Krantz shrugged. “It was an unexpected emergency.”
“And why would someone need the services of a lawyer for ‘an unexpected emergency?’”
“I can’t reveal that information. Client confidentiality.”
“Mr. Krantz, you do realize that you could get into a lot of trouble if you don’t tell us the truth?”
Suddenly, Krantz bristled. “Look, I’m a lawyer. I know my rights. I don’t have to answer any of your questions.”
“It would be in your best interest if you did,” Scott said.
Krantz snorted in disbelief. “I’ve already said all I’m going to say. Now, if you aren’t arresting me, I’ll be on my way.” He started to rise from his seat.
“Your daughter is beautiful, Mr. Krantz,” Diana said suddenly, surprising him. He stared at her and sank back down into his chair. She circled around the table, taking the seat next to Scott.
“She is,” Krantz choked out.
Diana cocked her head. “This is your daughter, right?” she said as she pushed the picture of a teenage girl toward him. He glanced down and nodded.
“Yes, that’s Amanda,” he said, grimly.
“You’d do anything to protect her, wouldn’t you, Mr. Krantz?” Diana reached out and placed a gentle hand on his.
He looked at her and nodded vigorously. “Anything,” he said hoarsely.
“That’s what we want too, Mr. Krantz. We want to protect all the girls like Amanda in Vancouver who will become easy prey once this drug hits the streets. Rape, kidnapping, slavery. Those are all things that will happen to who knows how many sweet girls just like Amanda. Is that what you want?”
Krantz looked horrified. “N-no, of course not,” he stammered. He had not withdrawn his hand.
“Then help us, Mr. Krantz,” Diana urged him.
He looked up at her, his eyes a little too bright. “I can’t,” he said quietly. “I wish I could, but I can’t.”
Diana tilted her head slightly. Peter was expecting her to explode. He thought he had enough experience with her temper to know that she was probably going to go off like a rocket at Krantz. And then she surprised him.
“Have they taken Amanda, Mr. Krantz?” she asked softly.
He shook his head slowly, though he didn’t say a word. “Have they threatened her?”
His eyes widened, and his breathing became erratic. “N-no,” he stammered again. “Why would you think that?”
“If I promise you that your daughter and your wife will be safe, will you help us?”
He looked into her eyes and hesitated for a moment. He shook his head. “You can’t promise me that. No one can,” he said, his shoulders slumped.
“Mr. Krantz, we can pick up your wife and daughter right now and bring them here. We’ll keep them at VPD until we put whoever is behind this operation in jail. It’s not the most comfortable setting, but they will be safe here.”
A glimmer of hope became apparent on Krantz’ face. Then he shook his head. “No, he’s got connections everywhere. I’m sorry, but no. I can’t risk it.”
“Great,” Nik muttered, back in the observation room. “That worked really well,” he said sarcastically. The intense silence in the room was broken.
“Shut it, Ericson,” Donaldson snapped. The detective looked nonplussed. Peter returned his attention to the interview. He knew Diana wasn’t done yet.
Diana said nothing for a moment and then yanked her hand away from Krantz’. He looked down in surprise and back up at her with a lost look on his face.
“Mr. Krantz, you’ve put me in a position I really didn’t want to find myself in.” Her whole demeanor had changed. She was cold and curt.
“W-what do you mean?” Krantz stammered.
“You have one of two choices, and please understand they are your only choices. First, you tell us everything—and I mean everything—you know, and we’ll protect your wife and daughter. We’ll also make sure word gets out that your boss has been very cooperative and is helping us catch the rest of the people involved, including his suppliers. That will ensure that his business partners won’t want anything to do with him or his mess-up here in Vancouver.” She paused, letting it all sink in.
“He’d never do that and they know it,” Krantz said.
Diana smiled, but there was no warmth behind it this time. “Mr. Krantz, you’d be surprised at what people are willing to do once they find out what it’s really like to be in prison. And even if he doesn’t cooperate, no one needs to know that. The rumor mill is just as effective as the truth.”
“And my second option?” he asked.
“Your second option is simply to walk out of here.”
“You’ll let me go? Just like that?”
“Yes,” Diana replied. He looked relieved. For a moment. “Of course, the second you walk out of this building, I will make sure everyone knows precisely how helpful you were to VPD. By morning, every newspaper and TV news show will be running the story of how Andrew Krantz is helping the police find the people responsible for the gala robberies.”
Krantz paled. “But my daughter…”
Diana looked at him and gave the slightest of shrugs.
“Holy hell,” Nik breathed.
“You wouldn’t. You wouldn’t put my family in danger,” Krantz said, shaking his head. “You’re a cop. You don’t do things like that.”
“First off, I’m not a cop. I’m a consultant,” she said. “Make of that what you will. Secondly, do you really think I wouldn’t put one family at risk to save hundreds, maybe thousands of people? You think I wouldn’t do anything and everything to keep this drug off the streets? We’re facing a major threat here, Mr. Krantz. One that could affect many, many lives for years into the future.”
Krantz was white as a sheet. His hands were shaking. “You can’t,” he said, his voice hoarse. “He said he’d take Amanda and hand her over to the Columbians. She’s only sixteen!” he wailed. “You can’t do this!”
