“We were told that he never left during business hours,” Johanna said.
“That's right. But what he didn't know was that the police had unmarked cars watching the parking garage exits,” George explained. “We assumed he was going to see Kristin Robbins, but instead he drove straight to the airport. He had the Bronson private jet ready to go.”
“So he was leaving alone.” Frankie toyed with her coffee cup.
“Yes, he had a phony passport, whole new identity—the works.”
“An identity Becca had helped him set up with the bogus corporate accounts I'll bet.” Frankie nodded knowingly. “And after all of that he was going to leave her and Kristin to take the fall.”
“Yes.” George took another swallow of coffee.
“How much of this does Kendall know?” Johanna asked Alec.
“Not much. I'll fill in the blanks for her tomorrow after she's had time to rest. In fact, I'm going to persuade her to stay with Jillian and me for a while because there's bound to be a media blitz once this whole story breaks,” Alec replied.
“Kristin also mentioned that she was supposed to kill Kendall but couldn't.” Frankie's eyes narrowed. “Was she making that up? Or do you think Thatcher planned that, too?”
“I think that was Thatcher's last resort,” George said. “If Kendall was murdered then he'd have everything that was Kendall's free and clear.”
“As long as nothing could be traced back to him,” Frankie interjected.
Johanna sat listening thoughtfully. “What doesn't make sense to me is why Thatcher chose today to leave. Why didn't he just hire a professional hit on Kendall instead of coercing Kristin into doing it?”
“My theory is that he wanted as few people as possible in on his plan. He had control over Becca and Kristin. Who would suspect Kristin of murder? She'd only met Kendall in person once. Becca couldn't do it. Thatcher needed someone no one would ever suspect. But since the plan had unraveled and he realized he wouldn't get a dime of Kendall's money, he wanted her dead anyway. He had enough money in the offshore accounts to begin fresh with his new identity. I'm sure Becca and Kristin believed after Kristin killed Kendall, the three of them would leave the country and live whatever life he promised them.”
“A promise he never intended to keep,” Frankie said, “since he decided to leave without them.”
“That's right,” George said. “If he'd gotten away, he could have lived for the rest of his life in complete luxury with his new identity with the amount of money he'd stolen. I'm sure he planned to transfer money from those accounts to others after he established himself. Now he'll be spending the rest of his life in prison.”
“I suppose he's pleading innocent.” Frankie scowled as she crushed her empty coffee cup.
“Of course,” George chuckled. “Even with the phony passport, he's denying he's done anything illegal. He pinned the entire scam on Becca.”
“How did you find evidence of the offshore accounts? I thought you had to have a complete audit or something like that,” Frankie said.
“Kendall has a right to request to review the accounts whenever she desires. She called Becca from my office this morning and told her she was requesting an account review.” Alec grinned. “Haley Jones was a big help to us, too. After we heard what she'd said on the tape, I had Kendall contact her a few days ago. She was more than willing to snoop around Becca's office. I didn't know if she'd find anything.”
“So that's why you told us you were going to get a court order if necessary, to have the records audited,” Johanna said. “I take it that Haley got the proof you needed.”
“That and more. I immediately called George,” Alec said.
“It must have all happened quickly,” Frankie replied shaking her head in disbelief.
“Yes, it did. Shortly after you two left my office, Haley called and said she was faxing everything to my office.”
“Where was Becca while this was going on? I was under the impression that her office was like her personal fortress,” Frankie said and then frowned.
“This is where everything broke for us,” Alec said beaming. “According to Haley, Thatcher and Becca had had a heated argument shortly before Thatcher left the building. Becca left a short time later. In her anger and haste, she hadn't secured the office so Haley had easy access.”
“Did Haley say what they argued about?” Johanna asked.
“She heard bits and pieces. Becca kept saying she'd put everything on the line for him, and everything would have been fine if he hadn't dragged Kristin into it. Before Thatcher left he told her she'd get what was coming to her, but to hang tight until he contacted her.”
“So no one was keeping an eye on Becca.”
“Unfortunately, no,” Kate chimed in. “That's how she was able to ambush me. Thatcher must have told her about you two tailing him and Kristin. I assume Becca picked up Kristin when she left her office. She must have been driving around and saw me come out of your office earlier this afternoon.”
“How did she know Kendall was at our office?” Frankie's brows grew together. “I thought you'd hired extra security for Kendall,” Frankie said to Alec. “Where were they?”
“They made sure she got safely to my office. They never knew about the disguise she wore.”
“Why?” Frankie asked. “You told me earlier that you didn't trust them.”
“I just wanted to make sure she got to my office in one piece. The less people who knew about the disguise, the better. I told you before, not even my staff knew, just you two, my wife, and me.” Alec rubbed his chin. “I still haven't figured out how she knew Kendall was at your office, though.”
Arlan snapped his fingers. “Unless Becca waited somewhere
