“Great. Let’s talk in my office.”
Chapter Fifteen
This time she chose the glides, and only half listened to Abernathy’s small talk chatter as they wound their way back to Homicide. In the bullpen, she turned to Peabody.
“Contact the estate lawyer and let him know we’ll be there within the hour.”
Then she gestured and led Abernathy into her office.
“The victim’s estate lawyer, I presume.”
“That’s right.”
“So you do suspect one of the family.”
“At this time, I’m just gathering or confirming information. Coffee?”
“Tea, actually, thank you.”
He moved to her board as she programmed the drinks.
“‘Fancy Blonde’?”
“A line of inquiry. An as-yet-unidentified woman who may have been a guest in Barrister House during Henry Barrister’s final months.”
“And you think due to his mental and physical decline, he may have shown or told her about the vault?”
“It’s a possibility.” She handed him the tea. Took her own coffee. “He liked women, much younger women. It’s possible he met her some years before in Europe, and they had an affair. I wanted Interpol to be aware we’re pursuing this line.”
She shrugged. “Could be nothing.” But she didn’t think so. “But Nathan Barrister’s killer knew about the vault. Targeted a specific set of items in the vault. We have no evidence to contradict the statements the family didn’t know it existed until last July, and no motive for arranging a break-in.”
“If they’d wanted the emeralds, they could simply have removed them at any time.”
“Exactly. Unless they wanted the big, juicy scandal. Another possibility,” she said when Abernathy’s eyebrows quirked. “Then you toss murder in the mix, which seems extreme. Unless someone in the household wanted Nathan Barrister dead.”
“So youdosuspect someone in-house?”
“Abernathy, all evidence points to the break-in, and the murder as a result of the theft. But when I have a dead body, I suspect everyone. The estate lawyer may give me a reason to pin that down, or cross it off. Meanwhile, as you know, whoever has the emeralds is starting to hype an auction. Our take is the invite list will be relatively small and very exclusive, entry will require a significant deposit. As anyone willing to shell out that kind of money will want their own authentication, we’re looking at an in-person event. Swank. High-class venue.”
“We would agree with that probability.”
“Good. It won’t be a one-person operation. Thief, broker, coordinator, their own authenticator, an e-man, possibly a researcher, security. So, a team. Fancy Blonde may be part of that team.”
He nodded along with her summation.
“If you’ll give me whatever you have on her, I can help coordinate the identity search.”
“I hope to have some information to pass along within another twenty-four. Now, why don’t you tell me how long you’ve been coordinating with the task force looking into the original thefts, and why you haven’t chosen to share that information with the NYPSD?”
His mouth tightened, barely a fraction; his eyes flicked, barely an instant. But she saw both.
“The original thefts don’t apply to your case.”
“And you know that how, exactly?”
“Clearly, it’s extremely unlikely.”
“Unlikely, however extreme, doesn’t shut it off. Some of the original thefts go back decades.”
