Hypocrisy (28 page)

“It’ll be a challenge,” Brenda said. “But let’s see what I can do.” She grinned. “It might cost you another latté and brownie.”

“I’ll do better than that,” Dupree said. “How about a box of chocolate truffles from Jacques Torres?”

“You got yourself a deal, Sugar.”

About to step away, Dupree’s cell phone rang. “Detective Dupree.”

“Hi, Detective, this is Officer Moretti. We met at the crime scene where Dr. Crawford was murdered. You may not remember me, but—”

“Sure I remember you, Tony. What’s up?”

“That APB you issued on a Margaret Hansen? Gab and I just picked her up at JFK. Apparently, a very alert TSA agent spotted her going through security, detained her, and contacted headquarters.”

“You just made my shortlist, Tony. And that’s a good thing. Where was she headed?”

“To Grand Cayman Island.”

“That’s no surprise.”

“Want me to bring her to the 40
^th
?”

“That would absolutely make my day!”

“I’m on my way.”

Dupree dropped the cell in her jacket pocket. “You’re not going to believe this, T.J.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Tony Moretti and Gab Hirsh, showed up a little after nine a.m. Dupree was chatting with T.J., asking him not to mention Lentz’s murder during their interrogation of Hansen, promising she’d explain her reasoning later. Obviously, due to the latest development, T.J. and Dupree could no longer stay with the plan to pay a sneak visit to Horizon, so she spoke to Captain Jensen and made arrangements for Parisi and Wells, along with three uniformed policemen, to go to Horizon and bring Mason, Adelman, and Gallo in for questioning as persons of interest. Dupree spotted the officers coming her way with Hansen wedged between the two of them. Hansen had a look on her face that could intimidate Mike Tyson.

“It’s nice to see you again, Ms. Hansen,” Dupree said, her tone saccharine sweet.

“Wish I could say the same. How long is this going to take?”

“Oh, it shouldn’t take longer than twenty-five years to life,” Dupree said. She grabbed Hansen’s arm and looked at Moretti. “We’ll take it from here officer. Thanks.”

Each holding one of Hansen’s arms, Dupree and T.J. escorted her to an interview room.

“So what is it now?” Hansen asked. “Do I have an outstanding parking ticket?”

“Where were you going when the officers picked you up?” Dupree asked.

“Well, I
was
going to Grand Cayman for a long-overdue vacation, but thanks to you, I missed my flight.”

T.J. laughed. “The only vacation spot in your future is a federal penitentiary.”

Dupree bent forward, her face inches from Hansen’s. “We’ve got you cold for conspiracy to commit murder.”

Hansen yawned. “And who did I supposedly conspire to murder?”

“You
know
the answer to that question,” Dupree said, “But just to make it official, we’re charging you with conspiracy
and
accessory to commit murder for the death of Dr. Lauren Crawford.”

“That’s absurd,” Hansen said, her face showing signs of concern. “Once again you two are on a fishing expedition but have no evidence.”

“How’s this for evidence?” Dupree said. “We can prove that you deposited six-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars in an offshore account in the Grand Cayman Island. In fact, we know where you deposited the money and the account number.”

“Six-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars?” Hansen laughed. “And where would an unemployed research scientist get that kind of money?”

“Oh,” Dupree said, “I would guess that Oscar Cassano might be able to answer that question. After all, it’s his account but you’re listed as the custodian.”

Hansen didn’t utter a sound.

“How clever of you to pay Cassano a hundred-k in advance and then deposit the rest of the money in an offshore account,” Dupree said. “Too bad you’ll never get to spend it.”

Now Dupree saw fear in Hansen’s eyes. She’d seen this look many times. It always came at the exact moment a murder suspect realized that there was no way out.

“Do the names, Michael Adelman or Dominic Gallo ring a bell?”

Hansen sneered in defiance. “If you’re going to arrest me, I want an attorney.”

“That’s your right,” T.J. said. “But we haven’t arrested you. All we’re doing is talking.”

