Page 91 of Mission: Possible

"Charlie turned them over?" I asked.

Lucas gave a brief shake of his head. "I had to hack the bank. They have incredibly good security but not good enough to keep me out. I downloaded it and covered my tracks."

"Let me see," said Solomon, holding out his hand and taking the papers Lucas handed to him. He scanned the list and turned the page. "Anyone stand out to you?" he asked as he read more. "Did you run any of the names?"

"I only just got them," said Lucas.

"May I see?" I asked and Solomon passed the list to me. I glanced at it, stopping at one name near the end of the list. "Joe Bagshot? His name came up when I spoke to Maddox."

"Joe Bagshot? Something about it does sound familiar," agreed Solomon.

Fletcher frowned too, then his eyes widened. "Joe Bagshot, the thief? That slippery bastard kept a security box at First Eastern?"

"Unless the name happens to be just a huge coincidence, yes! Maddox said Bagshot was sighted in the area but they could never confirm anything. Apparently, he's dead." I paused, thinking. "Where's that list?" Delgado passed it to me and I skimmed it. "There were some passports with the same photo but different names on them. I made a note at the time."

"Let me see," said Fletcher, reaching for the list. "Yeah," he said when he scanned it. "These are both aliases for Bagshot. That confirms it for me. I heard the rumor that he was dead too. I wonder what the hell he had inside a bank box besides his surplus identities."

Solomon took the list and stuck it to the whiteboard. "Good catch, Lexi. If it is the same guy, there's a good chance whatever he stored in there is valuable," he added.

"And there's a chance someone else knew about it. With Bagshot dead, they couldn't get to it by any other means than pulling off a heist," said Fletcher. "This whole thing just got a whole lot bigger."

"What kind of stuff did this Bagshot guy prefer to steal?" asked Delgado.

"What he didn't steal would make a shorter list," replied Solomon. "He was a high-end man. Back in the day, if you wanted something priceless stolen from a museum, a jeweler, or a private collection, he was the man to call. He got arrested a couple of times but the charges never stuck. It makes sense now why the Feds were looking into the robbery if they had reliable intel that Bagshot used the bank."

"I would have mentioned it earlier but it slipped my mind when Mackleton was killed," I admitted, coloring slightly. I should have told Solomon immediately, even if it didn't seem linked. If I had, his investigation could have taken an entirely different direction. I mentally kicked myself and waited for an admonishment that didn't come. "We should find out what he stole before he died," I said. "Is there any way we can drill down on likely thefts?"

"Sure. Where do you want to start? North America? Europe? Asia?" asked Solomon, with a shake of his head.

"Bagshot wasn't enormously active in his later years," said Fletcher. "He busted a hip a couple of years back in Boston just clearing snow off his porch and word has it that dropped him into semi-retirement."

"Perhaps it was an old theft?" I suggested. "If it's even related at all."

"We can take a look at old thefts, and see if anything was rumored to be stolen for himself. Perhaps he kept a memento that someone wanted or maybe he double-crossed someone."

"Maddox said news of Bagshot's death would draw all kinds of people out of the woodwork. I'm thinking an old associate, a rival, a client, or an enemy," I said.

Flaherty, who remained silent until now, nodded. "I like how Lexi narrowed it down; first, to the entire world, and second, to everyone in it." I punched him lightly on the arm and laughed. There was no point getting mad about his teasing. Flaherty was right: the search parameters were too vast and we couldn’t come up with a name from it.

"This is the best lead we have," said Solomon. "Forget Mackleton. His crew were clean and quick. They left no trace of themselves at the robbery or at his murder scene, ensuring the connection between him and them was already severed. Let's pursue the Bagshot angle. Lucas, you know what to do?"

"Yes, boss. Verify it's the same guy."

"Then do a deep dive into his history. See if he's really dead, and find out what crimes he's connected to."

"What about us?" asked Fletcher.

"Find out where Bagshot lived and head up to Boston. Take a look around and see what factors played into his life."

"On it," agreed Flaherty.

"You and I need to finish our probe into any bomb-making supplies that may have entered Montgomery recently. We also need to take a look at some of those warehouses where they could have constructed a walk-through to rehearse their plan," said Solomon, looking at Delgado. "Do you have any free time?" he asked me.

I nodded. "A little. What do you need?"

"Charlie Sampson's background. It's crucial now. See if he has any connection to Joe Bagshot. Could they have known each other socially?"

"Do you think Charlie knew what was inside that box?"