“Are you a partner too?” Mankowski asked, though he didn’t really care.
“Uh, no.” The guy had the boyish face of a twelve-year-old. “I’m a senior associate with Haskins & Summers. My client is only here to listen.”
They traded business cards and Mankowski backed out of the room.
“Man, you’re not just playing with fire, you’re playing with dynamite,” Thomas said.
“I’m just trying to get to the bottom of this and bringing all this estrogen together just might give us some answers. Let’s do this.”
Girlie smiled when Mankowski entered the polygraph room. Her legs were opened just enough to be enticing. Mankowski wondered if she was wearing any underwear. Maybe her goal was to get the examiner so hot and bothered that he couldn’t read the machine correctly.
“You have the questions?” Mankowski asked the examiner.
Martin Grundy was a computer geek who’d been conducting polygraph tests for decades. “Yep. I already explained the process.”
Girlie repositioned herself in the chair as if she was trying to get comfortable, then winked at Mankowski. Her right arm rested on a table. Wires led from her fingers and arm to what looked like a laptop that sat on the table in front of Grundy.
The two detectives left and walked into an adjacent room where they could observe the testing through a large window. They had a clear view of Grundy’s computer screen. On the other side of the window was a mirror which prevented Grundy and Girlie from seeing them.
For several years, Mankowski had taught a class for rookies covering the basics of polygraph examinations. The test measured four physiological responses: breathing, oxygen usage, heart rate, and blood pressure. A subject who was about to lie had a tendency to tense up, which produced a physiological response that the polygraph could measure.
Grundy began the examination by asking Girlie a series of innocuous questions, such as her name, address and place of employment. Mankowski held his breath as the examiner asked the first substantive question.
“Have you ever met Phillip Peterman?” Grundy asked.
Girlie waited a beat. “No.”
Mankowski stepped closer to the window, his eyes zeroing in on the graphs on the computer screen in front of the examiner. “Holy shit!”
“What?” Detective Thomas exclaimed. “Is she lying or telling the truth?”
Mankowski held up a hand to quiet his partner. “Hold on, hold on. I need to hear this.”
“Did you meet with Phillip Peterman at the Four Seasons Hotel on July sixteenth?”
“No.”
Mankowski pounded his right fist into his left palm. “Son of a bitch!”
“Have you ever slept with Phillip Peterman?”
“No.”
“Did Phillip Peterman give you a copy of Judi Irving’s Big Buy documents?”
“No.”
“Have you ever seen a copy of Judi Irving’s Big Buy documents.”
“No.”
“Man, tell me what’s going on,” Thomas yelled, knowing the test was being conducted in a soundproof room. “Is she passing or failing?”
Mankowski continued to ignore him, his eyes transfixed on the computer screen.
“Did you turn over Big Buy financial records to The Daily Business Journal?”
“No.”
“Tell me, god damn it!” Detective Thomas yelled. “Is she passing or failing?”
Mankowski slapped his partner on the back.
“She passed with flying colors! No evidence of deception. Not a single inconclusive response.”
Thomas spun away, then turned back. “No way. I’m not buying it. She must’ve figured out a way to beat the test. We both saw her walk out of that hotel seconds behind Phillip Peterman. I refuse to believe that was just a coincidence.”
“Well, apparently it was,” Mankowski said, unable to stop grinning. “Because according to that polygraph machine, she’s telling the whole truth and nothing but.”
CHAPTER 89
“Ladies, I feel the need to say this one more time,” said Barry Nelson, patting his tie. “You have no obligation to speak to the police.”
“We know that and we have no plans to submit to an interview,” Rita snapped. “The only reason we agreed to come down her was to hear the information the police have about Girlie Cortez stabbing us in the back.”
The attorney tugged at one of his monogrammed shirt sleeves. “The police don’t give information. They gather it. Your being here is in their best interests, not yours. They aren’t going to tell you a thing.”
Marcus Winbush turned to Evelyn. He was tall, with sand-colored hair and a mustache that was little more than fuzz.
“I would have to agree,” Winbush said. “As a matter of fact, I bet they’re out there right now laying a trap for the two of you. You need to start thinking like the excellent lawyer that I know you are,” he said to Evelyn.
“Excellent lawyer, my ass,” Rita mumbled loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.
“You have some nerve,” Evelyn spat back. “Your greed is about to destroy our company.”
“Our company? You don’t have a company. You’re an employee, remember? Your brother left Big Buy to me. So get over it.”
“Ladies, ladies!” Nelson stood up. “What’s going on here? If anybody sees this display of animosity between the two of you, it’s going to do both of you a lot of harm. Whatever’s going on, you need to work it out for the good of the company.”
Both women lifted their chins and looked in opposite directions.
Barry’s smartphone chirped. He pulled it from his pocket and stared at the screen. “This isn’t good, but I guess it’s to be expected.”
“What is it?” Rita asked.
“The state Attorney General’s Office just served a search warrant at Big Buy headquarters.”
He started pressing the keys of his smartphone. “I’ll make sure someone from my office gets there right away.”
“This is your fault!” Rita charged. “You hired Girlie Cortez and now look at what she’s done to us.”
