The K Team, page 21
Pete has uncovered frequent contacts between Drew Lockman and Peter Tuckman, the PR guy for the court system, who along with Judge Pletka was in Henderson’s inner circle. Lockman had paid off Tuckman for his help; Tuckman had received more than $100,000 for his efforts.
Tuckman has caved and told what he knows and what he did. His efforts were significant and tragic. He gave the blackmailers Henderson’s cell phone number and his upcoming trial schedule, even though that information had not been made public.
Vickers was killed because Laurie had told the Judge that we were going to confront Vickers that night, and he had mentioned it to Tuckman. The blackmailers were afraid that Vickers would reveal that he was working for Lockman, so they made sure that couldn’t happen.
Most significant, Tuckman had secretly left the back door to Henderson’s house unlocked when he, Pletka, and Henderson met on the fateful night that Henderson died. So there was no forced entry. There isn’t any proof, but the Judge was extremely likely murdered, most probably by Ellis. We are going to make sure the public knows the truth.
I am happy that everyone now believes that Henderson did nothing wrong. When he wouldn’t cave to the blackmail, the blackmailers went to plan B, which was to kill him and let the case fall to Judge Pletka.
They were confident that Pletka would let Lowry out. That was partially because Tuckman conveyed to them Pletka’s view of the case, but more important because they knew that the system would bend over backward to be fair in cases that Henderson had handled. With judicial error being alleged in the Lowry case, and Maria Burks missing as a witness, Lowry’s release was virtually assured. Andy had predicted exactly that.
The conspirators waited eighteen months to get Lowry out because they needed time to set up their investors. Lowry behind bars was the safe approach, so that he could not do anything else stupid to jeopardize the operation.
Laurie and I haven’t had time to reflect on the way the case went down; I’ve spent a day in the hospital having my wounded shoulder treated. Simon has stayed at Laurie’s house with his friend Tara.
“How did you know it was Lockman?” she asks.
“I wasn’t sure, but the pieces all fit. He had a separate fund within the company, which Sloane didn’t see. He also still had a phone line and number in the company system which allowed calls to be forwarded to him, so while we thought that Vickers had called Sloane, he was actually calling Lockman.
“The worst part is that I was probably responsible for Sloane being murdered. I had mentioned to Lockman that I was going to confront Sloane with the information of a scam involving the Equi-net systems. He tried to talk me out of it, and when he couldn’t, he ordered Sloane killed. If Sloane had lived and taken my claims seriously, he might have uncovered everything.
“Also, Lockman set me up to talk to Denise Tennison, who pretended to be Vickers’s girlfriend. She was a fake, and he must have known that. They were setting Sloane up to take the fall if anything went wrong, which it did.”
“I just wish we knew who had Lockman killed. I hate to see someone like that walk,” Laurie says.
“If it was one of the investors, the Feds will take them down for the financial crimes. Evidence of murder might be tougher to come by; Duric is not the type to talk. But I’m afraid we need to let it go and let them handle it.”
Laurie nods. “I guess so.” Then, “You did good.”
“The team did good. Especially Marcus, who took it upon himself to watch out for me. He saved my life and Simon’s life. I thanked him a little while ago, and he said, ‘Ynnhh.’ I couldn’t have put it any better.”
Dani walks by us and Laurie says to me, “Dani is terrific.”
I shrug. “I guess.”
“Don’t screw this one up, Corey.”
“We’ll see what happens.”
“Corey, let me ask you a question. How would you feel if she dumped you?”
I think about it for a few moments. “Like shit.”
Laurie smiles. “Exactly.”
I’m at Andy and Laurie’s house to collect my pay.
We had gotten a retainer from Judge Henderson, but when he died, Andy assumed financial responsibility for our work. I argued the point, but he said that he wanted to clear Henderson’s name if at all possible, and if he didn’t hire us, he’d hire someone else.
“I’m not happy about this,” I say when he hands me the check. “You shouldn’t be paying us.”
“Get over it. You guys did an amazing job. I could have done better myself, but not that much better.”
“Humble as always.” I look at the check; it’s more than I earned in two months as a cop. “I would invest this if I knew I’d make a profit. Maybe we should have kept Lowry’s program running.”
Andy shakes his head. “Wouldn’t help much. You’d need a lot more than that to get started. The scheme only worked because the investors had huge money going in. A two percent profit, even in only a day, only really matters if it’s two percent of big bucks.”
