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Ortez relaxed into her chair and fixed her silvery gaze on Finley. “We have three investigators and three analyzers. All six are experienced and at the top of their fields.”
“You found nothing in Jarrod Grady’s background to suggest he wasn’t who he presented himself to be.”
Ortez lifted her chin, obviously put off by the question or maybe by the reminder of the fact that she hadn’t found anything. “We did not. No red flags whatsoever.”
Finley wished she could demand to know how that was possible with such a top-notch team, but she really couldn’t in view of the fact she hadn’t found anything on Derrick and neither had her mother. If the Judge couldn’t find it, it didn’t exist.
Except it did. Even the best could miss something from time to time. Or perhaps it was more about the expertise of the fraudster. A good enough one could fool most anyone.
“Our team,” Ortez went on, taking Finley’s silence for disbelief, “is very thorough. We begin with the usual checklist: identity, employment, education, criminal record. But we don’t rely solely on what we find online or on the phone. We go deeper. In-person visits withneighbors at previous addresses. We talk to former coworkers. We dig in for the long haul, Ms.O’Sullivan.”
Finley got it. “How do you think Grady managed to pull off such a good cover?” She would love to know. Maybe Derrick had used a similar tactic.
“I’m afraid we don’t have that answer just yet, but we are working twenty-four seven to find it. Money will only buy so much loyalty. We will find a hole in the story he wove. We won’t rest until we do.”
Finley recognized the motto. She operated via a similar one.Get it done or die trying.
Fair enough. “I toured the crime scene today,” Finley said, moving on. “Is there any way Grady may have discovered the code for Ellen’s home office here—at the business group’s offices? Maybe there’s a list of passwords and codes maintained he might have found a way to access.”
“No. Only Ellen and the partners can access that information, which requires biometric and iris scans. Our people are the best at cybersecurity as well.” She smiled. “Let me put it this way: I wouldn’t want our team on the other side of the law. They can get in anywhere. If it exists, they will find it.” She held up her hands. “That said, as with the police or any other investigative agency, we have to recognize an issue before we can find its cause.”
Finley imagined they would have to be the best, considering the work done here. And she completely understood the other comment as well. There was no way to find the truth until you understood what you knew was a lie.
“No indication of some sort of code grabber anywhere in the vicinity of the lock at the home office?” Finley figured the police would have found it if there had been one, but that would depend on when it was put in place and then when it was removed.
“Nothing so far. If the crime scene unit found anything, we haven’t been informed about it,” Ortez pointed out.
High-end thieves used code grabbers and skimmers for all sorts of things. Locks, credit card machines on gas pumps, you name it. Wherever info was transmitted electronically, it could be captured the same way by thieves.
“Did you at any time get a sense that Grady wasn’t who he said he was?” Finley had picked up on the fact that Jessica Lauder hadn’t liked him at first. Her reaction to his being hired at the firm suggested as much.
“Not at all. Grady was very good at presenting himself as genuine.” Ortez narrowed her eyes. “I doubt anyone would have easily seen through him. Even you, Ms.O’Sullivan.”
Was that a compliment or a dig? “Finley,” she countered.
“Finley.” Ortez leaned forward and clasped her hands on her desk. “Jarrod Grady had his cover down to a science. His education, his previous employers—all of it checked out. A neighbor at his last residence provided rave reviews. We spoke to coworkers, even a professor from the university he claimed to have attended. Detective Ventura is still trying to determine who the victim was if Jarrod Grady wasn’t his name. The truth is, we simply don’t know if Grady was his real name or not.”
“You’ll keep me up to speed on your progress?” Finley asked.
“I absolutely will,” Ortez confirmed.
Clearly the victim had gone to great lengths to set up his cover. To Finley this was very telling. An undeniable indicator that the man had very possibly done this before.
Perhaps many times.
“I’m sure you’re doing everything possible to solve this tragedy for Ellen.” Finley decided to shift gears. “This is devastating for her. I know from personal experience. My husband was murdered last year.”
Ortez nodded solemnly. “I read about your tragedy. What you went through ...” She shook her head. “I can’t imagine, and the recovery—it speaks to your strength, Finley.”
“Some days are harder than others,” she confessed. “Ellen appears to be holding up as well as can be expected.” Amazingly well in Finley’s opinion.
“Like you, Ellen is a very strong woman,” Ortez agreed. “She created this firm. You don’t build an empire like this without a gift. Ellen has that gift—unparalleled focus.”
“She had help,” Finley reminded her.
Ortez smiled. “We all had our parts, but Ellen had the vision and she had the drive. This is her journey. We’re just along for the ride. We are all very lucky to be a part of her team.”
“Has Ellen always been so focused on work?” Finley asked. “Never married before Grady. No children. She appears to have concentrated her whole life on this journey.”
