Dead Broke (Lana Denae Mystery Series Book 1) (22 page)

“No, sir. I do not,” Lana said.

The attorney nodded. “So, by your own admission, you have nothing. You said you had questions for him. Those questions could have, and should have, been asked in a setting other than this. Yet, here you are, holding him against his will; conducting a formal interrogation.”

“Mr. Holloway was free to leave at any time,” Lana argued.

“Did you communicate that to him that?” After a short pause with no response from Lana, Brumbaugh said, “Yeah, didn’t think so.”

“You are free to go, Mr. Holloway,” Lana said.

Without a word, Devin Holloway stood and followed his attorney out the door.

Waiting a few moments to calm down a bit and allow her blood pressure to stabilize, Lana exited into the squad room.

“Things not go so well in there?” Damien asked.

“Not really,” Lana admitted.

“They rarely do when lawyers show up,” Jamie said.

Lana frowned. “The thing is, I’m still having serious doubts that Holloway is guilty of anything. I just want to know for sure. If I had been allowed to finish, I could have possibly cleared him. What’s most frustrating is I was so close to getting some answers, or at least something more to go on. Then, the lawyer showed up.”

Still not convinced Lana’s opinion regarding Holloway’s guilt was credible, Damien said, “Innocent people don’t usually lawyer up, especially when they haven’t even been arrested. And then there’s–” he paused mid-sentence.

“There’s what? Did you two discover something more?”

“Well, since you asked, yeah we did,” Damien said. “But I doubt you’re going to like it.”

“Holloway?”

“Yeah,” Damien said, visibly cringing. “You’re probably going to need to question him again.”

“The only way we’re going to get him back in here is to arrest him,” Lana said. “And with his lawyer hovering over us, we’re going to need something compelling to do that.”

“Which may be exactly what we have,” Damien said. “Probably should have brought this to your attention before you let Holloway go but Ray wasn’t able to confirm it until just now.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“So, what is this earth-shattering discovery you’ve made?” Lana asked.

“Well, it’s starting to look like Eric was telling the truth, Damien said.”

“About Holloway?”

Damien nodded. “I discovered, with Ray’s help, that the guy has three private off-shore bank accounts; one in the Caymans and a couple in Belize.”

Lana was stunned. “He lied to me! I can’t believe he lied about that. He had to know we would find them.”

“You would think,” Jamie said dryly. “But criminals don’t usually think.”

Lana was still shaking her head. “But outright lying to police in a murder investigation? You’re right, we definitely need to question him again, which means arresting him, I suppose.”

Damien gave her a weak smile. “I know you were hoping he wasn’t involved,” he said. “Would you like us to make the arrest?”

“No. You can come along if you’d like but I’ll do it. We’ll wait until tomorrow though. I want to run all this by the Captain first.”

Wasting no time, Lana headed straight to the Captain’s office, giving him the news.

Captain Hayden wasn’t surprised at all. “His name keeps coming up in this investigation. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“I agree,” Lana said. “There’s definitely more going on than we’ve been told.”

“But you still don’t want to arrest him?”

“Oh, I plan to arrest him,” Lana said. “First thing tomorrow morning. He’s involved in this case in more ways than I can count and I want to find out just how and why. Plus, he lied to me. However, I would like to go on record as saying, I still do not believe the man is guilty of murder. Yes, he lied about the accounts but that doesn’t mean he’s a cold blooded killer.”

“What reason would he have to lie—unless he has something to hide?”

“I’m sure he has a lot to hide,” Lana said. “I’m just not convinced that murder is one of them.”

“You may be right,” Captain Hayden said. “Then again, you may be wrong, too.”

“If I’m right, his lawyer will likely be suing the Bureau for false arrest,” Lana said.

“Lying to the police during a murder investigation is more than enough reason to arrest the man.”

“Yes,” Lana nodded. “Didn’t mean to imply that. Just wanted to give you a heads up.”

The captain shrugged. “We’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

Nodding, Lana said. “And now, I need to go see a judge about a couple of search warrants—again.”

