He’d surged to his feet. “What nonsense is this?”
“It’s the naked truth, Deepdaddy. Officers, escort this human slimebag to Booking.”
“This is an outrage.”
“No, you are. And I bet when we find whoever you’re holding for your own sick pleasures at your hideaway on Long Island, they’ll agree. Get him out of my Interview room.”
When they muscled him out, Reo came in, sat.
“Reo, APA Cher, joining Interview. Well, oops, Iris, looks like you lost your lawyer. And now that we’ve been able to freeze at least the bulk of your accounts, good luck hiring another. You do have a right to an attorney, and we’ll provide you with same if you wish. Speak now.”
“Go to hell.”
“No, thanks. I like elbow room, and you and your people are really going to crowd the place. We’ve got you.” Eve leaned in. “We’ve got you cold. We have eyewitness identifications and accounts—and not all from minors. Several of your staff have flipped on you and others already. More will. We have your own records—meticulous ones. And your own security feed. We have your scouts, and those we haven’t taken yet, we will. Oh, and we took down your branch in Provence. Last I heard, lots of people talking and rolling and doing backflips to drag you down.”
Eve let out a happy sigh. “Now we’ve got your lawyer, and if he doesn’t grab a deal on this, I’m a monkey’s uncle. What does that mean?” she asked Peabody. “Isn’t a monkey’s uncle just another monkey? Discuss later.”
She shrugged it off. “You’ve been around the block—another stupid one—but you’ve been around and more than once. You know when you’re cooked.”
“I’ll make a deal,” Beaty said.
“Will you? We’ve got you, Iris. Why would we deal?”
“I’ll give you who financed it all, who created it all. For immunity on all charges, I’ll give you the top, and every single buyer and seller I know, and I know plenty. I could, hypothetically, start with Sampson Merit.”
“Merit’s already toasted, and immunity is never going to be on the table,” Reo told her. “Lower your expectations.”
“Why should I give you a thing then?”
“Try the prospect of doing several life sentences, without possibility of parole, in an off-planet facility.”
“Five years, on-planet.” Beaty folded her hands on the table like a woman in charge. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want to deal.”
“That’s not a deal, it’s a gift. I don’t know you well enough to give you a gift. Twenty years.” Reo held up a finger before Eve could object. “On-planet, if—and only if—your information leads to the identities, arrests, and prosecutions of those you name. That’s all I’ve been authorized to offer you by the office of the prosecuting attorney of New York. Take it or leave it.”
“Put it in writing.”
Reo rose; Eve shoved up and followed her out.
“Um, Dallas and Reo exiting Interview. Do you want something to drink while we wait, Ms. Beaty?”
Beaty flicked a smug glance at Peabody. “A dry martini would go down nicely. Sparkling water will suffice.”
“Interview pause as Peabody exits.”
Outside of Interview, she ditched the meek expression and did a happy dance to Vending.
When they came back, restarted the record, Beaty read the deal carefully, then signed it.
“Names,” Eve snapped. “Work your way up to the top.”
“Wade C. Younkin, international finance, numerous residences. Alice Ann Dobbs, shipping heiress, fifth generation.”
She had a hell of a long list, and though Eve recognized some from Feeney’s early report, she let Beaty state them all for the record.
When Beaty paused, Eve nudged. “Who murdered Mina Cabot?”
“Though I hold Matron Williamson and Nurse Parks responsible for the loss of a trainee we had invested heavily in, she was killed during an altercation with Devin Kunes, night security. The girl brought about her own death, literally running into that spear of wood when Kunes got it away from her. She injured three before he did so.”
Good for you, Mina, Eve thought.
“Hit the top.”
“Jonah K. Devereaux, owner of Reliable Delivery Service. The very top. His money founded the Academy, and its smaller European counterpart. It was his concept, and a brilliant one. A training facility, self-contained—to educate, instruct, improve those selected to serve and service. He enjoys the control, of course, and the benefits of owning a few—adult, as he isn’t personally into the young ones—slaves. But the revenue stream has been very rewarding.”