3 Bad Guys Get Caught

by Marie Astor

  “For dessert we’ll have chocolate soufflé,” Mrs. Libby added. “My husband tells me that you have to order it in advance.”

  “Yes, I apologize for not mentioning this earlier. Thank you very much. Please let me know if you need anything else. Enjoy your evening.” Janet took her leave.

  Normally, it was the sommelier’s job to deliver the wine and the champagne, but Janet intended to take over this task for Libby’s table. She knew just the man who could help her with that: Jason.

  “Jason, do you have a bottle of Veuve Clicquot back there?” she asked the bartender.

  Jason nodded. “Sure. Did someone request a glass of bubbly?”

  “Not a glass, the whole bottle.”

  “Oh, that’s the sommelier’s department,” Jason pinched his nose as he spoke, his eyes twinkling. “High time that overpaid snob got off his butt. Let him go down to the wine cellar and bring up a bottle. I need my stash for the bar.”

  “I can’t find him,” Janet lied, praying that the poor schmuck wasn’t going to walk by this very moment. “It’s for a really important customer, and I don’t want to keep him waiting. Please?”

  “All right. Only for you, Janet.” Jason opened the fridge and placed the bottle on the bar. “Have you opened a champagne bottle before?”

  “Of course,” Janet lied. She had never opened a bottle in her life; the only time she drank champagne was with Dennis, and he always did the honors. “I’ll be fine.”

  Jason eyed her dubiously. “Here, take this.” He handed her a napkin. “Wrap it around the bottle just in case.”

  “Thanks.” Janet grabbed the bottle and rushed to Libby’s table.

  “Here we are.” She smiled at Libby.

  “Wonderful.” Libby nodded magnanimously, patting his wife’s hand.

  “Just a moment, please.” Janet fumbled with the foil wrapping. She gripped the cork with her fingers, praying to God it wasn’t going to shoot into the ceiling, right into the crystal chandelier that hung smack in the middle of it. She tugged with all her might. There was a sharp pop. She shuddered involuntarily and was relieved to see that the cork was still in her fingers and the bottle wasn’t fizzing over.

  “Wonderful!” Libby’s wife clapped with delight.

  “Thank you.” Janet poured the champagne along the walls of the glasses so that it wouldn’t topple over. “Your first course should be out shortly.” She bowed and took her leave.

  Once back at the waitress station, Janet stood just outside of the entrance. There was a side view of Libby’s table, and she wasn’t going to let her eyes off of him for a minute. She even told the busboy that she’d serve the table herself.

  “Janet, it looks like Roman messed up the tables again,” Clarisse’s voice startled her.

  “What’s the mix up?” Janet asked.

  “He gave away the best table to a walk-in and he had you serve it. That table was reserved for a regular and I was assigned to it; he’s a great tipper.”

  “Sorry, Clarisse. That walk-in is some big shot, and Roman told me to take care of him. I’ll split the tips with you.”

  “That’s okay. I’m not Mila. You can keep your tips, but Roman is a jerk.”

  “No argument there.”

  Janet went over to Libby’s table. “Are you enjoying your first course?” she asked.

  “Yes, thank you.” Libby’s wife nodded. “The lobster bisque is delightful.”

  “Is there anything else I could get you at the moment?” Janet asked, politeness itself.

  “We’ll call you if we need you,” Libby’s tone was polite, but brusque, and Janet got the hint. Libby wanted some privacy. How she wished she had one of those bugging devices to eavesdrop on Libby’s conversation, but neither she nor Dennis had thought of that beforehand.

  Libby turned out to be a very ordinary customer. He and his wife ate their meal, paid the check, and left. It wasn’t an exorbitant bill either; the meal wasn’t cheap by any means, but it certainly didn’t include caviar or smoked sturgeon or any other exotic delicacies that Panther offered. Other than carrying his dirty dishes, Janet hadn’t gotten any closer to Libby. Oh, there was one thing she’d learned about him tonight: Libby was a cheap tipper; he had left out the liquor when calculating the tip, which was a theoretically acceptable, but not a widely exercised practice.

