A lethal legacy, p.16
A Lethal Legacy, page 16
“Not a thing,” Craig said. “A forensic team worked all night, searching the cave and everywhere near it.”
“Who knows how she got out there then,” Hodges said, shrugging. “She got out to that island somehow—but who goes out hiking with nothing? We’re using the process of rehydration in the fingers hoping to find a print match, somewhere in the system. We’ve also taken dental impressions to match with any available records,” Hodges told them. “We’ll be...sewing her back up. I’ll keep in touch—with the FBI and the NYPD,” he added.
They all thanked him and headed out.
“You’re looking back at the bank robber case, right?” Mike asked Brice.
Brice studied him and nodded. “September, ten years ago. Mark Borden and Cary Templeton robbed the Euro-Savings Bank of New York. They took cash, and tons in jewels and gold—they managed to raid the vaults, you see. They’d obviously planned the heist for months. They involved a bank teller—who they shot and killed before leaving. We discovered the connection after the bodies were found out on Douglas Island. Their getaway driver was also found shot and killed on the docks. As we know, Borden and Templeton were found dead out on the island. And cops searched and searched for months—with permission, of course, from Jamie Douglas. Finally, the case went cold.”
“You think this woman might have been with them?” Craig asked.
“If she’s been there a decade, yeah. She might have had the getaway boat, except, it was gone, too, when Borden and Templeton were found. But with their record for taking care of all their accomplices and trying to make sure they split the booty with just one another, I think it’s likely we’ll find out that she might have been an accomplice.”
“And they just threw her down the shaft, knowing that she’d die eventually,” Craig said,
“Pretty cruel,” Mike murmured, “but how sorry do we feel for anyone involved in that heist?”
“Well, she might have been a thief, but if she was just the getaway boat, she wouldn’t have known about the way they killed the others,” Craig said. “She might have been an accomplice to theft—but not a murderer.”
“Question is, which I’m sure you’re asking yourself, is just this—did the two of them fall? Or were they helped to their deaths? At the time, we had to give it up. Despite the fact that the money was not recovered. Because, of course, they zigzagged their way through the city, making a few stops. The department searched...but we still don’t know. It’s one of our most notorious cold cases. And,” he added quietly, “we don’t have the manpower for what you’re doing. So, while you’re investigating, please bear in mind—there might be about ten million in cash and goods out on that island somewhere. A tempting amount.”
Brice hadn’t made any accusations. Craig felt his jaw tightening anyway.
“You’re suggesting that the FBI wouldn’t turn over anything we found immediately.”
“Hell, no,” Brice said. He grinned. “You guys are well paid, right? Just like cops. I’m just saying there is a hell of a lot of reasons for someone to be searching and digging on that island.”
“More than ten million,” Mike murmured.
“I’ll be taking a trip back out there myself,” Brice told them.
“We’ll show you where we’ve been—and how our search is progressing,” Craig said.
Brice nodded. “It’s just that...hell. We searched. Thoroughly, we thought. Just ten years ago. We didn’t find this woman. If we had...”
Brice’s tone was resentful. Craig realized that the cop thought that if they’d searched further, she might still be alive.
“The robbers weren’t found for days. She was dead before you got there,” Craig said.
“Yeah, I’d like to think so. I was pretty young, new at this, back then. Still...”
“We’re not stopping,” Craig said.
“Then you’re lucky. You may have to give up, too, and spend the rest of your days—in quiet moments—wondering if your cousin’s friend fell, or if someone has been out there, searching...and killing anyone in his way. Well,” he murmured, “I have a dead gang member on my hands today, too. So, keep in touch. And I’ll see you on the island.”
“Let’s go to the office. I want to see what we have on the bank robbery,” Craig told Mike.
“I wasn’t on it—but I do remember it,” Mike said.
“What about the robbers? Did they have records? Known accomplices that we might shake down now?”
“Yeah—the two they killed,” Mike said.
“Let’s give the records a try anyway.”
“Nowhere else to go at the moment.”
“Except back to the island,” Craig said. “But...” He paused, glancing at his watch. “We have to be in the Village by seven. I don’t want Kieran and Danny at that meeting without us nearby.”
“Do you think she’s on to something?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know,” Craig said. “All I know is that our investigation must be pretty shaky if our main lead is a possible visit by aliens.”
* * *
When Kieran woke again, she was amazed to see that it was past noon.
She jumped up, showered and dressed, choosing jeans and a knit pullover, thinking the outfit could work for a day in the caves—and for a meeting.
If she didn’t wind up covered in dirt and grime again.
Dressed, she hurried out and knocked on Danny’s door. There was no answer from the room, so she pulled out her phone and called him.
“Thought I’d spend the day out by the pool,” he told her. “Chatting up friends,” he said quietly.
“You’re there with Margie? Elayne?”
“Both of them.”
“Where’s Bracken?”