* * * * *

Still believing Holloway to be innocent, but unable to explain the man’s dishonesty regarding the bank accounts, the next morning, Lana again made the trip to Cascade Global. Jamie and Damien followed close behind.

Devin Holloway was both surprised and angry when he learned why they were there but he cooperated fully as Lana read him his rights and slapped on the handcuffs.

Escorting Holloway out of the building and placing him in the back of her car, Lana slammed the door shut. To Jamie and Damien, she said, “You guys want to execute the search warrants for these offices and Holloway’s residence?”

With a nod, Damien took the warrants from her, briefly scanning through them. “It says all computers,” he said. “We really taking them all? There must be a hundred or more here, it’s a pretty sizeable business.”

“Ray will be here shortly,” Lana told him. “He’ll go through their computer files. Just get Holloway’s personal computer and then go to his house.”

“I assume we’re taking anything computer related from the house?” Jamie asked.

“And his Smith and Wesson 9mm,” Damien said, still reading through the documents.

“Yeah,” Lana said. “Make sure you get that. I’ll meet you guys downtown later.”

Back at the precinct, Lana showed Holloway into the interrogation room—his second visit in as many days.

“I’ll wait for my attorney to be present before answering any questions,” Holloway said after taking his seat. It was the first words he’d spoken since the arrest.

Lana nodded. “We’ve notified him. I’m sure he’ll be here shortly.”

Holloway gave her a nod but remained silent.

Taking a seat across from him, Lana settled down to wait. She wondered if the man knew why he was there. He should, she reasoned. Should have known lying to her would not end well.

Yet, although she’d seen and dealt with her share of criminals, and knew they came in all varieties, Holloway did not fit the profile of any of them, least of all, the murdering kind. He might be underhanded or engage in less than honest business practices and schemes—maybe, even that was questionable. But he didn’t strike her as a murderer—just not the right temperament.

A firm knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She looked up as Daniel Brumbaugh, Holloway’s attorney, walked into the room. The man was dressed just as before and Lana wondered if black silk suits were all the guy wore. Probably, she thought. As a criminal defense attorney, he would no doubt use every available tactic to intimidate, and some people swore that black was intimidating. Then, with a start, she realized the words that had just run through her head; a criminal defense attorney. Shouldn’t Holloway, a financial and investment type guy, have a financial or corporate attorney? Yet, he had Mr. Brumbaugh, a criminal defense lawyer on retainer? Why? How could the man possibly have known he would need a criminal defense unless...

“So, you’re charging my client with murder?” Brumbaugh asked bluntly, snapping Lana back out of her musings.

“Yes, Counselor,” Lana replied. “Seven counts.”

Brumbaugh raised his eyebrows, nodded curtly, and took the chair beside his client. Whipping out a notebook and pen, he glanced to Lana as if to say he was ready.

But before she could get started, the man turned to Holloway. “Answer all the questions truthfully. If they ask something I don’t want you to answer, I’ll let you know.”

Holloway nodded.

Taking a seat beside his client, the attorney placed a legal pad on the table and pulled a pen from his pocket. Without looking up, he said, “Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” Lana said. Then, referring to her notes, she addressed the suspect. “Mr. Holloway, do you have any off-shore bank accounts?”

“You asked me that before, and the answer is still the same. No, I do not.”

“Nothing in Belize or the Cayman Islands?”

“No.”

“That’s odd because we found multiple such accounts in your name,” Lana said. “Three to be exact; two in Belize and one in the Caymans. There’s quite a hefty balance between the three of them.”

Holloway looked confused. “I don’t know what or whose accounts you found, but they certainly weren’t mine.”

“We also discovered quite a string of credit cards linked to those accounts.”

“I have no knowledge of any cards,” Holloway insisted. “No knowledge of the off-shore accounts for that matter.”

Unmoved by his vehement denials, Lana continued. “And, your travel visa just happens to be stamped as having visited both Belize and the Cayman Islands roughly four months ago.”

“That’s impossible,” Holloway blustered. “I don’t even have a visa.”

