“No leads on the caller, but Des will probably get copies of Farouk’s cell phone records to figure that out. Farouk claimed the woman never gave him her name, but he provided video footage from his home security system that shows the woman at his door.” Octavia slid the manila folder toward Julian.
Julian opened the folder. He stared at a black and white shot of a woman standing on the porch in front of the modest home. She was wearing dark sunglasses and holding a Gucci bag tucked under her arm.
Even with her face partially obscured, he knew exactly who she was.
“The cops are trying to figure out who the woman is. I’m going to get these to Icarus and see if he can identify her, even though it will be harder because of those huge sunglasses covering her face—”
“I can tell you exactly who she is.” Julian closed the folder and stared into Octavia’s stunned face.
“What do you mean, you know her?” Octavia’s voice grew tense.
Julian nodded. “She used to work at the Genesis Gallery. Her name is Uma Fischer.”
Octavia grabbed a legal pad and scribbled furiously as Julian gave her the background on the demure and devious former assistant conservator. He spared no details as he told Octavia how Uma Fischer had gotten caught up in Irving Bond’s stolen art scam over a year ago. She disappeared, avoiding any prosecution for her role in forging the authenticity of the pieces.
“She’s no stranger to working with criminals. The question is, how did she get caught up in working for Dumay?” Julian asked. Dumay had been oblivious to the scam Bond and Uma had orchestrated right under her nose. Julian was surprised that Dumay would trust Uma to handle bribing the correctional officers. But he didn’t know what Uma had been up to after she moved from St. Basil. Anything was possible when Dumay was involved.
“How often did you interact with Uma at the gallery when you were a security guard there?” Octavia asked.
“Pretty regularly. Mena was her boss. Back then, all the conservators worked late hours after the gallery was closed. As the night security guard, I’d walk them to the employee parking lot when they were done for the night,” Julian said.
“She worked for Mena?” Octavia said, biting her lower lip. “Were you friends with her?”
“Friendly. Not friends. I didn’t hang out with her after work, and I don’t think Mena did either. Why are you asking this? Shouldn’t we be figuring out how she’s connected to Priscilla?”
“From what you’re telling me, both you and Mena had a professional relationship with Uma and interacted with her frequently at the gallery. Uma has a history of assisting with crimes. One could argue that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that you and Mena supplied the funds to Uma to bribe the officers.”
“Why the fuck would we do that?” Julian asked.
“The whole world knows you believe Priscilla Dumay terrorized the two of you. It’s no secret that the D.A.’s case against the woman was weakening by the day. What was a strong case a year ago had become more of a gamble on whether Dumay would be convicted on any of the charges. The cops could just as easily pursue an angle that you wanted Dumay to be alone so you could punish her for everything she’d done to you and Mena.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. If I wanted Dumay dead, she would be,” Julian said.
“I hope you don’t share that sentiment with anyone else,” Octavia gave him a suspicious look.
Julian had crossed the line, but the idea that he’d constructed a sloppy plan to murder Priscilla Dumay after the first day of her trial was beyond ludicrous. Despite the case weakening, he still believed that the D.A. was likely to secure a conviction. Why would he risk it all by taking matters into his own hands? He had too much to lose now. Punishing Dumay was not worth risking his relationship with Mena.
“Once Des finds out about this connection that you and Mena have to Uma, he will get a warrant for your financial records. They’ll be looking for any withdrawals that match the amount of the bribes. If you’ve moved that much cash in the past months, you better have proof for what you purchased or it’s going to look very bad,” Octavia explained.
“I did not bribe Uma. They can look at whatever they want. They won’t find anything,” Julian said.
“That’s what you said last time and look what happened,” Octavia said, sliding the folder and her legal pad into her attaché case.
“Fine. What’s your next move?”
“I’m going to set up a meeting with the cops and tell them who the mystery woman is. The more we can show that you are cooperating, the better it will look for your case.”
“Anything I can do?” Julian asked, although he doubted he could help stuck behind bars. What he really wanted to do was find Uma and force her to tell him that Dumay had instructed her to bribe the correctional officers. Uma could be the key to proving that Dumay had framed him.
“Yes. Stay out of trouble. No more run-ins or near fights with other inmates. Don’t do anything that could jeopardize your case or add to your charges. Understood?”
“Yeah, I got it.” Julian mumbled. Uma bribing the correctional officers had him on edge. Farouk Essa had received a phone call from someone giving him instructions on what to do. That call couldn’t have come from Dumay since all calls made from the prison were monitored, except those made to lawyers. Had Uma made the calls? Or was there someone else involved in this scheme?
Some other piece on the chessboard Dumay had set up to bring him down.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The trail of ants marched across the dingy gray wall, methodical in their ascent to devour the dead spider trapped in its own web in the corner of the prison cell. Julian flipped over onto his stomach on the thin, hard mattress.