“He’s not doing any digging, but he is out on the island. Said he’s going to go through the tunnel from where we were and make sure we’re not looking at a cave-in,” Danny said. “Ah, Evie,” she heard him say, speaking to the housekeeper and not her. “Thank you—best lemonade ever!”
“Is it really that good?” she asked.
“Um, no. But come on down.”
“Sure, I’m not going in the pool, but I’ll meet you. We need to get to Manhattan, too, before rush hour.”
“You think a slew of boats is suddenly going to be leaving the island?”
“I think we have to get to Manhattan from Brooklyn. If we go in a bit early, we can hang at my apartment and then just go to the coffee shop for seven.”
“Okay. We have a few hours. Come on down. Really!” he said.
She wondered what was going on at the pool, but before going down, she called Craig.
He answered right away. He was back at the FBI field office.
“Mike and I are searching old records, trying to find anyone out there who might know something. We have an idea...we’ll see. When are you coming in?”
“Soon. Danny’s at the pool right now. With Elayne and Margie. I told him we needed to catch a ride in before it got too late.”
“Don’t go in to that meeting without calling me,” he said.
“I won’t. I promise.”
“Mike and I will be nearby. Have you heard from Bracken?”
“Danny says he’s checking to make sure the tunnels are sound before we go back in.”
“Good man. All right. Call before the meeting.”
“I will.”
She finished the call, shoved her phone and wallet into her jeans pockets, and headed downstairs.
There was no sign of anyone in the great hall or the White Room. She walked through the dining room and kitchen. Evie was doing an inventory of the cabinets.
“Well, hello, sleepyhead!” Evie said. She smiled. And then she asked worriedly, “You are okay, right? I was concerned last night.”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“You’re sure... I mean, you don’t sleepwalk or anything, do you?”
“No. I don’t sleepwalk.”
“Well...anyway. I guess we weren’t worried enough before. I mean, this is an island, right? How could a stranger just be roaming around? But now, we will be more careful. So, what can I get you? There are little sandwiches and drinks out by the pool—Elayne does love that pool!”
“I guess she does.”
“The pool and the beach,” Evie said, sighing. “It’s funny. I honestly didn’t think that she would stay on the island.”
“Oh? Why not?”
Evie waved a hand dismissively, as if the answer should be obvious. “Well, she’s...Elayne. She loves dinner clubs, and shows, and shopping and...things you can’t do on this island.”
“Well, she loves Finn, too, I guess,” Kieran said.
Evie gave her a weak smile. “It’s not my place,” Evie muttered. “It’s just not my place.”
“Well, I’ll step outside and enjoy that pool for myself,” Kieran said, smiling. She slipped by Evie.
Danny was in between the two women, stretched out on a chaise lounge on the patio, wearing sunglasses, and just...basking.
“Hey!” Danny said, seeing her and sitting up.
“Hey, yourself.”
She walked over and took a seat on the end of his lounger.
“You all right this morning? Or, I should say, afternoon?” Elayne asked her.
“I’m fine.”
“You really saw something?”
“I did,” she lied. It wasn’t really a lie. After all, she’d seen something. Many things, actually.
“Oh, honey!” Margie said. “It’s this island. I believe you think you saw something—I just don’t believe that you did see what you think you saw.”
“It’s easy at night to get spooked. Took me a couple of days to get used to it. And then Finn...he can suffer from such sleeplessness! I’m always going down in the wee hours for milk for him. I had to get used to the old place. It creaks and moans all the time. Honestly! I don’t see how this house is going to be the center of a resort.”
“It’s actually a beautiful old place, architecturally,” Margie said.
“You like the old. Me, I like the new. Shiny and new—no bugs!”
“That’s because...” Margie began. Then her voice trailed.
“Because I don’t like old things!” Elayne snapped. She looked at Kieran and shivered. “Old things can...smell funny. And have bugs and spiders and things in them!”
Danny laughed. “New things can have bugs and spiders. Think about it. The bugs and spiders aren’t old.”
Elayne shuddered. “I’ll be in the new section, anytime I stay!” she said.
Margie looked into the blue ripples of the pool. “I’ll never come back,” she said.
“Margie, we’re all friends. When Finn has it up and running...”
“I’ll never come back,” Margie repeated flatly.
“That’s understandable,” Kieran said. There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence. “Um...I’m a bit hungry. Evie said there were sandwiches out here.”
“Oh, yeah. She had one of the girls who comes in from Brooklyn make up sandwiches for us,” Elayne said. She made a little noise. “You don’t think she made them herself, do you? Honestly, Finn loves that woman, but I don’t know why! She’s a battle-ax!”
“Too old for you?” Margie asked her dryly.
“Yeah, well, she’s that, too. She’s a little dictator. Finn doesn’t see it. Things were so much better when she wasn’t on the island.”
“Except none of us can cook,” Margie reminded her.
“Ah, ladies! Such a glorious day!” Danny said. “No ice, no snow—spring has sprung here. And the sun is so beautiful.”
“So it is,” Margie murmured.
