Long Shadows

Chapter 89

I need everything you have on Trevor Perlman ASAP,” White said into the phone as they sat outside of the Perlmans’ home. She gave the person the Perlmans’ address in Florida and also informed the person of his connection to Mason Tanner.

White clicked off and turned to Decker. “Okay, what now?”

“I emailed Deidre Fellows. She’s agreed to see us again.”

They drove to Sanibel Island and passed through the gates to Fellows’s oceanfront mansion.

She was waiting for them by the infinity pool when the maid escorted them through. Fellows had on a colorful muumuu and a sun hat.

On the way, Decker had taken a picture off the shelf in the other room.

They sat down, and Fellows eyed the photo frame. The picture was turned away from her. “Did you bring something for me to look at?”

“No, this is one of your photos from the other room.”

“Then it’s my father’s photos. As I said, this was his house. I’ve only lived here for about six months. It was fully furnished. The house I shared with my ex is on the market.”

Decker turned the picture around so she could see it.

She glanced at the group of men and women in the photo. “That’s my father, and the woman is my mother, and the man next to her was my father’s chief of staff at the time. He’s dead now.”

“And the young man on the very end?”

Fellows’s gaze traveled down there and then she gaped.

“Miami, 1981?” said Decker. “The man packing the woman into the suitcase?”

She nodded dumbly.

“I thought so.”

She looked astonished. “My God. It was here all that time. But I never looked at those photos. I’m not in any of them, you see. What’s his name?”

“Trevor Perlman. Ring any bells?”

“No, none.”

“I doubt he was part of your father’s staff. And that may not have been the name he was using back then.”

“Then why is he in the picture?”

“Politicians take lots of pictures.”

“Yes, but why would my father keep that one in particular? There are lots of others with my mother and his staff.”

“I don’t know. But I’m very glad he kept this one.”

“What does this all mean, Agent Decker?”

“Hopefully, it means a killer is about to get caught.”

After a long discussion with Fellows, and White making some phone calls, they drove back to Ocean View and to their hotel.

In White’s room they held a quick conference.

“Okay, let me try to get this straight,” began White. “Trevor Perlman helped clean up the mess in Miami back in 1981.”

“As we talked about before, he also may have created the mess.”

“You mean a setup?”

“A consultant? Traveled the world and speaks several languages? Goes to Cuba by private boat?”

“What exactly are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I would bet more money than I have that Kanak Roe’s boat is in Cuba, where Perlman took it after killing him and dumping his body in the ocean.”

White stammered, “Are you... was Perlman working for—”

“—enemies of this country, yeah. He sets up Tanner, who was a shoo-in for election. The guy owes his political life to Perlman and his handlers. In return for their taking care of the dead woman in his bed and never revealing the truth, he would do anything they asked. You heard Deidre describe her father. He had no stomach for actual legislating. He just liked the glitz and glamour of it. He’d do anything not to be exposed.”

“Like leaking information to our enemies?”

“Yes. And voting in certain ways to help whoever Perlman was working for.”

“But if the guy was blackmailing him, why would Tanner keep a photo of the man in his house?” White asked.

“Tanner might have had no reason to believe that Perlman was involved in the blackmail scheme. He might have just thought Perlman tried to help him, but then someone else found out about it. And that way Perlman could blackmail other politicians. Getting compromising dirt on politicians and using it to further an agenda isn’t exactly a new concept.

“And Roe somehow sees what’s going on and Perlman has to co-opt him into helping, probably using the story that he was just trying to prevent a scandal and maybe the girl had overdosed or something. I’m sure he poured it on thick that the truth coming out would not be good for POTUS. That probably cinched the deal for Roe. But then decades later Roe finds out he’s terminal and maybe stupidly tells Perlman he needs to spill his guts, which Perlman can’t allow to happen.”

“And Draymont and Lancer?” asked White.

“Draymont was in their house. I bet he was snooping around and found something incriminating, because I don’t think Perlman is really retired. I bet Perlman knew Cummins’s interest in Draymont was solely sexual and he would have an opportunity to get to Draymont at the house. So with that scene set, he nicks Cummins’s condo key and security card to Barry’s place in order to get Barry’s gun. They were longtime friends, and Perlman probably would have known of its existence.”

“Okay, that makes sense.”

“Then Perlman’s people hacked Kasimira’s credit card and ordered the Slovakian currency. Later, they kill Draymont while the Perlmans are out of town. They probably followed Draymont and learned about his ties to Lancer, and through her to Patty Kelly. They kidnap Lancer and store her somewhere, and make her talk. She had warned Kelly, who ran for it. They kill Lancer and stuff her mouth with the money. They could have transported the body in Perlman’s car easily, and then transferred it to Cummins’s house when the coast was clear. Then they put a trace on our car, followed us to Kelly’s getaway place in Key Largo, and took her out just in case Lancer had told her anything. After Lancer’s murder they put the gun back in the drawer at Barry’s condo, and Barry helps them out immeasurably by pulling it out and taking it to his ex’s house. We get the gun and it turns out to be the murder weapon. So down goes Barry.”

“Damn, Decker, it all adds up. But why not kill Cummins at the same time?”

“They had no beef with her. And they were friends. Barry was still the perfect patsy because he had every reason to kill Draymont. Perlman just thought the judge would find the body, call the police, and they would investigate, and poor Barry would be left holding the bag. And then the cops would track down the source of the Slovakian money, think it was Kasimira Roe also involved somehow, and Gamma goes down in scandal.”

“But can we prove it?”

“We have the ID of Perlman by Fellows and what she saw that night in Miami. That should be enough to take him down.”

“Let’s hope so, before he takes us down.”