[Katerina Carter 01.0] Exit Strategy

by Colleen Cross

  Kat turned her attention back to the screen. The most recent transaction was a deposit of five billion. It was the other side of the withdrawal she had viewed moments earlier on the Bancroft Richardson website. She exhaled in relief and leaned back in her chair. Now all she had to do was prevent it from going anywhere further.

  The easiest way would be to change the password.

  “I don’t care whose meeting you have to interrupt. This is important!”

  Kat listened to Cindy berate whoever was on the other end for not calling her sooner. What should she change the password to? She typed hurryhard and pressed enter.

  Your password has been changed.

  She mouse-clicked her way back to the account transactions page and froze in shock. Now the balance was near zero. In the time it took to change the password, the five billion had moved again, this time to the Bank of Liechtenstein. Someone else was accessing the money at the very moment she was. Clara.

  “You don’t understand. Gus and Mitch are the key to this. If they’re on the loose, there’s no guarantee what might happen. Without them, we have no case.”

  What? Kat flashbacked to the day Gus had broken into the office. Then the attack on the trail. She suddenly felt very vulnerable. What would stop Gus from coming back again? He had wanted to kill her on the McBarge too, and he knew where to find her.

  “I want you to get them now.” Cindy marched back in the office and plopped down in the oversized armchair. “Don’t even call me until they’re locked up again.”

  “Gus and Mitch escaped?”

  “Not quite.” Cindy rested her head in her hands and rubbed her eyes. “They were released by accident. Wrong paperwork.”

  “Great. Are they going to come after me again?” Kat googled the Bank of Liechtenstein and navigated to the website. Her head was spinning.

  “Maybe. They did promise Ortega.”

  She typed in the account number and password and pressed enter.

  Invalid login. Please try again.

  She cursed herself for rushing. Now she had wasted a precious login.

  “Promised him what?”

  Cindy hesitated.

  “That they would kill you.”

  “But didn’t you convince them I was worth more alive than dead?”

  “I did. But you don’t say no to someone like Ortega.”

  “Cindy! Are you protecting me or not?”

  “Relax. I’ll make sure you’re not in any danger. Just don’t go off on your own again and do anything stupid.”

  Kat reread the screen, a bit slower this time.

  Passwords are case sensitive.

  Vicente. The first letter would be capitalized.

  She retyped it with a capital V and pressed enter.

  It worked. The Bank of Liechtenstein had the five billion. She immediately changed the password. She returned to the transaction details page and refreshed the screen. This time the balance was unchanged. That bought her some time. Now she just had to do the same to the dozen or so other banks on Clara’s list.

  “Don’t you have to be somewhere?” It was hard to concentrate on the task of freezing the other transfers with Cindy across from her.

  “No. Not right now.” Cindy put her boots up on Kat’s desk. “Got any coffee?”

  “All out. You have to go catch Gus and Mitch, remember?”

  “True. But I can’t just leave you here all by yourself.”

  “Yes, you can. I’ll be okay.” Every second she spent talking to Cindy was time Clara could use to move the rest of the money. She had to get rid of Cindy.

  “I don’t know, Kat. Can you call Jace?”

  “Sure.” Jace was out on another search and rescue again, this time for a Japanese exchange student who had snow-shoed out of bounds. But Cindy didn’t need to know that. She pretended to dial his number and faked a conversation.

  “There—all set. He’ll be here in fifteen minutes. You can go now.”

  “I’d better wait.” Cindy leaned back in the chair and gazed out the window. “Although leaving things with Platt doesn’t give me a lot of confidence. It was his paperwork that released them in the first place.”

  “Go now, Cindy. Please?”

  “Why are you trying to get rid of me?”

  “I’m not. I just don’t want Gus to get me again.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better for me to stay here with you?”

  “Cindy—Jace will be here in a few minutes. You’ve got a lot to do. I don’t want to answer any more questions or overhear anymore of your conversations about Gus and Mitch escaping. After spending what I thought were my last hours on earth with Nick on a deserted barge, then having you practically break my back, I’ve had it. Now would you please just go?”

