Triple Cross (Alex Cross #30)(20)

“You’re the expert.”

“We will let you know,” Malcomb said and hung up.

Inside, I found Ali engrossed by something on his laptop; he barely waved when I said hello.

Nana Mama was almost done with a shrimp and pasta dish with basil and garlic, and it smelled fantastic. Jannie was setting the table.

“How did practice go?” I asked.

“Light jog and stretching,” Jannie said.

My grandmother said, “She came in beaming with confidence.”

Jannie smiled. “I’ll do my best, but I honestly have no expectations. Whatever happens, I’ll be fine. Whichever school I decide on, I’ll find a home there.”

“Gotta like that attitude,” I said.

Bringing the steaming bowls of food to the table, Nana Mama said, “It’s the best attitude I can imagine. What time does your race start?”

“Around eleven, Nana.”

“Oh, good. Damon called. He’s got a week free before finals and he’s coming up for the race. He’ll get to Howard around ten thirty.”

I grinned. I hadn’t seen my oldest child in several months.

“How’s he getting here all the way from Davidson?” Ali asked.

Nana Mama started laughing. “Some college friend’s mother is turning fifty, and there’s a surprise birthday party in Chevy Chase tomorrow night, so the girl’s father is flying her home on the family jet.”

“And Damon is hitching a ride?”

“La-di-da,” my grandmother said and cackled. “I could never have imagined such a thing when I was his age.”

We were all laughing as we sat down to eat. It was pretty remarkable to think about my twenty-year-old in a private jet.

Ali said, “I’ve been looking at the girls you’ll be racing against, Jannie. There are some really fast—”

“I don’t care who they are or how fast they are,” Jannie said, scooping pasta from the bowl onto her plate.

“But—”

“But nothing,” my daughter said firmly. “Coach says I’m not racing them.”

Ali frowned. “Then who are you racing?”

“Me,” she said. “My best.”

“Oh,” my youngest child said, brightening. “I like that. You think you’re going to break your personal record?”

“I think I’m going to run like I know I can and I’ll see what happens,” Jannie said.

Ali was very goal-oriented for his age and I could tell her answer bothered him, but he sighed and said, “I hope you crush it.”

“I know she will,” I said and winked at Jannie, who smiled back.

The meal was delicious as usual, and hardly anyone spoke for several minutes. Then Nana Mama yawned and put her fork down. “Where did you say Bree went off to?”

“New York,” I said.

“What’s she doing there?” Ali asked.

I shrugged and told him the truth. “Your guess is as good as mine.”





CHAPTER 20




Manhattan


“YOU WANT ME TO guess who Katherine was with?” Bree said to Detective Salazar, her eyebrows knitting. “I don’t know. Frances Duchaine?”

“She’s too smart for that,” Salazar said, going to a park bench and taking a seat. “Sorry, my dogs are killing me.”

“No problem,” Bree said, also taking a seat. “So who was it?”

“Molly said she was sure it was Paula Watkins.”

“Who works for Duchaine.”

“Correct,” the detective said. “You don’t have to look at the story too long to figure out that it could all have been a setup, a bait and switch. They lure the young men and women in with promises of fame and fortune, get them in debt, then put them to work.”

Bree thought about that. “Any idea how much Molly made in those three years?”

“More like two and a half years,” Salazar said. “But I know she did roughly a hundred overnighters the first year. That’s a million right there. I’m thinking she might have pulled in two to two and a half million by the time she wanted out.”

Shocked, Bree said, “That’s real money.”

The detective agreed and said it was what had gotten her interested in the case. She’d gone to Paula Watkins, who denied knowing anyone named Katherine and said that Molly had just not worked out. How Molly had paid off her loan was anyone’s guess, she said.

Salazar visited Duchaine and asked the same questions. The fashion designer acted as if she had no idea who Molly was when the detective showed her a recent picture. When Salazar showed her one from Molly’s modeling portfolio, Duchaine recognized her and was dismissive, said she’d hoped a little nip and tuck and some pearly whites would have changed things for her.

“She told me, ‘Marketing tests don’t lie,’” the detective said. “Then she cut our meeting short. I tried to get Molly to set up a meeting with Katherine, but Katherine’s line was suddenly disconnected. And then Molly started ducking my calls.”

“Bought off?” Bree asked.

“That’s my suspicion,” Salazar said. “I never got to ask her.”