The Scarpetta Factor

“I know you’ve looked into Ha

As if everyone would know who Lucy was and, significantly, who she was to Berger.

“A lot of activity in a lot of banks here and abroad,” Stockman said. “Starting about two years ago. Then after Rupe Starr died last May, most of the money’s been lost.”

“Hap claims he was in New York the night before Thanksgiving, when Ha

“Yeah, right,” O’Dell said sarcastically. “The oldest line in the book. No fire on the hearth so you go elsewhere to get warm.”

“Ha

“It wasn’t Bobby who was in town the night Ha

“Exactly right,” Berger said, looking at Benton. “I’m very concerned about Hap’s involvements with everyone. And his proclivities. Kay says Toni Darien was dead for a day and a half before her body was left in the park. She was kept in a cool environment, indoors somewhere. Maybe now that’s making sense.”

More names were being added to the graph on the wall.

“And Warner Agee and Carley Crispin,” Benton said to Stockman. “They should be up there.”

“We’ve got no reason to think Agee or Carley had any association with anybody we’ve got up here on the wall,” O’Dell said.

“We know Carley’s co

The click of keys. Scarpetta’s and Benton’s names appeared on the flat screen. It was awful seeing them there. Co

Benton went on. “And based on what Lucy and Kay found inside Agee’s hotel room, I suspect he was involved in the casino business.”

Casinos was added to the wall.

“He was using his paranormal interests and influence to research something, manipulate something.”

Paranormal was another branch on the tree.

“Maybe doing so under the patronage of a wealthy Frenchman supposedly named Lecoq,” Benton continued, and that name appeared next. “Someone-possibly this Monsieur Lecoq-was paying Agee in cash. And possibly Freddie Maestro was, too. So Lecoq and Maestro might be co

“We don’t know who Lecoq is or if he really exists,” Lanier said to Benton.

“He exists. But we don’t know who he is.”

“You thinking this Lecoq guy’s the Wolfman?” O’Dell asked Benton.

“Let’s don’t call him that. Jean-Baptiste Chando

“He speak with a French accent?” Stockman was on his laptop, adding offshoots that appeared on the tree on the wall.

“He can speak with a number of accents or no accent,” Benton said. “In addition to French, he’s fluent in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and English. Maybe other languages by now. I don’t know.”

“Why Carley Crispin?” Stockman asked as he worked on the graph. “And why was she paying for Agee’s room? Or was someone else fu

“Probably a type of petty money laundering.” Lanier was making notes. “Sounds like a lot of that going on here, even if in relatively small ways. People paying in cash. People paying other people to pay for other people. No credit cards or wire transfers or checks that leave a paper trail. At least not for business that might not be considered legitimate.”

“Carley was going to kick him out of his room this weekend.” Berger met Benton’s eyes, and hers were as impenetrable as stone. “Why?”

“I can offer a theory,” Benton said. “Agee e-mailed Carley information allegedly from a witness, and we know it was bogus. He impersonated Harvey Fahley by using a Web captioning service. Lucy found that transcript and a number of other ones on Agee’s computer. The producers of The Crispin Report are in a hell of a lot of hot water because of what she released on the air last night about Ha

“So she fired him,” Lanier said to him.

“Why wouldn’t she? She also knew she was about to get fired. She wasn’t going to need Agee anymore, no matter who was paying for his room. There may be a personal element,” Benton said. “We don’t know what Carley told Agee when she called him from CNN at close to eleven p.m. last night. The last phone call he got, it seems.”

“We got to talk to Carley Crispin,” Stockman said. “Too bad Agee’s dead. It’s sounding to me like he might be the key to everything.”

“What he did was stupid as hell,” said O’Dell. “He was a forensic psychiatrist. He should have known better. This Harvey Fahley guy was going to deny talking to him.”

Berger said, “He has. I spoke to Detective Bo

“Harvey Fahley’s phone records should show if he talked to him…” O’Dell began.

“A Tracfone made the call, and it’s missing,” Benton interrupted. “Agee had a drawer full of empty Tracfone boxes. I believe the interview with Fahley was bogus, and so does Lucy. But I doubt it was Agee’s conscious intention to get fired.”

“An unconscious intention,” Lanier offered.

“That’s my opinion.” Benton believed Warner Agee was ready to self-destruct. “I seriously doubt last night was the first time suicide ever entered his mind. His condo in D.C. is about to be foreclosed on. His credit cards are expired. He relies on others for infusions of cash, is a parasite with nothing but his infirmities and demons to look forward to, and it appears he got tangled up with something that was over his head. He probably knew he was going to get caught.”

“Another recruit that would have been a poor choice,” Lanier said to everyone as she looked at Benton. “You think Jean-Baptiste would know?”

“What?” Benton’s anger flared. “Know that Agee made sure I was exiled from my life and my reward was to be shu

Silence inside the FBI conference room.

“Do I think he encountered Jean-Baptiste, that they were somehow acquainted? Yes, I do,” Benton said. “Agee the wa

“Obviously,” Lanier said after a pause. “Since he’s in the morgue as we speak.”