Laurie overhears us talking and says, “I know about the other conspirators, but where did Lockman get that kind of money?”
“Maybe he used the money that each of them put up,” Andy says. “It was like an initiation fee into the club.”
I shake my head. “Sam had kept his eye on the company records. He said that money wasn’t touched.”
Laurie and I both think of it at the same time, but she says it first. “Let’s call Sam.”
It has taken three endless days to put it together.
That is not in any way Sam’s fault; he accomplished everything we asked of him in less than six hours. The delay came when we asked the legal authorities to perform the same work, without revealing what Sam had done. They move a hell of a lot slower than Sam, partially because they need to get warrants and other annoying inconveniences.
I am sorry to say that I have been won over; I am a Sam Willis groupie.
So we’ve come to Manhattan ready to put what we’ve learned to productive use. Last time I came here alone and I was stuck in the reception area for a half hour, reading magazines. This time Laurie and I are ushered right in; that’s the advantage of bringing two cops and two FBI agents with us. We don’t have to wait for the receptionist to say, “Mr. McKnight will see you now.”
The cops and agents let us go in first, without Arthur McKnight even knowing they are here. I’m wearing a wire, but it doesn’t matter. Nothing he says will be necessary to prosecute.
He seems surprised to see us, but unruffled. “To what do I owe this visit?”
“Arthur, this is Laurie Collins. Laurie, Arthur McKnight. I thought you should meet Laurie because she’s really the one who figured out that you are a lying, murdering piece of shit.”
Rather than looking scared, his face and eyes take on a cold and angry look. “No one speaks to me like that. Now I don’t know what you want, but you had better leave now.”
“No problem,” I say. “All we wanted was to tell you that you are about to be the wealthiest inmate in the history of the federal prison system. You will be able to buy all the cigarettes that you could ever want.”
“You have nothing.”
It’s Laurie’s turn. “Here’s what we have. We have financial records between you and the eight conspirators; each of them was using your money for half of their investments, with you getting half the profits. The cops flipped the CFO of Sloane Enterprises, who made sure that Lockman’s fund was completely shut off from Sloane, so that he couldn’t see what was going on. He has implicated you and provided records. You had only pretended to resent Lockman’s losing your money; it was just a head fake to insulate you from him. And we’re just beginning. Corey, did I miss anything? Do we have anything else?” She turns to me.
“Just one thing. We also have a reception area full of FBI agents and cops that are here to arrest you. My only regret is that Judge Henry Henderson won’t be the one to send you away for the rest of your life.”
The agents and cops come in and make the arrest. I’m sure McKnight will hire the best lawyer that money can buy, maybe even Walter Cummings.
But it won’t help.
Chalk one up for the K Team.
ALSO BY DAVID ROSENFELT
ANDY CARPENTER NOVELS
Dachshund Through the Snow
Bark of Night
Deck the Hounds
Rescued
Collared
The Twelve Dogs of Christmas
Outfoxed
Who Let the Dog Out?
Hounded
Unleashed
Leader of the Pack
One Dog Night
Dog Tags
New Tricks
Play Dead
Dead Center
Sudden Death
Bury the Lead
First Degree
Open and Shut
THRILLERS
Black and Blue
Fade to Black
Blackout
Without Warning
Airtight
Heart of a Killer
On Borrowed Time
Down to the Wire
Don’t Tell a Soul
NONFICTION
Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog
Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVID ROSENFELT is the Edgar Award–nominated and Shamus Award–winning author of eleven stand-alones and twenty Andy Carpenter novels, most recently Dachshund Through the Snow. After years of living in California, he and his wife moved to Maine with twenty-five of the four thousand dogs they have rescued. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Begin Reading
Also by David Rosenfelt
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE K TEAM. Copyright © 2020 by Tara Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by David Baldeosingh Rotstein
Cover photographs: dogs © Thomas Kitchin & Victoria Hurst/ FirstLight.com; German shepherd © Cultura Creative/ Alamy Stock Photo; man © mimagephotography/Shutterstock.com; badge © Richard Peterson/Shutterstock.com
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Rosenfelt, David, author.
Title: The K team / David Rosenfelt.
Description: First edition. | New York: Minotaur Books, 2020.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019047328 | ISBN 9781250257192 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250257185 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Mystery fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3618.O838 K15 2020 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019047328
eISBN 9781250257185
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: March 2020
David Rosenfelt, The K Team