“Try me, Mr. Krantz,” Diana sat back in her chair and regarded him icily.
Krantz ran his fingers gently over the photograph of his daughter.
Diana leaned forward, placing her hand on his once more. “Mr. Krantz, look at me.” Her tone was gentle again, like it had been in the beginning of the interview. When their eyes met, his were full of tears.
“She’s my daughter,” he whispered. “I can’t let anything happen to her. Even if I go to prison for the rest of my life.”
“I know you’d do anything for her,” Diana said, “so if you really want to keep her safe, then work with us. If that drug hits the streets, no one will be safe for a very long time, including Amanda. Help me stop these people, Andrew.”
“And you’ll protect my daughter? Like you said?”
“Yes.”
He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and looked her in the eye. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Thank you, Andrew,” Diana said with a soft smile.
“Damn, she’s good,” Nik whispered. “Tough but good.” Peter nodded in agreement. She was good. He blew his cheeks out. Analyst? He didn’t think so. He would never have imagined she could be quite so ruthless.
“Tell me where Amanda is now, Andrew,” Diana said.
“She’s in school,” he replied. “St. Mary’s.”
“Someone will go pick her up right now. She’ll stay here at VPD until we can organize a safe house for her. You will join her as soon as we’re done here.”
“Thank you,” Krantz whispered.
“You heard the lady, Ericson. Get a move on,” Donaldson barked.
“Yes, sir!” Nik scurried out of the room.
Peter looked askance at Donaldson. “What exactly did she do for CSIS?” he asked. It had become clear that his boss knew a lot more about Diana Hunter than he let on.
Donaldson shrugged. “Need to know basis, son. Need to know.”
Seriously? Ex-Special Operations Forces and he was being fed this line of bullshit?
Peter turned his attention back to the interrogation room. He would unravel the mystery of Diana Hunter, in time. Now though, he had to focus on the case.
Diana took a deep breath and smiled at Krantz again, trying to put the man at ease. She had done a number on him. She would have taken a slower, softer approach if they had had more time, but Krantz had vital information she needed as quickly as possible. It wasn’t her proudest moment, but it had worked. She had found his weakness and exploited it as she had been trained to do.
“So, Mr. Krantz, who is behind the gala robberies?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. At Diana’s disbelieving look, he continued quickly. “I received an email a few months ago with surveillance pictures of Amanda. It explained in detail what would happen to her if I didn’t do everything I was told.”
“Go on,” she encouraged him.
He took a deep breath. “So, I did. I never had contact with anyone except a courier.”
“And what were you told to do?” Scott asked, startling Diana slightly. She had almost forgotten he was in the room.
“I set up a company and purchased a property,” he replied.
Diana gazed over Krantz’ head, then back at him again, digesting the information. “And who are the shareholders of this company? Surely you must have been given names, documents.”
“Yes, I was given some documents, but the company was set up as a branch of an offshore. The major shareholder is another company based in the British Virgin Islands. I didn’t dare look any deeper.”
“We’ll need the name of the company and any documents you have. Also, the address of the property you purchased,” Scott said.
“I have everything in my briefcase.”
“Good,” Diana said. “Thank you for your cooperation, Andrew. I promise you won’t regret it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you with Detective Rutledge. Remember, the more information you can give us, the faster we can find the men who threatened your daughter.”
Krantz blinked as Diana got to her feet. “Thank you.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” she said softly, laying a hand on his shoulder. She smiled again and left the interrogation room, closing the door gently behind her.
As soon as she was clear of the room, she leaned against a wall and closed her eyes. She drew in a shaky breath and rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache coming on. This was the part of the job she always hated. She had no compunction when it came to taking down criminals and terrorists. Even permanently, if necessary. But threatening a man’s family? Putting them in danger for the greater good? It made her feel no better than the criminals she was trying to catch.
She heard a noise and opened her eyes to see Peter coming out of the room next door. He leaned next to her. “You okay?” he asked gently.
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Fine.”
“You sure?”
She shrugged. “It had to be done.”
“You did the right thing. We can keep the girl safe, now. Who knows what would have happened to her? You probably saved her life, you know.”
Diana glanced at Peter. He was perceptive. “I don’t regret it,” she said. “Doesn’t mean I like doing it,” she finished on a whisper.
“We do what we need to. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not as if you were going to follow through on your threat.” He hesitated.
Diana glared at him. “Is someone picking up Amanda and her mother?” she asked suddenly.
“Donaldson sent Ericson the moment Krantz agreed to your terms.”
“That’s good.” Diana said, still trying to convince herself that she had done the right thing.
“You did well,” Peter said. “Stop beating yourself up over it. You made the right call.”
“Thanks,” she replied with a shaky smile.
“Once Rutledge is done with Krantz, I’ll get Ryan—our tech guy—onto finding out who’s behind this company.
“I think we need to check out that property, too.”
“That’s next on the list. But why don’t you head on home and get some rest? It’s been a long day, and Rutledge, Ericson, and I can handle it.”
Diana shook her head. “No, I want to see this through to the end. I’ll come with you.”
