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21
HOOVER BUILDING
CRIMINAL APPREHENSION UNIT
MONDAY MORNING
When Savich opened the door to the interview room at precisely 9:00 a.m., the stage would be set. Ollie and Ruth had appeared at Zoltan’s door and threatened to arrest her if she didn’t accompany them to the Hoover Building right away. Savich knew Ollie’s hard voice would work on Zoltan to good effect, and Ruth had doubtless given Zoltan her patented dead-eye stare. The two of them stood against the wall, arms crossed, flat-eyed, mouths seamed, looking ready to break out the brass knuckles.
Savich met Zoltan’s eyes when he entered, saw they were filled with anger and a flash of fear. Her fingers were beating a furious tattoo on the tabletop. She jumped to her feet, slapped her palms on the table. “Why did you have these FBI agents come to my house and order me to go with them? Why did you bring me here? I have done nothing wrong, yet those two rottweilers”—she pointed to Ruth and Ollie, who didn’t blink, and if anything looked even more threatening—“treated me like a criminal. Did you honestly think these two thugs were necessary? Did you think I would try to run? You could have simply called, asked to speak to me again. Of course I would have seen you.”
“Thank you for coming, Zoltan,” Savich said in his calm FBI voice. He paused a moment as he walked over to sit across from her at the interview table. He waved his hand. “Do sit down.”
Slowly, she sat back down, her eyes not leaving his face. She was wearing little makeup, and her dark hair was clipped at the back of her neck. She’d covered her dark green wool dress with a formal black blazer that gave her the look of a consummate businesswoman. He said nothing more as he watched her get hold of herself, watched her expression segue from outrage to calm seriousness, with a dash of bewilderment, an innocent woman unfairly attacked. It was well done. He appreciated her obvious talent.
She said, her voice as cold as an ice floe, “What do you want from me, Agent Savich? I have told you everything I know. Should I call my lawyer? Have her roast you for harassing me?”
Savich said, “You are not under arrest, Zoltan, as I’m sure my agents told you. However, a lawyer is your right, naturally.” He sat forward, bulleted out, “You’ve lied to me from the beginning. That’s very unwise of you, given it’s a federal crime. Are you ready to tell me the truth now?”
He saw fear spark in her eyes again. Excellent. She leaned forward, her hands clasped in front of her, and her voice throbbed with sincerity. “I have told you the truth, and it remains the truth, Agent Savich. I am a medium, nothing more, nothing less. I only contacted Rebekah because her grandfather begged me to.”
Savich said quietly, “I am worried for you, Zoltan. I’m very glad you’re still alive. You have to realize what you know is a threat to those in this scheme with you. You failed in your assigned role and now you’re of no further use to them. You’re a liability. You may wish to believe you’re protecting yourself and your career by continuing your lies, but unless you’re completely honest with me now, and tell me who’s responsible for the attack on Rebekah Manvers, I doubt you’ll be alive for much longer.”
Zoltan rose straight out of her chair again. “Wha—what did you say?”
He fanned his hands. “Listen, you’re not stupid, Zoltan. Your assignment was to get Rebekah Manvers to tell you where her grandfather hid the money. Yes, I’m assuming it was money he stole all those years ago. Your partners were sure Rebekah knew, and they wanted you to get her to tell you—that is, tell her grandfather—with no one the wiser, not even Rebekah.”
“That’s not true!”
Savich continued without pause, “You were to find out where the Big Take was hidden. But she told you flat-out she wanted nothing to do with the money. You failed, though you tried to get her to come back again, tried to convince her that her grandfather was really there, desperate to see her again. You’re excellent at reading people, Zoltan, and you believed her when she told you she didn’t want anything more to do with you. And that’s what you had to tell your partners.”
“No, no, that’s not why I wanted Rebekah back. There were other reasons—”
Savich continued over her, “When you told them they were out of luck, your partners set the kidnapping in motion. I’ve got to say, it was all done in an amazingly short time. So it was always the fallback plan, wasn’t it? Or did you even know that would happen if you failed?”
She stared at him, mute, shaking her head back and forth.
“Face it, Zoltan. You failed to deliver. And look what happened.”
She remained silent. Savich rose, splayed his palms on the table, leaned in close, and kept pushing. “Now that everything has gone sideways, there’s no way they can get to Rebekah. She’s guarded twenty-four/seven.” He straightened. “But you’re not guarded, Zoltan. You’re all on your own. They can get to you. It’s time to save yourself, time to talk to me. Tell me how this all came together. Tell me who’s really in charge. Tell me who brought you into this scheme.”
Savich sat down, crossed his arms, and stared at her. He saw her pulse pounding hard in her throat, but she didn’t move, didn’t deny what he’d said. He watched her smooth her expression again, until she looked almost bored. He was impressed. The woman was formidable. Of course, she’d already known what he’d told her. Was she planning on getting out of Washington as soon as she could?
He added, “It’s no secret Rebekah’s grandmother has attended séances for years. She’s a believer in communicating with the dead. Is that why they picked you to talk to Rebekah? They thought you could convince her? My big question is how you and your partners found out the Big Take was real. Congressman Clarkson was in a coma for sixteen years until he died last month. To the best of my knowledge, he never woke up. So how did you know?” He waited a beat, then, “You know I will find out and then it will be over for you. If you’re still alive, you’ll be in prison for a very long time.
“You have to face it, Zoltan, you’re of no more use to anyone. You’re a walking liability. I am not exaggerating, and you must know it. I fear for you.”
Remarkably, she laughed, fanned her hands at him. He watched a sneer twist her mouth. “Agent Savich, what a remarkable tale you’ve spun. I don’t have any partners. I don’t have an agenda. Yes, I know Rebekah’s grandmother believes in speaking with the Departed. Rebekah herself told me that. I don’t care about this wretched Big Take, whatever it is, if it even exists. I will say it again. I am a medium. Rebekah’s grandfather came to me three times, anxious to speak to her. I succeeded in connecting them. There is nothing more to it than that. You have tried to frighten me, and you still refuse to believe I have done nothing wrong. I have no one to fear. You’ve dragged me in here for nothing. I want to leave.”
Savich said, “When your partners tried to take Rebekah, they had no reason to think they would fail. Only luck put me there. But their failure to nab Rebekah has landed you squarely in their crosshairs. For your own survival, I strongly recommend you tell me who your partners are, now, before it’s too late.”
Zoltan started tapping her fingers on the tabletop again, tap, tap, tap. She looked both amused and disdainful. She gave him another splendid sneer. “You’re concerned for my survival, Agent Savich? I’m touched. For the last time, I am a medium—I have no partners, I have nothing to do with Rebekah’s attempted kidnapping.” She snapped her fingers in his face. “Nothing. I did want another opportunity to work with Rebekah and her grandfather, try to iron out their issues, but Rebekah didn’t want to continue. A pity, but it happens.”
“Issues? What issues did Rebekah have with her grandfather?”
“I believe her grandfather wanted to justify his actions to her. He wanted to convince her he’d done it for her. He wanted her respect.”
“That’s a tall order, isn’t it? Respect a man of substance, a member of Congress, who put it all aside to commit a crime? How were you going to convince her to respect him? Selling what he did to her would be quite a challenge. You must have given that some thought.”
