Chances Are

by Red Rose Publishing

  “Sally?” Kayla asked. “What’s she got to do with this?”

  Both men looked at her, but Tal answered. “She told Agent Patrosky she had seen you once talking to Newington before he showed up at the bank, and to her it looked like you knew each other.”

  “But that’s not true. I’d never had a conversation with that man before he showed up at the bank. Why would she say such a thing?”

  Tal nodded. “What does she look like, Kayla?”

  “We’re about the same height, and she’s a little younger than me. She’s got shoulder length blond hair, brown eyes, pretty…wait a minute. The picture Phil told me Agent Patrosky has, have you seen it?” she asked Tal.

  “Yes, she showed us a picture of someone at an ATM machine, withdrawing funds from your account. She jumped to the conclusion it was you, but if you’re of similar build, it could have been Sally Henderson. It could have been anybody. It was dark so you couldn’t really see the person’s features clearly.”

  “Other than our coloring, we’re the same build,” Kayla agreed. “It could just as easily have been Sally. But what am I thinking. Sally won’t lie like this. Why would she?” Shaking her head, she stepped away from Zach and moved over to the couch.

  Tal joined her there and sat down, leaning back into the cushions as he drew her against his side.

  “At least you know for sure now I had nothing to do with this.”

  He kissed her forehead. “My heart always knew. I’m sorry about your friend.”

  “I can’t believe she’d do something like this to me.”

  He couldn’t blame her for feeling betrayed by a friend, because this Sally woman either lied or was mistaken, and it sounded to Tal like she outright lied about Kayla’s relationship with Newington. And the only reason Tal could think of was because she was the inside help.

  “This makes no sense,” she said.

  “We’ll get to the bottom of this.” He made it a promise.

  “Can I use the phone here on the desk?” Zach asked. “We can turn on the speaker so you guys can hear what Margo has to say, and answer any questions.”

  “Yes, good idea. I want her to know immediately she’s pissing in the wrong pot,” an angry Tal said. Kayla squeezed his thigh, and he felt a current of need infuse his body, but when she tried to withdraw her hand he wouldn’t let her. He covered it with his own.

  “Do I need to hit nine?” Nine? Nine what? It took him a second to realize the question came from Zach. His brain was a little fuzzy because it was focused on the sensation of Kayla’s fingers entwined with his.

  “No,” Tal replied. “When you hear the dial tone just dial the number.”

  They heard the shrill ringing of the phone before it was answered on the third ring.

  “Patrosky.”

  “Margo, it’s me.”

  “Zach. Talk to me, what do you have?”

  “Plenty, Margo. I’ve got you on speakerphone, and Tal and Kayla Michaels are here with me. Two things: one Newington made another transaction, and two Kayla Michaels was a set up.”

  “What? Can you prove that?”

  “Let’s get one thing straight,” Tal spoke up, “Ms. Michaels had nothing to do with Mr. Newington’s theft, and yes we can prove it.”

  Zach proceeded to tell Margo what he had already told Tal and Kayla. The agent, to her credit, listened all the way through and immediately conceded perhaps she needed to retrace a few of her steps. The first would be another visit to Ms. Henderson’s.

  “Might I suggest,” Tal said “I take a look at Ms. Henderson’s account right now. If there is anything inappropriate there I can email the information to you.”

  “I might not be able to use anything without a search warrant.”

  “As the bank owner I have the authority to inspect all accounts if I suspect impropriety. I think this qualifies. Especially since time is of the essence and the click of a button can transfer illegal funds.”

  “Okay. That’s a good idea. I appreciate the cooperation,” Patrosky said. “But don’t email me anything you find. How about you call me back after you check? I still need to make a call to have a judge ready to sign a warrant for me if the account comes up the way we think it will. What about the other transaction Newington’s made?”

  Zach spoke up. “I’ll email you the details and we can go over them after we check Ms. Henderson’s account.”

