Save Her Child by CJ Lyons (best historical biographies txt) 📗

“Sure, people didn’t like him. It’s one of the reasons why he left Colorado and changed his name after he moved here.” Somehow she made it sound as if fleecing people out of their life savings wasn’t a reason to want anyone dead. “But no one who would kill him—not like that.”

“What do you mean, like that?” Leah coaxed.

Tassi’s lips pressed together and she remained silent.

Luka gave her another minute but when she said nothing, he told her, “Tassi, we know about the Zapata family. We know Spencer stole their money back in Denver and was on the run from them. What can you tell us about that?”

“I—nothing. I don’t know anything. Please, I just want to bury my husband in peace.” Her words emerged in a plaintive wail. She stood, smoothing the skirt of her dress.

Luka grabbed his crutches and stood as well. That was when Leah realized he didn’t have any proof of Tassi’s involvement other than her own vague insinuations, and certainly not enough to arrest her. At least not yet.

As Tassi walked toward the door, Luka said, “Of course you’re free to go, and please, feel free to not answer, but I’m curious about one thing.”

Uncertainty crossed her face as she decided whether to push past him, but curiosity got the better of her. “What?”

“Why were you so surprised to see Spencer’s body at your house yesterday?”

She stuttered to a stop. “Yesterday?”

“When we first saw you at your house, you said Spencer was at the river, he was supposed to be in the river.” Luka shifted one crutch to casually block her path. “You were expecting us to have called you because we’d found his suicide note. Like in Colorado. A note but no body. You thought he was still alive, waiting for you with the money, didn’t you, Tassi? You believed he really was dying of cancer, but Spencer wasn’t the type to kill himself, was he? You thought you’d run away, to some tropical paradise where you could spend the rest of what little time he had together. And then, when he was gone, all the money he’d squirreled away, hidden in those offshore accounts, it would all be yours. So, where’s the money?”

Her gaze turned steely, her eyes narrowed to slits. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. My husband has been murdered and I need to go make arrangements for his body, if you don’t mind.”

Luka waited a beat, searching her expression, then moved aside. She stalked past him without another word or glance in his direction. He turned to Leah, leaning heavily on his crutches. “So, that went well. Got more out of her than either of the others. Hansen was useless and Dean stonewalled Ray.”

“Were you telling the truth about the missing money and all that gold? Or was that to get a reaction out of her?” Leah asked.

“No, it was the truth. Sanchez really was able to recover data from a scanner at Standish’s office—guess whoever wiped the computers didn’t think to also erase its memory. And Krichek sent me the financials from the fund. It was wiped out on Friday. By Standish himself.”

“You’re thinking he was planning to fake his death and run away, but someone found out, wanted the money and killed him?”

“If so, then they didn’t do a very good job of getting what they wanted. He was on the phone around the time he died from a single blow to the back of his head. No other injuries. No signs of torture. He was dead before he could tell anyone anything about where the money was.”

“For what it’s worth, Tassi seemed genuinely surprised to learn he was murdered.”

“Or at least surprised that the money was gone. She seemed especially upset about the missing six million in gold.”

“Who are your suspects?” Leah asked.

“Tassi’s alibi checked out—we confirmed the time she left the Greenbriar and there’s no way she could have gotten back here in time. Larry Hansen knows more than he’s letting on. Plus, he found the body and doesn’t have an alibi. It’s possible he and Tassi were working together. Maybe he learned about Spencer’s scam and tried to cash in? Not sure. Foster Dean has an alibi—he was on a plane from Denver at the time. But he might still be good for the break-in at the office. He’d have had enough time to get there after his flight landed, could have copied the information, wiped the hard drives so no one else could access the data, and have been the one I surprised.”

“Then why return?”

“To insinuate himself in the investigation, stay one step ahead of us. Especially once he knew Spencer was dead; he realized that if the computer files couldn’t lead him to the money, then maybe we could.”

“You know, that scenario also works with Spencer erasing the computer files himself, covering his tracks,” Leah pointed out. “Dean could have arrived and realized they were erased, a dead end—leaving you as his next best source of information, so he involved himself with the investigation.”

“He’s not interested in me, though.” He pivoted on his crutches to glance out the door. “It’s Tassi. She said he was following her.”

“Luka. Shouldn’t you warn her? You said he might be working for a drug cartel.”

“She’s not stupid, she already knows she’s a target. And don’t worry, I have Ray and Krichek following her and Hansen. That’s why I wanted to stall her here, long enough for them to get in position.” He frowned at his leg. “Wish I could go with them. I’d love to nail Dean, the smug SOB.” He turned back to her. “Anyway, thanks. I know this wasn’t the kind of interview you usually do for us and I appreciate you letting us tie up your facilities.”

Leah was clearly out of her depth when it came to the twisted motivations of career criminals. But there was one woman in distress she might still be able to