by Robin Mahle
This was good news for her. “That’s what I understand. I’ve spoken with a member of the task force, Agent Caison?”
“Yeah, he’s been in the meetings. Seems a pretty sharp guy.”
“I think so. Well, I’d better try to get back into the swing of things.”
“Let me know if I can get you up to speed, okay?”
“I will. Thanks, Mike.”
As she and Mike parted company, Lacy’s phone buzzed in her purse. “Will. Good morning.”
“Lacy, hi. You at home?”
“No, actually, I decided to come into the office today. Try and start getting back to normal.”
“I’m glad you’re here. You mind meeting me in my office?”
“I’ll head over now.” She hustled the lengthy distance between her building and the Ops Center, knocking on his opened door to announce her arrival. “Agent Caison?”
He turned from his desk. “Lacy, please come in. Thanks for coming to see me.” He retrieved a sheet of paper. “Take a seat. This is Jay’s banking information I was waiting for last week. For whatever reason, it was lost in cyber-space, but magically appeared in my inbox this morning.” He handed it to her.
Lacy studied the statement. “Two deposits, $100,000 each.” She looked at him. “But it doesn’t say who they’re from. That was what we needed to know.”
“Look at the wire transfer number. From that, we can derive city and country of origin.”
“And that helps us how, exactly?”
Will pointed to the number. “This shows us the money came from this same bank in Panama. Just another secret hiding place of the rich and tax evaders. However, what’s really interesting here is that it didn’t come from Liwa Properties, as I thought it would have.”
“Because if it did, that would suggest Jay was involved with Owen and Tom Ballard.” A suggestion she tried to avoid believing.
“Exactly. I again reached out to our friends in Panama who were very willing to turn over the information regarding the account holder activity since I informed them it could involve the group responsible for a terrorist attack.” It seemed Will was finally ready to drop the bombshell he’d been skirting around. “The money was deposited by Owen Ballard.”
Lacy felt even more confused than when Will began this conversation. “The money came from Ballard? Why? That makes zero sense to me.”
“The bank in Panama was also kind enough to hand over all of Ballard’s account details. Money was sent to him from Dubai in roughly the same timeframe, though I don’t yet have the sender’s name.”
“But it’s safe to assume it was Liwa Properties? They sent money to Ballard to keep an eye on their competition, who in turn paid Jay money, probably to keep quiet about it. And Neville must have been the facilitator.” The fear that Jay had been involved was coming to fruition and Lacy’s head spun.
“Most likely. I’m so sorry, Lacy. I know this must be incredibly difficult for you to hear. But you asked me to help you get to the bottom of this.”
“I guess I didn’t expect the bottom to actually involve my husband.”
“There’s something else too. I found deposits into Ballard’s account originating from Beijing—not belonging to Liwa or any subsidiary that I could find.”
“Beijing? Are you telling me that Ballard was getting paid by Liwa to presumably give them information about competitors, but that he was also receiving money from China? From who and why?”
“That’s the million-dollar question of the day.”
11
Owen Ballard was the man responsible for all of this and Lacy knew it for a fact now. What she couldn’t wrap her head around was that Jay was involved too, but it just didn’t make sense. Not when he’d gone so far as to hack into Nova’s systems, as Aaron said. But an account in his name with $200,000 in it was hard to argue against. Was he going to tell her that night? Was that why he bought the earrings?
“Christ, Jay. What the hell were you thinking?” Lacy leaned against the outside of the building after politely excusing herself from Will’s office. Again, her world was crumbling all around her. Jay’s reputation would be destroyed. There was so much evidence stacked against him. Lacy reeled with confusion. Perhaps she didn’t know her husband as well as she thought.
She began dialing Aaron Hunter and waited for him to answer. “Hey. It’s Lacy.”
“What’s up? You all right?” He must’ve picked up on her tone.
“No. Jay was taking money from Owen Ballard to keep quiet about his deal with Nova.”
“What? No fucking way would Jay do that. Why would you say that?”
“I saw it, Aaron. I saw the money he received in a bank account that he never told me about. It came from Owen Ballard.”
“Lacy, come on. This can’t be what it looks like. It just can’t. You’ve known that man almost half your life. Are you telling me you believe this bullshit?”
“What choice do I have? It’s right there, in black and white.”
“You know what—no. You need to stop with this shit right now, you understand? There’s an explanation for whatever it is you saw. Don’t do this, Lacy. Don’t turn against him, not now. He’s not here to defend himself.”
She wiped away the tears that streamed down her face. “I don’t know what to do. What the hell am I supposed to do, Aaron? They’re going to find out. I can’t ask Agent Caison to withhold this information. It possibly implicates two other people who are still alive. The ramifications of their arrangement is too big. A multi-national corporation, offshore bank accounts, and possibly a bombing? This could still all tie to the attack. We just don’t know right now.”
“Just calm down. Give me a minute to think here,” Aaron replied.