Lana gave him a cynical look. “Mr. Holloway, I find it extremely difficult to believe that a man in your position, CEO of your own investment company, pulling down a seven figure income, would not have traveled at least some portion of the world in his forty-seven years.”

“I know it’s a little unusual,” Holloway said. “But it’s true. I don’t like to travel. Have no desire to leave the US or visit any other country. Never have. If you want to confirm this, you can ask my wife. It’s been a source of contention between us for some time.”

Mr. Brumbaugh spoke up. “I fail to see the relevance to your case, the case you’re trying to manufacture against my client, whether Mr. Holloway does, or does not, have a visa. Likewise, whether he has an off-shore account is of no legal concern, providing he reports any income on his taxes.”

“The issue isn’t necessarily that he
has
those accounts,” Lana said. “It’s that he lied to me earlier about having them.”

The attorney shook his head. “From what I have determined, listening in on your nearly one-sided conversation here, my client has previously stated that he does in fact,
not
have any off-shore accounts. His statements today are consistent with that. So, at this point, the charge of lying is merely an accusation by you and has not been proven.”

“We found the accounts,” Lana reminded him.

“So, you found three accounts,” the lawyer acknowledged. “Remains to be seen just who they belong to.”

In answer, Lana slid a sheaf of papers across the table. “See for yourself. All three accounts are in Mr. Holloway’s name, list his current address, and his cell number for contact. His picture is also on file at each of the banks—we checked.”

Holloway spoke up again. “I didn’t set any of those up, I swear.”

Though it went against all logic, Lana was inclined to believe he was telling the truth. Keeping her thoughts to herself, she pressed on. “Who else could have set them up? Who do you allow to have access to your private information? And why on Earth would anyone so generously fund those accounts? We’re talking several hundred thousand dollars.”

Holloway gave her a blank look. “I can’t tell you because I don’t know. All I know is, I did not set them up. I didn’t know they even existed until a couple of minutes ago.”

Lana eyed him, sizing him up as he spoke. He seemed upset but then, she knew, anyone would be under the circumstances. Still, she had a persistent feeling that he was not pretending, that he really had no knowledge of the accounts.

The attorney spoke up again. “In answer to your question, or questions, might I suggest the one responsible is someone who wants to make it appear my client is guilty? In other words, the real killer. Dare I say, the guy you
had
in custody, the one you let go? It stands to reason that’s who put this wild notion in your head that my client is a murderer. Am I right?”

Lana didn’t confirm or deny the allegations. “That’s absurd. You expect me to believe that someone randomly set up multiple accounts, in someone else’s name, and out of the goodness of their heart, donated thousands of dollars to your client?”

“No, but it’s quite apparent, at least to me, that someone
is
setting him up. That someone would most likely be whoever has the most to gain if my client were found guilty of murder. Obviously, that would be the real killer.

What the lawyer said made sense and although Lana found herself agreeing with his assessment; the evidence still pointed to Holloway as the most viable suspect. Until she was able to discount or discredit that evidence, especially those off-shore accounts, Holloway would not be off the hook.

As of the moment, Holloway had not been arraigned but the D.A. had told her he planned to recommend the judge hold him without bail. “Shouldn’t be a problem,” he’d said. “A suspected serial killer, with seven murders, identity theft, and investment fraud—then considering Holloway’s financial position; this all screams potential flight risk.” The D.A. had little doubt the judge would agree with him.

As all of this ran through her mind, Lana remained impassive, saying nothing of her thoughts to Holloway or his attorney.

But, Brumbaugh, perceptive and shrewd, seemed to have a window that allowed him a clear view right into her head. “You don’t believe my client is guilty,” he said with a half grin.

Sighing, Lana looked away. “Doesn’t matter what I believe. These things aren’t up to me. We have to go by the evidence.”

“Yet, you have another suspect, correct?”

“We do,” Lana acknowledged.

“Then there must be some evidence there,” Brumbaugh said. “He wouldn’t have been a suspect in the first place without something to suggest he could be guilty. I think you better take another look at him.”

Lana remained silent. She didn’t like having anyone, particularly an attorney, telling her how to do her job. But like it or not, the man was right.