by Marie Astor
“Excellent, so I’ll see you Friday.”
Chapter 21
Peter Laskin stared at the data on his computer screen: there was enough evidence to launch an insider trading case against David Muller and his sham of a charity, Phoenix Fund. Normally, Peter would have been pleased. Right now, however, he was not happy about this fact in the least. Instead, for the first time in his life, he wished he had failed at his job.
Over the course of the past two weeks, Peter had had three dates with Aileen. To be fair, their meetings were not exactly dates. Nothing of a physical nature had happened between them: Peter had not tried to kiss Aileen or even so much as hold her hand. But there had been flirtation in their conversations, and he enjoyed spending time with Aileen much more than he liked to admit. The latter realization was now causing him great conflict and discomfort.
In an hour’s time, Peter was due at Janet Maple’s apartment to share his findings on Muller with her and Dennis. Already, Peter had more than enough information on the trading activity of Phoenix Fund to prove that David Muller was acting on insider information. Phoenix Fund had been actively investing in options positions in manufacturing stocks, a strategy that in and of itself would hardly raise suspicion had it not been for the specific investment choices favored by Phoenix. The two companies that Phoenix invested in, Orion and Hudson Steel, were obscure mid-size firms that had experienced a sudden jump in earnings and stock value after winning large manufacturing contracts with Rover Industries, a major industrial conglomerate. Both times Phoenix had reaped enormous profit on its investment. Phoenix also had investments in other sectors of the market, such as the S&P index and the Dow Jones, as well as several blue chip stock and some bonds, but those were generating very modest returns. It was almost as though these additional investments were meant to act as decoys, and Peter had caught the drift right away. Granted, had he not been spending as much time with Aileen Finnegan as he had been, it might have taken him a bit longer to solve the puzzle, but with Aileen’s unwitting aid he had been able to get to the heart of the matter in no time.
The minute Aileen had mentioned that Muller was spending a lot of time with her father, Cornelius Finnegan, Peter’s ears had prickled with suspicion. Cornelius Finnegan was a very powerful man—what reason could he possibly have to spend so much time with Muller? There had to be more weighty reasons than the mere fact that Muller was dating Finnegan’s daughter. The Treasury Investigations department had a background search software that could find links between people based on common factors. The search process, however, was far from easy: the software produced many false positives that one had to sift through before unearthing relevant results, if any at all. Most investigators, including Dennis Walker, eschewed the software due to its tediousness. Peter, on the other hand, was of a different opinion. Over the years he had perfected his search skills, and there were many times when he had unearthed key evidence for investigations through the background search software. That was the tool he turned to this time as well. The way he saw it, he had three leads: David Muller’s investments in Orion and Hudson Steel stocks through the Phoenix Fund, David Muller’s connection with Finnegan, and Orion’s and Hudson’s connection to Rover. If Peter’s hunch were correct, there had to be a link connecting the three leads.
Peter’s first step had been to identify the top executives of Orion and Hudson Steel and see if there were any links between those individuals and Finnegan or Muller. The search had come up empty, but Peter had half-expected it to be so; he had simply started with Orion and Hudson because these companies had a smaller universe of executives to search than Rover. Peter’s next move was to search the backgrounds of the top executives of Rover. After the search of the company executives did not produce any results, Peter’s zeal was beginning to cool, as he began to wonder whether he had indeed been mistaken. Just to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s, Peter did a search on the board members of Rover. His last search had been on the newest board member, Kevan Magee, and that was when Peter struck gold: it just so happened that Kevan Magee and Cornelius Finnegan had gone to the same Catholic school. Finally, Peter had the connection he had been looking for: Magee was Finnegan’s and Muller’s informant.
The data that Peter had gathered so far would certainly provide strong evidence to prove the insider trading link between Magee, Finnegan, and Muller, but Peter would be first to admit that the evidence was far from being ironclad. It could take years to prove that Muller’s trades on behalf of the Phoenix Fund were indeed based on Magee’s tips, and it would be even harder to prove Finnegan’s involvement. If only there was a way to show evidence of interaction between the three men …
The worst part of the matter was that Peter knew just how to procure such evidence, but the fact that he had learned of it from Aileen made him reluctant to use it. During their last meeting, Aileen had mentioned that Muller was going to have a meeting with her father this Saturday. She had mentioned the matter jokingly, but there had been bitterness in her voice when she remarked that she had again been stood up by Muller in favor of her father. What matter could Finnegan possibly have to discuss with Muller on a Saturday night? Peter had wondered. When he attempted to broach the matter with Aileen, she had replied that it was business related and that she kept out of Muller’s business affairs. It had taken all of Peter’s self-control not to press the subject further.