“There’s one other thing. Owen was getting money from someone in Beijing. I don’t know who or why, but now we’re talking involvement from China. I have no idea what else we’ll find.”
♦♦♦
Word reached Ballard about the investigation into his offshore bank account. His account manager phoned him early in the morning to inform him that a request had been made by the FBI to turn over his account details and they had no choice but to comply. And now he had just reached full panic mode. That account was only the tip of the iceberg and he had no idea how the FBI would have discovered it.
Owen had it planned down to the last detail, planting the number in Jay’s office for Lacy to find, casting suspicion over the dealings of a dead man. The agreement was to point the investigation to Jay. It was just another way they could push the knife in deeper, as if the bombing wasn’t enough to bring Nova and Liwa Properties to its knees. They’d wanted to pull apart the entire organization and everyone associated with it, including Argus Solutions. And Owen made it happen. He made all of it happen.
But what he didn’t know was that his trusted bank manager would so easily reveal the private details of his own account. Owen leaned back in his chair. What was he thinking? He could just anonymously deposit money and it would be untraceable? That was what the bank manager said, though, wasn’t it? How the hell could the FBI get away with that? Now he was fucked. “Son of a bitch.”
Ballard knew it would only be a matter of time before word reached Beijing, because if the FBI found his account, they’d find the man in Beijing who paid him. He needed a way out before it was too late.
It would take some doing, but he could get himself and Julianne on a plane out of the country by tonight. He’d need money, most importantly, and their passports, which he kept in a safe deposit box at the bank.
There was some money in a safe in his bedroom, but not enough to be gone for the duration. Ballard knew there would be no coming back from this. He considered now that it hadn’t been worth the risk in the end. The mistake had been when Beijing reached out to him, but had there really been a choice to deny their request? Maybe he was just making excuses now. Regardless of how it came about, his treachery was on
the verge of being discovered and there was no time to ponder his misdeeds that had cost hundreds of lives.
♦♦♦
Owen peered through the curtains in the formal living room, which was home to the baby grand piano that no one ever touched. A very expensive conversation piece was what it had become. Another in a long line of wasted expenditures to keep up appearances.
The time was approaching midday and if he was going to arrange to leave, he would need to start now. A final visit to his son was too risky, and for his own safety, Owen just couldn’t do it. It was a choice he’d have to live with.
Julianne would be back within the hour and so he grabbed his car keys and jumped into his Mercedes. The heat of the day added to his distress and he cranked up the air conditioner. Owen began to wonder if he was being watched. Perhaps it was just his growing paranoia, but it was a feeling he couldn’t shake.
Upon arrival at the bank, he stepped out of the car and surveilled the parking lot. He proceeded to walk inside, still glancing over his shoulder.
“I’d like access to my safe deposit box,” he asked on approach to one of the tellers.
“Of course.” She began typing. “I’ll just need to see your ID and have you enter your social security number on the keypad, please.”
Owen dug out his wallet and retrieved his driver’s license and then quickly entered his social security number on the keypad in front of him.
“Thank you, sir.” She examined his ID and looked at her computer screen. The woman looked at him again. “Sir, does anyone else have access to your account?”
“No.” Owen’s heart dropped into his stomach.
“It appears as though this account was closed yesterday.”
“But I have my key.” He showed her his key as though confirming she must be mistaken.
Her expression grew distressed. “Sir, let me get the manager for you. If you’ll just wait here for a moment.”
Owen’s palms turned clammy in an instant. Something wasn’t right. No one else’s name was on that account. No one else had a key. He again glanced over his shoulder, then across the entire bank. A few other customers had their faces buried in their phones while other bank employees appeared busy. No one noticed him at all.
Perspiration began to form on his brow. Alarm surged through him and he needed to act now. Owen turned on his heel and walked away from the teller’s window. Behind him, he could hear her and a man who was likely the bank manager call out to him. He picked up his pace and pushed through the glass doors.
They’d already found out and now they were after him. No loose ends. Owen roared out of the parking lot and drove at a frantic pace back to his home. He prayed Julianne had returned because all he would have time for would be to grab the money in the safe and throw a few things in a bag.
He spotted her car in the drive and exhaled a thankful breath. Still, with no passports, they would only get so far, but he hoped it would get them far enough. Passports could be bought. New identities could be bought.
Owen burst through the front door. “Jules? Jules, where are you?” His voice echoed throughout the sprawling rooms. No answer. He rushed up the stairs, skipping a step to hurry himself. “Jules? You up here?”
He walked into their bedroom where the safe was kept, but instead of getting to the safe, he saw Julianne with a gun pressed against her temple as she and a man whom Owen did not recognize stood near their bed.
“No loose ends, Ballard. You were warned,” the man said, pressing the gun harder until Julianne moaned.
“Stop!” Ballard threw out his arms as if he could wield the power to propel the gun from the man’s grasp. “Please. Let her go. She’s not involved in any of this.”