  Cindy held her palms up in protest.

  “Relax, Kat. I get it. Too much for one day. Why couldn’t you just say that?”

  Cindy didn’t wait for an answer.

  “Phone me if you leave here,” she said as she stood. “And when you get home.”

  “Fine.”

  Kat heard Cindy’s boots click down the hallway.

  “I’ll lock the door. Don’t forget to call me.”

  The tumbler clicked as Cindy secured the door behind her.

  At last. Now she could concentrate on catching Clara.

  If Clara was shut out of her account, the first thing she would do is call the bank. People with Clara’s money were on a first-name basis with their private bankers. She checked the clock on her computer. Five past one. That was after closing time in the Caymans and elsewhere in the Caribbean, but it was already the next morning in Liechtenstein. Changing the passwords bought her a bit of time, but it was only a stop-gap solution at best.

  The money belonged back at Bancroft Richardson. But transferring it back into the same account just gave Clara another chance to steal it. There was only one other solution. She typed the password. If anything happened to her, Harry would know what to do.

  51

  Harry drove up the winding driveway to the expansive Tudor-style house and parked in front. Kat knew from their previous meeting that Audrey had never married. She had pictured Audrey living in a downtown penthouse, not a large acreage on the outskirts of Vancouver. With an estate this size, Audrey would need hired help. Kat wondered if they would be around so early in the morning.

  She got out of the Lincoln Town Car and walked across the circular drive to the front door, pausing to scan the property. To her left was a riding corral and stables backing onto a large pasture. No horses that she could see, although it was early morning and still dark enough for headlights.

  The sweet scent of winter jasmine wafted up from the low hedge bordering the entrance. She tapped the brass doorknocker and glanced back at Harry. He was already squirming in the Lincoln’s driver seat. How long could she keep him in the car and out of trouble? He caught her stare.

  “Sure you don’t want me to come out?” Harry said, hoping for a last-minute reprieve.

  Kat waved her hand to say no. She didn’t need him to complicate things even more with Audrey.

  Harry had offered to drive since her Celica was still on the bottom of the Fraser River and she couldn’t afford to replace it. After Clara’s smelly garbage, he didn’t trust her enough to hand over the keys again. She felt like a kid being dropped off for a play date.

  Waiting at the doorstep, she ignored Harry who was still trying to get her attention. After a minute, Audrey surprised her by opening the heavy oak door herself. She must have just stepped out of the shower, with hair wrapped in a towel exactly matching her cerulean blue satin dressing gown. She was barefoot and holding a glass of orange juice, the pulp visible on the glass. This down-to-earth Audrey was a definite contrast from the fur-and-pearls version Kat had seen at the shareholder meeting.

  Audrey didn’t invite her in. Not a good thing, because it meant Harry might overhear the conversation in the doorway. Kat shivered despite her fleece jacket, feeling t
he morning chill. She watched her breath linger in the air as she exhaled.

  “Did you really need to show up here at six-thirty in the morning? You said you had the money. That’s all that matters. What else is there to talk about?” Audrey’s hand shook, sloshing the liquid close to the rim. Kat stepped back to avoid being splashed.

  “I do have the money, sort of. I just don’t know what to do with it.”

  “Put it back. What else?”

  “I wish it were that simple.” Kat glanced back at Harry, oblivious to the fact his net worth had just increased by nearly fifty billion dollars. Her split-second decision to transfer the money from Clara’s accounts into his might have solved a big problem, but it also created a couple of new ones.

  Audrey’s half-closed eyes suddenly popped open.

  “Audrey, I can’t just put it back in the Opal Holdings account at Bancroft Richardson. Clara was able to steal it right under the noses of the regulators, despite the account being frozen. If she found a way to do it the first time, she’ll just take it again. So I had to put it somewhere else.” Kat spoke softly so Harry couldn’t hear. Why wasn’t Audrey inviting her in?

