Dead Broke (Lana Denae Mystery Series Book 1)

by Bruce A. Borders

  “And how long was it until you were able to get the information he wanted?”

  “The next day.”

  “And did you then provide that information to the boss, guy who hired you?”

  “Not right away. I had no way to contact him. But a few days later, he called back.”

  “How did you send him the information?”

  “Through a private FTP, a file transfer protocol, not traceable.”

  Lana nodded. “I’m familiar with FTP’s. Which one did you use?”

  “SharAnon.”

  Lana made a note of the site and then looked back to her suspect. “Once the transfer of information was complete, did he then provide you with a new name?”

  “Yes. A day or two later.”

  “And did that process continue? A new name each time you delivered the information on the last one?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you currently have any names for which you have not completed the assignment?”

  “No.”

  “When was the last time you talked with him?”

  Shrugging, Eric said, “A couple of weeks ago.”

  Pausing, Lana again made a few notes before moving on. “Do you recall seeing or hearing the name of your first target, Chris Tolley, on the news recently?”

  “If you’re asking if I heard that the man had committed suicide by jumping off the Steel Bridge, yes, I did. But not until the following day, I think.”

  “I assume you recognized the name?”

  “I did.” Eric nodded.

  “Didn’t you find it odd that someone from whom you’d recently stolen information was found dead?”

  Shrugging, Eric said, “Not really. Strange things happen all the time.”

  “But then, more of them started dying. At what point did you start to think something more was going on? Or did you?”

  “Kind of had an idea, I suppose.”

  “And yet you kept on hacking the accounts.” Lana said.

  “I didn’t know they were being killed. The news said they had committed suicide.”

  Lana eyed Eric. Something about him bugged her. Her instincts told her to not believe a word he said. On the other hand, everything he said seemed so plausible and convincing. So pat. Almost perfect. Too perfect. And that was the problem. Coupled with the arrogant demeanor that still irked her, she didn’t want to believe him. But she had to go along with it—for now.

  “Mr. Schmidt,” she said, “What else can you tell me about the man who hired you?”

  Eric shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “You’re going to have to give me something to go on.”

  “I only talked to him on the phone.”

  Lana nodded. “A person’s voice can tell a lot about them. You talked to the man several times. Did he have an accent?”

  “Not that I could tell.”

  “Any identifiable speech patterns? Speech impediment? A lisp? Trouble pronouncing any words?”

  Eric shook his head. “I wasn’t really listening for any of that.”

  “Did the man talk fast or slow?”

  “A little fast.”

  Jotting down a few more notes, Lana said, “Did he have a deep voice or was it more high pitched?”

  “Uh... it was kind of deep, I think. Not like a bass singer or anything but... you know.”

  “If you had to guess, what would you say was his age?”

  “I don’t know. Thirty-five or forty maybe.”

  At that moment, there was a sharp rap on the door. It opened slightly and Jamie poked his head in. Holloway was there, he said.

  Lana nodded. “Be there in a second.”

  Leaving the door ajar, Jamie disappeared. Lana scooped up her notes and stood. As voices drifted in from the squad room, she said, “We’ll resume this conversation in a few minutes.”

  “Take your time,” Eric said. “I thought I was supposed to be getting out of here but apparently...”

  “As soon as we finish up,” Lana said.

  Eric shrugged “It’s not like I have anywhere to be.” Then suddenly, he stopped talking, listening intently to the voices in the squad room. A grim look had replaced his usual cavalier appearance. “I know that voice,” he exclaimed quietly. “That’s the guy!”

  “The guy? What guy?”

  “The boss.”

  “Mr. Holloway?” Lana asked, not entirely astounded at the accusation. This was the second time in less than an hour that someone had suggested the man was somehow involved.

  Eric’s face went white. “That’s who he is? He’s the CEO of Cascade Global Investments!”