Peter’s usual course of action would have been to share his findings with Dennis and Janet, but when it came to his meetings with Aileen, he had done no such thing. Instead, Peter had done the unthinkable: for the first time in his life he had concealed information from his colleagues. Oh, he had shown Dennis and Janet the trades that Muller had run through the Phoenix Fund, but he had said that the background search on Rover’s executives did not produce any leads to Finnegan or Muller. Deep down he knew that he was doing something wrong. He did not want to obstruct the investigation, but neither did he want to help it along at the expense of his own happiness. He liked Aileen, and he could tell that she liked him too. Each time they met, the chemistry between them seemed to grow, and who knew what it could lead to eventually? From what she had told him, Aileen had been head over heels in love with Muller at the beginning, but Peter could tell that she was starting to become disheartened by Muller’s negligent treatment. Peter, on the other hand, was lavishing Aileen with attention. True, he could not compete with Muller’s riches, but he could make Aileen feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. Why should he lose what he could have with her because of some stupid investigation? He had solved hundreds of cases, and what did he get as a reward? Being called a geek by Dennis Walker, who received all the accolades for Peter’s backbreaking work behind the scenes. No, he had decided, if Dennis wanted to solve this case he would have to get his hands dirty and do the background search on Rover’s executives himself. Rationally speaking, Peter knew that his protective attitude toward Aileen was compromising his duty. In his defense, he did not intend to hinder the investigation, but he liked Aileen and he did not want to hurt her.
***
Alex Kingsley leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on his desk. His new job as the head of the Treasury Investigations department was turning out to be a very nice gig indeed. He got to boss people around all day, and the best part of it was that there was no one to boss him around. Aside from having to report on the department activity to Finnegan every other week, Alex did not have to answer to anyone. And this was only the beginning. Finnegan was bound to move up the political ladder, and as his trusted protégé, Alex would follow Finnegan’s trail. Who knew, a few years from now Alex could very well be the next attorney general—he certainly had the credentials for the job. The key was to keep Finnegan satisfied, and that meant not questioning Finnegan’s motives, even in Alex’s own thoughts. To say that Alex did not find Finnegan’s keen interest in the doings of the Treasury Investigations department odd would be an understatement, but at the moment Alex
did not see a way of gaining from his suspicions. “At the moment” was the key element in the current state of things: a few years from now, should Finnegan fail to reward Alex’s loyalty, Alex might very well remind Finnegan of the rendered services. But for now Alex had to focus on supplying Finnegan with the requested information. And that meant keeping a watchful eye on each and every investigator in the department.
Alex was fairly certain that he had gauged the characters of the majority of his employees. There was, however, one exception: Dennis Walker. The so-called star investigator of the department was the only possible rebel and the source of Alex’s worries. Alex was certain that the others were too mousy to defy him; even Janet, who had been so defiant at the beginning, had seen the light and became his informant. Alex smiled at his victory: subjecting Janet to his will gave him a new thrill that exceeded that of sexual attraction. It pleased him to know that she was within his grasp once again, and he could do with her as he pleased. It amused him to play the game of cat and mouse with her: he would ask her out, she would refuse, he would ask her again, and so on. For now he accepted her excuses, content with her usefulness as the office spy, but he would reclaim his prize soon enough, not because he wanted her but because he could have her.
Still, one must not get drunk on power. While he was ninety-nine percent certain of his influence over Janet, there was still that one percent of doubt that Alex reserved in all of his personal dealings. To check for any possible omissions in Janet’s reports, Alex had requested Georgiana to run a report on the log-ins into the department’s background search software. The background search software was a nuisance to use; Alex had used a similar version at the onset of his investigative career at the DA’s office but had quickly abandoned the use of this cumbersome tool. But just because the system was a nuisance did not mean that Alex could not use it for his advantage.
Alex examined the report on his desk that summarized the employee log-ins since the time Alex assumed his position at the Treasury: Alex figured that anything that happened before his arrival was not his responsibility, but if anything went amiss afterwards, Finnegan would be sure to skin Alex alive. Alex was looking for any unusual spikes. He quickly leafed through the log-ins for Laskin and other data analysts who used the software on a daily basis. The list was structured alphabetically, and Alex’s attention turned to the letter w. Dennis Walker was the last employee on the list. A deep crease appeared on Alex’s forehead. The log-in history showed that Dennis had hardly been using the system previously, but for the past few days he had been logging in for several hours at a time. Alex flipped to the section of the report that showed the subjects of the searches. Apparently, Walker had a keen interest in the backgrounds of the board members of company called Rover Industries. The name was vaguely familiar, and Alex typed it into the search engine on his computer. He soon learned that Rover was a major industrial conglomerate. Alex’s lips drew into a sharp line: Janet Maple had not mentioned anything about an investigation into Rover in her report to Alex that morning.
“That lying bitch,” Alex muttered, groping for the phone. He was going to get to the bottom of this right away. But before he could unleash his anger on Janet, the door of his office opened, revealing Georgiana on its threshold. Alex slammed the phone receiver down. “What is it?”
“Are you happy with the report that I got for you earlier?” she asked. “I must say that that system is a real pain to use.”
“Huh?”
“I said that that system is a real pain to use, and you haven’t even said thank you,” Georgiana pouted.
Normally, Georgiana’s pout never failed to elicit a smile from Alex, but right now it produced nothing but annoyance in him. For all her time working as his “assistant” this was the only job-related task he had asked of Georgiana, and the girl had the nerve to complain. Meanwhile, he did not see her complaining about her fat salary.
