Swimming with Sharks (55 page)

She quickly recounted what had happened and what she had just witnessed.

“They want to pin this murder on me to cover everything up,” she whispered quickly, “and they know I have evidence that could ruin them.”

“They registered you and Zack as the owners of MPM,” Mark reported. “Justin found out about it. Where are you?”

“I’m still on the thirtieth floor. I have to get out and see Kostidis.” Alex hoped that the mayor would believe her, but she wasn’t sure.

“What can I do to help?”

“Nothing,” Alex replied after thinking a minute. “Get up, leave your desk as is, and get out of the building immediately.”

“But—”

“Mark, do as I say, please,” Alex whispered. “I’ll get out of here somehow.”

“Okay.” Mark hesitated. “Should Oliver and I pick you up somewhere?”

Alex bit her lip. As appealing it seemed to get some help, it would be irresponsible to drag Oliver or Mark even deeper into this mess. This situation was no longer clear to her.

“No, absolutely not,” she said quickly. “I’ll get it done by myself.”

“Alex, please, let us help you!”

“No.” She remained steadfast. “Get up and get out of the office. Right now. I’ll contact you as soon as I can.”

Alex hung up. She hoped that it wasn’t too late already for Mark. She closed her eyes for a moment and sorted her thoughts. She and Zack were the owners of MPM. Zack had liquidated all of the MPM holdings last night and wired fifty million dollars to his private account. Alex opened her eyes, and her gaze fell on Levy’s computer screen. She suddenly had an idea. With a grim smile, she sat down at his desk and pulled the keyboard and the mouse closer. She would make sure that Sergio and Levy had plenty more to be angry about.

“Mr. Ashton?”

Mark still had the telephone receiver in his hand when two men stepped up to his desk. His heart stopped for a moment. “Detective John Munroe, NYPD,” the taller one said, holding his police badge in Mark’s face, “and this is my colleague, Detective Connolly. We have a few questions that we’d like to ask you.”

Mark’s heartbeat went back to normal when he realized that these men were police officers and not Vitali’s bloodhounds. He sensed his colleagues’ curious looks behind him. All of the chatter in the large, open office—solely about last night’s incidents—fell silent.

“You work closely with Ms. Sontheim, is that correct?” the red-haired detective continued. “When did you last speak to her?”

“I…umm…” Mark’s thoughts were racing. “I think it was yesterday afternoon.”

Unprepared as he was, he gave the first response that came to mind. He didn’t even know why he lied to the police. He was a lousy liar.

“Are you sure?” the red-haired detective asked suspiciously.

“I…I don’t remember exactly anymore,” Mark stammered. “I’m totally confused.”

“Maybe we should continue this conversation at the precinct,” Detective Munroe said.

“If you like,” Mark started to say, but he fell silent when he saw two men heading toward him. He recognized Henry Monaghan, the fat security head at LMI, but he had never seen the other man before. Something inside of him told him that these two men were dangerous and that he would be much safer at the precinct.

“Hello, Mr. Ashton,” Monaghan greeted him; the look in his small piggish eyes anything but friendly. “Mr. Levy would like to talk to you for a second.”

Mark began to mumble. “I…umm…the detective has…” He shook with fear and secretly prayed that the detectives would take him with them. But nothing of the sort happened.

“I’ll bring him back in a second,” Monaghan reassured the two detectives with a congenial smile as false as his teeth. “It won’t take very long. You can interview Ms. Sontheim’s other employees in the meantime.”

Munroe considered this for a moment, and then he shrugged his shoulders.

“Okay,” he said, “but quickly. I don’t have much time.”

Mark felt a layer of sweat forming on his forehead. His first impulse was to run off screaming for help.

“Come with me, Ashton,” Monaghan said, and Mark stood up stiffly. He left the office flanked by Monaghan and the other man, followed by many curious eyes. Right after the elevator door closed, all the friendliness in Monaghan’s face disappeared and his expression turned threatening.

“We’re going down?” Mark asked.

“Imagine that, fat boy,” Monaghan growled. “Levy doesn’t want to speak to you. But I need to know a few things.”

As the elevator whooshed down to the lower basement, a thousand thoughts raced through Mark’s head. Where was Alex? Had they caught her? All he felt right now was pure, naked fear. The men led him into a small, empty room. The ceiling’s fluorescent lights radiated an uncomfortable glow, and it was unbearably hot. Monaghan closed the thick steel door behind him. Then he turned around quickly and grabbed Mark by his tie.

“Where’s Sontheim?” he hissed.

“I…I don’t know,” Mark whispered.

“When was the last time you talked to her?” the dark-haired man with the acne scars wanted to know.

“Yesterday. I haven’t seen her today.”

“Enough with these lies,” Monaghan cut him off harshly. “You tried to enter the building with your badge at 3:57 this morning. Sontheim entered the building just shortly before that. Her badge has access rights and yours doesn’t. What did you want here this morning? You knew that Sontheim was here, didn’t you?”

Mark remained silent. He felt sick.

“Come on, fatso,” Monaghan said, clenching his teeth impatiently, “or should I jog your memory a little?”

