’s home without a warrant, they could be arrested. If they were arrested, she’d lose her job and Cash would go back to prison.

“Cash,” she whispered. She needed to warn him. To make sure he understood what he was risking by doing this.

He pressed a finger over his lips. Hammer’s voice floated into the kitchen. It sounded as if he was on the phone. To make out what he was saying, Cash crept across the floor. Then he was still.

“I know, but I have the FBI crawling all over me and that makes me nervous.”

A pause.

“I lost everything. My home. My career. Kinsley, what more do you want from me? I don’t have anything left to give.”

Kinsley. As soon as Lucia heard the name she remembered Kinsley had been his personal assistant at Holmes and White. Another pause.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I told them nothing. What more do you need me to do? I’ve done everything you’ve asked.”

Cash closed his eyes, perhaps concentrating on what Hammer was saying.

“She asked about me? When can I see her?” Hammer asked.

A growl. Cash’s eyes snapped open and Lucia whirled to see a black dog standing between them and the sliding glass door. The dog locked his legs and bared his teeth. He barked.

“Hold on a minute,” Hammer said into the phone. “Slasher! Quiet!”

Slasher. What a wonderful name for a dog. Based on the dog’s demeanor, it fit. They were intruders in his home.

Cash stood and advanced on the dog. He looked as though he was planning to charge at the dog, but when he was close he laid his hands on the dog’s flank and whispered something into his ear. At the same time, Cash motioned for Lucia to leave. The dog visibly relaxed.

Lucia did as Cash directed, looking over her shoulder at the pair. Cash seemed to have the situation under control, but it could escalate quickly if the dog decided Cash was an enemy. Slasher barked again.

“Slasher! Shut up!” Hammer yelled from another room. “Let me see what that lunatic dog’s problem is now.”

Cash didn’t panic. He remained facing the dog and slipped away, following Lucia outside. He slid the glass door closed behind him and leaped over the deck, falling to the ground. Lucia followed him.

“Are you okay?” she mouthed.

He nodded.

They crouched under the deck. If Hammer looked outside, he wouldn’t see them. If he let his dog into the gated yard, they could have a problem.

“You even charm dogs?” Lucia asked.

“Dogs are pack animals. I love them and they sense that. They want to be friends and please me,” he said.

He made it sound easy. Her respect for him increased.

They waited a few minutes before leaving the yard the same way they’d come.

“How did you know Hammer would call someone?” Lucia asked.

“He was sweating when we were talking to him. We rattled him and he’d need to vent about it. He’s not a leader. He’s a follower. He needs someone to tell him what to do. That’s why he was easy for Anderson to use, knowingly or unknowingly, in the con and for Young to use as a scapegoat,” Cash said.