  “Yes, I’m well aware of who he is,” Lana said, pushing the door shut again. “What I don’t know is why you are accusing–”

  “He was having me steal the identity of his own clients?” Eric said more to himself than to Lana.

  “You’re saying Mr. Holloway is the one who hired you?”

  “Yes. I’d know that voice anywhere.”

  Lana knew better than to let her suspect know she was anything but surprised by his statements. “You realize how preposterous this sounds? No one, including the D.A., is going to believe you. Mr. Holloway already has access to all of the information you stole. Why would he hire you?”

  Eric shrugged. “He might have access to the information but he needed me to set up the credit cards and other accounts—and for a cover story. That way, when he stole the investments of his own clients, the trail wouldn’t lead back to him.”

  Lana frowned. “And you’re sure this is the guy? I could take you out through the outer office, so you could hear his voice a little better.”

  “No!” Eric’s eyes grew wide with fear. “You can’t let him know I’m here.”

  “Why?” Lana said. “You’re inside a secure police precinct, I doubt–”

  “No,” Eric repeated a little more forcefully. Then, “You didn’t announce to the news media that you had arrested me did you? Was my name on the news? Is that why he’s here?”

  “Slow down,” Lana said. “What are you so afraid of?”

  Eric seemed not to hear. “Does he know I’m here?”

  “Tell me what has you so worried,” Lana said again, still not answering the question.

  “Nothing.”

  “Obviously, it’s something,” Lana said. “Why are you so afraid of him finding you?”

  Eric again grew silent for a moment. Then he said, “There’s a little more to the story than I told you before.”

  Eyeing him dubiously, Lana said, “You don’t really have much credibility in the first place. You go changing your story and you lose what little you had.”

  “I have proof,” Eric said.

  “Then, I suggest you start talking.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just... I can’t.”

  “You’re going to have to give me more than that.”

  Silence.

  “So that’s it? You claim you have proof but you’re not willing to say what that proof is?” Lana asked again.

  “I can’t,” Eric repeated. He appeared to be sweating a little now.

  Seeing his anxiety, Lana kicked up the pressure. Her voice growing louder, almost shouting, she said, “What will happen if you talk? What are you so afraid of? Why can’t you tell me? Why?”

  “Because, he has my sister! If I don’t do exactly what he tells me, he will kill her!”

  Lana fell silent, eyeing her suspect with a heavy helping of skepticism. “Why didn’t you say anything about this before?”

  “He said if I went to the police, he would kill her. And if he knows I’m here now, she’s probably already dead!”

  Lana tried to calm the man. “Okay. Let’s start at the beginning. What’s your sister’s name?”

  “Canya.”

  “Schmidt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Age?”

  “Fifteen.”

  “When was the last time you saw he
r?”

  “A little over three—no, about four months ago now—around the end of March.”

  “Have you talked to her since then? How do you know she’s still alive? And what makes you so sure Holloway has her?”

  “He let her call a couple of times, although not recently.”

  “When did those calls come? Do you have dates?”

  “I’m not sure of the dates. The first one was right away, the next day, I think. The second one was about a month later.”

  “And you’re sure it was your sister you talked to?”

  “Yes.”

  “What makes you so positive?”

  “I know my sister’s voice.” Eric sounded a little irritated at the question.

  “Okay,” Lana paused, thinking. Eric sure seemed to be telling the truth. Certainly, he appeared genuinely scared, she thought. And then it occurred to her that the calls Eric mentioned just might be from the one number the phone company had provided. And, she remembered Damien saying that Holloway did match the profile Ray had created of the “boss.” Considering that, she had to admit this was shaping up as a very real possibility.

  Then, she could almost hear the voice of Brent Daniels telling her, “Don’t trust anyone in interrogation. Criminals are excellent liars. You start believing them, they’ll make a fool of you.”

  Contemplating the words from long ago, her skepticism returned. She recalled nothing in the reports or background details about Eric having a sister. It was highly unlikely that her entire team had failed to discover a sibling. Not impossible she supposed, but improbable to be sure.

