Promise Not To Tell(42)

“For obvious reasons,” Virginia said.

“You said Hannah never gave you any idea of why the book was important?”

“No. She refused to discuss it. She just wanted to make sure I still had it. Trust me, I’ve looked at those pictures and those numbers a million times. I’ve even worked through the math problems to see if the results mean anything. If there’s a clue there, it’s not clear to me.”

Cabot looked up and met her eyes. “But until you walked through the door of Cutler, Sutter and Salinas, you didn’t know that a lot of money had disappeared in the wake of the California compound fire. I find it interesting that Zane torched the place on the night of the same day that your mother gave you this book.”

Virginia went very still. “You think this book is the key to the missing money, don’t you?”

“If your mother was embezzling the cult’s funds, she would have had to find a way to conceal the cash.”

Virginia caught her breath. “Do you think that book is written and illustrated in some sort of code?”

“It’s a possibility. It would explain why Hannah was so adamant about you making sure it was safe.”

“If you’re right, maybe her last painting – the one that shows a modern-day version of Quinton Zane – was meant to warn me not only that he’s come back but also that he’s after the book.”

“This is all guesswork at the moment, but one thing’s for sure: we don’t have time to try to decipher some secret code. Not now. We need to focus on the investigation.”

“All right, but what about the book?” Virginia said. “We can’t just leave it lying around here, not now that we think it might be important. We should put it into a safe-deposit box.”

“Yes, but the sooner we know if this book really is valuable, the better. With your permission I’d like to give it to Anson. He can photocopy the pages and then he can put the original into a safe-deposit box. Once we have a copy to study, we can get some expert help.”

“What kind of expert help?”

“A lot of the people who work in the cybersecurity field are good with codes and puzzles. Max and Jack both have contacts in that world.”

“Hannah was right. Quinton Zane really has come back to haunt us,” Virginia said.

But she didn’t look anguished or defeated, Cabot thought. She looked quietly, resolutely angry and determined.

“We may be dealing with Zane,” Cabot said. “But I think the odds are good that someone else has learned about the missing money and is trying to find it.”

Virginia’s mouth tightened. Her eyes narrowed a little. “You don’t think it’s Zane?”

Cabot shook his head. “The more I think about it, the more I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“Zane was a very slick con man and a very thorough killer. He didn’t make a lot of mistakes. Furthermore, if he is still alive, he’s done a very good job of concealing himself for twenty-two years. If, for some reason, he decided to come out of the shadows now, I think he would operate in a far more careful manner. Got a hunch we’re dealing with someone who is less experienced in this kind of thing.”

“But it’s been over two decades,” Virginia said. “Who knows what has happened to Zane during all that time? Maybe he’s desperate for some reason. Maybe he’s just flat-out crazy.”

“Or, maybe, after all these years, someone else discovered that your mother helped conceal a large sum of money and tracked down Kimberly Troy’s heir.”

“Me.”

“You,” Cabot said. “That’s the simplest answer.”

“Who else could know about it? And how?”

“That’s what we need to find out.”

“Where do we start?”

Cabot opened his laptop and pulled up the organization chart for Night Watch.

“Might as well start at the top,” he said. “Let’s see if we can get to Josh Preston.”

“Why would he talk to us?”

“Because we are not the police. We are a private firm pursuing questions about the dead woman who was discovered in your gallery’s back room. Never underestimate the power of curiosity. Preston will want to know what we know.”

“Why?

“Because his company is getting a lot of attention from the police at the moment, and it’s a good bet they’re not telling him a damn thing.”

Anson was at his desk and on the phone when Virginia and Cabot walked into the office a couple of hours later. Cabot had the math book inside a paper bag tucked under one arm.

Anson put down the phone and looked at Cabot.

“Good timing,” he said. “That was Schwartz.”

“Your Seattle PD pal?” Cabot put the paper bag on the desk. “Any news?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Seems like there are rumors of embezzlement at Night Watch. A few people in the company are wondering if Sandra Porter might have been the thief. They seem to feel she would have had the skill set required to pull off that kind of thing.”

“Interesting,” Cabot said. “What did you give Schwartz in exchange for that information?”

“Nothing yet, but I probably won’t get much more out of him if we don’t come up with something he can use.”