Стюарт Вудс - Contraband

“I’m always interested in interesting news.”

“Earlier today, Robbie doled out cash bonuses to her employees and told them not to bother reporting them to the IRS.”

“That’s not possible,” Herb said.

“Why not?”

“Because I sequestered all the cash in Randy’s safe and the package that was delivered. It’s under seal in a safe-deposit box. I was afraid she’d start dipping into it, and I didn’t want to have to deal with that.”

“Did Randy have any other cash stashed somewhere?”

“Not that I can find. I’ve been over his apartment with a fine-tooth comb, and there wasn’t even change on his dresser.”

“Does Robbie have any other cash you don’t know about?”

“I practically forced her to give me a sworn financial statement, and she had about sixty grand in her business checking account and less than twenty grand in her personal account. And she had bank statements to support those numbers.”

“Well, Herb,” Stone said, “I think Randy wasn’t the only one getting cash deliveries.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The KWPD, the Coast Guard, and the FBI busted up Randy’s smuggling ring and grilled everybody concerned. The owner of the shrimper they were using had mentioned two names to his crew: Hedger and Calder.”

“Holy shit! Robbie was in on the smuggling, too?”

“She was, apparently.”

“Then she probably has a lot more cash stowed away somewhere, assuming she and Randy were equal partners. I wonder why she didn’t move Randy’s stash from the apartment before we showed up there together?”

“Because she didn’t know about the apartment until she saw the address on the medical examiner’s report.”

“How long was the smuggling ring operating?”

“Just a minute,” Stone said. He turned to Max. “Did the shrimper’s owner tell the FBI how long he had been operating?”

“Yeah,” Max said, “something like three years.”

“Did you hear that, Herb?”

“I did, and if packages like the one delivered to Randy’s building had been arriving for that long, both she and Randy must have been awash in hundred-dollar bills. Well, it can’t be in her home, because the police have already turned it over.”

“Yeah,” Stone said, “but I’ll bet they stopped searching when they found what they were looking for: the snub-nosed .38 in her underwear drawer. Hang on again. Dino, have you got enough on Robbie to get a search warrant?”

“Well, let’s see: we’ve got the shrimper’s owner mentioning her name.”

“And Dixie mentioning it, too.”

“Yes,” Stone said, “but Dixie heard that from the boat’s owner. And we’ve got the fact that she paid bonuses to her employees with cash.”

“That’s not going to be enough for another warrant,” Dino said.

Max spoke up. “I can call the AIC down there and ask him to get more from the shrimper’s owner about Hedger and Calder.”

“Hear that, Herb?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then you’d better not put further pressure on Robbie. Let her think she’s in the clear.”

“Okay, if you say so. Anyway, it’s not like I’m the investigating officer in all this.”

“No, you’re not,” Stone said. “We’ll just sit back and let old Dino worry about it.”

“You’re a prince,” Dino said.

“I’ll bet I could find her stash,” Max said suddenly.

“Why do you think that?” Stone asked.

“Because I know where women hide stuff.”

“You mean, like the .38 in her underwear drawer?”

“Listen, guys, if your Robbie hid anything in her underwear drawer, it’s because she wanted them to find it. You think she’d hide her jewelry in her underwear drawer?”

Neither Stone nor Dino had an answer for that.

Stone and Max had dinner at home and turned in early. They made love only once, a record for them, but they made up for it the following morning. Breakfast arrived via dumbwaiter; before they had finished, Dino was on the phone.

“You’re up early,” Stone said.

“I’m up early every day. I just don’t call you at this hour because I know you’re still snoring away.”

“Horseshit. I’ve been up for two hours.”

“Max woke you up, right?”

“I have no comment on that at this time.”

“That’s what I thought.”

“What’s in your head at this hour, Dino?”

“You’re not going to believe this, but I actually got a call from the FBI guy in Naples.”

“No! Did he have anything to convey?”

“He did. This guy, McWilliam, who owned the shrimper? They ran his prints, and his real name is Capelli.”

“And why are we excited about that?” Stone asked.

“Because Capelli is the bookie Pantero’s wife’s name. McWilliam is her brother and Pantero’s brother-in-law.”

“Aha!” Stone shouted. “Another link in the chain.”

“You bet your ass,” Dino replied.

Stone thought about that for a moment. “So what?”

“So what? We can now connect Pantero to the smuggling operation, that’s what,” Dino said.

“Aha!” Stone shouted again.

“Right! Pantero fenced all the goods that his brother-in-law was importing, so to speak.”

“So he would be the source of all the cash generated,” Stone said.

“And the likely killer of our boy Randy. Pantero decided to keep all the cash himself.”

“What about Robbie? Why is she still alive and throwing cash around?”

“My guys are questioning every friend of hers we can find. Maybe they’ll come up with something.”

“Let’s hope. It would be nice to tie all this up into a neat bundle.”

“Neat bundles is what we specialize in,” Dino said, then hung up.

Stone hung up, too. “That was Dino,” he said to Max.

“I got that,” she said. “I want to meet Robbie.”

“Why on earth would you want to do that?” Stone asked. He did not relish the thought of the two of them in the same room.

“Because, from what you and Dino have told me, I think she’s running rings around you both.”

“And why do you think that?” he asked.

“Is she in jail?” Max asked.

“No.”

“Right. She’s snookering you both. And unless you nail her soon, she’s going to walk on all your possible charges.”

“You’ve never met her. How would you come to that conclusion? Are we talking about that woman’s intuition thing again?”

“I want to meet her to confirm my intuition.”

“I don’t understand,” Stone said.

“I know you don’t, sweetie,” she said, patting his cheek. “Just get us together.”

Stone thought about that. “I can’t think of any plausible excuse for introducing you,” he said.

“How about clothes?”

“Clothes?”

“She makes clothes, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, very nice custom-made clothes.”

“I wear clothes.”

Stone looked her up and down. “I prefer you without them.”

“Stone, call the woman and tell her you have a prospective client for her services, one who has just come into a pile of money.”

“Well...”

“What’s the problem? You’re afraid to get us in the same room, aren’t you? Afraid we’ll start comparing notes about you.”

“That never crossed my mind,” Stone lied.

“My woman’s intuition tells me it did, and you rejected the thought out of hand.”

Stone was cornered. “If I introduce you, will you not bring up the subject of me?”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“All right, then. I’ll see what I can do.”

Later than morning Stone called Robbie.

“Well, hello there,” she said, making her voice husky, something she did when she wanted to sound sexy. “Why haven’t I heard from you?”