Attic clear.
“Nothing at all?” Kumar looked frustrated.
“He showed some interest in the bathroom and the hamper,” Dakota said. “I’m going to take him down to the basement. And if we don’t get anything down there, we can come back and revisit the bathroom.”
As soon as Kumar cut through the padlock and opened the door that led from the kitchen to the basement, Dakota knew they had bingo. Tank’s whole body changed posture.
“Yup, here we go,” Jasper said, rubbing his hands together.
Down the stairs, Tank immediately went to a series of cabinets and alerted.
Kumar had to use bolt cutters to get through the locks.
But there it was, shelves of chemicals, inks, copper plates, rolls paper.
Dakota looked over the items, and it was a full setup for producing counterfeit. The only way Tank would have hit on these scents was if they used the same chemical products used in Colombia or Peru.
Jasper came up behind him. “Looks like he has a Colombian connection. This is their formula.” He gestured along the shelf with an open hand. “And these are the same types of plates they just confiscated in the Diaz arrest.”
“Theory?” Kumar asked.
Dakota held out the towel for Tank and started their tug-of-war celebration. “Yeah, I have one. I’ll bet you the Colombian girlfriend was in one of his classes, and she made a play for him. Brought him home to see her beautiful country, and there, our good professor had a life-changing event. What that is, I’m not going to guess. But then he uses his art skills to make the plates, and the Colombians, in return, teach him what else he needs to know to produce his own cash stream, and it’s a happy family.”
“I’m liking this theory,” Jasper said. “Keep going.”
“From the looks of the professor,” Dakota said, “he isn’t brave by nature. He may know how to make counterfeit money, but using it? That’s a whole different ball game.” Dakota dragged Tank’s towel to the left, then the right. Then let Tank sit into his haunches and try to pull it from Dakota’s grip. This was one of the reasons Dakota hit the gym and lifted heavy weights.
That bite was no joke.
“He would have been warned that he couldn’t go to shops in his own area hand them a fake hundred for his purchase and get back real bills. Just like our little art student did when she was traveling all summer to stay ahead of the Secret Service,” Jasper said as he documented the materials and packaged it up as evidence.
“Right,” Kumar said, “so he takes it a step further. He wants to take it out of the country and trade it for US dollars. He lets people with integrity do the switcheroo. Once he leaves, no one's going to charge him with anything. Those crimes happened in a foreign country in a disaster, there are bigger worries.”
“Twenty-dollar plate here,” Jasper said. “Maybe he started small to test the theory with WorldCares.”
“Ballsy to go after Iniquus, though,” Kumar said.
“I highly doubt he did,” Jasper said. “What happened with Iniquus was they were given that money along the way by one of the charitable groups buying something from them.”
“There’s the hole in this theory.” Dakota let go of the tug towel so Tank could toss it around and shake it. “How did McLeod know that there was cash to be had at disaster events?” He turned to Kumar. “It’s an important piece. See how long he’s been doing his photography of disaster events. Maybe he was around the cash and remembered it. Maybe he was a victim in a mass disaster or had family who was. Okay, I’m taking Tank out of here.”
“Dakota, before you go,” Jasper said. “Let’s talk Turkey.”
“Yeah?”
“Kumar, you said McLeod is in Israel, right?” Jasper stood and walked over. “Easy proximity to the earthquake disaster and WorldCares.”
“What are you thinking?” Dakota asked. “Cerberus Bravo is heading over on a private jet owned by McKayla Pickard Gideon. Hailey’s organized it and invited WorldCares’ team Quebec and Rylee to fly with them.”
“Bajillionaire McKayla Pickard got married?” Kumar whistled. “Somebody’s a brand-new rich bastard.”
“She married an operator with Cerberus Bravo,” Dakota said.
“Either way,” Jasper said. “Iniquus wants this problem solved. Hailey might be able to get you and Tank on the flight. Take some camping gear. Bottle of water and some MREs. You and Tank keep an eye out for our art friend. Sniff around people’s tents as you walk by.”
“Why do you think he keeps showing up where WorldCares is?” Kumar asked, leaning a shoulder into the wall.
“Simple,” Dakota said. “Whoever is doing this needs to be easily recognized. He needs to have earned the people's trust. Hey, John Doe, can you sit here with my supplies while I run to the can? He can’t simply wander from group to group. He has to adopt a group so that he can hear the scuttlebutt. ‘Hey, careful with your cash, someone’s dumping phony money.’”
