“Well, slap my ass and call me Sally.”
“I’ll get to your ass later, Sally. Our intel indicates twenty-two invitees, with or without plus-ones, will be in attendance. Heading the auction and responsible for the theft are James Mulligan, Irish national now based in Sorrento, and Magdelana Percell, also currently based, with Mulligan, in Sorrento. The joint operation expects to arrest all attendees and organizers. Interpol will take possession of the Royal Suite and expedite its return to the Tate in London.”
“Give me a time.”
“We expect to move in between twenty-three hundred and twenty-three-thirty. I’m not finished.”
“Don’t let me stop you.”
“At the time of this joint operation on Long Island, other NYPSD officials will arrive at Barrister House and arrest Joy Barrister for the murder of Nathan Barrister, her brother—”
“Holy crap!”
“Not done. For accessory to the theft of the Royal Suite, and for conspiracy in murder for hire of a police officer. She is also under suspicionfor embezzlement from Zip Global, the business her father founded and where she currently serves as CFO.”
Nadine waited a beat. “Are you done now?”
“I think that’s enough. You can get the rest as it comes. Needless to say, we can’t have any Channel Seventy-Five drones or copters or vans within sight of the raid.”
“Needless, no problem. She killed her brother for the emeralds?”
“No, she used that as cover to kill her brother because her father apparently liked or respected him more. We’ll never actually know which. Try to keep it off the widow and his kids, Nadine. They’ve been through enough. I’ve gotta go.”
“You know this is going to cost you another media conference.”
“Yeah. Don’t get me started.”
When Abernathy arrived with his team, she took them all in the conference room to go over the details, assignments, steps, and stages once again.
She was back in her office, pacing, when Roarke came in.
“I finished briefing Abernathy’s team. They looked solid to me.”
“No doubt. We’ve time yet. Haven’t eaten since morning, have you now?”
“I haven’t had—”
“Time, you’ll say, which you do now.” He went to her AutoChef. “You can have what we e-geeks had earlier.”
She caught the scent of the burger before he took it out. Since she found it hard to argue with a burger and fries, she didn’t.
She picked up the tube of Pepsi he’d cracked for her, drank.
“We’re set. Things go wrong, but we’re set for that, too.”
She bit into the burger, followed it up with a couple of fries.
“We’ll be there early enough to get some of the auction play on record. That’s almost as tasty as these fries.”
“In her element. That I would have expected. The rest? The callousness of murder?” As she often did, he walked to her skinny window, looked out. “That I wouldn’t have.”
He turned back to Eve. “They’re much alike, aren’t they? Joy and Magdelana. Wanting and taking what they want, whatever the cost to others.”
“I expect Mira will label them both sociopaths.”
“There’s an emptiness in that, isn’t there? That lack of genuine feeling. Ah well, they can both cling to that emptiness in a cage soon enough.”
“She’ll try to run, won’t she?”