“Talking? Is that was this is?”

“You have a real opportunity here, Ms. Hansen,” Dupree said. “An opportunity we’re only offering once. If you want to keep denying your involvement, that’s up to you. But before you say another word, let me share a few facts with you. Conspiracy to commit murder comes with a twenty-five year to life sentence. Couple that with an accessory to murder charge and you can pretty much plan on being in a cage until your pretty blonde hair turns white. During your trial, when the D.A. informs the jury that Dr. Crawford was on the threshold of making one of the most extraordinary medical discoveries in history, and that her death, something you were a part of, could delay or postpone her research indefinitely, how do you think the jury is going to react? Think they’re going to be lenient and merciful, or would they want Dr. Crawford’s murderers to get the maximum sentence?

“This is what we call, the moment of truth, Ms. Hansen. If you cooperate with us completely and give us a sworn statement naming the other parties and their role in the conspiracy, I believe we can talk the D.A. into reducing the charge to accessory to murder only. With a little luck and good behavior, you could be out of prison in five years.

Dupree could see that Hansen was thoughtfully weighing her options.

“So, Ms. Hansen, what’ll it be? If you still want an attorney, that’s your call. But as soon as we arrest you and read your Miranda rights, all bets are off. We’re going for your jugular.”

“And one more thing to consider,” T.J. added. “Right now as we speak, Dr. Mason, Dominic Gallo, and Michael Adelman are having a meeting at the Horizon offices. In about thirty minutes,
a truckload of cops are going to interrupt their little powwow and haul their asses into the police station. Like you, each of them will be offered the opportunity to plea bargain. The first one to go state’s evidence gets the reduced sentence. One deal and only one deal.”

Hansen thought about that for a long time before she responded. “What guarantee do I have that if I cooperate you’ll keep your end of the bargain?”

“Look, Ms. Hansen,” T.J. said. “This is what we do each and every day: make deals and plea bargain. What kind of credibility do you think we’d have if we didn’t stick by our word? What do you think the media would do if they knew that cops were coercing suspects into making confessions under false pretenses?” T.J. looked at his watch. “It’s now or never.”

Hansen nervously drummed her fingers on the table. Her eyes shot back and forth between Dupree and T.J. “It was Gallo and Adelman who approached me right after Dr. Crawford fired me. Dr. Mason had nothing to do with it. Adelman and Gallo were manipulating him and he was clueless. Gallo and Adelman wanted Dr. Crawford out of the way. Gallo knew that Jonathan was in desperate need of money and that he would do just about anything to line his pockets with hundred-dollar bills. Gallo also knew that Jonathan rubbed elbows with an unsavory crowd. So, Gallo paid him one-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars to find someone willing to steal Dr. Crawford’s computer.”

“
Steal
her computer?” Dupree said. “Why did she end up dead?”

“That’s where I came in. Once Jonathan found someone willing to steal her computer, it was my job to convince him to kill her.”

“You hated Dr. Crawford so much that you would actually arrange her murder?” Dupree said.

“It wasn’t about hate; it was about opportunity. Adelman gave me seven-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars to get the job done and
didn’t care how much of the money I paid the killer. The guy was an idiot, so I took advantage of his stupidity and only paid him one-hundred-thousand.”

“And the rest ended up in a Cayman bank?” Dupree said.

Hansen nodded.

“Wait a minute here,” T.J. said. “What the hell would lead you to believe that you could turn a common thief into a murderer? That just doesn’t make sense.”

“Hey, you two are cops, so you should know something about the criminal mind. For the right payoff, a guy like Cassano would slit his own mother’s throat. When you’ve got the bad seed, you’re capable of anything. Besides, if Cassano had refused, we would have found someone else. New York is a haven for violent people looking for an opportunity to live the American dream.”

Certain that Hansen sent the two letters, one with the catstew comment, and the other with ricin, Dupree found it difficult to sit across from her without reaching across the table and grabbing her by the throat. “So you arranged to have Dr. Crawford murdered for six-hundred-fifty K? That’s what you think a brilliant scientist’s life is worth?”

