“—enemies of this country, yeah. He sets up Tanner, who was a shoo-in for election. The guy owes his political life to Perlman and his handlers. In return for their taking care of the dead woman in his bed and never revealing the truth, he would do anything they asked. You heard Deidre describe her father. He had no stomach for actual legislating. He just liked the glitz and glamour of it. He’d do anything not to be exposed.”
“Like leaking information to our enemies?”
“Yes. And voting in certain ways to help whoever Perlman was working for.”
“But if the guy was blackmailing him, why would Tanner keep a photo of the man in his house?” White asked.
“Tanner might have had no reason to believe that Perlman was involved in the blackmail scheme. He might have just thought Perlman tried to help him, but then someone else found out about it. And that way Perlman could blackmail other politicians. Getting compromising dirt on politicians and using it to further an agenda isn’t exactly a new concept.
“And Roe somehow sees what’s going on and Perlman has to co-opt him into helping, probably using the story that he was just trying to prevent a scandal and maybe the girl had overdosed or something. I’m sure he poured it on thick that the truth coming out would not be good for POTUS. That probably cinched the deal for Roe. But then decades later Roe finds out he’s terminal and maybe stupidly tells Perlman he needs to spill his guts, which Perlman can’t allow to happen.”
“And Draymont and Lancer?” asked White.
“Draymont was in their house. I bet he was snooping around and found something incriminating, because I don’t think Perlman is really retired. I bet Perlman knew Cummins’s interest in Draymont was solely sexual and he would have an opportunity to get to Draymont at the house. So with that scene set, he nicks Cummins’s condo key and security card to Barry’s place in order to get Barry’s gun. They were longtime friends, and Perlman probably would have known of its existence.”
“Okay, that makes sense.”
“Then Perlman’s people hacked Kasimira’s credit card and ordered the Slovakian currency. Later, they kill Draymont while the Perlmans are out of town. They probably followed Draymont and learned about his ties to Lancer, and through her to Patty Kelly. They kidnap Lancer and store her somewhere, and make her talk. She had warned Kelly, who ran for it. They kill Lancer and stuff her mouth with the money. They could have transported the body in Perlman’s car easily, and then transferred it to Cummins’s house when the coast was clear. Then they put a trace on our car, followed us to Kelly’s getaway place in Key Largo, and took her out just in case Lancer had told her anything. After Lancer’s murder they put the gun back in the drawer at Barry’s condo, and Barry helps them out immeasurably by pulling it out and taking it to his ex’s house. We get the gun and it turns out to be the murder weapon. So down goes Barry.”
“Damn, Decker, it all adds up. But why not kill Cummins at the same time?”
“They had no beef with her. And they were friends. Barry was still the perfect patsy because he had every reason to kill Draymont. Perlman just thought the judge would find the body, call the police, and they would investigate, and poor Barry would be left holding the bag. And then the cops would track down the source of the Slovakian money, think it was Kasimira Roe also involved somehow, and Gamma goes down in scandal.”
“But can we prove it?”
“We have the ID of Perlman by Fellows and what she saw that night in Miami. That should be enough to take him down.”
“Let’s hope so, before he takes us down.”
Chapter 90
At nine o’clock that night Decker knocked on the door of the Perlmans’ home. A lot had happened between their leaving Deirdre Fellows’s estate and now. And the next few minutes could go any number of ways.
Trevor Perlman, dressed in beige slacks and a collared white shirt, answered the door. “Agent Decker. My wife said you had come by earlier. Please come in. Where is your partner?”
“Working on something else.”
“I see.”
Perlman closed the door and escorted Decker into a small furnished room off the main living area.
“Now, let’s fill out the rest of the group,” said Perlman.
Another door opened and a man came in. He was one of the same men from the beach. He had a pistol pointed at Decker. They searched Decker. Perlman took Decker’s gun and laid it on a table behind him.
“And now this,” said Perlman.
He took out a wand and ran it all over Decker. When it didn’t beep he said, “I’m surprised. I thought for sure you would be wired. Please sit.”
Decker sat. “Where’s your wife?”
“Off doing some things, like your partner.”
Decker looked up at the other man, whose face still showed the effects of White’s karate skills. “I bet you didn’t think a person so small could inflict that much pain.”
“We plan on taking care of her later,” he said.
“We have a witness to what happened in Miami,” Decker said to Perlman.
“Oh, you must not have checked your news feed. There was a terrible accident in Sanibel Island. A woman died. The daughter of a very prominent former senator. She apparently fell off her balcony. It was so sad. My other colleague just happened to be in the area when it happened and texted me the sad news. A Deidre Fellows — you may have heard of her. She might have seen something long ago and told you about it? I’m just speculating here.”
Decker took a moment to absorb all this. “How did you arrange for the dead woman in Tanner’s bed?”
“We hired her to be there. As a gift to the soon-to-be senator. He was giddy about the fund-raiser and was appreciative, without ever thinking it through. We knew this would be the case. We had a thick dossier on the man. His brain was in his pants. But, unknown to him, she had been given a drug that would soon kill her. And it did, right in his bed. Tanner freaked out, as we knew he would. I was there right on cue and took care of everything. I told him I was with the president’s team.”
“And then Kanak Roe showed up.”
“That was a complication. He must have heard something. But I’m used to complications. It worked out all right. And Deidre Fellows’s death leaves you with no evidence at all.”
“How did you blackmail Tanner?”
“He never knew it was me, of course. But the room had been wired for picture and sound. After he won the election, he was given a sample of the evidence and he had a choice to make. He chose wisely.”
“I’m not sure this country would think so. And your guy here? My partner and I can identify him as one of the men on the beach that night who attacked me.”
“I received a text informing me that my man who was near Fellows’s home when she died has already left the country. And this gentleman will be on the other side of the world by this time tomorrow.”
“I suppose Draymont and Lancer had no idea who they had run into when they tried to blackmail you.”
“I ate amateurs like them for lunch. I almost laughed when Draymont tried to use something he overheard, and a piece of paper he found, against me. I pretended to be a cowering, helpless target just waiting to pay him money. But what I was doing was collecting intelligence on him and his associates. And when the time was right I returned the favor. I recommended Gamma to Julia. Even if my wife was clueless, I could easily tell what Julia wanted from Mr. Draymont. She even confirmed it when I asked her.” He smiled. “It was our little secret.”
“So you stole the key and security card from Cummins’s house to get the gun from Barry. And you ordered the Slovakian money in Kasimira’s name. Then you had Draymont killed while you were out of town.”