“Owen, what’s going on?” her broken voice erupted.
“Shut up.” The man pressed again.
“Look, look, I know how to fix this. No one knows anything, okay? All they know was that I had a bank account.”
“And that money had been deposited,” the man replied.
“But it doesn’t prove anything.”
“You might be right, but it has turned the FBI in our direction and that, my friend, is the problem.”
Owen watched Julianne. Her face was streaked with blackened tears from running mascara. Her body trembled wildly. “It’s okay, babe. Everything will be fine.”
The man looked at him. A sneer formed on his lips. “No. It won’t.” He pulled the trigger.
“No!” Owen yelled, his face masked in horror as Julianne’s blood splattered across him. He looked down to see his clothes covered in her blood.
Her lifeless body was lowered to the ground as the man kept his gun pointed at Owen.
“Jesus Christ! What the fuck did you do?” Owen shuddered as he gazed upon Julianne’s face. Eyes still open, blood streaming down the side of her head. Her beautiful blonde hair now soaked in red.
“You made a deal, Mr. Ballard. One that paid you a handsome sum.” The man rose again, his gun never leaving its target.
“I did everything they asked. I told them about Merrick. I told them when he’d be away from the office so they could get access to his computer. I cooperated. I didn’t know he was going to be at the mall, though. I swear I didn’t.”
“That was unfortunate, however, I think you and I both know that isn’t the real problem here, Mr. Ballard. You betrayed us. You couldn’t really believe we wouldn’t find out.”
And that was it. The one thing Owen hadn’t realized they’d discovered. The money Neville paid him was too much to pass up. And all he had to do was give him access to the Dalian Company’s systems, a competitor Jay managed. They knew Jay had that account and that was the reason Tom dealt with him to begin with.
But it wasn’t long before Owen started playing both sides, giving them information on each other. And by the time he’d learned of the planned attack, there was no backing out of his arrangement on either end. It would’ve cost him his life. As it turned out, things seemed to be heading that way anyway.
“I don’t know what you think you found out, but no one knows of our arrangement, I can promise you that.” Owen tried to conceal his pleading tone as he glanced at Julianne.
“You have grossly underestimated our reach, Mr. Ballard. We know about the FBI’s inquiry into your banking records. We also know that you tried to shift the funds to Jay Merrick so that he could be seen as a co-conspirator with Nova Investments. But that was a mistake. It only drew the attention of the FBI and now us.” The man pulled the trigger once again and the bullet whizzed from the gun’s barrel, quieted by the silencer, and struck Owen in his chest.
The impact caused him to stumble as he looked down at the blood spilling out of the hole in his shirt. He clutched his chest and his knees buckled. Owen fell to the ground, his head landing on the soft, white, deep pile carpet only feet from Julianne’s blank stare. That was the last thing Owen Ballard would ever see again.
♦♦♦
CIA counterterrorism analyst Agent Trevor Axell entered the Ops Center and approached a front desk attendant. “I’m here to see Agents Mendez and Caison regarding the Fairfax mall attack.” He held out his credentials.
“They’re in conference room 1A. You can go back.”
Axell nodded and took his leave. He’d been here many times as the two agencies’ work often intermingled. He approached the conference room and noted the men inside. “Good afternoon.” He reached for Caison’s hand. “Agent Trevor Axell. Pleasure.”
“Will Caison,” He returned the gesture. “This is SSA Gabe Mendez. Thank you for coming down.”
“I looked into Liwa Properties,” Axell pulled out his laptop and placed it on the desk. “But I’m having a hard time finding anything that makes them look dirty.”
Caison appeared confused. “You did receive Owen Ballard’s bank account information I sent you earlier?” He was sitting on the information about Jay Merrick for the time being.
“I just want to know what Liwa is about. I’ve got information to suggest that they have enemies. I was hoping you could tell me who those enemies are.”
“Who are your sources?”
“We’re working with Metro Police and their contacts relayed some fairly vague information, which we were hoping you could run with,” Mendez replied.
Will’s phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. “I’m sorry, I need to take this.” He raised from the chair and stepped out the room.
“This is Caison.” He paused. “Yes. When did this happen?” He glanced at his watch. “Shit. Who found them? And Annandale Police are there now? Okay. Just tell them not to move anything. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Thank you.” Will made his way back inside the conference room.
“Owen Ballard and his wife are dead.” He looked directly at the CIA agent. “You can’t tell me that’s a coincidence.”
12
Sunglasses shielded Lacy’s eyes from the bright midday glow while she waited on a bench along the swath of grass that was the heart of the National Mall. What hid behind those glasses were eyes imbued with uncertainty and fear.
Lines had been crossed, laws had been broken, and as news came to her of Owen and his wife’s death, she realized the hornet’s nest had been kicked. And she would be the one to get stung next.
Transfixed by the dancing shadows on the concrete path in front of her, a new silhouette appeared. Lacy raised her head toward the sun and noted Will’s approach.