Outsourced

22

After Dan Wilson had left, Resnick stuck around to try and gauge whether Brown could’ve been involved in the robbery. Somebody inside the bank had to have been. Somebody had given the robbers Petrenko’s box numbers, and it made sense that somebody had arranged with the offshore programmers to put a backdoor into the software. Brown seemed as good a bet as anybody. What bothered Resnick, though, was remembering the look on Brown’s face when he had discovered the system was still on after the robbery. To Resnick, it looked as if Brown had fully expected the system to have been turned off. Of course, it could’ve been an act – the bank manager knew where the surveillance cameras were so he would know he was being videotaped – but still it would’ve been a damned good act, close to Academy Award caliber.

When Resnick tried asking Brown why he chose not to have a backup line for the alarm system, the bank manager first got flustered and then indignant. He claimed it was his fiduciary responsibility to avoid unnecessary expenses and that there was enough redundancy built into the system as it was. Resnick tried shaking him on that, but couldn’t get anywhere. After that, he had Brown go over the payments that were made to the Indian contract firm, hoping he could catch an extra payment or some other irregularity. If Brown had used bank funds to pay something extra to one of the offshore programmers, he did a good job hiding it. Resnick decided he was going to have to ask for an audit and he was sure Hadley wouldn’t be happy about that.

When he got back to the station, he was surprised to find Maguire wasn’t there waiting for him. They had separated so that Maguire could stick around the FBI offices and see how the Lombardo investigation progressed, but he should’ve been back to the station by now.

Resnick checked his phone messages. A desk sergeant working out of the Revere station had called about an abandoned car found at the Revere Mall. Resnick couldn’t help smiling when he brought up the owner’s driver’s license from the Registry of Motor Vehicles database. Printing out a copy, he brought it into Hadley’s office.

“You’re back,” Hadley said stiffly. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

“Take a look at this first.”

Resnick showed him a copy of Gordon Carmichael’s driver’s license. Hadley stared blankly at it for a moment before he recognized who it was.

“How’d you find this?” he asked.

“I was checking around for any abandoned vehicles. This guy’s car had been dumped at the Revere Mall.”

“Raymond Lombardo’s neighborhood,” Hadley observed.

“Yeah, it’s almost as if someone’s trying hard to connect the dots to Lombardo,” Resnick said. “I’m going to head over to the Revere Mall, see if they have any surveillance cameras covering their parking lot-”

“Stop.”

Resnick gave Hadley a puzzled look. “What’s up, Ken?” he asked.

“I’ve had a long talk with Agent Spitzer and we’ve both come to the conclusion that Raymond Lombardo is responsible for the bank robbery.” Hadley took a deep breath. As he exhaled, his round face deflated like a punctured tire. He added, “As far I’m concerned, this case is closed.”

“Has anyone tried to verify Lombardo’s story?”

“And what would that prove? I’m sure his barber is going to say whatever Lombardo tells him to. Same with his golf buddies.”

“We have so many leads we haven’t checked out yet,” Resnick said, shaking his head angrily. “Someone inside that bank has to be involved. If we shut this down now, we’re never going to get to the bottom of what happened.”

“We know what happened. It’s over, Alex. We have the man who did this on videotape. That’s more than enough for me and it should be for you too. Let the FBI finish this up.”

“Ken, this stinks. We’re going to just let the FBI force Lombardo into a deal and watch this case quietly disappear?”

“Sometimes it works out that way.”

“And it doesn’t matter how many people were hurt?”

“Of course it matters.” Hadley sighed heavily, his eyes empty as he stared at his detective. “But unfortunately, not this time.”

For a long moment all Resnick could do was stare back. His voice low and catching in his throat, he said, “What if Lombardo brings a dozen witnesses forward claiming he was playing golf at the time of the robbery? This could blow up in your face, Ken.”

“I don’t believe that’s going to happen. Anyway, as I said, it’s over. A press conference is going to be given at six tonight. As far as you’re concerned, I don’t want you spending any more time on this. In fact, I’m giving you what you asked for earlier. Until further notice, you’re on Viktor Petrenko. Watch him twenty-four hours a day if you can.”

“And what about Walt?”

“He’s to watch that bank manager, Craig Brown, which I believe is something else you suggested.”

“So that’s it, huh? How long are you going to keep us on these assignments? Until the FBI finalizes their deal with Lombardo?”

Hadley tried to smile, but it didn’t come close to reaching his eyes. They remained as pale and lifeless as glass. “That’s as good a guess as any,” he said.