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“Since then,” Sloane continued, “I have learned that Agent Chavez is Duncan’s godmother, and Chavez, criminal defense lawyer Dorothy Duncan, and Supervisor Lydia Zarian all went to the same private Catholic high school in Glendale. They’ve all been married for more than thirty years and only Chavez kept her maiden name, so the connection wasn’t obvious until I started digging.
“And—this is one more connection—Krista Zarian is the live-in girlfriend of Theodore Duncan. They haven’t registered as domestic partners, so there is no economic interest statement required.”
“Which means...?” Matt asked.
“Most city employees, including Duncan, are required to file a statement of economic interest regarding income outside of employment, property other than primary residence, investments, those sorts of things. Similar, but more extensive to economic statements we are required to file as federal employees. They also report half of their spouse’s holdings as California is a community property state. But not being married or registered as domestic partners, none of Krista Zarian’s economic interests are reportable.”
“Okay. Do you think that was deliberate?” Matt asked.
“I’m not comfortable assigning a motive,” Sloane said, “but they appear to have lived in the same residence for at least three years. Krista is the treasurer of every nonprofit we’ve looked at—nine of them so far. The listed treasurer is ‘KZ Accounting.’ Research confirms that Krista is the sole owner of KZ Accounting LLC. She earns $250,000 a year per nonprofit, which totals at two million, 250 thousand a year for the nine we’ve found.”
“Accounting pays well,” Zack interjected, “but not that well.”
Sloane said, “Krista is twenty-six, and she graduated from UCLA four years ago with a degree in graphic design. KZ Accounting LLC filed as a business with the state a full year before she graduated. The law firm that drew up the paperwork is Duncan, Young, Lee—which is Dorothy Duncan’s firm.”
“And that’s just what we’ve found so far,” Zack said. “There could be more. It’s a matrix, a spiderweb of nonprofits within nonprofits, but the names are repeating. And this is what I think Dyson was looking for and may have found. These connections may be in the files we know are missing. Even if there is no law against what these people are doing, if someone in the city is directing contracts and money to friends and family even if those friends and family are doing something legitimate—it’s suspicious. But this doesn’t look legitimate. I don’t see how a twenty-six-year-old graphic designer makes more than two million as an accountant.”
“The homeless industrial complex,” Matt muttered.
“Excuse me?” Tony said.
“Something Will Lattimer said the other day. So, what you’re saying, Zack, is that Dyson may have found a law under which to prosecute someone on this list for fraud?”
“Fraud, maybe. But California has a very specific and obscure law that has never been used, that I know of, regarding nonprofits and how they spend their money. Meaning, if they receive state money they are required to open their books at the request of a grand jury. Because the city comingled city and state money, that means any of these grants could have state money—they can’t retroactively say, ‘oh, no, this was only city money.’ Well, they could, I suppose, and then it would go to court. So it’s a potentially sensitive issue, and that’s what Dyson was focused on.”
“This is hard to prove,” Brian said.
“These cases always are,” Tony concurred. “What we have are two unsolved murders that may have been committed by one person we know as Conrad. And the solved murders of Chen and his bodyguard by a cop who was blackmailed by Conrad. Zack and Sloane, you both focus on the money. Anything you need, let me know. And Brian? You and Costa focus on homicide. I want the killer—or killers—in prison.”
So did Matt. He was glad he and Tony were on the same page.
“And,” Tony continued, “anyone who is involved after the fact will be prosecuted as an accessory to murder. I’m taking no prisoners. The first person who spills gets a deal, but everyone will get jail time.”
Rebecca Chavez sat in Brian Granderson’s office, her hands firmly clasped in front of her, glancing first at Matt, then at Brian. Brian sat behind his desk; Matt had pulled over a chair next to his desk so he and Brian would appear united against Chavez. He wanted her to sweat.
“Brian, this is highly unusual,” she said, her voice clipped and formal. “Do you have news about Bryce’s murder? Were you able to prove what he suspected? That Detective Quinn orchestrated the assassination of David Chen?”
Matt kept his face blank. She was trying to bait him, knowing that Kara was on his team.
Brian said, “Agent Chavez, this is a formal interview regarding information that has come to light. The same gun was used to kill David Chen and Agent Thornton. A Colt .45. We know that there are two different killers who used the same weapon.”
He slid over a photograph from the parking garage where Steve Colangelo claimed he left the gun in his car. The man in the photo closely matched the sketch Colangelo approved, and resembled the image captured in the courthouse.
“We have a confession from the individual who killed Chen and his bodyguard. He gave the gun to this man after the shooting. Do you know him?”
Rebecca looked, shook her head. “No. Did Quinn hire him?”
“No,” Brian said.
Rebecca was holding her own, but she shifted a little in her seat, seemed to finally realize that she was under suspicion for something.
Brian slid over the log that showed her computer accessed the LAPD portal the night before the Chen raid, and an employee log that showed she was in the building at the time her computer was used after hours.
“Did you access the LAPD portal on February 17?”
“I don’t remember.”
He slid over the LAPD case file. “The accessed file related to SWAT authorization for a raid on David Chen’s warehouse scheduled for the morning of February 18.”
