BULLETPROOF BRIDE (25 page)

She wandered back to the kitchen. She filled a pitcher with water and sprinkled the plants in the mini-greenhouse window over the sink. "Good. Then what's the problem?"

"I didn't say they were clean. They
look
clean. Big difference. I have my suspicions. Two years ago Neil's daughter was diagnosed with an expensive heart problem."

"Peter mentioned that. That's what insurance is for."

"It only goes so far. Neil's house is mortgaged and nearly one-third of his income was spent on medical expenses."

She paused with the pitcher over a Boston fern. "You think Neil got involved in crime to pay for his daughter's care?"

"Parents will go to extreme lengths for their children."

"Why wouldn't he ask his father? Even though Kiki and Neil can't stand each other, I can't imagine she'd turn down Donald's grandchild."

"Not much of Kiki's income is liquid. Most of it is tied up in investments, and a large chunk is in trust for the baby. I don't know about the family dynamics, but even if she wanted to, she probably couldn't come up with this much dough." With a sigh, he closed the folder. "Here's the clincher. Do you know what Neil's wife does for a living?"

"Peter doesn't talk about his sister-in-law much."

"The missus is a police detective. She has access to ongoing investigations. And she was promoted two years ago. Right when the counterfeits started turning up."

Tessa watered the plants lined along the white countertop. "Might be coincidence. I can't believe either Neil or Peter would be involved in such an awful crime against their father's bank. It still could be someone else."

"Who else has vault access? Face it, one of them is guilty. While I'm not ruling out Peter, I think Neil's our guy. Now that we've narrowed our suspects to two, the next step is to lay down the trap. We'll need to—"

"Gabe?"

"Bug the offices, their houses—"

"Gabe!" She stood frozen, staring at the plant under her upheld pitcher. "Look." She pointed a shaking finger at her Sensitivity Plant.
Her
wilted Sensitivity Plant. "I didn't touch it," she whispered. "Someone was in here."

He rocketed off the couch to her side. "Are you positive?"

"Even though
Mimosa
pudica
recovers, repeated stress causes the plant to die. I'm very careful never to touch it."

He swore. "Get down." He snatched the pitcher from her, gripped her upper arms, and sat her on the kitchen floor with her back to the counter. "Stay put while I come up with a plan to get you out of here."

Someone had been in her apartment. Again. The thought of another violation sickened her. She lowered her head, covering her face with shaking hands. Just when she'd begun to believe this whole ugly mess would go away and she could get on with her life.

The door bell pealed. She jerked her head up, her mouth automatically opening to call out.

"Quiet!" A gun appeared in Gabe's hand so fast she didn't even see him move. He stood to one side of the door, his gun held at the ready.

"I hardly think criminals would ring the door bell," she hissed in a whisper. "It's probably Mel. She's been worried about me since the robbery. Don't go off half-cocked and shoot one of my friends."

He peered out the peephole. "It's Peter. Judging by his face, he's not on a social call."

"Peter's a friend and co-worker. He's been here before."

"My gut says different." He glided silently toward the bathroom. "I'll cover you from inside. See what Peter wants."

She swallowed. "All right."

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I can shoot the eye out of a mosquito. If this guy even looks at you cross-eyed, he's dead."

"Thanks for the reassuring words, but I repeat, please don't shoot my friend." She rose on trembling legs.

The door bell chimed again. Peter called out, "Tess?"

"Coming." When Gabe was out of sight, she opened the door.

Peter stepped inside, his face pinched, his eyes red. He looked like he'd been crying.

Tessa gestured at the sofa. "You look like you need to sit down. What's wrong?"

He sank onto the cushions. "I've come from the morgue," he blurted out. "Carla's dead."

Tessa reeled. "What?" she gasped.

"They found her this morning. The coroner said it was a drug overdose." He scrubbed his face with shaking hands. "It's
all my
fault. God help me, I can't do this anymore."

She tried to speak twice before words emerged. "What happened?"

"Carla never used drugs a day in her life. They killed her." His anguished hazel eyes bored into hers. "They're going to kill you, too. I can't let that happen."

Her heart leapt into her throat. Carla murdered? This nightmare kept spiraling, growing worse. If only she were dreaming. "What exactly are you talking about?" But she was afraid she knew.

"I saw you at the Blue Moon. I went hoping to find Carla. She's been gone for days. I knew something terrible had happened." His voice broke. "They approached you after the robbery, didn't they? After you'd seen the checks. I can imagine what they offered you to keep quiet. Get out, Tessa. Now, before it's too late. Do whatever you have to."

Nausea churned in her stomach. "You—you're involved with Leo
Drumm
?"

"Not voluntarily." He gave her a pleading look. "I know how easy they make it sound, how tempting the money is. But it isn't worth it."

Hazy and sick, a selfish part of her wished the traitor had turned out to be Neil instead of her friend Peter. "How deeply involved are you?"

He jumped up and began to pace. "It started with gambling." He groaned. "I kept losing, but I
knew
a lucky score was right around the corner. Before long, I'd lost everything."

"Oh, Peter. I never realized."

"I hid my duplicity well, didn't I? I had a gambling problem in college. Dad paid a fortune to cover my debts, and for treatment at a private clinic. He made it clear he would never bail me out again. I was desperate. Desperate enough to go to a loan shark."

"Leo?"

"He bought off my creditors. At forty percent interest. I lost that money, too,
then
owed him nearly double. Leo offered a deal. If I supplied payroll checks from the bank, he'd let me live." Peter shook his head. "Carla and I had been lovers for a year. Please understand
,
I didn't see any other option."

Still reeling at the extent of his lies, and the deadly consequences, she wrapped her arms around herself. "So you got Carla involved."