“Will you ever take responsibility for anything you do?” Evelyn asked. “It’s not Girlie’s fault that you and your boyfriend decided to create fraudulent earnings reports.”
“That’s a lie,” Rita said, not quite convincingly. “And no one can ever prove that I did.”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with a smug delight. “Jane Campbell can.”
Rita nervously clasped her hands. “I should’ve fired her years ago.”
“Unfortunately, you were too selfish to do that. With all the millions you have, you refused to give that woman a measly four-hundred grand that you know Harlan wanted her to have. Well, now, she’s about to pay you back for all the hell you put her through.”
“That woman is senile and she’s a liar.”
“Really? Did I tell you that Vernetta Henderson now represents Jane? I had a conversation with Henderson yesterday. Jane wants the money that Harlan left her in his will.”
Rita was about to speak, then paused, suddenly looking hopeful. “Let’s pay her and make her sign a confidentiality provision agreeing not to testify against the company.”
“That won’t work,” Nelson said. “If she’s subpoenaed by the authorities, she’ll have to testify to what she knows.”
“Anyway, Henderson would never agree to that. She wants the money her client is entitled to and this morning, I authorized Accounts Payable to send her a check for four-hundred thousand and I plan to offer her another three-hundred thousand to settle her wrongful termination claim.”
Rita gripped the edge of the table. “You did what? You can’t do any of that without my approval.”
“Yes, I can. Those sums are well within my settlement authority. Oh, and something else I forgot to mention, as of—” she paused to check her watch—”exactly thirty-five minutes ago, you and your boyfriend Fred are relieved of your duties as CEO and CFO until the completion of an in
vestigation into your alleged misconduct.”
Rita shot to her feet. “You can’t do that! You’ve been trying to wrestle this company away from me since the day your brother died.”
“This isn’t my doing. The board of directors authorized your removal. They held an emergency meeting via teleconference earlier today.”
“You…I…I don’t know why you’re sitting there looking so self-righteous,” she seethed. “You’re in just as much hot water as I am.”
“I beg to differ. I knew nothing about your little scheme. If I had, I would have turned you in myself.”
Nelson pressed three fingers to his right temple. “Ladies, ladies—”
“Shut up!” Rita and Evelyn shouted at the same time.
Nelson’s body grew rigid and his teeth were clenched tight enough to crack.
Evelyn’s young attorney, boldly ventured to speak. He stood and hid his shaking hands inside his pockets.
“That’s enough!” Winbush shouted. “Whatever’s going on between the two of you needs to stop. Immediately. You’re facing some very serious charges here.”
He turned to Evelyn. “And not just the CEO. You too. Just because you weren’t directly involved, doesn’t mean you won’t be held liable. You’re an officer of this company too. The legal standard is whether you knew or reasonably should have known the alleged fraud was occurring.”
Rita smiled across the room at Evelyn, who seemed shaken by her attorney’s blunt words.
Winbush wiped sweat from his forehead. “So I would suggest that the two of you cut out all of this childish bickering and find a way to get on the same team.”
CHAPTER 90
We heard the approach of footsteps, so Special and I were already on our feet when Detectives Mankowski and Thomas stepped back into the room.
“Did she pass?” My anxiety level was so high I might as well have been strapped to a polygraph myself.
“Yep,” Mankowski said. “She never saw the documents, never met Phillip Peterman and didn’t give them to the Journal.”
Mankowski’s delivery of this news was way too cheerful.
I felt like someone had just doused me with a quart of ice water. “What? How?”
“No way!” Special exclaimed. “That test was rigged. She’s probably screwing the guy who gave it to her.”
“But what about that information we gave you?” I said. “We know it’s true. She clearly had a motive to turn over the documents to the Journal.”
“Not everybody who has a motive to commit a crime actually does,” Mankowski explained.
I slumped back into my chair. “I can’t believe it. I don’t know how she does it. She’s the most unethical attorney I’ve ever met, and time after time she never gets caught.”
“This is bullshit!” Special said, banging her fist on the desk. “That girl is dirty. I know it.”
“I’m sorry,” Mankowski said. “I think you’re wrong.”
“Why in the hell do you look so damn happy?” Special said to Detective Mankowski. “You sleeping with her too?”
Mankowski’s curved lips immediately flattened and his expression changed to one of embarrassment.
“Calm down,” I said to Special.
“No. He’s acting like he’s all happy that she passed.”
“Contrary to all the TV cop shows you watch,” Mankowski said defensively, “we aren’t out to nail innocent people. It sounds to me like you have a score to settle with Girlie. I’m sorry we can’t manufacture any evidence to help you do that.”
“We’re not asking you to manufacture any evidence,” Special insisted. “I’m asking you to do your job.”
“Let it go, Special.” I picked up my purse from the table. “Thanks for allowing us to be here.”
“Hold on,” Special said. “We ain’t done yet. Can you go back in there and ask her one more question?”
Mankowski huffed and shook his head.
“Just leave it alone,” I said. “Let’s go.”
“It doesn’t work like that,” Mankowski replied. “The test is finished.”
