“You don't believe me, do you?” he said.
He waited, wanting to look at her but afraid of what he might see. No answer came.
“Fine,” he said, and started to walk upriver. He had no idea where he was going, only that he didn’t want to stay where he was.
Rob felt Lesley’s hand on his elbow. He stopped and turned back to face her. Tears ran down her cheeks.
“I want more than anything to believe you,” she said. “If someone had asked me a week ago if you were capable of this sort of thing, I would have laughed in their face. But how can you explain all the stuff that FBI guy talked about in court today? It just doesn’t seem possible.”
He wrenched his arm out of her grasp.
“I shouldn’t have to explain anything,” he said. “We’re going to be married, for crying out loud. You should trust me by now.”
Lesley raised her hands in exasperation. “How can we make wedding plans with all this going on? Oh, I know, we’ll get invitations made. Ceremony at three, reception to follow — if the groom isn’t in prison, that is. And we can tell the guests about the night we slipped the ring on me and the handcuffs on you.”
“If it’s such a problem for you, maybe we shouldn’t bother.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I want someone who believes in me,” Rob shouted.
“I did,” Lesley shouted back, “and look where that got us.”
“Fine. Just forget it.”
Rob turned and started to walk away again. Something small hit his back and landed with a tinkling noise on the walkway. He swung around to see Lesley running in the opposite direction.
The diamond ring lay at his feet.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dysart turned off the concrete ramp onto the top level of the parking garage. Only a few cars occupied this level and each one appeared to be empty as he drove slowly by them. Just as Landry had instructed, Dysart pulled into an empty spot far away from the other cars and waited.
This was not the first time Dysart had hired Landry, so he knew from previous experience it would take Landry a few minutes to arrive. He suspected Landry was waiting and watching to see if anyone was following Dysart. When Landry’s car appeared, it pulled into a spot at the far end of the structure. Landry glanced into each parked car as he walked to where Dysart waited, then opened the passenger door and got in.
“Mr. Dysart,” Landry said, extending his hand. “It’s been a while.”
Dysart shook his hand. “I didn’t know if you’d still be in business.”
“I saw your bank in the news.”
“You know about my problem, then?”
Landry shrugged lazily. “I know what the public knows. There’s always more to it.”
Dysart told him about the scrambled account records that seemed indecipherable, the outraged bank customers, and the evidence gathered by the FBI. When he got to Rob’s arrest, Landry interrupted.
“That’s quite a kick in the gut, him about to marry into your family and all.”
“I’d like to strangle him,” Dysart said with a scowl.
Landry grinned. “Maybe we could work something out.”
“You might get your chance. I need you to have a talk with him.”
“That could be a problem, him being in jail.”
“He’s not,” Dysart said. “I just bailed him out.”
“You paid his bail?”
“Absolutely.”
“Aren’t you the good Samaritan.”
“That’s what everyone else thinks. I just needed to make sure you could get at him.”
Landry chuckled. “Like I said, there’s always more to it.”
“I need you to get that keyword from him, and I need it fast.”
“Why hasn’t he given it up already? I mean, he’s caught, right?”
“That’s what I thought, but he won’t say a thing.”
“So talk to his lawyer and the prosecutors. Get them to offer Rob a sweetheart deal if he’ll cooperate.”
“Already been done,” Dysart said, “and still nothing.”
“He’s either stupid or the FBI caught the wrong guy.”
“No, they’ve got him cold.”
“Then he’s stupid.”
Landry lapsed into a thoughtful silence for a few moments. Finally he said, “So I snatch him up, make him see reason, and I hand the keyword over to you. Then Rob runs to his lawyer, who tells the feds someone’s been beating on his boy. They find out you fixed your computers right after Rob was kidnapped, so they know your bank was behind it, which means you’re fried. You give me up to save yourself, which means I’m fried.”
Dysart was already shaking his head when Landry finished. “Never happen,” Dysart said. “First of all, I’d never be stupid enough to give you up for any reason. I know I wouldn’t live long if I did.”
Landry inclined his head in acknowledgment.
“Secondly,” Dysart said, “nothing Rob says will implicate me or the bank. There are plenty of people and companies who would be out big money if First Malden goes under. Shareholders, for instance — they need this fixed almost as much as I do. Or almost any other bank in the country for that matter. You can tell Rob you work for someone like that, without mentioning names, of course. He’ll buy it. He has no reason not to. Then First Malden gets an anonymous phone call and everyone’s happy.”
“It’s still risky,” Landry said.
“It’ll work fine.”
“But it’d be cleaner if Rob just disappeared. We can make up a farewell note that says he decided to give you the keyword. When he doesn’t show up, everyone will assume he jumped bail. You’ll be out the bail money but I’m guessing that’s small potatoes compared with what you’ve got on the line if your bank goes out of business.”
Dysart looked at him with horror on his face.
“No way. I’m a bank president, not a mafia don. It’s bad enough I have to hire you at all. I’d rather let the bank go under than arrange to kill somebody.”
“You shouldn’t feel bad. Rob’s the one who came at you, remember? Tried to take you down. There comes a point when you have to protect yourself.”
“Oh, perfect,” Dysart said. “Now when the FBI comes calling, they’ll be trying to pin a murder on me.”
“Like I said, they’ll figure he skipped bail, so they won’t even come looking.” Landry nodded knowingly. “Trust me. This way’s safer.”
Dysart shook his head. “Rob is still breathing when this is done or we forget the whole thing right now.”
Landry stared at Dysart in silence while he considered this.
“All right,” Landry said finally, “but it’s going to cost you.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand, with half up front.”
“Done.”
“Plus expenses.”
“Of course.”
Landry pulled out a plain white card, which he handed to Dysart. Written on the card was an account number and the name of a bank in the Cayman Islands.
“I’ll start when I have confirmation that a hundred thousand has been deposited in that account,” Landry said.
Dysart pocketed the card. “It’ll be done within the hour.”
“One more thing.” Landry pulled a cell phone from inside his jacket and gave it to Dysart. “That’s a clean phone, no way to trace it to you or me. And I have one just like it. Each phone has the other one’s number programmed into speed dial. We use these when we need to talk. If something bad happens to either one of us, the other one can pitch the phone and the cops have no way to tie us together.”
“What do you mean, something bad?”
“Getting arrested, whatever. It just pays to be careful. And don’t use real names when we’re on the phone.”