“That was chump change compared to the future payoff.”

“Explain,” Dupree said.

“This was the deal: I get rid of Dr. Crawford, then Adelman and Gallo talk Dr. Mason into rehiring me and putting me in charge of the research operations for a six-figure paycheck. Granted, I’m not on the same level as Dr. Crawford, but Mason knows I have enough knowledge to move forward with the research and clinical trials, so it was an easy sale. And if we ran into any roadblocks, Gallo was our go-to-guy with the FDA. Here’s the big payoff. Once everything was signed, sealed, and delivered to the FDA, they approved our drug and treatment plan, and we distributed our products worldwide, the floodgates would open and Mason,
Adelman, Gallo, and I get filthy rich—richer than anything you could ever imagine.”

“But if Mason wasn’t part of the conspiracy,” Dupree said, “why would you three want to include him in the big payoff?”

“What choice did we have? We needed his approval in the first place or the partnership would have never happened. Besides, the earning potential was staggering. What’s the difference between a few million one way or the other?”

Dupree and T.J. glanced at each other. Dupree had to ask a question about Jonathan Lentz, but she had to be careful. She didn’t want to let on that she knew Hansen had murdered Lentz.

“What about Jonathan Lentz? Where does he fit in?”

“He doesn’t. His only part in this plan was to find the right person to steal Dr. Crawford’s computer.”

“But what about the two of you?” Dupree asked. “Aren’t you…
involved
?”

“That’s ancient history.”

The three of them exchanged glances.

“Well, I gave you the whole story,” Hansen said. “You’ve got Gallo and Adelman by the nuts. What happens now? When do you talk to the DA about reducing the charges?”

“We’ll get to work on it right away,” Dupree said.

CHAPTER THIRTY

After spending nearly forty-five minutes listening to Hansen’s unbelievable story and getting a sworn statement, Dupree and T.J. mentally prepared themselves for round two.

“So,” T.J. said, “do you believe Hansen’s claim that Mason was not a part of this?”

“I’ve had a feeling from the onset of this investigation that he was involved, but now I’m not convinced.”

“I guess once we put him on the hot seat,” T.J. said, “we’ll know for sure.” He tasted his coffee. “By the way, I figured out why you didn’t want to mention Lentz’s murder to Hansen. Very clever. The plea bargain didn’t include Lentz’s murder, so I’d guess that you plan to nail her little ass with murder one?”

Dupree saluted T.J. with her coffee. “Bravo. There’s hope for you yet. Seriously, I don’t know if the DA’s going to go for M-one, but M-two should be a slam dunk.”

“But you know that Hansen is going to cry foul and retract her testimony,” T.J. said. “Even though she gave up Gallo, and Adelman, and made a full confession on video, her attorney no doubt will claim that we coerced it out of her.”

“That’s why we need to push Mason hard and get confessions from Gallo and Adelman.”

“That’s not going to be easy.”

“No, but it’ll be interesting.” Dupree rolled her shoulders and tried to work the knot out of her neck. “Here’s what I think we
should do. First, you and I will interview Gallo. When we’re finished with him, Parisi and I will tackle Mason, and Wells and you can go to work on Adelman. What do you think?”

“Sounds like a workable plan.”

For several minutes, Dupree and T.J. were lost in their private thoughts.

“I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this whole case,” Dupree said. “It’s unimaginable to me that a high-level director from the FDA and the CEO of the biggest pharmaceutical company on the planet could commit such a horrific crime.”

“Hey,” T.J. said. “Fame and fortune are powerful motivators.”

At ten fifteen a.m., Dupree, sitting at her desk, anxiously drumming a pen on a yellow legal pad, spotted Parisi and Wells entering the precinct. Just ahead of them were three men, one of whom was Dr. Mason. The other two men, she presumed, were Adelman and Gallo.

Looking over at T.J., Dupree whispered, “It’s show time, partner.”

Dupree and T.J. stood and approached the five men.