Page 74 of Under the Radar
“Not my retirement account, you stupid shit. I’ve got debts. You’re going to pay the South American cartel the $30 million because you gave my shipment to the cops. Of all the idiotic things you’ve ever done, giving that heroin to the cops is the dumbest.” He got up, pulled out the gun again, and pointed it at her. “I can shoot your toes off one at a time, or you can pay back what you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you anything,” Mo seethed.
He lifted the gun and fired a shot in the air. The gleam in his eyes let her know he was crazy enough to keep shooting.
Mo jumped and adrenaline spiked her heart rate. “Give me the iPad.”
He slid it in her direction, then stood behind her and jammed the barrel of the gun to her neck. “Don’t try anything, Maureen. I’m mighty agitated right now.”
Mo logged in, answered the five security questions, and entered her pin number. The screen blinked to life. It wasn’t lost on her that he’d brought her computer so the IP address matched what the bank already recognized. No wonder he’d rubbed her hands and fingers. It was no act of kindness. He needed her hands to work so she could move money around for him.
The entire display of Reardon Industries bank accounts blinked at her. She scanned the list for savings and found a hefty one. Forty-two million. She clicked on it, touched transfer, and pulled her hands off the keyboard.
“This is no time to get feisty, Maureen. Get your hands over the keypad. I’ll read the numbers and watch as you type them in. You try anything and your foot’s going to hurt something awful.”
Mo typed in the routing number exactly as he read it and typed the bank account number with one little mistake—which she corrected by telling him to slow down. He was right. She didn’t care about the money. All she wanted right now was a plan to get away from him. Think.I could stab him with the knife, but it isn’t large enough to kill him. And after she stabbed him, she’d be a sitting duck with no ability to run. She’d keep him talking. The longer Jason talked, the greater the chance Mac would show up with the cavalry.
She tapped SUBMIT, and the transfer completed. Thirty million dollars zoomed through cyberspace into another account. She knew how to undo it but would need to trick him. Fat chance…slick lawyer…she’d keep thinking. And worst case scenario—it would take days for a transfer that large to finalize.
“Very good, Maureen. Close out of the business accounts.” He leaned down and spoke into her ear. “You have just been a very naughty girl. You embezzled $30 million dollars from your father’s company and paid a cartel in full. Imagine the consequences for Reardon Industries when the press gets a hold of that. The stock will tank.” He chuckled.
Jason’s breath crawled across her neck like a venomous spider. She hadn’t thought much of him for two years, but she’d never expected to hate him like she did right now.
“Moving on…” He paced around her as if he was dictating a memo to his administrator. “Go to your personal bank website and log in.” He stuck the barrel of the gun in her ear. “Don’t mess with me, Maureen.”
Mo moved to her personal banking site. She hadn’t visited the portal in a few months because her financial advisor sent her weekly updates. Struggling to remember the login and password, Mo rested her head in her hands. “Let me think a minute, Jason. I need to remember the password.”
He adjusted the placement of the gun to her temple.
Stall for time.“You won’t get away with this. I don’t touch these accounts for months at a clip, and all of a sudden, I move a ton of money in one night? It doesn’t make sense. At least let me move the rest of the money tomorrow. It will look better for you.”
Jason spun her chair around so she could see him and pointed an index finger at himself. “Me? I’m not doing anything. You’re doing it all. You even rented this yacht. The papers say so, and your credit card paid for it.” He pulled her worn pink Gucci wallet from his pants pocket and held it up. “See?”
“But I didn’t rent this yacht. The security tapes will prove that.”
“The video surveillance will show a spot-on look-alike renting this vessel. Word on the street is that it was very difficult to buy a wig the exact same color as your hair. Do you think I just walked in and rented it myself? I don’t get my hands dirty. I’ve been planning this for a long time. I’m the voice behind the scenes, and I coordinate the merchandise. The rest of the gutter rats out there can kill each other over the drugs.”