“I’m sorry to hear that, Georgiana. Perhaps you should try to become more proficient with the system, so that future requests would take less time to complete.”
Georgiana’s eyelashes fluttered. “Future requests?”
Suddenly, Alex felt very tired. A few moments ago the world had been his oyster, but now he felt that he was in over his head. The truth of the matter was that he had taken on a job that he had no idea how to do; he was hated by the majority of his direct subordinates, with maybe a handful being indifferent toward him; and with no one but a dumb hooker to back him up. Alex rubbed his forehead: he had to get his act together, fast.
“Alex, what’s wrong?” Georgiana dashed across the room and was now kneeling by his chair, her hands groping for his fly, ready to do what she did best.
Alex pushed her away. “Not now, Georgiana. This is an office; we could get caught.”
“That never stopped you before.”
“We’ll have to be more careful from now on.”
But Georgiana was not easily deterred. Her nimble hands undid Alex’s fly, sending a jolt of pleasure pulsating down his legs. The tension oozed from his mind, replaced by a pleasurable sensation that filled his limbs. Oh, what the hell, Alex thought. It was almost five o’clock anyway. He would deal with Janet Maple in the morning, and after that he would decide if the matter was worthy of Finnegan’s attention.
***
It was five thirty, and Janet had one more task before leaving work for the day. The task involved visiting Alex’s office, and she had been deliberately putting it off until after five in the hope of not finding Alex in his office. Earlier in the day she had given Alex another report on fictitious investigations that she and Dennis were supposed to be working on, and Alex had requested that she bring over the case files. Janet had spent several hours putting the files together (without any help from Dennis Walker, who was off doing who knows what who knows where, but that was another matter entirely), and now she hoped she would be able to leave the files with Alex’s assistant without actually having to face the man himself. She grabbed the heavy binders and headed for Alex’s office.
When Janet reached Alex’s office, she saw that his assistant, who usually guarded the access to Alex’s office like a sphinx, had already left for the day. The door to Alex’s office was closed. Janet was about to leave when she noticed that there was light underneath the door. Janet sighed: she had promised to give the files to Alex today, and the last thing she wanted was for him to accuse her of not doing her job.
“Alex?” Janet knocked on the door. When she didn’t hear a reply, Janet was about to walk away discreetly but the door gave way under her knuckles, cracking halfway open.
What she saw next made Janet wish she had imagined it. Georgiana was sitting on Alex’s lap with her arms around his neck. At the sight of Janet, Alex pushed Georgiana off his lap, catapulting her several feet across his office.
“That will be all, Georgiana,” said Alex in a voice that sounded as though Georgiana had just been performing some kind of benign clerical task for him, like taking shorthand.
“Yes, Mr. Kingsley.” As she sashayed out of the office, Georgiana smiled at Janet.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” Janet stammered. “I can come back tomorrow.”
“Interrupt what?” Alex stared her down. “You didn’t interrupt anything. As a matter of fact, it’s a good thing that you stopped by. I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”
“By all means,” Janet said, struggling to keep the apprehension out of her voice. Questions from Alex at five thirty in the afternoon signified only one possible outcome: trouble. “I hope that I have the answers for you.”
“I hope so too,” said Alex, smiling.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Janet thought that Alex’s smile looked more like a scowl, as though he were taking a cue from the animal world, baring his teeth in the gesture of a threat. “What’s going on?” Janet eyed Alex with what she hoped was cool nonchalance.
“What’s Dennis Walker been up to?”
J
anet felt an inner tremor. She had been feeding Alex with reports of fictitious investigations that Dennis and she were supposedly working on while in reality both of them had been spending most of their time gathering dirt on David Muller; or, to be more specific, trying to gather dirt on Muller, but unsuccessfully so. “As far as I know Dennis’s caseload has not changed since the update I gave you this morning,” Janet replied coolly.
“Are you sure about that?”
Janet felt Alex’s dark eyes burrowing into her. It was almost impossible to believe that there had been a time in her life when she had found Alex’s gaze to be sexy. Now, it filled her with a mixture of alarm and repulsion, akin to the sensation one felt when facing a cunning and dangerous beast, for in the world of the corporate jungle, Alex was the equivalent of a wolverine. Still, she could not very well give into her fear. “What makes you think otherwise?” Janet made a conscious effort to look straight into Alex’s eyes, keeping her hands calmly pressed together on her lap.
“Oh, I don’t know. It could be this.” Alex flung a piece of paper across his desk.
“What is it?” Janet asked without reaching for the paper.
“It’s a report on log-ins from the background search software. I had Georgiana run it for me this morning.”
You mean to tell me that your assistant is actually capable of performing other functions than wearing revealing outfits and sitting on your lap? were the words on Janet’s tongue, but she knew better than to voice them—she was in deep enough trouble already. Both Laskin and she had specifically cautioned Dennis against doing background searches on Muller. Instead, Laskin was to perform that part of the job, as Laskin was the only employee in the department who was on Alex’s good side, if such a thing was possible. Most likely, it was just that Laskin’s bland looks and boring personality had fooled Alex into indifference. But now Dennis had jeopardized the entire project with his pigheadedness.