The Millionaires

16

“Well?” Gallo asked.

“No answer,” Lapidus said as he hung up the receiver. “Not that I’m surprised – Oliver’s too smart to pick up.” Turning to the photocopied letter that Gallo left on his desk, Lapidus looked down and quickly skimmed it. “So this is how they did it?” Lapidus asked. “A fake letter signed by Duckworth?”

“According to the tech boys, that’s the last document Oliver typed into his computer,” Gallo explained as he limped across the vintage carpet. After what happened with Joey, he was in no mood to sit. “And from the hard copy we found hidden in the back of Shep’s drawer, it looks like Shep was helping them along.”

“So the three of them met this morning, and when things went sour, Oliver and Charlie took his head off,” Quincy hypothesized from his usual spot by the door.

“That’s the only thing that makes sense,” DeSanctis said, shooting a cocky look at Gallo.

“And what about the investigation?” Lapidus asked. “As you know, we have a number of important clients who rely on our promise of privacy. Any chance of keeping it… how do you say… out of the papers?”

There it was – the one thing Gallo was waiting for. “I completely agree,” he replied, seizing the opportunity. “If we throw this to the press, they’ll broadcast our every move straight to Charlie and Oliver. When it gets this big, we’re all better off on the quiet side.”

“Exactly – that’s exactly our point,” Lapidus said, nodding vigorously at Quincy. “Isn’t that right?”

Quincy didn’t nod back. He’d had enough sucking up for one day.

“So you think you’ll be able to find them?” Lapidus asked as Gallo picked up the phone on the corner of Lapidus’s desk.

Gallo glanced at Quincy, then back to Lapidus. “Why don’t you leave that to us.” Quickly dialing a number, Gallo raised the receiver to his ear. “Hey, it’s me,” he said to the person on the other line. “I got a cell phone loose in the city – you ready to do some tracking?”