“Why drugs, Jason? Why not an investment scheme or invest in a solid business?” His betrayal was mind-numbing. She wiped tears off her cheek with the back of her hand. How very sad that he’d never understand the difference between money and wealth. Her mom had always taught her that money was just a commodity but true wealth came from the richness of a person’s heart.
“You can’t imagine the contacts I made during internships at the prosecutor and defense attorney’s offices. Every criminal they brought in was looking to cut a deal. It was the start of a lucrative business. I’d plea deal for them, and they’d be right back on the streets. It was like being the godfather because they owed me.”
Mo’s hand flew to her throat. “Since law school? My father’s treated you like a son.”
Jason stalked around the table preening like a peacock. “I’ve been a good lawyer to him and the business. He owes me too. Do you have any idea how much money I’ve saved the company with my shrewd legal mind?”
His words were like sewage seeping across her skin, but she had to keep him talking. “How did the drugs get in my Escalade?”
“That’s quite a story. I’ll give you the short version.” He looked at his watch. “My ride’s coming in a half-hour. We’d been having transportation problems. Troopers turning up the heat on the highways. You were supposed to drive the shipment to the Eastern shore of Maryland for me. I was going to visit you during your vacation and get the goods. If they’d have packed it right, you never would’ve known it was in the SUV.” He sat in the chair opposite her, slid the gun into his jacket, and continued his proud rant.
“Long story short, the shipment arrived in Baltimore later than expected, and they didn’t get the job done on time. You interrupted them. Of all the days for you to quit work before six. And then you call the cops, you stupid bitch. I had half a mind to kill you myself that night. I wish I could’ve been the one to upend your apartment, but I sent somebody else to do it. You know, when they interviewed you at the police station, that one detective gave me a great idea. I can pin this on you, make it look like you’ve been hustling. Spoiled rich kid goes out of her way to get Daddy’s attention. I thought it was brilliant.” He braced his hands on the table and curled his lip in disdain.
Mo choked back a sob and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. It was imperative to keep him talking. She glanced at the horizon again but didn’t see any lights nearby. Her insides thrummed wild with panic as bile rose in her throat.
“You’ve always been the means to an end for me.” He followed her gaze to the distance. “There’s nobody out there coming to rescue you, Maureen. You’ll need to log in again. I’m sure the website timed out.” He stood and clapped his hands. “Let’s go, girl! Log us in. We’ve got a lot of money to move, and I’ve got a schedule to keep.”
Mo logged into her brokerage accounts. Once again, Jason shoved the barrel of the gun against her temple.
“That’s it. See that account with thirty-seven million in it? I want you to transfer twenty-five to the following account.” He read the numbers aloud as she typed. “That a girl. Push SUBMIT.”
“What was that money for, Jason?”
“That little nest egg went into my high interest savings. I lost a lot of profit when you gave the cops the drugs. I’m going to retire very soon.” He gave a sardonic chuckle.
“That’s not very much money for someone with your lifestyle,” Mo murmured. “By the sounds of it, I’ll be in jail a long time. Why don’t you raid another account? There’s still sixty million in them. I don’t care. Pick another one,” she sniffled. The best weapon to use against him was his greed.
Jason burst out laughing. “You think that finally sharing your money with me is going to earn you a ‘get out of jail free’ card? That’s really rich, pardon the pun, Maureen.” He perused the screen. “See that account with the thirty-two million? Move twenty-five, no—move it all to my account. You’re not going to need it.”
Mo’s hands froze above the keypad. Did he mean she was going to jail or was he going to kill her? Her fingers trembled as she made the transfer. She’d never accept dying for someone as vile as Jason Hadley, but what he didn’t know was that the account she just raided was a failsafe account that her father had set up with her. If she ever moved money from that dummy account, every silent alarm at Reardon Industries would go off, as well as at the Reardon homes. Their entire banking system would freeze. Furthermore, the failsafe recalled and canceled every financial transaction she’d made from her computer in the past twenty-four hours. Mo tapped SUBMIT, watched the screen pirouette into cyberspace, and logged off.
Gotcha—you greedy bastard.