The Fitzgerald Ruse (20 page)
“The door that I pushed open, on the advice of an elevator boy, was marked ‘The Swastika Holding Company,’ and at first there didn’t seem to be anyone inside.”
I sat at my new desk and studied the sentence from
The Great Gatsby
, remembering Ethel Barkley’s copy with the numeral one penciled over the first T and the Z=Z equation on the following page. A computer would have cracked the code in a few seconds, but I had neither a software program nor an encrypted message to use as a target. If my deductions were correct, a simple letter substitution would give me the alphabet I needed. Despite Agent Keith’s warning, I wanted to be prepared to decode any documents before the FBI forever confiscated them.
I realized my efforts could be little more than busy work while Nathan executed the details of our plan. Calvin’s supposition that the lockbox contained something requiring interpretation or deciphering was a plausible theory, but only a theory.
If T was identified as one, then it made sense that T would equal A. The next letter, H, would be B, and E would be C. I scribbled the letters down in two columns: the left held the letters from the sentence and the right ran in alphabetical order from A to Z. I skipped letters when they appeared again like the second O in door. The sentence contained twenty-two letters of the alphabet, and my sequence ended with the G in “Holding” equaling V. Four letters remained without a coded equivalent: W, X, Y, Z. I looked back through the letters of the sentence. Four hadn’t been included in Fitzgerald’s sentence: J, Q, X, and Z. I assigned them to the missing letters of the alphabet and wound up with Z=Z, the equation written in the margin. I clapped my hands with satisfaction.
“What is it?” Nakayla called from her office.
“That sentence in
The Great Gatsby
generated an alphabet that fits the Z=Z equation. I’m pretty sure I’ve broken the code.”
“How do you hope to use it?” She’d walked to my doorway and leaned against the jamb. “Keith will grab the lockbox at his first opportunity.”
I held up my worksheet with the two columns of letters. “I’ve got this. Hernandez and his people might have Ethel’s lockbox with them, or once we bring Efird in the picture, he’ll probably find it where they’ve been staying. He’ll want the contents decoded if only to help build his murder case.”
“And our payment is in there,” Nakayla said, emphasizing “our.”
“Right, partner.”
She circled behind me and gently massaged my shoulders. “You’re tense. Are you sure you want to do it this way? Why not dig up Nathan’s decoy and simply rebury it. The area’s more isolated and you know they’ll check out what you were doing.”
“Too many ways for them to slip away on foot. My apartment’s atop a mountain and the parking lot can be easily sealed. I want them to think I’m making a break. We need to force their hand.”
She gave the back of my neck an extra squeeze.
“Then let Nathan and his Blackwater buddies do the dirty work. We can spend our time dancing in front of the window.”
“Really? That’ll draw a crowd in the parking lot.”
Nakayla cupped her hand around my chin, closing my mouth. She kissed my ear and said in a sultry whisper, “At least no one can accuse you of having two left feet. Or even one.”
I grabbed her wrist and ran my forefinger across her open palm. “That’s what I love about you. You’re all heart line.”
She kissed me again. “Your Napoleon needs to meet my Josephine.”
“That’s a dance I could get into—but not in front of the window.”
The office phone rang, saving me from falling into a bad impersonation of Humphrey Bogart. I snagged the receiver. “Blackman and Robertson.”
“Chief?” Calvin’s voice sounded strained. “You okay?”
“Yeah. How about you? Everything cleared up?” I didn’t think our office lines had been re-bugged, and Calvin must have agreed. But I wanted both of us to be cautious.
“I think so, but I heard you spent some time at the police station, and before I left town I wanted an update.”
“The police picked up another suspect. Turned out to be a false alarm.” In case Calvin’s line was tapped, I didn’t want to mention the FBI and scare off our friends.
“So you think we’re done?” he asked.
“Yes. The police got a positive ID on Lucas. He’d been following us, and the so-called witnesses at that old folks home aren’t sure what they saw. I think Lucas is good for both murders.”