  Not letting Eric know of her suspicions, she continued asking questions. “Who else knows about her abduction?”

  “No one.”

  “That hardly seems likely,” Lana argued. “What about her friends at school? Neighbors or relatives? Your parents?”

  Eric’s face suddenly wore a pained expression. “Our parents are dead,” he said quietly. “Canya lived with me. She has since... since the accident.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lana said gently. “A car accident?”

  “No. A house fire,” Eric said. “Our mom and dad died in the fire. Canya was just eleven at the time. So, she moved into my apartment.”

  “That must have been hard on you both,” Lana said. “You would have been about twenty-two or twenty-three? Suddenly having someone around to look after must have cut into your social life.”

  Eric shrugged. “Didn’t have much of a social life in the first place. Besides, it was my sister. That’s what family is for.”

  “So, you had no other family to help out?”

  “No. It’s just me and Canya.”

  “And you said none of her friends know she is missing?”

  “I don’t think she has any friends really,” Eric said. “When our parents died, Canya sort of became anti-social, didn’t make friends, just went to school, and then came home.”

  “And her teachers, they haven’t called to check on her? To see where she is, or why she hasn’t been in school?”

  Eric looked down and after a brief hesitation said, “It was Spring Break when she was taken. And after I learned what happened, I notified the school that we were moving. I didn’t want them asking questions that could lead to Canya’s... that could put her in danger.”

  Lana nodded. “I understand this is hard. But the Portland Police Bureau has a high success rate in recovering victims of kidnapping. We’ll find her.”

  “I hope so,” Eric said. “I just hope it’s not already too late.” He paused and looked away, then added, “I know what I did wasn’t right, but if she comes out of this, it doesn’t matter, no matter what happens to me.”

  Lana didn’t know if he was trying to play the victim to gain her sympathies or not, and she chose to not respond. Instead, she asked, “Do you have a photograph of your sister? A recent one?”

  Eric looked down and appeared embarrassed. Then, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his wallet and slid a small well-worn photograph out, handing it to Lana. “We didn’t really have money for professional studio pictures, and Canya didn’t like having her picture taken anyway, but this is one I took last Christmas. I printed it out so I could carry it with me.”

  Lana could almost feel the pain emanating from his eyes and started thinking maybe she’d been wrong. Canya Schmidt was obviously more than an imaginary person. Their failure to discover that Eric had a sister didn’t mean the girl didn’t exist, it just meant they had missed it.

  “Thanks,” she said. “This should help us get started. I’ll scan it and get it back to you.”

  Hurrying from the interrogation room, Lana rushed to the patrol room. “Where’s Holloway?” she asked glancing in all directions.

  “He left,” Jamie told her. “Dropped off the files of the past employees and said he had to get back to Cascade Global.” Then, seeing Lana’s worried expression and creased brow, he said, “Is something wrong?”

  “Maybe,” Lana said. “I’ll explain later. Right now, I need you guys to find everything you can on Devin Holloway. We may have a new murder suspect.”

  The expression of both detectives went from curious to stunned. “Holloway?” Damien asked.

  Lana nodded. “Yes. And make it as quick as possible.”

  “If it’s as serious as you look, maybe I should go pick him up,” Jamie offered.

  Shaking her head, Lana said, “No, I need information first.”

  Damien nodded. “We’ll get you everything we can find.”

  “Thanks.” Turning to Ray, Lana said, “And if you’re not busy, I could really use anything you can dig up on a Canya Schmidt.”

  “Is she related to Eric?”

  Lana nodded. “His sister. Here’s a photo.”

  Ray’s eyes widened but he didn’t ask questions. Making a quick scan of the picture, he handed it back to Lana.

  “Thanks guys, I’ll explain more later,” Lana said, scurrying out of the room.