  “Somewhere? What does that mean?” Audrey gulped half the orange juice and closed her eyes momentarily. A satisfied sigh followed.

  Must be fortified OJ.

  “I had to think fast. So I put it in Harry’s account.”

  “Harry?” Audrey’s eyes narrowed.

  Kat winced.

  “Yes, that’s me.” At the mention of his name Harry practically jumped from the Lincoln. He was at the door faster than a hundred-meter sprinter on steroids. “Pleased to meet you, Ms.—?”

  “Braithwaite. Audrey Braithwaite.” Audrey threw her head back and downed the remainder of the glass. Whatever she was drinking had perked her up like a jolt of caffeine. She scrutinized Kat. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing a guest.”

  “It wasn’t planned. Sorry.” Kat’s eyes narrowed as she shot Uncle Harry a threatening stare. He knew full well who Audrey was. He was just playing dumb to get involved in the conversation, exactly what he had promised not to do.

  Uncle Harry studiously avoided her glare.

  “So you’re the guy with all the money.” Audrey smiled as she regarded Harry. Kat’s stomach dropped. Was Audrey mocking him, or just happy to know the where the money was? Maybe it was just the spiked OJ. At any rate, she’d better steer this conversation elsewhere fast.

  “Huh? I suppose so. I’ve always been a saver. Save your pennies and the dollars take care of themselves.” Harry broke out in a smile, content enough to be complimented without knowing the reason.

  “Uncle Harry, don’t you have to make a call?”

  “Ah, yes. I almost forgot. Nice to meet you, Audrey. If you ever—”

  “Uncle Harry?”

  “Right.” Harry sighed and turned.

  Kat watched him walk back to the Lincoln. Once he was in the car and out of earshot, she turned back to Audrey.

  “He doesn’t know about it?”

  “Not yet. Audrey, I had to transfer that money somewhere to get it out of Clara’s reach.”

  “So you gave the money to Harry, who just happens to be your uncle. Isn’t that a bit unusual?”

  “It’s not how it looks. I had a split second before the money was lost forever, so I had to move it. Since Harry’s account is also at Bancroft Richardson, I thought I could at least return it to the same institution it had been stolen from.”

  “You’ve lied to me before, Kat. Why should I believe you? You said you worked for Liberty when you had already been fired.”

  “I never actually said I worked for Liberty right at that moment. All I said was that Liberty had hired me to—”

  “Semantics. You misled me into believing you did, knowing I would never have talked to you otherwise. Admit it.” Audrey glanced down at her glass and then behind her as if debating a refill.

  “Audrey, why does it matter? I got the money back. I could have just taken it and left the country, just like Clara. Then I wouldn’t be standing here right now. Doesn’t that prove I’m honest?” What else did she have to do to gain Audrey’s trust?

  “I suppose.”

  Kat felt anger well up inside.

  “And, yes, Liberty did fire me. Clara’s goons also tried to kill me, totaled my car, killed my cat, and despite all that, I’ve kept working on the case. I’m not getting paid a nickel for all my efforts. I’m about to be evicted because I can’t pay my rent. Maybe I should just run with the money.”

  “You’re right.” Audrey said grudgingly. “I’m sorry. You’re probably the only honest person I know right now.”

  “Damn right, I am. I stopped Clara from getting away with the money, and I proved the murders of your brother and Ken Takahashi are connected to the diamond laundering at Liberty. And now I’ve saved Liberty from bankruptcy—almost. I just need to get the money back into Liberty.”

  “Can’t you just transfer it back to the Liberty bank account?”

  “It’s not that simple. There will be questions about how I got the money in the first place. People will assume I was involved in the theft.”

  “How exactly did you get it?”

  Kat summarized how Clara had used the five billion as seed money to short Liberty stock, then make another forty-five billion in profit. She told her about finding the list in Clara’s garbage and then guessing the password to hack into the accounts.