He sighed. “You can be so stubborn,” he groused.
She smiled up at him. “That’s why you like me so much.”
Peter snorted. “Keep dreaming, darling,” he drawled. “You’re nothing but a huge pain in my rear end.”
Diana chuckled. “Well, at least I keep you on your toes.”
Peter groaned. “Woman, I’ve lost years off my life since I met you.”
She smiled. “Aw, come on, I’m not that bad.”
“Not that bad? You’re impossible! But you’re starting to grow on me.”
She chucked him on the arm.
“Now, in all seriousness,” Peter continued, “this property Krantz mentioned could be nothing. Are you sure you don’t want to go home? I promise to call you if we find anything so you can come check it out for yourself.”
“It’s a tempting offer. But I don’t think we have time to waste. Whoever is doing this won’t be advertising forever. He’ll want to sell the product soon, and the longer we wait, the less chance we’ll have of stopping him.”
“Diana, we are detectives, and we do know how to catch criminals all by ourselves,” Peter replied with a smirk. “We were doing it for a long time before you came along.”
“Then why did Donaldson call me in?” Diana countered.
Just then, the door opened and Donaldson stepped into the hallway. “Because we needed all the help we could get on this one. That doesn’t mean, though, that you need to run around, chasing every possible lead yourself.” Donaldson paused and turned to Peter. “But Krantz just mentioned that the property he bought was an abandoned warehouse in the industrial area of the city. Given that it’s probably the site of their operations, and since we’re on a tight schedule, I think Diana should go with you.”
Peter didn’t look exactly ecstatic about this idea, but said. “Yes, sir. We’ll head out right away.”
“Good,” the superintendent said with a nod. “I want regular updates. We have twenty-four hours. The DCC will have my head on a plate if we don’t sort this before the Firefighters’ Ball.”
“Will do, sir. We’ll go as soon as Rutledge is done with Krantz and we’ve given his info to Ryan to dig into further. Maybe he can hack into who’s behind all these companies.”
“Let me know what you come up with. And stake out the hotel. We don’t want any maintenance crews depositing canisters in vents right under our noses.” Donaldson paused and then looked at Diana. “Good job in there,” he said.
“Thank you, Superintendent,” Diana replied. “Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me, I need a cup of coffee. A strong cup of coffee.”
“The break room is just down the hall, third door on the left,” Peter offered helpfully.
“Thanks.”
“I’d be careful, though. This place is full of excellent detectives and officers, but not one of them can make a decent cup of coffee.” Donaldson added with a full body shiver. “I’m telling you that stuff’s toxic.”
Diana laughed. “I’ll take my chances, thank you.”
“I’ll come get you as soon as we’re ready to leave,” Peter said.
Diana found the break room. There was a steaming pot of what looked like fresh coffee on the counter. She sniffed tentatively. It smelled like coffee. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as Donaldson had intimated.
But when she grabbed a cup and started pouring, she began to wonder. It was dark. Really dark. Not like sludge, but still. She added some sugar, a dash of cream and took a tentative sip.
“Not bad,” she murmured. It was strong. Strong enough to wake the dead. Diana had a resistance to stimulants. It meant she could take really strong coffee before feeling even a slight effect. She could down a six
-pack of energizers and sleep like a baby. This was good coffee in her book.
She took a seat at the table, holding her cup in both hands, and thought back over the day’s events. She had had to do something she was uncomfortable with in service of a bigger goal. Her CSIS persona was reasserting itself. The persona that was capable of doing much more than threatening someone.
Peter poked his head in. “We’re ready to go,” he said. Diana didn’t move.
“Peter, what do you think will happen if we don’t catch these guys?”
He raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips. He slowly sat down across the table from her and let out a big sigh.
“I imagine it will be hell. If this drug gets out, there will be lives ruined. The city will become a war zone. People will be afraid to leave their homes. Everyone will be a potential victim. The randomness of that would be terrorizing. We would be under siege.”
Diana thought for a moment. “Hmm. With it being dispersed in the air, it would become a form of biological warfare. They could gas entire buildings, subway trains, banks, even government offices. The criminal possibilities are endless.”
Peter continued her thought. “Ransoms could be extorted, evidence could disappear, locations of witnesses in protective custody discovered, juries tampered with and on. It will be a nightmare. But we’ll nail this guy. I’m positive. It won’t come to that.“
“The length of the trail to the drug’s source worries me. Whoever is setting up the operation is sophisticated.”
“We are more so.”
“But Peter, the robberies are extremely effective and audacious. The street criminals hankering to buy the drug will pay a higher price for it and the delivery mechanism. And we only have twenty-four hours to go. We still have no idea who is behind this campaign.”
“Yeah, but with luck and some good detective work, this warehouse that Krantz bought for his paymaster will bring some results. Otherwise, we’ll be spending a lot of time digging up who bought the different types of equipment needed to manufacture those canisters. That delivery mechanism is key to taking down this whole operation. Come on, less of this zombie apocalypse doomsday scenario, let’s go. These guys aren’t going to catch themselves.”
Stolen (A Diana Hunter Mystery Book 3) Page 9