She lay back down.
Kieran really was starving—she hadn’t eaten much the night before.
Whoever had made the sandwiches, they were very good. Cheese, turkey, salami, ham, roast beef—and combinations thereof—all cut up into little quarters so that one could enjoy a taste of each.
And there were pitchers of lemonade.
Kieran took a plate of food and sat down again at the foot of Danny’s chair.
She tried to judge the women.
Profession be damned, it was hard. In therapy, she tried to get to truth, and to feelings—and to a person’s real truth about events and their feelings.
Here...
Elayne could just be spoiled. Margie could just be miserable.
And one of them, either of them, or even both of them could be playing a game, acting out innocence when they were guilty as all hell.
When she was done eating, Kieran was restless. She wasn’t going to learn anything more about Margie, Elayne or anyone else.
Not at the moment.
She stood up and said, “Well, enjoy the sun!”
“You’re going in already?”
“I don’t even have a bathing suit here,” Kieran said. “And I need to go into the mainland tonight.”
“Yeah, I should shower, and we should get going,” Danny said.
“You have a boat?” Elayne asked.
“We’ll hop something somehow,” Danny said cheerfully. “Finn has a little get-around motorboat and through Craig, Kieran now knows half the Coast Guard.”
“How nice!” Elayne said.
“Elayne wants off the island,” Margie said.
“Not without Finn!” Elayne said. “And I can’t seem to get him to leave.”
“He’ll leave,” Margie said.
“When?”
“When we bury Frank,” Margie said.
“Oh, Margie! I do have to get you off the island, too! You need to grieve. But you need to live again, too. Margie, you’re still alive!”
For once, Elayne seemed truly concerned and caring.
“It will be good for you to be somewhere else,” Kieran said.
Margie nodded.
“In time,” she said.
She rolled over, letting the sun touch her back.
And ending the conversation.
Danny stood up. “Well, time to get ready.”
“You’re coming back tonight?” Elayne asked.
“Um, yes, I think so,” Danny said.
Kieran told Elayne, “Craig is talking to Finn about having a couple of guests out. The conversation should be...interesting.”
“Bye then, until later,” Elayne said.
“Bye.”
Margie rolled back over.
“Kieran,” she said.
“Yes?”
“Stay in your room tonight, huh? We don’t want any shadows jumping out at you. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. But the rest of us need our sleep.”
“Sure,” Kieran murmured.
She turned away, walking back to the house, Danny behind her.
And she had to wonder—did Margie have a reason for wanting her to stay in her room?
A reason other than sleep?
CHAPTER TEN
“TEMPLETON DID TIME for breaking and entering,” Mike said. “He was caught almost immediately—the people had cameras on their house.”
“It’s the same with Borden—doing time, except that he wasn’t caught so easily. He was arrested because a witness picked him out of a lineup. And this is sad. The witness wound up dead—hit and run—about two months later.”
Craig and Mike each had their computers up as they researched, sitting across from each other in Craig’s office at headquarters.
“They met in prison,” Craig said, looking over at Mike. “They did two years together, and they were there together with Alphonse Cantorelli, the supposed genius Mafia don. They had a lot of learning from him.”
“Like learning that witnesses couldn’t be left behind,” Mike said.
“Yes, I imagine, but we can’t talk to Cantorelli—he died of a heart attack a few years ago.”
“No help there,” Mike said.
“Yes, but we can find out who else was in at the time. And if anyone who was with them might want some extra privileges. Let’s keep looking.”
They went back to work. A few minutes later, Egan walked into the office. “I’ve had your writing analyzed—the writing on the wall, and the writing on the stone tablet.”
“And?” Craig asked.
Egan tossed printouts of the pictures Craig had taken onto his desk.
“The first—this writing on the wall? Five people looked at it—museum experts on ancient languages.”
“And?” Mike said that time.
“The best they can figure is what you figured. A-L-I-E-N.”
“In that case, someone fooling around with alien beliefs has been there!” Mike said.
“And the other carvings? On the walls right at the entrance where we found the sitting skeleton?” Craig asked.
Egan sighed. “Again, what you might expect. The stone says, ‘Enter unto death, ye who enter here.’ Oh, and it’s not written in Ancient Egyptian or Hebrew—it’s a very elaborate old Gaelic.”
“Gaelic?” Mike murmured.
“Ancient Scot’s Gaelic,” Craig murmured. “I guess that would mean that it’s true—that, at least, the Scots of the time were friends with Norse traders of the time—and the Norse did carry objects for the Scots.”
“Still, it’s a stretch, in my mind, at least,” Egan said, “to imagine that the Ark did survive the Babylonian attack, fall into the hands of the Templars a few hundred years later, head up to Scotland—and wind up in New York.”
“Truth is a matter of what is believed—we’ve all seen that over and over,” Craig said. “And, I’m thinking, it didn’t have to be the Ark of the Covenant that made it over here. Maybe something else considered precious.”
