To Catch a Bad Guy (3 page)

“So, are you ready for
an overview of Bostoff Securities’ business model?” Tom grabbed a chair and
placed it next to Janet’s. Suddenly, her office seemed incredibly small.

Janet could feel
Wyman’s breath touch her skin where it was exposed by the low cut of her
blouse. Perhaps she should have opted for a different outfit after all. “We could
go into a conference room.”

“Why bother? It’s nice
and cozy in here.”

Tom’s knee brushed
against Janet’s thigh. She froze like a rabbit hypnotized by a python. Her
earlier plans to flirt with Tom Wyman seemed juvenile now. She was no match for
her overpowering opponent. Tom Wyman was not the kind of man to be toyed around
with: he expected a woman to either go all in or stay out of his way. And Janet
certainly was not ready to go all in.

Janet’s thoughts must
have been plastered all over her face because a moment later, Tom pushed his
chair away from hers.

“Right, so here’s a
quick overview of Bostoff’s structure.” Tom opened his briefcase, laying a
thick manila folder on the desk. “This is a chart of all the entities that
Bostoff Securities owns.”

“I see.” Janet hoped
that her bewilderment was not apparent on her face as she examined the chart of
Bostoff entities. She had never seen a corporate chart so convoluted, but she
did not yet know enough about Bostoff’s business to ask intelligent questions,
so she decided to listen to Wyman for fear of appearing a novice. After all,
Tom was a partner at Ridley Simpson, which was a top-ten national law firm, and
the corporate structure he approved had to be legitimate.

“Bostoff strives to
keep as much of its business offshore as possible. As long as it is within the
permitted legal and regulatory framework, of course,” Wyman added quickly. “As
far as the actual creation of offshore entities is concerned, the process has
pretty much been streamlined, so you won’t have to be concerned about anything
there. I’ll take care of that.” Tom smiled. “Your judgment will be needed when
new business ventures come up—that’s when you are to notify me to devise a game
plan.”

Janet felt her face
grow warm. She might not have Tom Wyman’s expertise, but she was not going to
sit on her butt, deferring all decisions to him. At least she hoped that was
not the ‘job’ that Lisa had hired her for.

“I thought Lisa had
explained the structure to you already. Bostoff keeps a very lean internal
legal staff, with the bulk of the work outsourced to yours truly,” said Wyman.

“Lisa gave me a cursory
overview,” Janet lied. Other than her title, Lisa had hardly explained the
details of Janet’s employment at Bostoff Securities at all, but when faced with
a choice between being a department store clerk and an assistant general
counsel at Bostoff Securities, the latter seemed like a much more attractive
option, at least at the time. “I look forward to working with you, Tom.” Janet
conjured up her most guileless smile. “These structures seem so complicated. I
will need all the help I can get to get up to speed.”

“Not to worry, Janet.
That’s what I’m here for. Now, let’s go over some of the recently created
entities…”

An hour later, Janet
found her head spinning from all the information that Tom Wyman had imparted on
her. He had assured her that Bostoff Securities’ structure was perfectly
legitimate, but while Wyman’s flowery assurances were spoken with much
confidence, Janet felt a steady sense of unease growing inside her.

Dennis Walker was
giving himself a mental browbeating for nearly blowing his cover. What on earth
had possessed him to get all mushy with that stand-offish girl whose computer
he had been fixing or, to be more specific, bugging? Well, actually, Dennis
knew perfectly well what had possessed him. The girl was damn good-looking, and
if he had to admit to having any weaknesses, it was to not being able to pass
by a pretty skirt without looking and, preferably, much more than just looking.
Still, this was work – not play, and if he wanted to get that promotion he had
set his eyes on since he had started his career in the Department of Treasury
Investigations Unit, he’d better get his mind out of the gutter and get focused
on the game.

Still, even with
today’s minor lapse, Dennis could afford to pat himself on the back: he had
already tapped into the most critical employees’ computers, and the data that
he needed to substantiate the case was flowing in. The most difficult part of
his assignment would be to remain undiscovered, which, as the morning had
shown, was going to be much trickier than Dennis had anticipated. Playing the
role of Dean Snider was proving to be more challenging than he had expected.
Dennis was a naturally social creature who was keenly aware of his masculine
charms, which he enjoyed exercising on members of the female sex with great
success. Dean Snider, on the other hand, was a mousy and shabbily pathetic
excuse of a man who was afraid of his own shadow – a role that Dennis detested
playing, but was determined to excel at, lest his boss prove to be correct in
his initial intention to give the assignment to Laskin. Dennis scratched his
neck, which was beginning to chafe from the rigid collar of his cheap shirt,
and focused his attention on his computer monitor.