Ignoring them, Special opened her purse, grabbed a pen and started scribbling on a notepad she picked up from the table.
“Here,” she said, ripping off the top sheet. “Please go back in there and ask her this last question.”
Mankowski glanced at the piece of paper while Detective Thomas peered at it over his shoulder.
“Pretty please,” Special begged. “If she denies that and the test says she’s telling the truth, I’ll admit I’ve been wrong about her. Hell, I’ll even tell Girlie that to her face.”
CHAPTER 91
“You going to do it?” Detective Thomas asked when they stepped back into the hallway.
Mankowski thought for a second. “What the hell? Might as well tie up all the loose ends.”
He placed his hand on the doorknob that led into the polygraph room.
“Crap!” He looked back over his shoulder at the room where the Big Buy execs and their attorneys were waiting. “We told them Girlie was sleeping with Phillip Peterman. We have to tell them we were wrong.”
“Are we?” Detective Thomas asked quietly.
“What do you mean?”
“What if she beat the test?”
“She didn’t beat the test,” Mankowski barked. “Not a single question came back inconclusive. She’s innocent.”
“You sure you’re not a little biased?”
“She passed the friggin’ test, okay? Get over it.”
Just then, Rita opened the door and peered out into the hallway. “We’re not waiting in here another minute. We’re leaving. Now.”
Evelyn was standing right behind her, purse in hand.
“Just give us ten more minutes,” Mankowski pleaded. “I didn’t want to tell you this earlier, but we also have Ms. Cortez here. We’re waiting for the results of her polygraph test. We’re asking her questions that pertain to your company. I think you’ll want to know what we find out.”
The possibility of hanging Girlie seemed to be enough to keep both of them corralled just a little longer.
“Fine.” Rita glanced at her watch. “You have ten minutes.”
The door slammed shut.
Mankowski called Grundy out of the room and handed him the piece of paper with Special’s question on it. “I need you to ask Ms. Cortez one more question.”
Grundy took the paper and walked back into the room. Mankowski and Thomas hurried into the adjacent room to watch.
“We have one last question,” Grundy said to Girlie.
She crossed her legs and shrugged. “Just ask until your little heart’s content.”
“Did Tonisha Cosby confess to you that she was lying about being raped by Lamarr Harris before you put her on the witness stand at trial?”
At the same time that her physiological responses began to register on the computer screen, Girlie’s face turned icicle white.
Mankowski’s eyes zeroed in on the computer in front of Grundy. The colorful lines on the screen zigzagged wildly across the computer screen.
“That case wasn’t supposed to be part of this examination.” Girlie spoke in a tight, controlled voice. She was smart enough to try to keep her emotions in check while she was still hooked up to the machine. She stood up and started snatching off the wires pasted to her arm. She slammed down the blood pressure cuff on the table and stomped out of the room.
Mankowski and Thomas met her in the hallway.
“What in the hell was that question about?” Girlie seethed.
Before Mankowski could answer, Special scurried down the hallway with Vernetta right behind her.
“That question was for us,” Special happily announced.
“What are they doing here?” Girlie looked at Mankowski with disgust. “I trusted you. You set me up!”
Before he could respond, the Big Buy CEO and general counsel crowded into the hallway, followed by their attorneys.
“I don’t
believe this!” Girlie’s hands shot up in the air, then flopped back down to her sides. “I trusted you!”
“Hold on a minute, everybody.” Mankowski feared he was about to lose control of this hormone-infested free-for-all. He turned to Evelyn and Rita. “I was wrong. Girlie was not involved with Phillip Peterman and she didn’t give those documents to the Journal.”
“And just how do you know that?” Rita asked.
“Because I just passed a friggin’ lie detector test,” Girlie yelled at her.
“Well, I don’t believe it,” the CEO continued. “Your behavior is atrocious. How could you—”
Nelson grabbed Rita’s upper arm. “This is highly inappropriate. I instruct you not to say another word!”
“I don’t believe it either,” Special said. “You probably found a way to rig the test.”
“Why are you even here?” Girlie spat at Special as if she was an insect.
“I’m here because I want to make sure your ass goes to jail where you belong,” Special spat back.
“I think there’s somebody else here who’s more likely to end up in jail,” Mankowski said. “And not just for financial fraud.” He looked directly at Rita. “We have information that cooking your company’s books wasn’t the only criminal activity you were involved in.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rita said, pressing a hand to her chest. “That’s nonsense.”
“Not according to the information Ms. Henderson provided us. According to your former executive assistant, you instructed Big Buy’s chief of security to hire someone to break into the Center for Justice to search for Judi Irving’s documents. In the process, your hired-goon assaulted Benjamin Cohen. You also had someone follow Ms. Henderson. Your secretary listened in on your calls and she’s willing to testify to what she heard. We already picked up your security guy. It didn’t take long for him to crack. He says you gave him a pretty nice bonus for his dirty work.”
The very polished Nelson started to stutter and could barely get his words out. “I’m…I’m ordering you not to say another word.” He gripped Rita’s arm even tighter. “This is highly inappropriate. My…my…my client and I are leaving.”
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