  The agent hung up and Zach emailed Patrosky his research before getting off the chair so Tal could sit in front of the computer. He pulled up Sally’s name. Kayla had come over to stand beside him.

  She gasped. “Oh my God! I don’t believe it!”

  “Believe it,” Tal said. “Hidden in plain sight.”

  “At least it was,” Zach said picking up the phone and calling Margo back.

  After Zach explained to her what they’d found, Tal added, “She got away with ten million of the bank’s funds. While you were busy interrogating an innocent woman, the thieves were robbing us right under your nose.”

  “Mr. Reynolds let me assure…”

  “No. Ms. Patrosky,” Tal pitched his voice low, “let me assure you, I am not pleased with your performance to date. Now, what the hell are you going to do to get my money back?”

  “I’ve already got some uniforms on the way to pick up Ms. Henderson,” Patrosky said. “I’ll have a warrant in a few minutes so I can get the information from Henderson’s account.”

  “She’s probably long gone,” Tal said. “That money was transferred out of her account hours ago.”

  “Zach,” Patrosky said, “How long will it take you to track it?”

  Tal got up and Zach resumed his place in front of the computer. “Not sure. I’m working on it. I’ll call you when I have something.”

  “What happens if you can’t find Sally?” Kayla asked the agent.

  “We put an APB out on her,” Patrosky said. “We already have a warrant out for Newington. You indicated you all were friends. If we can’t find her at her home, do you have any idea where else we might look? Does she have any family or close friends?”

  “She was an only child and her parents are now dead, but she always used to talk about their summers at the beach in Ocean City, and how much she loves the water. That’s the only place she’s ever mentioned with any regularity. As far as friends, I’m not really sure. We were probably closest in the office. I never heard her mention any specific friends outside of work.”

  “Good to know. Do you know if she had a boyfriend?”

  “I don’t think she did. She always said she was too busy to date.” Kayla didn’t add they’d go out to dinner sometimes after work or for a quick drink because she was also too busy to date. Neither of them was seeing anyone.

  “Okay, thank you.”

  “Agent, please keep me posted.” Tal’s tone of voice making it clear it was not a request.

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve got something,” Patrosky said and hung up.

  Kayla stood behind Zach watching the screen. “Wait,” she cried.

  “Yes,” Zach said, “I see it. Let’s see where this goes.”

  “What? What it is?” Tal asked.

  “The account number Zach’s been tracing changed, but by one number which is odd.”

  “So?” Tal said. “He opened another account.”

  “But the number wouldn’t be the same nor would it change by just one number,” Kayla stated. “Not unless he changed accounts in the same bank, like a checking and savings account.”

  Tal and Zach turned to look at Kayla; both wore identical grins. Kayla grinned back. “Perfect!” Zach said returning to the computer screen.

  Tal continued to stare at her and she couldn’t seem to look away from him either. “Zach,” Tal said, “How much longer do you think you’re going to be?”

  “I’m not sure. Depends on how many times he changes accounts and how well he tries to hide it.” Zach sighed. “Knowing how tricky Newington is, I’ll be
awhile.”

  “It’s way past dinner. Kayla and I will go get a bite to eat and bring something back for you. Do you have anything in particular you want or don’t want?”

  “Nah, I’m easy. Whatever you guys are getting is fine. Besides there’s not going to be much open at this hour.”

  “There are a few places up on twenty-third. We’ll see what we can find.”

  Kayla raised her eyebrows at Tal’s suggestion. “How do you know I’m hungry?” she asked. Even though she knew it was late and she was hungry, she didn’t want him to feel he was always right.

  He turned and smiled his lethal smile at her. The neurons in her brain started firing double time.

  “Are you?” he asked.

  “Ah…ah.” She forgot the question.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off him as he walked around to her side of the table. “How does a little anti-pasta sound?” he asked. He was so close she could feel the heat rolling off him in waves.

  “Food.” Kayla shook her head to clear her brain. It had shut down for a second.

