Nick Stephenson - Paydown (Leopold Blake Series)

“Of course not. I just don’t want to interfere with police business, that’s all.”

Melissa grunted as Mary held her arms down, preventing her from rolling over.

“You have the right to remain silent,” said Mary, as her quarry squirmed and tried to spit in her face. “You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, the court will appoint one for you.”

“I’ll kill you, you little bi –”

Mary slapped Melissa across the face with the back of her hand. “You have the right to shut the hell up,” she said, using her knees to keep Melissa from rolling away. “Any other dumbass thing you do say can be used against you as evidence. Now, do you understand your goddamn rights?”

Melissa snarled and tried to push Mary away, to little effect. She let out a scream of frustration.

“I’ll take that as a 'yes'.”

Leopold looked up at Jerome. “See, nothing to worry about.”

The NYPD forensic team didn’t take long to crack Melissa Gordon’s computer passwords. After less than an hour, they had scoured the contents of her home and remote hard drives – giving Mary enough evidence to agree a formal charge with the DA over the phone. They found incriminating emails, client records, phone calls, money transfers, bank accounts. More than enough to guarantee a speedy trial. James and Bobby were brought in after a brief trip to the emergency room, and all three had opted to keep their mouths shut during interrogation.

Not that it made any difference.

Leopold and Jerome waited in the viewing room, watching Mary interview Melissa. After some medical attention and enough painkillers to keep him from passing out, Leopold had opted to stick around. The Gordon family attorney was present, dressed in an immaculate suit and looking uncomfortable as hell. He advised his client to keep quiet. Leopold knew Mary wasn’t going to let that stand for much longer.

“Understand me, Mrs. Gordon. This doesn’t end well for you,” said Mary, her voice clear as a bell through the interrogation room speakers. “You scammed people out of millions of dollars. Important people. You killed two men – your husband and Joseph Biggs. You tried to kill three others, including me. We have enough to push for a federal case here and there’s only one deal on the table. If you play ball, the district attorney will recommend a custodial sentence. If not, it’s the death penalty. The DA has a lot of pull, so his word goes a long way.” She paused. “Do you really want to die, Melissa?”

The lawyer twitched. “Don’t answer that.” He looked straight at Mary. “Keep to the point, Detective.”

“Fine.” Mary leaned on the table with both hands. “I’ll make it real simple. Before he died, Teddy Gordon discovered a financial model that could predict market behavior with greater accuracy. He figured out a shit storm is heading our way and he thought it was important enough to risk losing everything to make sure people knew about it. We want you to give us the formula. Tell us where you hid the files.”

Melissa smiled. “The mayor is getting pressure from Wall Street and he wants me to help, is that it? Maybe you should tell me why the hell I should care.”

“You should care because it means you get to live.”

“I get to spend the rest of my life in prison? That’s no kind of life.”

Mary sighed and took a seat opposite. “You know what the lethal injection does to a person, Mrs. Gordon?”

“Detective,” the lawyer said, “we can end this interview right now. Keep the questions relevant to the case.”

“This is relevant to the case,” said Mary. “I want your client to understand the ramifications of her decision. Or would you prefer she remain uninformed?”

The lawyer frowned.

“I didn’t think so.” She turned back to Melissa. “You’ll spend at least six years after the trial waiting on death row. Your lawyers will appeal, of course, but the chances of a repeal or a stay of execution are less than 1%. You’ll have to deal with the stress and disappointment of six years’ of failed attempts to save your life.” She leaned in close. “And when the day finally comes, you’ll be led into a sealed room where your family and a few witnesses will be sat watching you through a window. You’ll be strapped to a bed. Three injections will be administered. They’ll stop your heart and lungs from working. And then you’ll be gone.”

Melissa didn’t respond.

“Is that the end you really want? Six years spent waiting to die, in a cell by yourself? To die like a coward?”

After a moment of silence, Melissa turned to her lawyer. “Get out,” she said.

“You can’t be serious,” the attorney said.

“Bill, I’m telling you to get the hell out. Go wait in the hall. Have a cigarette or something.”

The lawyer left the room.

“You got something to say?” Mary said.

“Tell me the deal.”

“You give us the market model. The DA recommends a custodial sentence. We put in a good word with the Bureau of Prisons, maybe get you somewhere with a little sunshine.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You’ll spend the next six to ten years locked up in the worst shit-hole supermax we can find, waiting to die. The choice is yours.”

Melissa ground her teeth and stared at the floor. “It’s not much of a choice.”

“It’s not supposed to be.” Mary made her way to the door. “You have five minutes to decide.”

“I’m guessing she caved?” Leopold caught up with Mary at her desk. “Although I wouldn’t need to guess if you’d let me hang around to watch.”

“Melissa Gordon’s lawyer found out you were spying. He insisted.”

“Fine, fine. Did you get the files?”

She held up a USB micro drive. “Damn straight.”

“A job well done. What’s the captain going to do with it?” He took the drive out of Mary’s hand and held it up under the light.

“Those aren’t for you,” she said. “The evidence will be authenticated by a representative from each of the top financial institutes. If it’s real, the decision will fall to the mayor. The SEC will probably get involved.”

“What about the public?”

“I don’t know; it’s not my call. The captain seems to think if the general public finds out, there will be mass panic. You know, people rushing to withdraw all the cash from their accounts. That sort of thing.”

“If what Teddy predicted was going to happen actually does happen, maybe that would be the smartest thing to do.”

“Well, maybe. Who knows? It’s not our decision to make.” She held out her hand. “I’ll need that back.”

“Heads up.” Leopold smiled and tossed the drive back. “So, what’s to become of Melissa Gordon?”

“The DA already signed the paperwork. She’ll serve a life sentence, no parole. The lawyer wasn’t happy.”

“I bet he wasn’t. He probably could have pushed for a better deal.”

“You’re right there,” she said. “The mayor is practically salivating over this market model. She could have done much better. Thankfully, she’s where she belongs.”

“Wall Street always did support the mayor’s policies on corporate taxation,” said Leopold. “I’m sure they’ll stand to profit from Teddy’s work. Even if everyone else has to suffer for it.”

“Like I said, not our call.” Mary looked up at Leopold, a hint of concern in her eyes. “This bothers you, doesn’t it?”