  Another wasted day; Janet wondered if Dennis had fared any better—at least his undercover stint didn’t involve carrying dirty dishes. Just then Janet saw Roman walking towards her and cursed under her breath. She tried to slink away downstairs, but he called her name and she had no choice but to stay.

  “Janet,” he repeated. “I wanted to thank you.”

  That was a first. Janet stared at him, wondering what had gotten into him.

  “I looked up Libby on Google, and he’s a big shot. There are even rumors about him running for senate. Good thing you knew who he was.”

  “Oh, I just remembered his face from the papers. I have a good memory for faces.”

  “A very useful skill to have in this business. I’m thinking I’ll have you switch places with Mila.”

  “I wouldn’t want to do that. I like waitressing,” said Janet. Last thing she needed was to alienate Mila by taking over her job. Even if Mila had complained about the tips being smaller in hosting, Janet was sure Mila would be pissed if she took over her job.

  “All right, if you say so, but think about it. Good night.”

  ***

  Janet wearily jiggled the front door key of her apartment. All she wanted right now was to collapse into her bed and forget about this annoying day. She opened the door and heard Baxter’s happy barking, accompanied by the sound of his scrambling paws hitting the floor. In an instant, he was bouncing at her feet, his tongue hanging out in excitement.

  “Baxter!” Janet scooped him up into her arms.

  “Tough day?” Dennis stood in the foyer, leaning against the wall.

  “Hi!” Instantly, her fatigue was lifted away. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

  “I told you I’d be here.”

  “I thought your date might run long.”

  “Are we back to that again?”

  “No, I’m sorry.” Janet lowered Baxter onto the floor and kicked off her shoes. “Oh, that feels nice!” she exclaimed, rubbing her feet against the cool wooden surface.

  “Hot bath coming right up,” Dennis said, heading down the hall.

  A few moments later there was the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. Janet headed into the bedroom, took off her clothes and changed into a bathrobe. She sat down on the bed, thinking about what to do next. She was dying to question Dennis about what happened during his meeting with Mila, but she didn’t want to be overbearing. No, she resolved, she wasn’t going to bring up the subject first.

  “Your bath awaits you, my lady.” Dennis sat down next to her and started to massage her shoulders.

  “Mmm, that feels nice.”

  “Come on, up you go and into that bath.”

  Janet followed Dennis’s orders.

  “Now you settle in, and I’ll be back in a few to tell you about my day.” Dennis closed the bathroom door behind him.

  “Thanks, you’re an angel.” Janet sank into the hot water, relishing the tingling sensation against her skin. Whoever invented hot baths was a genius. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The lavender bath foam enveloped her into a blanket of serenity. This was heaven; well, almost heaven, had it not been for the pesky thoughts of Mila littering her brain. Be patient, she thought, wait for Dennis to tell you himself.

  A few moments later, Dennis rapped on the door. “May I come in?”

  “Yes.” Janet gathered the foam around her, making sure it covered her. She wasn’t a prude, but she didn’t want to be naked in front of Dennis when they were talking shop.

  “How’s the bath?” Dennis asked, perching on the tub edge.

  “It’s heavenly. I feel reborn.”

&
nbsp; “Glad I could help. So how was your day?”

  “Uneventful, annoying, exhausting.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah. I did get to carry Libby’s dirty plates, though.”

  “What? Libby dined at Panther?”

  “Yeah, he came with his wife; it was their anniversary. They ordered lobster bisque, duck and steak. Then they polished it all off with chocolate soufflé. Then he paid the check. Other than that, I haven’t learned anything new about him. Oh, he’s kind of a lousy tipper: took the booze off the tip.”

  “Still, that’s something.”

  “Come on, Dennis. That’s nothing. I’m starting to think that this whole thing was a really stupid idea.”

  “It wasn’t a stupid idea. Undercover work takes time.”

