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“Catalina Island,” Brittney said, glaring back at Stanza. “Buddy, the sex isn’t good enough for me to cover your ass. I’m going home to a house just as nice as this one. In case you missed it, we are done.” She turned to Kit. “I only heard part of the conversation, but Dominic said, ‘Why the hell are you going to Catalina? Why not south?’ Then he looked up something on his phone and told Archie that he could charter a flight with a private plane on Catalina and fly to LAX, where he could transfer. Then he hung up and told me to pack my bags, that we were meeting Archie on his boat for a vacation. I needed to get myself ready. If you’d been a little later, we would have been gone.”
“If you hadn’t been so damn vain, we’d have been out of here by now,” Stanza snapped, then realized what he’d said and blanched. “I was taking her to see my mother,” he added weakly.
“Your mother’s dead,” Brittney said, her fury barely controlled. “Do I need to come downtown to give a statement, Detective? I’ll have my family’s lawyer meet me there. I’m happy to cooperate with San Diego’s finest,” she added through clenched teeth.
Kit’s lips twitched. “Thank you. Do you know who we think Archie was stealing from, Dominic?”
Dominic turned his face away and said nothing.
“From elderly people in a retirement home,” Kit said.
Brittney’s mouth fell open. “You’re stealing from old people? What kind of asshole are you?”
“I never stole anything!” Dominic shouted.
“You just profited,” Brittney said with a sneer. “And dragged me into it. If you mess up my chances with the bar, I will ruin you.” She glanced at Kit. “Legally, of course.”
“Of course. How long ago did this conversation happen?”
Brittney glanced at the time on her phone. “Maybe three hours ago.”
“Which is when you should have been ready to go,” Stanza snarled. “But no. You had to take a bath and pack your bags and paint your fucking toenails. Bitch!”
“Shut up,” Brittney snapped. “You’re a pig. Stealing from old people.”
“I did not steal!”
Ignoring their arguing, Kit pulled out her phone and dialed Navarro. “The Coast Guard can intercept him at Catalina Island. He’s got a three-hour head start. The boat he owns has a top speed of about thirty miles per hour, so he’ll be close to the island by now.”
“What?” Her boss was stunned. “He went north? I thought he was a boy genius or something.”
“He’s going to Catalina and booking a charter flight. He’ll probably use the name Chadwick Redford. I don’t think Redford actually exists. I think that Adler built up an identity for the guy, including a driver’s license, so that he could build his real estate empire. Assuming he was stealing from Shady Oaks, too, it’s a reasonable way to invest his ill-gotten gains.”
“Money laundering 101,” Navarro grumbled. His keyboard clacked loudly in the background as he typed. “Coast Guard acknowledges the request and will keep us informed. How do you know this?”
She told him about finding Stanza in the house owned by Chadwick Redford.
Navarro made a sound of disbelief. “Wow. Why didn’t Adler just go to Mexico?”
“Probably because he didn’t have a passport as Redford, so he wouldn’t be able to get out of Mexico. He knew we’d be looking for him under his real name.” Kit turned to Stanza. “Sound right, Dominic?”
Dominic shook his head and said nothing.
“You are in such big trouble,” Brittney said, still glaring at her former boyfriend.
“Who was that?” Navarro asked.
“Stanza’s girlfriend. Law student by the name of Brittney Shay.”
Navarro whistled. “The daughter of Judge Shay?”
“I don’t know.” Kit turned to Brittney. “Is your dad a judge?”
Brittney nodded. “He is. And he’s going to be very unhappy.” She pointed at Stanza. “I’ll make sure he turns all that unhappiness on you, dickwad. I’m not going to jail for you.”
Stanza swallowed hard and remained silent. Maybe he was smarter than they’d thought.
“We’ll bring him in, sir, then we’re taking a break,” Kit said.