  He took her closed hand and brought it to his lips. Opening her palm, he kissed its center. “Yes, food,” he agreed. “I know I promised you I’d cook, but we’ll do that tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” she murmured. At that point, she would have agreed to anything.

  They returned to the office to find Zach on his cell phone. He was turned away from the door, and might not have heard their footsteps on the carpeted floor when they entered. But they heard the tail end of his conversation. “I want to, again and again…yes…wait for me. I’m not sure. Just be ready for me.”

  Tal cleared his throat, loudly. Zach swung around and snapped his phone shut. “Hot date?” Tal asked.

  Zach grinned and showed off a deep indentation on the right side of his cheek. “Yep.”

  Kayla looked at Tal’s grinning face at her side, then Zach’s. “All right boys, I see the libidos are going.” Tal wiped the grin off his face and turned to look at her, his words for her alone. “I’ve got a hot date, too.”

  Rolling her eyes, she pulled her hand out of his. She walked toward Zach at the desk. “Did you find anything?”

  “Yep. A whole lot,” Zach said.

  Kayla placed the bag they had brought for him from the restaurant on the desk.

  “Oh food, thank you,” he said, opening the bag and pulling out a wrapped sandwich along with a bottle of water.

  “Why do you have two computers?” Tal asked.

  “I need to use your computer to access certain accounts, but I’m using my laptop to run a few coded programs I found.”

  He spoke between bites and gestured with his chin at his laptop screen.

  “It took me awhile but I believe I’ve figured out where part of the money is right now. This guy hedged his bets.” He paused to take a drink of water. “I’ve sent the information to Margo and she’s working on it. I think time is important, because he can move it at any minute. Looks like Newington and whoever else he’s working with are withdrawing as large amounts of cash as they can each time the money is moved to another account.”

  “Ah, I get it. Funds are being withdrawn at the same time from two different locations,” Kayla said.

  “Yes.”

  “But if the funds aren’t in these accounts for very long, how are they completing the transactions?” she asked.

  “You figured it out, Kayla,” Zach said taking another bite of his sandwich.

  “Oh. Yes,” she said. “The accounts are merely moved within the same bank, making it look as though the account had been transferred. But the transfer was done within the bank. So while you’re looking for an outside connection there isn’t any, at least on that account.”

  “Bingo.”

  Tal couldn’t help himself. He grabbed her arm to get her undivided attention and kissed her. “Damn, you’re good.”

  “Yes I am. That’s why I’m a vice-president,” she teased.

  This time it was Zach who cleared his throat to get their attention.

  “Anyway, an hour ago they were still in the area. The money’s been bounced around locally. And by the way, looks like Ms. Henderson’s disappeared. Margo was able to have the building manager let the uniforms into her apartment. He told them she’d given notice for the end of the month. The furniture was all there, but it’s rented. Her clothing however was all gone. Looks like she left a few days early, and all of this was planned.”

  “Wow!” Kayla exclaimed, shaking her head in disbelief. “You think you know people. Why? Why would she do this?”

  “Ten million dollars why,” Tal replied. “Can you tell how much cash they’ve been able to withdraw so far?”

  “Yeah. Looks like they’ve got a total of two mil in cash. Most of it’s in a cashier’s check. And the remaining balance has been sent back to the Caymans.”

  “Well hell,” Tal groaned. “They could take the money they’ve got and disappear anywhere.”

  “That’s right,” Kayla said. “The cashier’s check will slow down the tracking process too. They could take it to any bank and get cash, open up another untraceable account and start the same thing over again with the funds in the Caymans.”

  “Margo’s also been digging into Newington’s background and the guy comes up blank. Did you know he’s got no credit cards? He’s got a checking account and a Visa bank debit card tied to it. That’s it. As of three days ago, it had a balance of zero in it. I’ve sent her all the charges and checks he’s made in the past two years for her people to go through. And I’m going to go over everything again tomorrow.” Zach finished his food and crumbled the empty bag still sitting on Tal’s desk. He dropped everything but the half full water bottle into the trashcan.