  “We don’t have much time. We need to get intel on Libby pronto, and we’ve got zilch. Unless you got something?”

  “I got something, but not on Libby.”

  “Oh?”

  “Mila hired me to do a job.”

  Janet’s eyebrows knitted together. “What kind of a job?”

  “Don’t worry, there’s no sex involved. By the way, thanks for calling me a sex addict. That was very clever of you.”

  Janet felt her whole body burning with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I said it in the heat of the moment. Mila was asking me if you were into women. Apparently, she was upset that you weren’t into her, so it just kind of rolled off my tongue. I don’t know where it came from.”

  “I think I can guess. You needn’t worry; I’m not going to cheat on you with Mila, or with anyone for that matter. She wants me to break into a safe and hack into a bank account to get back her inheritance.”

  “Her inheritance?”

  “Yes, the money her grandmother left her. She said it’s over a million dollars and told me a teary story about how her boyfriend, Anton Kovar, stole it from her. I think you and I both can guess that it’s way over one million, and it wasn’t left to her by her grandmother.”

  “It’s Muller’s money. It explains why she’s stuck with Kovar. She must’ve asked him to help her wire the money out of Muller’s accounts and he took it for himself.”

  “Bingo.”

  “So do you know how to hack a safe?”

  “I’m a little rusty, but I think I can manage. I’ve got a training session with one of my buddies tomorrow.”

  “When’s the job?”

  “The day after tomorrow. I’m going to wear a bug and record the whole thing.”

  “You think of everything, don’t you?”

  “I try to do my best notwithstanding the distractions.”

  “What distractions?”

  “Do you think it’s easy to concentrate with that leg of yours poking out of the foam like that? Are you tempting me on purpose?”

  “It’s just my leg.”

  Dennis ran his fingers from the tip of Janet’s toes down the length of her leg, reaching lower. “And this is just my hand.”

  Janet moaned from a jolt of pleasure.

  “I think you’ve had enough of that bath.”

  “Did I now?”

  “Most definitely. You know, these things have to be consumed in moderation.” Dennis reached for a towel and lifted her onto her feet, wrapping her into the warm cotton.

  “Mmm, feels delicious.”

  “Well then, you’ll love what I have planned next.”

  Janet giggled as Dennis lifted her into his arms. She leaned her head against his chest, secure in the firm grip of his embrace—the embrace of the man who loved her, even if he didn’t say it out loud.

  Chapter 13

  Dennis rapped his fingers on Ham Kirk’s office door.

  “Come in!”

  Dennis straightened his jacket and went inside.

  Ham looked up from his computer screen. He was dressed in one of his invariable charcoal suits, accompanied by an argyle tie; the same attire he used to favor at the Treasury. “Dennis! How are you? It’s been a while.”

  Dennis pretended not to notice Ham’s sarcasm; they saw each other in the office every day.

  “Have you got any news for me?” Ham prodded.

  “As a matter of fact I have.” Dennis took a seat in one of the armchairs across from Ham’s desk.

  Ham rubbed his hands. “Might it have something to do with Libby?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “No, but I think you’ll be interested to hear it all the same.”

  Ham steepled his fingers. “It seems that I don’t have much choice in the matter, so by all means, go ahead.”

  “I am ninety nine percent sure that we found the link to Muller’s money.”

  “You mean David Muller, the insider trading crook who was in cahoots with Finnegan?”

  “That’s the one.”

  Ham leaned forward in his chair. “This is very interesting news indeed. Do tell me more.”

  “Janet was the one who found the lead on this one through her undercover work at Panther. She became friendly with a hostess there, Mila Brabec, and learned that Mila is Muller’s ex-girlfriend.” Dennis proceeded to tell Ham about his meeting with Mila and her retaining him to break into Anton Kovar’s safe and bank account.

  “So you think that this Mila Brabec swiped Muller’s money?”

  “I don’t think that she did it; she asked Anton Kovar to help her move the funds and he put the money into his own account. Now, she’s looking for a way to get it back from him, and she thinks I’m the man to help her.”

