D?ECKER WAS JUST ABOUT TO go to sleep when his phone rang.
He didn’t answer it right away because it seemed every time he did, something bad happened.
“Hello?”
Kasimira Roe said, “I need to see you.”
“When?”
“Now.”
“Why?” asked Decker.
“It’s important.”
“I’m not driving to Miami tonight.”
“You don’t have to. I’m in your hotel lobby.”
Decker rose, dressed, and was downstairs in the span of a few minutes.
Roe was nervously pacing by the receptionist’s desk. She wore jeans, low-heeled boots, and a white blouse. Her long dark hair was pinned up into a bun.
“What’s so important? And how did you know where I was staying?”
“I run an investigation firm. Can we sit in my car?”
She led him outside and over to a black Porsche SUV. She climbed in and Decker wedged himself into the passenger seat.
He looked over at her. “Okay? What’s up?”
“I heard what happened to Doug Andrews.”
“He’ll be okay. So you also heard what happened to Patty Kelly, the judge’s secretary?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t tell her that Kelly was Lancer’s biological mother. He suspected she might already know.
“Look, I haven’t been entirely forthcoming with you,” she conceded.
“Hell, don’t tell me that. I might have a heart attack from the shock.”
“I guess I deserved that.”
“Yes, you did.”
She glanced apprehensively at him. “Despite the positive things I said about Alice Lancer, I had some misgivings about her.”
“Such as?”
“Her honesty, for one.”
“Well, that’s a big one. Talk to me about your misgivings.”
“We had a client who complained. This was a few months ago.”
“And the nature of the complaint?”
“That an item had gone missing during the course of Gamma protecting her.”
“Lancer doesn’t work in the field.”
“It wasn’t Alice. It was Draymont, but with Alice directly supervising.”
“What item?”
“A necklace. A valuable one.”
“Why did the client suspect Draymont?”
“She claimed he was the only one other than herself in the house when the jewelry went missing.”
“What did you do?”
“I confronted Alice about it. She vouched for Draymont, said the allegations were untrue. That the woman was unreliable and was perhaps looking for a way to not pay us.”
“Why was she getting protection?”
“Her husband was working overseas and had been threatened. He was the CEO of a subsidiary of a major U.S. company. The threats extended to his family. The company hired us.”
“So the couple wasn’t even paying the bill?”
“No, but Alice wouldn’t necessarily know the financial arrangements.”
“Which made you suspect she was lying?”
“Yes. And the necklace later turned up in a raid on a fencing operation.”
“So maybe Draymont was innocent.”
“No, I don’t believe so. The fencing operation wasn’t even in Florida. The necklace was sold to them. They are known to be a central clearing house for stolen property.”
“Any firm evidence connecting either Lancer or Draymont with the stolen jewelry?”
“No.”
“I don’t know what you want me to do.”
“I’m not sure, either.” She glanced at him. “Have you found out anything that leads you to believe they were dishonest?”
“Why do I sense another fishing expedition by you? If so, I’m going back to bed.”
“It’s not that. I swear. This could be very serious for my business. If our reputation is no good…？”
“So your business is the most important thing in your life?”
“It was my father’s business. And he was the most important thing in my life.”
“What I can say is that from what we’ve uncovered, honesty did not seem to be a priority for either Lancer or Draymont.” He looked at her. “Does that make you feel better or worse? I mean, they worked for you, after all.”
“It doesn’t make me feel great.” She paused. “Have you found out anything about what happened to my father?”
“I made inquiries, like I told you. But I do have another case to work.”