Page 62 of Six
Beni sighed, and the creak of what sounded like a bed followed. “Sorry,” she said. “You cannot believe how uncomfortable it is to carry two babies in this awful Washington, DC, humidity. It makes me cranky. And you better keep your mouth shut, Calvin Matthews. You knocked me up so think very carefully about what you say next.”
He chuckled. “Want me to rub your feet?”
Beni let out a contented sigh. “Would you?”
Gavin shot Six a look as the sounds of rustling came across the line, then when Beni next spoke, she sounded almost relaxed.
“I hear we got authorization for a wiretap,” Beni said, though it was more like a question.
“We did,” Nora answered.
“Oh, hey, Nora,” Cal called, making Nora smile.
“Hey, Cal,” she replied. “Glad you both are doing well. I heard the wedding was gorgeous.”
The two had announced a June wedding in Chicago, where they’d both grown up. That event had been changed to a reception, though, after the couple had eloped in March on Tildas Island, where Beni had been working when the two reunited.
“The honeymoon was better, but yeah, it was a good time,” he answered, and even through the phone there was no missing his happiness.
“Can we get back to the matter at hand, please?” Beni asked. She hadn’t wanted any sort of wedding and had tried to convince Cal that just the two of them should elope. Cal had been adamant that they weren’t getting married without family and close friends in attendance. In the end, they’d compromised with the small event on Tildas. Although it sounded as if Beni wasn’t quite over losing that battle.
“How did you hear about it?” Nora asked. “Seriously, I thought you were on leave from the FBI?”
Traditionally, husbands and wives of the president and vice president weren’t employed. Not only was working a potential conflict of interest, but it also created a security risk. And in Beni’s case doubly, or triply, so, since she worked for the FBI, which had its own risks, and was now pregnant with the vice president’s children.
“I am,” Beni grumbled. “Officially. Unofficially, I’m still advising. Once these crotch goblins are out, I’ll quit and go work unofficially for Cal’s sister.”
“Nita,” Cal said, calling her by the nickname only he used. Her full name was Benita, and everyone but Cal called her Beni.
“Not now, Cal,” Beni retorted, heading off what sounded like a long-standing argument. “How did you manage that? The authorization?”
“You’re unofficially advising, but they didn’t tell you?” Devil asked.
“I only found out because Franklin called me. Said he didn’t want me to hear it through the grapevine. Of course, with Franklin, I’m sure there was another motive. But since I’m unable to move any faster than a beached whale, need to pee every ten minutes, and all my work is done by phone or computer, I’m not sure how he thinks I can help.”
“Franklin called you?” Six asked, then not bothering to wait for an answer, she continued. “Do you know who is involved from the FBI?”
“I do. It will be a small team from the Boston office, headed by Chad Warwick. What on earth did you find that enabled you to get the authorization?”
Federal wiretap authorizations were notoriously difficult to obtain. The question was a legit one. Six took a few minutes to fill her in on what Jeremy had discovered and what his original plan had been. “Like Jeremy, we originally thought we’d only have a shot at the company through a civil suit,” Six continued. “But while DePalma was out murdering Julian Newcross and the hacker he hired to wipe Jeremy’s electronic records, Cyn, Joe, Devil, and Nora found that that was just the tip of the iceberg.”
“I’m all ears, Six.” All the rancor was gone from Beni’s voice, and her tone was now deadly serious.
“In addition to the obvious fraud and misrepresentation claims against the company, there’s also significant evidence of money laundering. None of that would have likely gotten us the authorization, so here’s the good stuff. It turns out that DePalma, and likely others in the company, were bribing and extorting public officials as well as engaging in espionage and weapons sales,” Six finished. Yes, her friends had found a wealth of information about DePalma and the activities of Shanti Joy and its board of directors. They didn’t think the entire board was knowledgeable about or engaged in the activities. It would have been too risky given there were sixteen of them. But in addition to Julia Newcross and the Fogartys, there was evidence that at least four others had participated in the criminal activities.
Everyone involved needed to be brought to justice for every wrong they’d committed. But if she were honest with herself, Six was more focused on bringing them down so that they couldn’t continue to do to others what they’d done to Abyasa, Candra, and Shinta. In her cynical mind, there would always be someone willing to sell out their country—if not DePalma and the others, then someone else. But governments had the resources to go after those people. Workers like the three women currently playing with puppies on Nora’s lawn had no one. The federal crimes had allowed them to get the wiretap authorization, and she’d not shirk her duty in attempting to lure Julia and the Fogartys into talking about those activities. But she wasn’t about to let the crimes they’d committed in Indonesia—crimes that couldn’t be punished criminally in the US—go unaddressed.
“Hhmm, sounds like a good time,” Beni said. “I won’t ask which public officials were involved since I’m sure that’s sealed, at least until charges are filed, but what’s your plan?” It didn’t escape Six’s notice that Beni hadn’t asked about the murders of Julian Newcross and the hacker. Franklin must have suggested she not pursue that line of inquiry. They hadn’t yet reported the death of the hacker or DePalma. That call would happen later that night because they wanted Julia Newcross caught off guard when she learned her lover was dead. The timing of the call had been yet another “discussion” between her and Gavin. He’d wanted to call it in Saturday night, arguing that holding off would bring suspicion on them. She’d wanted to wait, knowing that they needed the element of surprise when dealing with Newcross and the Fogartys.
She won the argument and when pressed by him on how she’d explain the delay, her friends had stepped up with the solution. Devil had already identified the young hacker as Michael Yang, a local university student with a large ego backed by mediocre talent. She’d easily, and surreptitiously, inserted a backdated missing persons report into the law enforcement database.
From there, Six, Nora, and Cyn had created a simple cover. Later that evening, Heather would call the local sheriff and let him know that during her investigation for the civil case, she’d come across information about a meeting at the quarry between DePalma and the hacker. She’d pass on the location and time and suggest that the hacker might be in danger. If the sheriff followed procedure, which they had no reason to believe he wouldn’t, he would run both names through the database. Once he found Yang’s missing persons report, he’d be obligated to check out the quarry. Their story also had the added benefit of being able to explain why Gavin and Six had visited Julian. They were friends of Heather’s just doing her a favor by looking in on someone implicated in the civil suit.
“The plan?” Six repeated Beni’s question, then smiled. “It’s not one you are going like, but I hope Chad Warwick has a sense of humor.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
“It does not needto be so complicated, Violetta,” Gavin insisted. For the fourth time. The bloody woman just wouldn’t listen.
