The Prince of Risk A Novel(79)
“He’s a killer, actually,” said Astor.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m pretty sure he’s the man who killed Penelope Evans.”
“I’m sorry,” said Alex. “But you’re losing me. Who is Penelope Evans?”
“My father’s assistant at the Exchange. She was murdered yesterday in her home in Greenwich. It was all over the news.”
“I’ve been busy with a few things.”
Drawing a breath, Astor related the actions he’d taken since receiving the text from his father two nights before, beginning with his visit to the New York Stock Exchange and the theft of his father’s agenda and culminating with the certainty that the man he had seen standing close behind him was Penelope Evans’s killer.
“And Sully? He just let you traipse off without calling the police?”
“Leave Sully out of it.”
“He’s a cop. He knows better.”
“He was a cop. He works for me now. He was looking out for my best interests.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed. She knew about Bobby’s interests. She didn’t like them one bit.
“The killer got a knife into her heart before she even knew he was there.”
“Maybe more lucky than fast.” Alex put a hand on his leg, and her touch sent a jolt of electricity through him. She smiled, and for a moment he felt as if everything were okay between them. He knew it was her training. He was the victim. She was there to provide succor. As quickly, the smile faded. Her game face returned.
“My ex, the private eye. You must be doing something right if the bad guys send a contract man to kill you. Why didn’t you call me when you got the text in the first place?”
“You’d just been at the house. You said it wasn’t your case. I didn’t know what Palantir meant or if it would lead anywhere.”
Alex sat straighter, her shoulders tightening. “You knew it meant something yesterday afternoon when you found Penelope Evans dead in her house. It ends now. The amateur gumshoeing. The son tracking down his father’s killer. All that bullshit. You’re going straight to Janet McVeigh and tell her everything you just told me.” She paused, appraising her former husband, trying to sense whether he was hiding something. With Bobby, there was always another angle. “And if you leave anything out—I mean anything—I’m going to hold you responsible for whatever it is that’s going on here.”
Astor nodded. He’d been honest so far…to a point. He saw no reason for her or anyone else to know about Mike Grillo. “I understand.”
Alex shot him her “for real” glance, and Astor nodded solemnly. She relaxed. “You actually fell into your elevator shaft?”
Astor nodded. “Caught the cable. When the elevator came up, I let myself down onto its roof and managed to open the emergency hatch.”
“And if you hadn’t? Or if that knife had missed your arm and gone into your chest? Your daughter loses her father for no good reason.”
“I’m close to figuring out who killed Dad, Gelman, and Hughes. They were visiting the president for a reason, Alex. They’d discovered something. Some kind of plot. Something about an attack. Whoever is behind it was able to take control of their car, just like those people hijacked my elevator. They hear everything. They listen.” Astor stopped short, realizing he was issuing the same warning that Penelope Evans had given him.
“Who are ‘they’? What kind of attack? Where? When?”
“I don’t know.”
“He’s certainly closer than your colleagues,” said the mechanized voice.
Alex shifted on the couch, peering around the office. “Who said that?”
“I did,” came the voice from the computer. “I believe Mr. Astor deserves some credit. After all, he found me before the vaunted Federal Bureau of Incompetence did.”
“He stole evidence that would have led them to the same place.”
“But Ms. Forza, your colleagues were here yesterday.”
Alex stood and approached the computer. “Who are you and how do you know my name?”
“He contacted Dad in the first place,” said Astor, coming to her side. “He warned him.”
“About what?”
“He hasn’t said.” Astor beckoned to the monitor. “If you won’t tell me, tell her. She can take care of herself. I can promise you that.”
“My relationship with the government ended years ago. Messily, I’m afraid. I’ve had enough of leading a horse to water and getting kicked in the groin for my efforts.”
“Whatever may have happened in the past, I can promise the Bureau’s full cooperation in this matter,” said Alex.