“Well, I’ll pick up the trail in Baghdad. Sure you don’t want to come with me?”
“That’s one trail I never want to walk down. Watch your back. I plan to see you again.”
Calvin laughed. “I will. You taught me well, Chief. And good luck with the detective business. Kiss that partner of yours for me and tell her you’re a poor substitute for the real thing.” He hung up.
“A problem?” Nakayla asked.
“No. Calvin probably witnessed the police pick up Agent Keith and wondered if our plans had changed. He’ll be at the apartment tomorrow night. Everything’s on go.” I looked out the window at the steady drizzle. “The rain will shield Nathan’s operation tonight, but I hope they don’t leave muddy signs for tomorrow.”
“I hope these guys keep their distance and determine you dug something up after you’re safely away.”
“If things go according to plan, they’ll see me load the chest in the CR-V.”
“Right.” Nakayla headed for her office. “When have things ever gone according to plan?”
“What did you learn about the flights?”
She stopped and turned around. “The airport manager is supposed to call me back before the end of the day. I figured that would be faster than trying to contact each airline.”
“And if we discover Agent Keith lied?”
She put her hands on her hips and feigned surprise. “You want my opinion?”
“No. I like to hear myself ask questions.”
“If Keith lied, then we postpone this ruse of yours until we find out why. And that should be left to Detective Efird. I’m not ready to take on the FBI.”
I shook my head. “If Keith lied, then I bet we aren’t taking on the FBI but something more sinister. And that, dear partner, will be troubling indeed.”
Ten minutes later, Nathan Armitage knocked on our door. Beads of water clung to his long raincoat, and he declined Nakayla’s offer to help him out of it. “I can’t stay, and I’d just shake water all over your floor. I’m meeting the team at my house in an hour. I didn’t want to have to explain them to my office staff.”
“How’s the fake chest?” I asked.
Nathan grinned. “Looks terrific. I used an old rusty tackle box. And the trick with the potato created a perfect swastika. It took a couple tries but for future reference, put the carved half of the potato in the freezer. The lead will harden before the heat eats at the mold. By the way, you need to replenish all my fishing weights.”
“I’ll throw in a fish dinner if we pull this off.”
“How are you feeling?” Nakayla asked him. Unlike me, she’d remembered his recent release from the hospital and his weeks of rehab.
“Good. I won’t be doing any digging, and a little rain won’t bother me. A small price to pay.” He stuck his hands inside the pockets of his coat and pulled out two cell phones. “These will be safe. There’s a push-to-talk feature, but avoid that. I’ve taped your names on the back so I’ll know who has which number. I’ve written it under your name. Memorize them and destroy them.” He handed us each a phone. “I don’t program numbers into the directory in case it’s ever lost or stolen.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Call me when the chest is buried, no matter what time.”
“Given the weather, we might move a little earlier. I think Beaver Lake will be quiet after midnight.”
Our business line rang and Nakayla stepped in her office to answer it.
Nathan backed toward the door. “See you tomorrow. We’ll get them. I can feel it.”
Before I could reply, Nakayla said, “Mr. Garrett, thank you for returning my call.”
I held up my hand to Nathan. “Wait. That’s the airport manager.”
“Yes,” Nakayla said. “The flight arrivals for last Tuesday evening.”
Nathan and I moved into her office where she stood listening.
“So, not just the flights out of Charlotte? What did land on time?” After a few minutes of silence, she gave us a thumbs-up. “Thanks, Mr. Garrett. I hope the rest of your week is smoother.” She dropped the receiver onto the cradle. “Well, Agent Keith’s story checks out. Asheville and Charlotte weren’t the only cities with severe weather problems. A wall of thunderstorms from North Carolina to New York played havoc with the schedule. Charlotte was under a tornado watch from six to eight, and wind sheers kept the runways closed for nearly an hour.”
“Keith claimed to leave from D.C,” I said.
