“Over fifteen years.”
“What can you tell us about Ms. Lancer?” asked White.
“I don’t really know her all that well. I’m long retired. So our paths don’t cross very often.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” asked Decker.
“I saw her drive off this morning. I believe she works in Miami.”
“Did she seem normal?”
“Yes, I mean, nothing looked out of the ordinary.”
“Have you spoken with her lately?” asked Decker.
The woman considered this. “Oh, a few days ago. She was taking a walk. This was in the evening. We chatted for a few seconds. The weather, that sort of thing.”
“She have many visitors?”
“Not that I’ve seen. I mean, occasionally.”
Andrews took out his phone, brought up a screen, and held it up. It was a picture of Alan Draymont. “This man?”
The woman said, “Yes, I have seen him. He’s been over to see Alice many times, at least that I’m aware of. I assumed they were dating.”
“Did they seem romantically engaged?” asked White.
“Not particularly so. I just assumed. Has... has something happened to Alice?”
“We’re trying to find out. What else can you tell us about her?” asked Decker.
“She lives quietly. She keeps to herself. Never spoke of having children. I thought she had something to do with law enforcement.”
“Why’d you think that?” asked White.
“I saw her getting in her car once, and she had a gun on her belt.”
Andrews handed her a card. “If you think of anything else, please give me a call. And if you see Ms. Lancer back here, please alert me right away.”
“Alert you? Is she in some sort of trouble?”
“Like we said, we’re trying to find things out,” said Decker. “Thanks.”
As they got back into the car White said, “So Draymont and Lancer were maybe a couple?”
Decker said, “Draymont gets murdered, and Lancer fakes a fainting spell to get out of answering our questions. This is not a dating issue. This is something more than that.”
“What could they have been involved in?” said Andrews.
Decker replied, “They both worked at Gamma. That might be the common denominator.”
“You mean involving Gamma?” asked Andrews.
“Not necessarily. But let’s keep an open mind, okay?” Decker added.
“It would be hard to believe that an organization with the sterling reputation of Gamma would be—”
Decker interrupted. “Yeah, go tell that to Bernie Madoff’s investors. And where’d you get that photo of Draymont?”
“From Gamma’s website.”
“And you need to file that search warrant request for Lancer’s place.”
“I’m on it,” said Andrews, hitting a speed dial number and putting the phone to his ear.
“And now, we go to court,” said Decker.
Chapter 19
The Fort Myers federal courthouse was on First Street. To Decker it looked like a lot of other federal courthouses he had seen, only this one had palm trees out front.
They cleared security with their credentials and were allowed to keep their weapons. They were escorted to the office of Ken Caine, who was the deputy U.S. marshal in charge of courthouse security. Andrews told them that Caine was a friend of his.
“We play golf together.”
“Does everybody play golf in Florida?” growled Decker.
“It’s one of the main reasons people come here, Decker,” retorted Andrews.
Caine was in his fifties, with grizzled gray hair, and his blue blazer and gray slacks rode well on his fit six-foot frame. He struck Decker as a no-nonsense, no-bullshit kind of guy. But he had been wrong about that before.
Caine shook their hands and said, “Damn, I can’t believe that Judge Cummins is dead. She was the nicest person you’d ever want to meet.”
Andrews said, “I know, Ken, it was a shock.”
“What can I do to help?” said Caine.
Andrews explained about possible threats Cummins had received. And also that Cummins had hired Gamma to protect her possibly because of those threats.
“What in the hell?” exclaimed Caine. “Why didn’t she alert us as to any threats?”
“You’re sure she didn’t?” said Decker. “I mean, not you but someone else here?”
“Any threat to a federal judge in this court is my jurisdiction. There are procedures in place. Judge Cummins has been threatened before. This is south Florida, violent gangs and drug smugglers abound here. And she had quite a few of those on her docket. We always protected her. I just don’t understand why she didn’t tell us.”
“Did she mention anything to you about any recent concerns she had?” asked Andrews.
“No, nothing.”
“And you didn’t know she’d hired Gamma?” asked White.
“No, I did not,” Caine said heatedly.
“Are you familiar with Gamma?” asked Decker.
“I know of them. I’ve been to some security conferences where Kanak Roe spoke.”
“Do you know his daughter?” asked Decker.
“Kasimira? I’ve had some interactions, but I don’t know her all that well.”
“Still, what’s your opinion of her?” asked Decker.
“She makes a lot of money.”
“About her professionally?”
“She was with the Secret Service, so she knows what she’s doing. Her father was excellent at his work. She’s, well, she’s more business oriented than he was. She’s nearly doubled the size of the firm just since she took over. That big office building in Miami? She bought that two years ago. Gamma has the top six floors and she rents out the rest. Makes a fortune just off that.”
Decker watched the man closely as he said all of this. Is Caine jealous of Roe? It sure sounds like it.
“Sounds like she’s a smart businesswoman,” observed White.
Caine said, “There’s more to life than money. She maybe needs to check her priorities.”
“Why do I never hear someone say that about a businessman?” said White.
“We need to search the judge’s chambers,” interjected Decker. “And talk to her secretary, clerks, anyone who might be able to help us.”
“I’ll take you,” said Caine, after glaring at White.
Chapter 20
“Sara Angstrom and Dan Sykes,” said Caine, introducing the two people in their midtwenties. “The judge’s clerks for this term.”
They were in the anteroom of Cummins’s chambers.
Angstrom was tall, thin, and blond with pale skin and a dour expression. She was dressed in a dark jacket and slacks with a white blouse. Sykes was several inches shorter with a flabby build and black-rimmed glasses. His dark hair was longish, and he had a pen in his short-sleeved shirt pocket.
Decker looked them over and came away with a first impression of grief, then disbelief, and, finally, fear. They both said they had no idea of any recent threats against the judge.
“How about further back?” asked White.
Sykes said, “She presided over a RICO case about eight months ago. Local mobster with ties to a cartel in Mexico. Two of the defendants threatened her in open court.”
Caine said, “And we provided protection for her until the case was over and for two months after that. Then we reevaluated the risk and concluded it was no longer relevant.”
“They could have just gotten around to acting on their threat,” said Andrews.
White added, “We’ll need to see the case files and related documents.”
Sykes said, “Of course, whatever you need.”
Decker turned to Angstrom. “Any idea who might have been involved in this?”