As a senior member of
the IT department at Bostoff Securities, Dennis had the administrative rights
to computers of the firm’s employees, which allowed him to install data
gathering software. The software was transferring the data from Bostoff’s
computers over a web-based connection to the Treasury analysts. Dennis had the
option of viewing real-time data, but the fact that his desk was smack in the
middle of the trading floor made matters difficult. With a title like Chief IT
Analyst, Dennis had expected to be allotted an office or at least a cubicle,
but apparently Bostoff Securities was short on real estate. Thankfully, initial
data sorting was conducted by junior analysts at the Treasury. In the evenings,
after having spent the day behind his desk at Bostoff, Dennis would catch up on
the reports in the privacy of his home office. A work schedule that intense
would pretty much eliminate any presence of social life for the duration of the
assignment, but Dennis was used to making sacrifices when they were warranted.

The mere opportunity of
infiltrating Bostoff was a huge stroke of luck. Who would have thought that
Bostoff would post an opening for an IT specialist just as the Treasury
Investigations department was looking for a way to gather additional evidence
to build their case? The chances were zero to none, and yet, an opening had
come up. Some would call it happenstance, some divine providence, and some pure
dumb luck. But if anyone had asked Dennis for an explanation of this fortuitous
timing, he would have replied simply: the bad guys always got caught because,
sooner or later, they always got sloppy.

Dennis Walker had a
multitude of talents to his name, but superior knowledge of IT was not one of
them. He had picked up plenty of tricks during his employment with the Treasury
– enough to make him seem like a computer pro to a person possessing average
prowess in computers. But Head of IT at Bostoff would not be someone with average
prowess, or so Dennis had thought when he had begun his prep work for the
interview, which had involved spending five hours a day with the top analysts
of Treasury IT department. Even so, Dennis was nervous when the interview day
came. Once he met his boss-to-be, Warren Merchant, Dennis knew he was safe.
After a fifteen minute conversation, it became apparent that Warren Merchant
knew about as much about IT infrastructure as Dennis knew about classical
ballet, which was not much. Apparently, Bostoff Securities was not all that
discerning when it came to hiring staff for the support functions – a factor
that played to Dennis’s advantage. Not only did Warren Merchant give him the
job, he would be unable to detect the spyware Dennis had installed on the company
computers if his life depended on it.

All in all, Dennis had
every right to be pleased with his progress so far, and yet, he could not help
the uneasiness in his chest. Everything that he had learned about Bostoff
Securities so far indicated that the firm was knee-deep in financial
violations. Dennis had no compunction about putting away the top brass who were
the organizers and the leaders of the corrupt scheme, but, invariably, the rest
of the employees would get caught in the mix. People who worked simple jobs
without having an inkling about the corruptness of their employer would end up
unemployed, with blemished resumés to boot. Such thoughts had rarely troubled
Dennis during his previous investigations, but then this was going to be his biggest
case to date.

Still, Dennis had not
been bothered with such scrupulous considerations when he had set out to bug
Bostoff Securities’ newly hired lawyer’s computer. But after meeting Janet
Maple face to face, he wished he had left her off the radar. After all, she was
only a junior lawyer, and Dennis already knew that all the important legal work
was being farmed out to Ridley Simpson law firm, specifically to the slickster,
Tom Wyman. Now, Wyman’s computer would be worth bugging, but during his visits
to Bostoff, Tom Wyman always used his personal laptop, which made it virtually
impossible for Dennis to gain access to it. It would take time to gather
evidence for the case, and Dennis hoped that for her sake, Janet Maple would
find other employment in the meantime. An employment record with a corrupt firm
would not be a plus on any lawyer’s resumé, and Dennis certainly did not want
to be the one responsible for a pretty woman’s loss of her ability to earn a
living.

***

On her way home from
work, Janet picked up a pack of Pedigree for Baxter – her one-year-old Jack
Russell Terrier. No doubt Baxter would be hungry and antsy by now. Janet felt
guilty about leaving him alone for the entire day. Before she lost her job, before
Alex had told her that he just wanted to be friends, Janet used to hire a dog
walker to take Baxter for his daily hour at the dog playground. But then Janet
and Alex broke up – no – the idea of being friends had not fared well, and
Janet had lost her job. She no longer had the income to hire a dog walker, so
she became Baxter’s own walker. In fact, it was those early morning and late
night walks with Baxter that helped her keep her sanity as she brooded over the
sudden change in her relationship with Alex and the circumstances of her being
downsized from the DA’s office.