  Back in interrogation, Lana handed the photo to Eric. “You’re now free to go.”

  Eric took the picture and then gave her an uneasy look. “Is Mr. Holloway still out there?”

  Lana shook her head. “He left.”

  The news seemed to relax Eric. “So I can really leave?”

  “Yes. But you are not to travel out of the area. And, you need to make yourself available should we need to talk to you.”

  Eric shrugged. “Easy enough. I’ll be at my apartment.”

  Lana nodded and with that, the man was gone.

  Back in her office, she wasn’t sure if the unsettled feeling was due to her suspect being released, the plight of his sister, or the allegations concerning Holloway. “Probably a combination of all three,” she mumbled as her phone rang.

  The caller was Damien. “Not much to report yet,” he began. “Just wanted to let you know Holloway does match the description from the video. We’re on our way to see my friend at the FBI, he may have something on Holloway, but he doesn’t want to talk on the phone.”

  “All right,” said Lana. “Thanks.”

  “You really think he could be our guy?”

  “Not sure but we need to find out. I’m heading over to Cascade Global to talk to him in a couple of minutes.”

  “You sure that’s a good plan?” Damien questioned.

  “We need information fast,” Lana said. “Seems that talking to Holloway would be the quickest way to get it.”

  “Do you want backup?”

  “No. I’ll be fine. Just wanted to let you know where I’ll be in case...”

  “In case you should’ve taken backup,” Damien finished.

  “I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” Lana said. “But no, I’ll be fine. I’d rather have you two looking for something to tie him to these murders, something other than the six individuals who were his clients.”

  “We’re working on it,” Damien told her.

  Hanging up the phone, Lana tiptoed fro
m her office and slipped past Ray, hoping to avoid a repeat of the conversation she’d just had with Damien. She was quite capable of handling herself and didn’t need a babysitter.

  Before she had driven halfway to the Cascade Global Investments building, Lana realized she had nothing to go on except the accusations of an admitted criminal. Holloway was an upstanding member of the community and as far as anyone could tell, a law-abiding one. Eric must be wrong. He had to be. It didn’t mean he was lying necessarily. Ears can be deceiving at times. Maybe he’d just made a mistake.

  She still planned to question Holloway, but not because she believed him to be guilty, it was only a formality; to cover all the bases—and herself, of course, in case she happened to be wrong. Due diligence it was called.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Mr. Holloway,” Lana said, once she was seated in the man’s office. “Could you tell me your whereabouts between three and five a.m. on the nights of the fifth, ninth, twelfth, fifteenth, eighteenth, and the twenty-second?”

  Devin Holloway instantly seemed concerned. “That’s the nights of the murders. Why are you asking me where I was? Am I now a suspect?”

  Lana softened her tone. “We have received information that suggests there may have been some involvement in this case beyond the fact that the victims were clients of Cascade Global,” she said. “Probably nothing but a misunderstanding. If I can just have a moment of your time to get some answers to a few questions, I’m sure we can clear it up.”

  Holloway looked disturbed, understandably so, Lana thought, since in his mind, he’d just been accused of murder. But she judged it to be more irritation at the implication of her words than worry. She also got the feeling from the way he was glowering at her that the man wasn’t too impressed with her at the moment.

  “You do realize that if I were the murderer, coming here alone was pretty foolish, right?” Holloway said in a tone that caused her to shudder. His eyes suddenly dark and haunting seemed to bore a hole right through her. “I could kill you, dispose of the body and no one would ever be the wiser.”

  Lana’s pulse quickened as her heart started to race. It wasn’t just his words but the look on his face that sent a chill down her spine. And those eyes.

  Lips tight with a grim uncertainty, she wasn’t sure whether to reach for her weapon or wait to see if Holloway made a move. Studying the man’s face, she felt the oddest feeling that behind those cold gray eyes lurked an untold story and wistfully she wished she’d taken Damien up on his offer to provide backup.