He was boiling with fury because precious time was wasting that he would rather spend on finding the woman.

“I get claustrophobic in small rooms,” Mark whispered with a dry mouth. “I can’t think straight.”

“Hurry up then.” Monaghan’s voice was cold as ice. “If you tell us what we want to know, we’ll let you go back to your desk.”

“I really don’t know where Alex is,” Mark mumbled. A punch hit him in the stomach. He stumbled, and his glasses fell to the ground. Desperate, increasingly fearful, Mark groped around the cold tiles. Monaghan seized him by the collar again and slammed his head against the wall several times. Mark felt his nose break and tasted blood.

“Open your trap!” Monaghan hissed. Mark was terrified. Alex had told him that these people wouldn’t waste time getting serious. He had already experienced Sergio Vitali in action yesterday. His goons had killed St. John. They didn’t care whether he lived or died. A few more punches pushed him past his limit.

“She just called me,” he whispered. “She’s still in the building. But she wants to go to Kostidis…”

“There you go,” Monaghan said, letting go of him. “What were you waiting for?”

Mark felt more miserable than he ever had in his life. He had betrayed Alex to the enemy because he was frightened for himself. He was a wretched, spineless coward.

“Will you let me go now?” he asked pleadingly.

“Do I look like an idiot?” Monahan’s voice was full of sarcasm. “You stay here until we find that woman. Pray that we find her quickly. Otherwise, this might turn out to be an extended stay for you.”

The heavy steel door closed behind the two men, and Mark heard the key turn. He sank to the ground and broke out in tears. If they caught Alex, it would be his fault. How could he be so easily intimidated?

The hallway was deserted as Alex stepped out of Levy’s office. She couldn’t wait any longer. LMI security and the police were searching the entire building, and it was just a matter of time until they found her. She quickly dashed across the hall a few yards to the staircase and was relieved to find the door unlocked. She rushed down the stairs as quickly as possible, praying that no one would see her. She was completely out of breath when she reached the ground floor, but its glass door was locked. Alex stopped for a split second and glanced into the large lobby, which was buzzing with activity. Suddenly, she was standing face-to-face with a security guard, with just a glass panel separating them. He raised his walkie-talkie, and Alex turned on her heel. She rushed down the stairs to the basement and threw herself against a heavy metal door that led into the underground parking garage. Then she crouched down and ran along the parked cars.

Alex’s heart was racing, and sweat poured down her face; she approached a rolling gate that was just opening at that second. She pressed her back against the wall. A silver-colored limousine rolled past her, just a few inches away. She started to run without a moment’s hesitation, darting beneath the rolling gate as it came down, and dashing up the ramp to the street. The rain drenched through her clothes instantly, but at least she had managed to escape the building. There were police cars everywhere, lights flashing, and a crowd of people surrounding them just a few yards
away at the main entrance. She saw a coroner’s van approach. No one noticed her as she turned around and walked quickly along Wall Street toward Broadway.

“You’re drinking whiskey again,” Sergio remarked disapprovingly when he entered Levy’s office. “Stop that!”

On the spur of the moment, he had decided to cancel the interview he had scheduled. Although Monaghan was right in suggesting he stay out of this matter, his brilliant plan had one major flaw: Alex was still on the run, and she was a significant risk. Sergio didn’t appear one second too soon. He realized on arrival that Levy was quite obviously falling apart.

“That’s easy for you to say!” Levy flared up. “The scene here is complete chaos! The building is filled with police, and on top of it, SEC agents and the US Attorney’s Office arrested Jack Lang.”

“I know.” Sergio shrugged his shoulders. “I called Tarrance myself.”

“You did what? Have you lost your mind?” Levy—whose face was as white as a sheet to begin with—turned even whiter.

“It’s better to tip them off so they don’t have to snoop around everywhere,” Sergio countered. “It’s more important for us to catch Alex.”

Levy’s eyes looked like they’d pop out of his head. He emptied his glass, but his hands were still trembling. He had just told LMI’s employees about Zack’s murder as they assembled on the trading floor, and their emotional reaction unsettled him. After all, he didn’t know what was really going on. But Sergio looked the same as usual. His facial expression revealed no emotion. Someone knocked at the door, and Levy flinched.

Luca di Varese entered the room.

“We’ve just grilled one of Alex’s employees,” he said. “He claimed that she’s still in the building and wants to go to the mayor.”

“Send your guys to city hall right away,” Sergio quickly decided. “Put two men at each entrance and put a few patrol cars in the area.”

Luca nodded and left again.

“We have to find her before she causes more damage,” Sergio said in a sinister tone.

“The damage is already done,” Levy countered gloomily. “How could Zack be so stupid?”

“He was getting too brazen anyway.” Sergio waved his hand dismissively. “We’ve got to organize this whole thing differently in the future.”

“There’s no future!” Levy said sharply. “Zack is dead, and Alex…”

She will be dead soon too,
Sergio thought grimly. He would get her sooner or later. His men were at city hall. They were listening to the police radio to find out if the cops had caught her. There was no escape for Alex. Sergio’s anger grew by the hour, and she’d pay dearly for it. The telephone rang, and it was Monaghan.