have had their lives threatened.”
“Swiss law does allow banks to cooperate with law enforcement where an account is being used to further criminal activity. Unfortunately, even if he threatened you, it’s not clear that we could convince a judge that Robledo is
“Well, there’s plenty of evidence that Evan Hunt was attacked,” said Lilly.
“That doesn’t mean it was Robledo who did it.”
“Didn’t you see the walls inside his apartment?” said Lilly. “Evan Hunt knew more about the Cushman Ponzi scheme than Patrick and I could ever hope to know. Doesn’t it stand to reason that Robledo made the same threats against him-find my money, or end up like Gerry Collins?”
Andie paused. In my eight months of dealing with her, I’d seen virtually every facet of the bureau side of her personality, so I felt confident in concluding, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Lilly was not going to get a direct answer to her question.
“Lilly, how closely did you look at the writings on Evan’s walls?”
“Not very. I barely had time.”
“Do you remember seeing the name Manu Robledo anywhere on those walls?”
Lilly searched her memory, but I spared her the effort.
“It’s not there,” I said. “Evan knew a lot about Cushman, but it was clear to me that he didn’t know anything about Manu Robledo. That was one of his holes.”
Andie said, “And by the same token, Robledo had no reason to know about him. Don’t you agree, Patrick?”
“I suppose I do.”
Her gaze shifted toward Lilly. “Or could it be that there was some link between Evan Hunt and Manu Robledo. Something that might have put Evan Hunt in the kind of danger that could get a man killed. What do you think, Lilly?”
Her tone was more accusatory than inquisitive. Clearly, Henning was trying to push a button with Lilly, but I wasn’t getting it.
“What are you suggesting?” I asked.
“I’m suggesting that your girlfriend knows something you don’t know, and I’m counting on her to be honest with us. Lilly, you know how Manu Robledo got his hands on Evan Hunt’s analysis, don’t you.”
It was an accusation, not a question. “Hold on,” I said. “Lilly doesn’t know anything about Evan’s analysis, let alone whether Manu Robledo has it.”
Andie’s stare tightened on Lilly. “That’s not true, is it, Lilly. You know he got it from Patrick’s father.”
I was about to rise again to Lilly’s defense, but I quickly realized that the women at the table were way ahead of me. Andie pressed on, for my benefit, sharing the things she’d learned in the last twenty-four hours-that my father couldn’t comprehend why the SEC had shown no interest in Evan’s analysis, that in frustration he’d decided to use it against Gerry Collins.
“With a little help from a friend in the FBI, your father found a client on Gerry Collins’ roster who would show absolutely no mercy to a man who dared to cheat him. A true badass who would deliver a beating he would never forget. Or worse.”
“Are you saying that my dad hired Manu Robledo to kill Gerry Collins?”
“This was no murder for hire,” said Andie. “In fact, what your father did isn’t even remotely a crime. He simply gave Manu Robledo the truth and let him do with it as he may.”
“Fully expecting that it would not end well for Gerry Collins,” I said.
“That’s a fair statement,” said Andie. “Don’t you agree, Lilly?”
Lilly averted her eyes, looking at neither me nor Andie. I knew where this was headed, but I asked the question anyway.
“Lilly, you knew all this?”
The expression on her face was one of complete misery, but the truth was undeniable. She knew.
“You found this out how?” I asked.
There was pain on top of her misery, which was transforming into fear. “You know how,” she said.
It had been hard enough for her to tell me about her “source,” and it was plain as day that she wasn’t ready to talk about it in front of an FBI agent. Lilly pushed away from the table, ready to leave, but I stopped her.
“Lilly, you’ve got to tell Andie.”
“That’s not an option,” she said as she gathered her coat.
Andie leaned across the table, forcing Lilly to look her in the eye. “Lilly, if you have a source-”
“I can’t talk about it.”
“There’s no way for me to help you if you won’t talk to me.”
“Damn it, Patrick. Did you set this up?”
I hadn’t, but I could see how she would think otherwise. “No, but Andie’s right.”
Lilly rose, and so did Andie, blocking Lilly’s path to the door. “Sit for thirty seconds more,” said Andie, “and hear me out.”
Andie hadn’t presented it as an option, and Lilly backed down.
“Here’s the situation,” said Andie. “Take it as a given that Manu Robledo has in his possession a copy of Evan Hunt’s analysis of the Cushman Ponzi scheme. I can name three people who are alive today who could truthfully say that they saw the report in Robledo’s hands around the time he got it, three years ago. Robledo, obviously, is one. Tony Mandretti, who gave it to him, is another.”
“The third, I presume, is Evan,” I said.
“No. I said people who are alive today. I don’t think Evan knew anyway.”
“Then who’s the third?” I asked.
Andie hesitated, which underscored the importance of what she was about to say. “It’s a former government agent.”
“From the FBI?”
“No.”
“Who is he?”
“An undercover agent who introduced Manu Robledo to Gerry Collins. He was at a meeting in Miami three years ago, when Robledo confronted Gerry Collins with the analysis showing Cushman was a fraud. I can’t go into detail, but suffice it to say that things went terribly wrong. He was shot, but survived.”
This was entirely new territory to me, and a string of questions came to mind. “When you say he was an undercover agent, would I be on track if I were to guess that the government operation had something to do with the letters B-A-Q?”
“You’d be right on track,” said Andie.
“So he worked for the Treasury Department?”
“Slow down,” said Andie. “We can talk more about this, but only if I know both you and Lilly are on board.”
“On board what?” Lilly asked.
The color had drained from Lilly’s face, and I knew that we were sharing the same thought. I put it into words: “Are you saying that this former government agent is Lilly’s source?”
Andie leaned closer, tightening her figurative grip on Lilly. “You don’t want to mess with this man,” Andie said to her. “He’s ruthless and has his own agenda. Trust me, your safety and well-being are not high on his list of priorities.”
“I know that,” said Lilly, her voice flat. “It’s all very disturbing, the way he talks to me.”
“What does he say?” I asked.
“He uses very affectionate language, which is totally out of place. He tells me all the time that he is protecting me. He’ll call me ‘Love,’ or he’ll tell me how much I need him.”
“That’s a ruse,” said Andie. “I told you: he’s a former government agent. He understands how psychological profiling works in law enforcement. If he comes across as a lovesick puppy, it’s only to confuse us about his real motivations.”