"Leo needed two of us on the inside." He groaned again. "I stole the checks from processing over a period of time. You're well aware that like most banks, we don't return checks, only statements. The processed checks are sent to storage. Nobody keeps track after that, unless a customer requests a copy. Even in the unlikely event a client requested that particular check out of thousands…" he shrugged. "Banks are notorious for misplacing paperwork. We'd send them a copy from the microfiche, end of problem. I talked Carla into helping me."

Tessa hugged herself tighter as realization dawned. "Carla used the ATM for the drop, didn't she? The constant repair calls were a front. The 'repair service' picked up the checks, right?"

Peter's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"It makes perfect sense. It's the only way you could smuggle the checks off the premises without suspicion or risk. And it explains the 'unfixable' problem with that particular machine, and the constant service calls."

"You're right. I'd slip the checks into a money bag for Carla to retrieve during the cash count. She'd hide the checks inside the ATM when she filled the machine with cash.
Drumm's
guy who worked the repair service, the same contractor Leo used for his club, would transfer them to the ATM at the Blue Moon." Peter halted outside the bathroom door and cocked his head.

Had Gabe made a noise? The last thing they needed was a confrontation. She hurried over to Peter. "But the day I took Carla's place blew your scheme."

Raking his fingers through his sandy hair, Peter stumbled into the kitchen. "Carla tried to contact me, but was too late. You found the checks." He slumped against the counter. "
Drumm
told Carla to phone in her resignation, that he'd take care of her. Then she disappeared. He told me he'd hidden her until everything blew over. I had my doubts, but I wanted to believe she was okay. I hung around Leo's club hoping for some word. When I saw you there, I knew they'd gotten to you." Peter began to tremble violently.

Torn between anger and sympathy, she marched to the sink and filled a glass with water. She handed the water to her friend. A friend who had turned out to be a man she didn't know at all. "How could you let this go so far?"

"I never dreamed it would turn deadly. It's too late for me, but not for you. I'm going to the police. I can't bear another death on my conscience. I've never trusted Leo. Hell, I would have been an even bigger fool if I had. I stashed evidence in my safe-deposit box at the bank. If I die, the court can open the box." He transferred the water to his left hand, fumbled a safe-deposit box key from his pocket. His fingers shook as he held it out. "This is an extra key. Even if they put me in witness protection, I doubt I'll live to testify. If something happens to me, turn it in anonymously."

She reached for the key. "Peter, I—"

Gabe stepped out of hiding. "Don't go to the police. I can help you."

Chapter 15

«
^
»

P
eter blanched dead white. He whirled. The glass crashed to the floor.

Gabe held up his hands. "Remember me, Tessa's cousin Val? I can help you. I guarantee you won't get killed, or serve time. I have connections. Tell him, Tessa."

She nodded. "He'll do what he says. You can trust him."

Peter shook his head. "I don't know…"

"Look, you were going to the cops anyway." Gabe's voice was pitched low, soothing. "You said yourself you might end up in prison, or dead. What have you got to lose?"

"Who are you? Who do you work for?"

"That's not important. I can get your butt out of the sling. Who would you rather do business with, me or Leo?"

Tessa gripped Peter's arm. "I'd put my life in his hands without hesitation. You can trust him. My word of honor."

Peter gulped in a shuddery breath. "What do you want me to do?"

"What evidence have you got?" Gabe asked.

"Photocopies of the checks I passed to Leo, the dates and amounts, and some of his phonies. That and my testimony will sink him for counterfeiting. If you can link Carla's death to him, you'll have him on murder."

Gabe glanced at his watch. "We've barely got time to get to the bank before it closes for the weekend." He grabbed the notepad and pen beside the telephone and scribbled an address and some numbers. "Once we get the evidence, go to this safe house. Here are the codes for the door lock and alarm system. I'll follow you from a discreet distance and make sure you get there in one piece. You won't see me, but I'll be there. Stay put until you hear from me. I also wrote down my private cell number."

Peter tucked the paper inside his jacket. "I'm supposed to meet Leo sometime in the next few days. He's been on my back to replace Carla and get the operation moving again." He closed his eyes. "Poor Carla, she didn't deserve to die." His eyes flew open, dark with distress. "Should I stall him?"

"He doesn't suspect you're getting ready to turn on him?"

"If he did, I'd already be dead."

"If you can't get out of the meeting without arousing his suspicion, agree to it. I might bag him before then, anyway. I'll call you in twenty-four hours. Until then, sit tight." Gabe glanced at his watch again. "I'm not waiting until Monday to do this. We haven't got time for anything fancy, so this is how it will go down. Peter, I want you to access your safe-deposit box and get the goods. Is your box in the branch vault?"

"No, I have a private box downstairs in the main vault."

"I don't want you to have direct contact with Tessa, just in case. Take the evidence to your office and put it in an interoffice envelope. Have it sent immediately to her office. Tessa will stop in after being sick to pick up her mail. That's all you need to know. She and I will discuss the rest on the way over. Go ahead. We'll follow."

Casting a last anxious, apologetic look at her, Peter left.

First Lucille, then Dale, now Peter. Apparently, her ability to judge people's character was badly flawed. Who was next? Her stomach clenched. Gabe? Would he also turn into a stranger and let her down?

They walked silently downstairs to the car. Gabe swung open the passenger door. "You don't mind if I drive this time?" Though his tone was light, his trademark grin was noticeably absent.

He slid into the driver's seat. "We'll be in a public place. Even if Leo suspected Peter, he'd have to be the biggest idiot on the planet to pull something. And he hasn't kept his operation afloat by acting stupid. This has almost zero risk, or I wouldn't let you do it."