Dead Wrong (A Cal Murphy Thriller Book 7) by Jack Patterson (ebook reader for pc .txt) 📕

“How’d you find—”

“Never mind. It’s not important.”

“Well, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. That Scott Perry was a sonofabitch and I’m glad he did me the favor of firing me.”

Cal shifted from one foot to another as he remained on the front stoop. “Well, Scott Perry is dead now.”

“What?”

“Yeah. He was murdered last night in jail.”

“In jail? I hated the man but I didn’t want him dead.”

“Whether you wanted him that way or not, that’s how he is. Dead and gone.”

Emma fidgeted with the door handle. “So, did you come here just to tell me that?”

Cal shook his head. “No, I came to ask you about the document you sent me.”

“Fire away, but make it quick. I’ve got a lot to do today—like get ready to start a new job on Monday.”

“Sure. So, did Scott ever see the letter from Kelvin Jameson?”

“Oh, he saw it all right.”

“And what did he say when he saw it?”

“Nothing. He told me to shred it. The funny thing is we kept electronic dossiers on all our clients, and we also kept paper documents we received related to them as well.”

Cal jotted down a few notes. “Was that unusual for him to be so nonchalant about it?”

“Yeah, for sure. He’d usually blow a gasket whenever he got a letter like that. He’d rant for an hour and then retreat to his office where I’m sure he knocked back some Scotch.”

“So, he just kind of ignored this letter from Jameson?”

“I guess. We had it for a few days, but he claimed he hadn’t seen it until after we got news of Jameson’s death. So when Jameson died, I asked him what he wanted me to do with it. He just kind of shook his head and said it didn’t matter any more—and then he told me to shred it.”

Cal nodded as he scribbled on his pad. “One more thing. Did you recognize the number where this came from?”

She leaned in and squinted at the image on Cal’s phone. “Yeah, I think that’s the fax number for the Washington Wizards. I oughta know since I’ve sent and received volumes of paper with that number.”

Cal smiled. “Thank you for your time, Emma. I hope you land on your feet somewhere.”

“Thanks. Me, too.”

Cal spun on his back heel and headed for his car.

Everything made sense now.

CHAPTER 57

CAL RETURNED TO HIS OFFICE and slumped into his chair. Marcus Hale saw him and wasted no time in racing over to his desk.

“He finally resurfaces,” Hale said.

“I wouldn’t go that far. I’m still swimming through this story, trying not to drown in it.”

Hale clapped his hands together. “Good. Just don’t drown today. This story is going on the Sunday front tomorrow.”

“But I don’t know—”

Hale wagged his finger. “No, no, no. We don’t give excuses around here. We get results, remember?”

“There’s more to this story than you think. It’s not just a sordid tale about Scott Perry. It’s far more reaching than that.”

“I know, I know. Russian mafia, Kelvin Jameson, drugs, conspiracy, cover-up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The usual suspects.”

Cal shook his head. “No, there’s one suspect that you didn’t mention—one who’s going to rock the story and this town. But I need to make one more call to confirm it.”

***

EVEN FOR NOON on a Saturday, L’Enfant Plaza metro rail station in the southern portion of the city bustled with activity. While Cal suspected his contact wanted to meet in such a location for his own safety, Cal didn’t mind the protection for himself as well. He’d been wanting to meet this man for a long time—at least, he thought it would be a man. With a Twitter handle like @HUmanBean47, determining gender wasn’t always easy.

A man put his hand on Cal’s shoulder, startling him.

“Cal Murphy?” the man asked.

“Yes?”

“I’m Hal Umberton or HUmanBean47. I hope I didn’t scare you.”

Cal stepped back and shook his head. “Nope, but I’m just naturally jumpy these days.”

“I understand. Me, too.”

“So, what is it you wanted to show me?”

Hal pulled out his phone. “So, when I heard the news this morning about Scott Perry, I decided it was time to show this to someone. I didn’t want to show it to the cops because I just didn’t want to get entangled with them. But I thought I could show it to someone like you.”

“Okay,” Cal said. “Let’s see it.”

Hal handed Cal one of his ear buds and then swiped back and forth across the phone to call up the video app. Then the video started to play.

The image appeared grainy, as if it was taken in a low light setting. Cal strained to see the images on the screen at first.

“Just wait. You’ll be able to see everything more clearly in a moment,” Hal said.

The video appeared to be taken from a phone that was simply sitting out in the open, unattended. After several seconds, Nikolay Gavin appeared along with several business associates. A minute later, Scott Perry walked into the room. They all sat down at a table in full view of the camera.

Cal struggled to hear most of the conversation until the important part.

“You ready to solve two problems we have at once?” Gavin asked.

Perry nodded.

“So, here’s the money. There’s enough in there to cover all your expenses as well as the agreed upon amount. If they rule it a suicide, I’ll get you an additional million next month.”

Perry stared at the bag. “So, I’m supposed to just walk out of here with this?”

“We can be discreet about it and get you to your car without anyone seeing you. But you must understand, I can’t go around depositing large amounts of money in your account in the unlikely event that it leads back to me.”

Perry picked up the bag and headed toward the door. “I’ll be in touch.”

The video ended and Cal stared at Hal. “When was this time stamped?”

“Three days before Kelvin Jameson died.”

“Can I get a copy?”

Hal nodded. “I’m sending it to your email address