  “You really are a no-nonsense girl, aren’t you?” Audrey lowered her voice. “Isn’t this illegal?”

  “Ethical trumps legal in my books. The money needs to go back to its rightful owners. Following the letter of the law would have meant delays, allowing Clara to escape with the money.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Talk to the authorities on my behalf. Be my go-between. The lawyers and the securities regulators see things only in black-and-white. I want them to have the whole story before I meet with them. That’s the only way they’ll listen.”

  “But how do I do that? This is outside my area of expertise.”

  “I’ll tell you what to say. Will you help me?”

  “Can’t you just transfer the money?”

  “Not without an explanation. They need to understand the money trail and how to unwind it. Otherwise the money will be frozen for years. Liberty will go bankrupt waiting, and they might think I was involved.”

  “Why didn’t you just call someone and tell them where the money was? Let the police deal with it.”

  “I had to act quickly. It was after-hours and I had to stop Clara before the money was lost forever. By the time the police obtained a court order, the money would have vanished.”

  The sun had risen and was now low on the horizon. The Bancroft Richardson staff were probably booting up their computers right now, about to discover all the money transfers throughout the night.

  “You’re talking about fifty billion dollars! And now you want to involve me in your deception?” Audrey’s gaze dropped to her empty glass. “Just call the police. I don’t want to hear anymore.”

  “Audrey, you’ve got to help me. Do you want Clara and her father to get away with this? We’ve got to see this thorough. The money leads to them, and by that, I can prove they were involved in the murders.”

  “Alex’s murder?” Audrey spoke with a catch in her voice, emotions still raw over losing her brother.

  “Yes, Audrey.” Kat said. “Why do you think he was murdered? He wasn’t about to give up Liberty without a fight. Takahashi was the same. He died trying to expose the diamond laundering. Can I count on you?”

  Audrey stared at Kat, her eyes watering and lower lip trembling.

  “What do you need me to do?”

  Kat told her.

  52

  “Enough!” Ortega banged his plump fist on the heavy wood desk, hard enough to send the empty Wedgwood teacup and saucer crashing to the hardwood floor below. Luis was giving y
et another lame explanation why he couldn’t track down Clara and the money. It was the latest in a long string of excuses, and Ortega was tired of hearing of them. Did he have to do everything himself?

  “Boss—I checked like you said. The money—”

  Luis shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, like he was about to wet himself.

  “Why the hell didn’t you tell me the balance was different?” Ortega suddenly realized that he hadn’t noticed the extra money either. When logged in yesterday while talking to Bryant, he had only paid attention to the last three transfers. Not to the forty-nine billion-plus transferred out right before. Of course he wasn’t going to admit that to Luis.

  “But, boss, you asked me to check that all the money had moved. I did just like you asked. All the money in the account was transferred out. You didn’t say how much.” Luis waited uneasily for a response.

  Ortega threw his hands up in the air.

  “Idiot! You knew it was five billion. Didn’t you wonder why it had suddenly grown to fifty billion?”

  “I—I thought you knew. Isn’t that a good thing? More money?”

  “No, you fool. It means someone isn’t following the plan.” Specifically Clara. What was she up to? “Something’s wrong. And when something’s wrong, you need to tell me.”

  Ortega dialed Clara’s number again, the third time in an hour. Still no answer.

  Luis was still standing in front of Ortega, appearing uncomfortable.

  “What’s wrong with you? Why aren’t you calling the bank? Trace that money before it’s gone for good!”

  “Right away, boss.” Luis looked relieved as he turned and practically ran out of the office.

  Maybe she was on a beach somewhere, reveling at her newly inflated bank balance, laughing at her call display as she watched his desperate attempts to contact her. All kinds of thoughts raced through his mind. What if all the money was gone? No, it didn’t make sense. Clara wasn’t a gambler. Especially not with other people's money. Still, he’d better get the money back.