  “Excellent work, Dennis. Excellent work.” Ham rubbed his chin. “Our friends at the FBI will be very excited to hear about this. You know, they are offering a sizeable reward for locating Muller’s ill-gotten funds. It goes without saying that this wonderful discovery of yours is going to bring lots of assignments to our agency. It’s almost as good as getting an update on Libby. How’s that going by the way?”

  “It’s going,” Dennis replied evasively. “We just need a little bit more time.”

  “You’ve got a week tops, Dennis. After that I’m going to have to go back to the client and say that we couldn’t find anything. Getting back to the Muller lead: when are you meeting with that Mila Brabec character?”

  “Tomorrow night. I’m supposed to meet her in her boyfriend’s apartment. She sent me the model of the safe; it shouldn’t be that difficult to break into.”

  “Have you had lots of experience with that sort of thing?”

  “Some.” The truth was that Dennis’s experience with safes was cursory to say the least. When he had been freelancing for the Feds, he had been given a crash tutorial on the subject, but he had never actually exercised the skills he’d been taught.

  “I think it’s time for a little refresher. While you’re at it, you should brush up on your hacking skills as well. Breaking into a bank account is no simple matter. I’ll arrange for a training session with a buddy of mine. He used to work for the Feds, but now he mostly does contract work.”

  “I wouldn’t want to impose—”

  “Dennis, it’s anything but imposing. We’re going to deliver a major piece of missing evidence to the Feds, and you can rest assured that I want this operation to go off without a hitch. The reward amount posted by the FBI is ten percent of the total sum. So you do the math.”

  “What about Mila? Shouldn’t she get a finder’s fee?”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Because she’s the one giving us the lead. Because I feel sorry for her,” Dennis added. “She’s got no one here, and I feel that she should receive some compensation for everything she’s been through.”

  “I never took you for a sentimentalist, Dennis. Tell you what, you make sure that tonight goes off without a hitch, and then you can do what you will with your bonus.”

  “Are you saying there’ll be a bonus?”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Get the job done first. Now, there’s the matter of Janet’s underco
ver involvement at Panther. Given the recent developments, it’s imperative that she terminate this engagement.”

  “Sir, we still aren’t any closer to learning about Libby’s connection with Kovar than we’ve been in the beginning of the assignment—”

  “Precisely my point, Dennis. You and Janet gave it your best, and you weren’t able to discover any additional information. So Kovar happened to buy a majority stake in a company that Libby had invested in, so what?”

  “Nothing much, except for the fact that Libby turned his initial investment of fifty thousand into five million dollars. You don’t see these kinds of returns every day.”

  “No, you don’t. Still, it is possible. Think about all those people who invested into Yahoo stock when it first went public. Were they also in cahoots with Kovar?”

  “Kovar didn’t buy a majority stake in Yahoo.”

  “I know that,” Ham snapped. “I was just trying to make a point. Look, Libby is no longer an investor in the company, is he? And Kovar didn’t own the company at the time of Libby’s initial investment. For all we know it could have been a coincidence.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  Ham exhaled loudly. “No, but frankly I don’t care. Libby is a small fish. I’ll just have to go back to the client and say that our findings are inconclusive. The facts are in Libby’s favor: his office financials are clean, and he has an outstanding public record. The party management should be satisfied with that.”

  “What if things surface later on?”

  “Who says they will? Maybe Libby is clean. Look, let’s be realistic here. Sure, I like chasing after the bad guys, but the bottom line is that I’m running a business here. We had an assignment on Libby—“

  “We have an assignment on Libby.”

  “Effective immediately, you and Janet are both off the Libby case. I want you to focus on that Mila character and retrieve Muller’s missing funds. I’ve got a nice little background check job for Janet to start working on. It’s time she got back to the office.”

  “Sir, Janet’s waitressing job at Panther was the link that brought us to Mila in the first place. Now you want to assign the Muller case to me and put Janet back in the office?”