Chapter 17
Emily didn't hesitate. She threw open the door to the observation room and sprinted down the hallway, bursting into the main precinct bullpen.
Arthur was sitting on a metal bench, frantically reviewing the red ledger they had recovered from Diane.
“Arthur!” Emily shouted, grabbing his shoulder. “Have the international accounts been fully frozen yet?”
Arthur jumped, pushing his glasses up his nose.
“The domestic accounts are locked. But the Cayman routing numbers require a judicial signature from an international magistrate. It takes at least twenty-four hours to process.”
“Margaret’s lawyer is leaving the interrogation room right now,” Emily warned, pointing toward the heavy secure doors. “She just ordered him to move the offshore funds. If that money disappears, we lose the leverage to find Richard.”
Arthur’s face went pale. “If he initiates a wire transfer from a non-extradition zone, the money is gone forever.”
“How do we stop him?” Evelyn asked, hurrying up behind Emily.
“We need Diane’s red ledger,” Arthur said, frantically flipping through the small, worn book. “Diane was Margaret’s personal accountant before she was fired. She documented the specific authorization codes for the offshore shells.”
Arthur stopped on a page filled with dense, handwritten numeric sequences.
“Here. The Brightwood transfer files. The money Richard supposedly stole was routed through a dummy corporation called Apex Holdings. If I can log into the central banking portal using my new fiduciary credentials as your counsel, I might be able to change the authorization passwords before Harrison can execute the transfer.”
“Do it,” Emily ordered. “Right here. Right now.”
Arthur pulled his laptop from his leather bag, resting it on the edge of a police desk. He typed furiously, his fingers a blur over the keys.
Across the room, the secure doors buzzed open. Harrison, Margaret’s lawyer, strode out, his phone already pressed to his ear. He looked agitated, entirely focused on executing his client’s final, desperate command.
“I need the Cayman wire initiated immediately,” Harrison barked into the phone, walking swiftly toward the exit. “Authorization code Alpha-Seven-Niner-Bravo.”
Arthur smashed the enter key on his laptop.
Harrison stopped dead in his tracks, pulling the phone away from his ear.
“What do you mean the password was changed?” Harrison yelled, drawing the attention of half the precinct. “That’s impossible! I am the primary legal proxy!”
Emily walked slowly across the bullpen, stopping directly in front of the panicked lawyer.
“Not anymore, Mr. Harrison,” Emily said, her voice dripping with cold, unyielding authority.
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Harrison glared at her. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m the woman who just took your client’s checkbook,” Emily replied. “You can tell Margaret she is completely bankrupt.”
