Unexpected Outcome

“I just thought…” She shrugged. “I guess I just thought wrong.”

She hadn’t, though. She was deep-down certain she hadn’t.

DANA AND JACK MORANCY weren’t quite finished dinner when her cell phone rang. Ted Tanaka, the NYPD detective investigating the container theft, was finally getting back to her.

As it turned out, the investigation had stalled and he couldn’t add much to what she already knew. But since she’d only given her father the bare bones of that—and since he sat watching her expectantly after she clicked off—she figured she’d better recap the conversation.

“He basically just repeated what Robert and Larry told me,” she began. “What I was telling you earlier.

“Four Corners had six containers coming in on a cargo ship. It was Friday, the ship was late arriving and Stu Refkin, the warehouse manager, had plans for right after work. So he took off before the crew unloaded the shipment and left his two men to deal with it.”

“By deal with it you mean…?”

“Move the containers from the pier into the warehouse.”

“That only takes two people?”

“Two people and a lift truck. Anyway, they did that, then locked up and went home. But according to them, there were just four containers.”

“Why wouldn’t they know there were supposed to be six?”

She shrugged. “Stu says he thinks he mentioned the number—that he meant to but isn’t entirely sure he did. They claim that, if so, they didn’t hear him. And the one who signed the ship’s delivery form barely looked at it. Didn’t check how many it specified.”

“Pretty sloppy.”

“Yes, but I guess it’s the sort of thing that becomes so routine…”

“Honey, nothing should ever be routine when you’re talking half a million bucks. I’m surprised that guy still has his job.”

“Well, the insurance company will pick up most of the loss. And I gather it was the first time anything like that ever happened.

“But I’m getting off track,” she continued. “The important thing is that the company’s men say there were only four containers while the ship’s captain swears his crew unloaded six.”

“So either he’s lying or the warehouse guys are,” her father said.

“Uh-huh. And the ship has a foreign registry and is long gone by now, which means Tanaka probably has all he’s going to get from that end.”

“This happened on a Friday,” Jack said slowly.

“Yes. Then, come Monday, Stu Refkin arrived at work and discovered…Well, he got on the phone to Larry Benzer and Larry called the police.”

Her father nodded. “In the meantime, if you assume all six containers were unloaded, the two warehouse guys would have had the entire weekend to dispose of them. And even a fence would have paid…

“But did this Tanaka tell you what he figures happened?”

“He thinks only four of them made it off the ship. A security guard patrols the piers, and moving containers out of the warehouse on a weekend would be unusual. So if he saw it happening he’d probably have questioned it. At the very least, he’d have made a note in his log.

“All in all, disposing of them would have been risky. So Tanaka’s best guess is that the ship’s captain intentionally shorted the delivery. But he also thinks the captain was in cahoots with someone at Four Corners.”

“Someone like…?”

“Take your pick. Stu Refkin checked out and left the others in charge. And he’d probably know if they don’t normally pay much attention when they sign receiving forms.”

“Yeah, so the ship could have been intentionally late, letting this Refkin remove himself from the picture and…”

“But he’s not our only contender. Tony Zicco, the guy who signed the delivery slip, hasn’t always been Mr. Straight-and-Narrow.

“He ran with a bad crowd as a kid and eventually did a stretch for a B and E. It was his parole officer who got him the job at Four Corners.”

“Now, that’s an interesting wrinkle.”

She nodded. “According to Robert, they’ve never had a single problem with Tony. But Larry figures… Well, I already told you what he thinks.”

“That there’s a rotten apple in the warehouse,” Jack said.

“At least one. Maybe two or three.”

“Yeah, they could all have been in on it. But, you know, something isn’t sitting right with me.”

“What?”

“It’s just too obvious. I mean both the arson and this pointing toward the same people seems like overkill.”

She nodded again, glad to hear her father’s line of reasoning coincided with hers. “And there’s another thing. They all offered to take lie detector tests.”

That made him grin. “Sounds as if they watch too many cop shows.”

“Maybe. But Tanaka arranged for it. And according to the tests, none of them had anything to do with either the arson or the theft of the containers.”

“’Course…those things can be beaten.”

“Uh-huh. So if it was only one of them involved, and he managed to do that…”

Jack nodded, then said, “I think you were right. This really could be an interesting case.”

CHAPTER THREE

FIRST THING Monday morning Dana was at Four Corners once more, ready to step into her role as Dana Mayfield.

After she’d spent a few minutes asking Robert last-minute questions, he said he’d show her to the office she’d be using. Surprisingly, he led her over to the short hallway near the top of the stairs.

When she told him she hadn’t expected to be on the “executive floor,” he smiled.

“You’ll have more privacy here,” he said.

She knew that had to be true. Tucked away and out of sight would perfectly describe the location.

“As you’ll see when you get the grand tour,” he continued, “our office area downstairs is basically open concept.”