“The evening flights come to Asheville from regional hubs. Charlotte is the primary feeder. Garrett said a few flights came from Atlanta. Even though Atlanta was spared the bad weather, the connecting routes from the Northeast were delayed. Garrett speculated passengers from the South or Midwest would have been more likely to make connections, but after the storms passed through Asheville, the backlog of arrivals slowed all landings. Keith’s evening flight probably had problems in both D.C. and Charlotte.”
Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. “So, unless he flew in earlier in the afternoon, his timing fits the conditions. I’m glad we’re not dealing with some rogue FBI agent.” He cinched the belt of his raincoat tighter. “I’ll be in touch. I suggest you two stick together tonight. I’ll have a man on watch at the apartment.”
Nakayla looked at her watch. “It’s after four now. I need to go by my house and pick up a change of clothes.”
“Then I’m following you,” I said. “We’re too close to the end to take any chances.”
Although Nakayla and I went to bed at ten, neither of us could sleep. We kept Nathan’s phones within reach on the nightstands and talked about where we should be when the trap was sprung. The lower level of the Kenilworth had an outside door off the back wing that opened directly into the rear parking lot. Nathan and his team wanted my CR-V in the center where it would be the greatest distance from the two exit driveways. Nathan expected to surround Hernandez and his cohorts in less than ten seconds. Calvin, Nakayla, and I could emerge from the Kenilworth’s rear door and block an escape route into the building.
During our pillow talk, I didn’t argue against Nakayla’s participation, but I insisted Calvin and I go first. We had combat training and carried weapons with greater stopping power. Nakayla agreed to the plan.
I was just drifting off when the secure cell rang. It was nearly one-thirty.
“No problems,” Nathan said. “We buried the chest behind the concrete piling. It was raining like a son of a bitch, which will pat down the earth and wash the loose soil off the leaves.”
“You think midmorning is good?”
“Yes. Right after the rain ends. It makes sense you’d be out there before things clear enough for any lake activity to begin. I realized you need a shovel. Give me your access code and I’ll have one set inside the back door on the lower level for you to carry out in the morning. Also a fishing pole.”
“Fishing pole?”
“They’ll expect you to have devised some plausible cover for being at Beaver Lake.”
Nathan made a good point, and I was embarrassed I hadn’t thought of it. “And you’ll have men in place all day?”
“Only at the lake until you make the retrieval. Then we’ll be at the Kenilworth. I know Frank Howington, the owner of your building, and there’s a vacant apartment on the second floor overlooking the parking lot. Frank made arrangements for me to have it for the next two days.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I had a client who thought she was being stalked.”
I looked at Nakayla in bed beside me. She’d propped herself up on one elbow and watched me with anxious eyes. “I’m worried about that part of the plan too—Nakayla driving to the office alone.”
Nathan picked up on my concern and understood that I was prompting him. Nakayla wouldn’t be as argumentative if he were dictating the steps of the operation. “I get it. Tell her I’m sending a man for her in the morning. He’ll be in a silver Audi and come to the porte-cochère. That way I won’t have to waste a more experienced man tailing her. She can call for a ride from the office when she’s finished for the day.”
I repeated his instructions.
Nakayla frowned. “Won’t that make them suspicious?”
Nathan must have heard her because he added, “I scanned your cars and found GPS transmitters planted on both. These guys came prepared.”
“Or they have access to resources here.”
Nathan said nothing, and I knew he was second-guessing his decision to involve his Blackwater friends.
“At least I won’t have to worry about leading them to Beaver Lake,” I said. “And it might be good if Nakayla’s moving without their electronic surveillance.”
Her eyes widened as she realized her car had been tagged.
“What time do you want Nathan’s man to be here?” I asked her.
“Eight forty-five.”
I confirmed that we’d look for a silver Audi to pull in front at eight forty-five. I’d be watching from the recesses of the lobby to make sure no one intervened, and Nakayla promised to call me as soon as she reached the office.