  “That’s about all I can do tonight. I’m beat.”

  “Too bad,” Tal said. “I guess that means you’re going to cancel your hot date?”

  Kayla blushed when Zach glanced her way, since Tal made it no secret he had a date with her. “No,” Zach replied. “Would you?”

  “Nope,” was Tal’s response.

  Chapter Ten

  After Zach left, Kayla found herself alone with Tal in his office. One minute she stood beside his desk saying goodnight to Zach. The next minute her butt was pressed up against the edge of it. Her arms automatically reached up and wrapped around Tal’s neck, pulling him down to her.

  There was a knock on the door, and Kayla heard Tal’s less than quietly worded cuss. He stepped back from her, but not too far. He remained in her personal space before he called, “Come in.”

  Phil pushed open the door. “Hey man.” He paused when he saw Kayla standing beside Tal, but smiled at her. “I saw the programmer guy leave and just wanted to know how things were going.”

  “Not good,” Tal replied. “The SOBs were able to withdraw over two mil in cash.”

  “Shit!” Phil said. “Do we know how much total they moved?

  “About ten mil. But we know where the bulk of the money’s been moved to. Listen, it’s late. I’ll catch you up tomorrow. Go on home to your wife, and tell Ginnie I said hello.”

  “I will. It’s good seeing you again Ms. Michaels, and I look forward to working with you.”

  “Same here Mr. Graham.”

  “What happened to Phil?”

  “What happened to Kayla?”

  Phil grinned. “Okay, Kayla. Well goodnight, kids.”

  Tal leaned back against his desk and watched Kayla walk over to the couch. For a minute he thought she was going to lay on it. It’s what he wanted her to do, but instead she leaned over and picked up her purse.

  “Are you leaving?” he asked.

  “Yes, I think I better.”

  “But I haven’t shown you around the office.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll wait for the grand tour when I start in a couple of weeks. Besides, it’s been a long evening.”

  He walked over to where she stood. Movement of her hands drew his eyes down to them. Sh
e held her purse straps in a death grip. Placing one hand over hers, he wrapped the other gently around her neck. “Come here.”

  Her entire frame seemed to unfold to meet his kiss. He wanted to devour her. He should be worried about the theft, if the bank was still susceptible, dealing with the insurance people, and so many other things. And he was.

  But the only thing he could think of at the moment was the feel of the woman beneath his hands. Of the sweet subtle fragrance of the perfume she wore. A combination of apple and citrus. He inhaled deeply and allowed the scent to seep into his pores. He raised his mouth above hers enough to whisper on a breath. “I want you.”

  Kayla wasn’t sure how they made it out of his office. Probably because he stopped touching her. She followed him docilely like a lamb to slaughter out to the elevator, then down to the garage and into his car.

  She could barely remember the ride to his townhouse, just lots of lights flashing past her eyes. It was too late for thought. That had left her the moment he had picked up the Waterford Capitol off the sidewalk and handed it to her. She looked around as they pulled into his garage. Was it only a couple of nights ago she was here for dinner? Now she’s here again, for what? She didn’t wait for Tal to open her door, she stepped out. She met him as he was coming around to her side of his car. Shutting her door, he took her hand and brought it to his lips, touching the back of it.

  “I’m not going to ask you if you’re sure,” Tal whispered. “I don’t want to know. I need you too much for you not to be.”

  She didn’t say anything. She wasn’t sure what would come out of her mouth. So best not to say anything. Once again she followed behind him. Past the pool table and up the stairs to the main level, he didn’t even pause. His bedroom door was already open. Still holding her hand, he walked through it. Turning to face her, he reached past her and shut the door.

  He squeezed the hand he held and captured her gaze. Raising his other hand to the nape of her neck, he rubbed it tenderly. “I said I wasn’t going to ask. But I’ve changed my mind. I need to know you want me as much as I want you. I need to hear you say it.”