No Risk Refused

“What scam?” Adair asked, glaring at both of them. “And who is Gianni Scalzo? This time one of you better answer me.”

Daryl nodded at Cam. “Go ahead.”

As Cam told her about his boss’s experience with Gianni Scalzo, Adair’s stomach plummeted even further. A lightning strike was bad. This was definitely worse. There was no telling how seriously Lawrence Banes was injured, but as soon as he recovered the CIA wanted to put him behind bars.

How many ways could a wedding go wrong?

“I learned today that right after the wedding ceremony the father of the bride, Winston Maitland, is going to transfer millions into Banes’s so far very lucrative real estate investments,” Daryl added.

“What’s wrong with that?” Adair asked.

“Nothing, if the real estate exists somewhere besides on paper. But Scalzo’s specialty is running Ponzi schemes and they’re only lucrative for a certain length of time. Then the investors lose a lot of money.”

A siren sounded in the distance.

“I’m sorry,” Cam said. “I couldn’t tell you until I had confirmation. There was a chance he wasn’t Scalzo.”

She raised a hand. “I get it. You’re CIA. You specialize in covert, sneaky ops.”

Cam winced. “You can deck me if you want.”

“Why? Any way you look at it, the wedding is history. There’s an injured bridegroom. The CIA is waiting to arrest him. And someone else wants him dead.”

There was a moan from the car.

“The two of you go on.” Daryl backed away. “I don’t want him to see me quite yet.”

Adair reached the car first. Lawrence Banes’s eyes were open and filled with pain.

“Ms. MacPherson?” he said in a breathy voice. “What—”

She took one of his hands in hers. “Don’t try to talk. You’ve had an accident.”

“The wedding…” He broke off, wincing.

“Don’t worry about that now,” Adair said. On the road above, an ambulance pulled to a stop. “The EMTs are here.”

As the young medics rushed down the incline, Banes’s eyes drifted shut but his grip on her hand tightened. “Call Bunny. Tell her…wedding is on. I’m marrying Rexie tomorrow.”

Stunned, Adair walked back to Daryl with Cam. “He still wants to go through with the wedding.”

“Perfect,” Daryl said.

“Perfect?” Adair stared at him. “Someone wants to kill him. You want to put him in jail.”

“I have a plan,” Daryl said. “How would you like to be part of an undercover op?”

12

“I DON’T LIKE IT.” Sheriff Morris Skinner made the announcement after Cam and Daryl had taken turns with Adair in filling him in on what had been going on at the castle, up to and including Lawrence Banes’s—or more accurately Gianni Scalzo’s—car accident.

What the sheriff specifically didn’t like was Daryl’s plan—the one he’d outlined while the EMTs were transferring the bridegroom to the ambulance. Adair wasn’t sure she liked it either since it involved letting the wedding go on as scheduled.

Learning the truth about Lawrence Banes had hit her like a Mack truck, and for the past hour she’d felt as if she’d been sitting on the sidelines watching the men handle everything.

The waiting room in the clinic at Huntleigh College was barely bigger than a walk-in closet, and once Sheriff Skinner had joined them the space had been filled to capacity. The upside of the cramped quarters was that it offered them privacy, and only a soundproof glass wall separated them from the area where Lawrence Banes was being examined and diagnosed by Dr. Barnhill, a young woman in her early thirties who ran a tight ship.

She’d made one appearance in the waiting room to inform them that her patient was suffering from a broken leg and she’d know more about his condition after they’d taken some X-rays. The only thing that she was certain about was that he was determined to get married the next day.

That had been Daryl’s cue to explain his let-the-wedding-go-on scenario to Sheriff Skinner.

Skinner pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “You’re telling me that this Banes/Scalzo guy is an international crook, but I shouldn’t arrest him until after he gets married up at the castle tomorrow.”

“Correct,” Daryl said.

Adair had already played the nightmare scene in her mind. Several times. The setting was the ballroom of the castle with guests looking on. As Lawrence Banes signed the papers with Maitland Investments, law enforcement agencies—some in helicopters, others in black SWAT outfits—would all swoop in to make the arrest of the century.

And each time Rexie Maitland would collapse in tears.

The scene made her head spin so much she couldn’t come up with a coherent argument to counter Daryl Garnett’s plan. Her groom-not-to-be had created Ponzi schemes across the globe and robbed thousands of people of their savings. The Maitlands and their friends and clients were only the current focus of his business schemes. But if the deal went through on Saturday Banes would be caught. And both she and the sheriff were being asked to be good little soldiers and hold off on letting anyone know until the knot was tied and the papers were signed.

Skinner, a wiry man in his early sixties, set down his notebook and scratched his head. “I’ve been sheriff here for thirty years, and I’ve never seen anything like this.” He looked at Garnett first. “You say the Portland P.D. has this guy’s fingerprints when he was operating under a different alias. Can’t they arrest him and take him into custody?”

“Sure,” Daryl said. “But the fraud he perpetrated there was twelve years ago. Lots of things can happen in a trial, especially when twelve years have passed. But if we catch him in the act, we’ve got him.”

“I’d like to question him,” Skinner said.

“So would I,” Daryl agreed amiably. “But that could spook him. The man can disappear faster than the kind of ink they sell in kids’ magic kits.”

Skinner frowned. “I get that. But I’d like to know who cut his brake lines.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Daryl said. “Scalzo has always worked with a partner—a man many suspect is the real brains behind their cons. It could be they’ve had a falling-out. And it would be a real coup if we could catch him, too.”

Skinner turned to Adair. “I’d also like to know how one or both of them is connected to the other stuff you think is going on up at the castle. A little trespassing aside, I’ve never known there to be trouble up there.” He shifted his gaze to Cam. “You think someone’s been breaking into the castle on a regular basis for the past six months. Could that be Scalzo or this MacDonald character?”

“Scalzo has a social schedule to keep on Long Island,” Cam said. “All we know for sure about MacDonald is he seemed interested in Eleanor’s missing jewels and he had a run-in with Scalzo at Tinker’s Falls.”

“Maybe he’s Scalzo’s elusive partner,” Adair said.

Cam exchanged a look with Daryl. “It’s a possibility.”

“Maybe Banes can help us out there,” Skinner said.

“It would be better all around if we didn’t question him about his connection to MacDonald,” Daryl said. “He doesn’t know that Cam and Adair saw them talking in the woods. Better to leave those questions until after the wedding and the arrest.”

Skinner encompassed all three of them with his gaze. “I’ll talk to Edie who runs the diner in town. She’s the best investigator I’ve got. Everyone goes in there and everyone talks. Maybe she can dig up a connection between the two men that isn’t merely theory. In the meantime, I’m going to ask Mr. Lawrence Banes is if he knows who might have cut his brake lines.”

Cam exchanged a look with Daryl, then nodded. “Be good if he had a nominee. But Adair here should talk to him first. To firm up plans about the wedding.”

As if she were responding to a cue, the young doctor appeared in the waiting room doorway. “Mr. Banes is a lucky man. The fracture was clean. He’ll be in a cast for a while, but his tibia will heal nicely. He won’t be walking down the aisle or dancing, but he should be able to make the big wedding tomorrow. He’s groggy from pain meds.” Dr. Barnhill held up a finger. “I’ll allow one visitor before he gets his MRI.”

Adair rose and followed the doctor into the examining room. The distance was short, but she felt as if she were walking the last mile.

Look at the bright side, Adair. Obviously Lawrence and Rexie were not meant to be. Thank heavens the lightning strike had prevented the young woman from ever kissing the scumbag during the rehearsal. And going along with Daryl’s plan would put a very bad man in jail.