Melissa smiled. “The mayor is getting pressure from Wall Street and he wants me to help, is that it? Maybe you should tell me why the hell I should care.”
“You should care because it means you get to live.”
“I get to spend the rest of my life in prison? That’s no kind of life.”
Mary sighed and took a seat opposite. “You know what the lethal injection does to a person, Mrs. Gordon?”
“Detective,” the lawyer said, “we can end this interview right now. Keep the questions relevant to the case.”
“This is relevant to the case,” said Mary. “I want your client to understand the ramifications of her decision. Or would you prefer she remain uninformed?”
The lawyer frowned.
“I didn’t think so.” She turned back to Melissa. “You’ll spend at least six years after the trial waiting on death row. Your lawyers will appeal, of course, but the chances of a repeal or a stay of execution are less than 1%. You’ll have to deal with the stress and disappointment of six years’ of failed attempts to save your life.” She leaned in close. “And when the day finally comes, you’ll be led into a sealed room where your family and a few witnesses will be sat watching you through a window. You’ll be strapped to a bed. Three injections will be administered. They’ll stop your heart and lungs from working. And then you’ll be gone.”
Melissa didn’t respond.
“Is that the end you really want? Six years spent waiting to die, in a cell by yourself? To die like a coward?”
After a moment of silence, Melissa turned to her lawyer. “Get out,” she said.
“You can’t be serious,” the attorney said.
“Bill, I’m telling you to get the hell out. Go wait in the hall. Have a cigarette or something.”
The lawyer left the room.
“You got something to say?” Mary said.
“Tell me the deal.”
“You give us the market model. The DA recommends a custodial sentence. We put in a good word with the Bureau of Prisons, maybe get you somewhere with a little sunshine.”
“And if I refuse?”
“You’ll spend the next six to ten years locked up in the worst shit-hole supermax we can find, waiting to die. The choice is yours.”
Melissa ground her teeth and stared at the floor. “It’s not much of a choice.”
“It’s not supposed to be.” Mary made her way to the door. “You have five minutes to decide.”
“I’m guessing she caved?” Leopold caught up with Mary at her desk. “Although I wouldn’t need to guess if you’d let me hang around to watch.”
“Melissa Gordon’s lawyer found out you were spying. He insisted.”
“Fine, fine. Did you get the files?”
She held up a USB micro drive. “Damn straight.”
“A job well done. What’s the captain going to do with it?” He took the drive out of Mary’s hand and held it up under the light.
“Those aren’t for you,” she said. “The evidence will be authenticated by a representative from each of the top financial institutes. If it’s real, the decision will fall to the mayor. The SEC will probably get involved.”
“What about the public?”
“I don’t know; it’s not my call. The captain seems to think if the general public finds out, there will be mass panic. You know, people rushing to withdraw all the cash from their accounts. That sort of thing.”
“If what Teddy predicted was going to happen actually does happen, maybe that would be the smartest thing to do.”
“Well, maybe. Who knows? It’s not our decision to make.” She held out her hand. “I’ll need that back.”
“Heads up.” Leopold smiled and tossed the drive back. “So, what’s to become of Melissa Gordon?”
“The DA already signed the paperwork. She’ll serve a life sentence, no parole. The lawyer wasn’t happy.”
“I bet he wasn’t. He probably could have pushed for a better deal.”
“You’re right there,” she said. “The mayor is practically salivating over this market model. She could have done much better. Thankfully, she’s where she belongs.”
“Wall Street always did support the mayor’s policies on corporate taxation,” said Leopold. “I’m sure they’ll stand to profit from Teddy’s work. Even if everyone else has to suffer for it.”
“Like I said, not our call.” Mary looked up at Leopold, a hint of concern in her eyes. “This bothers you, doesn’t it?”
“What, the banks making cash out of everyone else’s misfortunes? I can’t say it appeals to me, no. If Teddy was right and this storm is coming, all we’re doing here is giving the financial institutions notice to dump their bad investments. It’s delaying the inevitable. And who the hell gave them the right to come out of this any better?”
“What’s the alternative?”
“If the news went public, we could recover. It might take a few years, but we’d get there. If we keep this secret and let the banks work their accounting scams, millions will lose everything. The economy will dry up and investment will move overseas. Other nations will start calling in their tabs. Entire cities will be forced to declare bankruptcy. Healthcare will be a mess. The government itself could shut down.”
Mary sighed. “It’s pointless speculating.”
“I’m not speculating. I’ve seen the numbers in the Needham accounts. If Teddy’s formula is accurate, and the DA seems to think it is, we’ve already reached the tipping point. It’s already happening.”
“Maybe it is.” Mary stood up. “And maybe it isn’t. But its not our job to make this decision. I’m taking this to the captain and then I’m going home. It’s been a long day.”
Leopold nodded. “Fine. I guess you’re right. I’m going to go home too.” He turned to leave. “Goodnight, Detective Jordan.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Blake.”
Leopold made his way to the exit. One hand thrust deep into his pocket cradled a USB drive, one that looked almost identical to the one currently in Mary’s possession. But there was one key difference. Leopold’s version wasn’t completely wiped.
He allowed himself a smile. The mayor was not going to be happy.
The glow of the computer monitors hurt Leopold’s eyes. It was past midnight and he was at home, going through the contents of the filched USB drive. The situation was worse than he had expected. Using Needham’s numbers as a starting point, the math didn’t lie. Any lingering doubts were now grim certainties.
There was a faint noise from behind and Leopold spun around in his chair. Jerome stood in the doorway to the study. He flicked on a light.
“You’ve been sitting up here in the dark for hours,” he said, stepping inside.
“I hadn’t noticed.”
“You have a visitor.”
“Let me guess…”
Jerome nodded. “Detective Jordan. She’s not happy.”
“She come alone?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then I’m probably not going to get arrested tonight. Send her up.”
“She’s waiting in the hall.”
“Then tell her to come through.” He took a deep breath. “Oh, and give us a little privacy. This might take a while.”
Jerome left. A few seconds later, Mary appeared. She looked pissed.
“Come in, take a seat,” said Leopold, gesturing toward a set of armchairs in the corner. Mary obliged.
“You were expecting me,” she said, as Leopold sat down opposite.
“I had a feeling you’d drop by, yes.”
“You switched the pen drives. When we were talking earlier – you slipped me a blank one. Give it back.”
Leopold leaned forward in his seat. “I would never do such a thing.” He smiled. “But, if I did take Teddy’s files I can assure you it would have been for noble reasons.”