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“You lied to us about when you met her,” Joel said. “And you know what else you’re lying about? Hiring two men to rob your galleries.” Joel straightened. “And here’s the thing. They murdered people, which makes you an accomplice.”
What minuscule color remained in Tad’s pale face drained. “I had nothing to do with any of that.”
“Then tell us what you did, and maybe we can keep you safe,” Joel said.
Tad shifted. “You don’t really think ... I mean, you’re just bluffing about me being next, aren’t you?”
“They’ve murdered two women. Why not you?” Christian said.
“I’m not lying. I’ve never seen them. I have no idea who they are. I only worked through Julia.”
“Ah.” Christian cocked his head. “So you do know her name.”
Tad gripped his shirt, running his fidgety fingers along the row of buttons.
“We know it too,” Joel said. “Julia Brown.”
“How did you communicate?” Christian asked.
“She called to set up our first meeting.”
“And then?” Joel pressed.
“Then we used a PO box.”
Joel scooched forward. “Where would that be?”
“In Santa Fe.” Tad’s fingers fixed on a single button, squeezing it between his forefinger and thumb.
“Great,” Joel said. “You’re going to take me.”
“No way.” Tad shook his head. “They’ll know I talked.”
“Who will?” Joel asked with a lift of his chin.
“The men ... the thieves.” Tad swallowed.
“Ah,” Andi said. “So you did hire them?” She looked at Christian and smiled. Ambrose Global wouldn’t be paying out a dime.
“No.” Tad cleared his throat, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing a wrinkle from his white linen pants with his hand. “They approached me.”
“Start from the beginning,” Joel said, setting a tape recorder on the table and pressing Record.
“I never met the men. The ones in the heist video. That’s the first I ever saw them, and that’s the truth. I only met with Julia. She was the middleman, if you will. She told me she had two clients who wanted to help me out with my gambling debt and make me rich.”
“And you jumped on it without thinking of the consequences,” Joel said.
“How was I supposed to know it would get deadly?”
“How could you bring Alex into it?” Christian asked. “She was just a kid.”
Tad ran a hand over his head and exhaled. “I didn’t pull Alex into anything. She must have seen something, done something that made them mad. It had nothing to do with me.”
“Made who mad, Tad?” Joel pushed.
“The ... the men in the video footage of the heist.”
“So they killed her for it?” Christian asked.