It was Alex’s idea to
get a dog in the first place. He thought of it as a prelude to their moving in
together. It seemed silly to maintain separate apartments when Alex was
practically spending all his time in Janet’s apartment. It was silly, except
for one thing – at the office they had kept their relationship a secret. This
secrecy was the result of Alex’s insistence. He maintained that announcing that
he and Janet were involved could harm them professionally – at least that was
the reason that he voiced, and if there were other reasons that Alex had kept
unsaid, Janet tried not to think about them. ‘Soon’ was the word that Alex
liked to use a lot: soon we will tell people at work about us, soon we will
move in together, soon. As it turned out, getting a dog was the only part of
Alex’s promised plan that had materialized. One night Alex showed up at Janet’s
apartment with Baxter in tow, and Janet was instantly smitten. It did not
matter that Baxter became Janet’s sole responsibility – she did not mind taking
him for his morning walks and carrying him to routine doctor appointments. She
was used to making things work behind the scenes. In fact, looking back, she
suspected that her prowess in seamlessly taking care of things had been the
glue that kept her and Alex’s relationship together.

They had started dating
in their last year of law school. Their paths had crossed frequently during
Janet’s first two years at Columbia Law, but even though she had been keenly
aware of Alex’s intense dark brown eyes and his closely cropped hair, which so
becomingly framed his chiseled features, Alex was hardly aware of Janet. At
least he had never let on about it until the last year. Then, in the beginning
of the fall semester, she had found herself in the same class with Alex
Kingsley, and things were never the same. At first she had thought that Alex
was only interested in her studious class notes, which she let him copy, but
when he asked her to a movie, Janet began to have an inkling of hope. Alex’s
invitation had been casual, but the movie turned out to be a French film with
subtitles; afterwards they enjoyed a stroll around the Lincoln Center,
concluding their outing with dinner and drinks at one of the cafés across from
the Metropolitan Opera. Sometime after coffee, Alex had leaned in to kiss her,
making Janet the happiest girl on earth. Alex was perfect – he was handsome,
charismatic, and best of all, Alex made Janet feel like she was part of
something incredibly exciting by sheer virtue of being his girlfriend.

Janet turned the front
door key and heard the tapping of Baxter’s paws, accompanied by his baritone
bark, as he raced to the front door to greet her.

“Baxter!” Janet scooped
Baxter up into her arms. “I missed you, boy. Have you been a good dog or have
you been naughty?” Janet flashed Baxter an all-seeing look. He was a year old
now and mostly well-behaved, but as a puppy he had a penchant for chewing up
Janet’s shoes (for some reason Alex’s shoes had never appealed to Baxter), and
every now and then Baxter experienced a relapse.

Janet started to unpack
her bag from the pet store. In addition to the Pedigree, she had also bought
some doggie treats, and she started to open the package now to give some to
Baxter. At the sound of the wrapping being torn, Baxter trotted next to Janet
and sat back, eyeing her intently. Baxter’s sharp nose must have caught the
scent of the food because he started to paw at Janet’s legs.

“Here you go.” Janet
gave him a doggy biscuit. “But please don’t ruin my work skirt, okay?”

Baxter sat back on his
hind legs, delicately taking the treat from Janet’s hand. Then, he quietly
chewed the biscuit and looked at Janet in anticipation of more food to come.
Janet caved in and gave him one more biscuit.

“But that’s it or
you’ll spoil your appetite for dinner.” Although Janet doubted that was likely
to happen – given an opportunity, Baxter would eat anything in sight.

Janet headed into the
alcove section of her studio, which served as a makeshift bedroom. The alcove
just fit a full-size bed, leaving a twenty-inch space from one side to get into
the bed. Some would consider the set-up claustrophobic, but Janet had never
been bothered by small spaces. In fact, at times, even her tiny apartment
seemed too large to her without Alex in it. But then, of course, the space
itself was not to blame – it was its emptiness that bothered her. As she took off
her work clothes, Janet stole a glance at the caller ID of her phone. No
messages. It had been six months, but she still harbored a secret hope that one
day Alex Kingsley would call. After more than four years together, he owed her
an explanation, and at times, Janet still hoped that the much-fantasized phone
call from Alex would bring about reconciliation.

“Come on, Bax.” Dressed
in slacks and a windbreaker, Janet grabbed Baxter’s leash. “It’s time for your
evening walk.”

Clutching the handle of
Baxter’s leash, Janet walked through the lobby of her building and headed in
the direction of Carl Schurz Park.

It was the end of
September, and the muggy heat of the New York summer had finally retreated for
good, surrendering to the glorious autumn coolness. A night like this made one
wistful for companionship. When she and Alex were together, they would often
take a stroll along the park’s promenade at night with Baxter in tow.

Janet felt Baxter
tugging on his leash impatiently and sent him a mental thank you for the
distraction. Slowly but surely, she was getting used to being on her own.