Murder at the Opera - Margaret Truman [100]
She shook her head and sipped. “I don’t want to believe him. I’ve been sitting here conjuring all the reasons not to believe him
“Lay them out for me
“All the evidence he has comes from this Poindexter character. Is he to be believed?”
“The agency he works for is respected, Annie. I don’t see what Poindexter or his agency would have gained by giving Marc false information
“Maybe not deliberately false, Mac, but possibly erroneous. They wouldn’t be the first private investigatory agency to phony up results to satisfy a good-paying client
“No, but let’s view them in a positive light and take a look at what you’ve written.”
• • •
Based upon what Josephson had allowed them to see, there wasn’t any doubt that the private investigator, and those working for him, had done a thorough job of building a case against Pawkins. According to the reports, Pawkins had visited Georges Saibrón two months after the murder of Aaron Musinski. A series of receipts were attached to the report, Air France records of the trips Pawkins had taken, and hotel bills. There had been three trips within six weeks of one another. Poindexter’s source inside the Saibrón organization told him that the Mozart-Haydn string quartets had been delivered during that third trip.
The next report traced Pawkins’ movements following his final trip to Paris. He’d flown to the Grand Cayman Island, where he’d opened an account at one of that island’s numerous private banks, their existence marked only by small, nondescript placards on their doors. Two days later, according to Poindexter, Georges Saibrón wired Euros equivalent to a half-million U.S. dollars to that account.
“So much for the famed secrecy of Cayman Island banks,” Annabel said.
“Happens all the time,” Mac said. “You can always find someone willing to give out a little information about accounts in return for a payoff. I did it myself once or twice when I was practicing criminal law. The important thing is that if this information is true—and I don’t see any reason to doubt it at this juncture—Ray Pawkins is not the man I thought he was. He might be not only a thief, he could be a murderer
“A cop investigating a murder he committed
“Convenient. But as I told Marc, there’s nothing in these reports pointing directly to Ray as Musinski’s killer
“One and one add up to two, Mac
“Not always. Look, what we have to hash out is what Marc wants me to do
“You aren’t considering it, are you?”
“There was a moment when I was open to it. Not anymore
“Good
“I’m listening. I always do—listen to you, Annie. Go on
“You should go to the police with this, Mac
“And tell them what, that I’ve met with a gentleman from London who claims he knows that Ray Pawkins took the musical scores from the apartment of a murder victim?”
“A victim whose murder he investigated
“Marc Josephson has his own agenda in this, Annie. He’s more interested in having Pawkins return the money he lost than the possibility that Pawkins murdered his friend. Ray says MPD has reopened the Musinski case based upon new forensic evidence. The focus is back on the fellow who worked with Musinski at the university.” She started to respond but he added, “I don’t feel it’s right to simply go to the police with what Marc has told us. Yes, it looks like Ray probably took those scores from Musinski’s home and peddled them to this Frenchman, Saibrón. That’s bad, if it’s true. But to paint him as a murderer is premature. Josephson is the one to contact the authorities. He’s got the evidence. But Pawkins deserves a chance to clear this up before that step is taken
“Mac, do you know what you’re sounding like?”
“Tell me
“You’re sounding like a criminal defense attorney again. You’re sounding as though Ray Pawkins is your client
“He may need an attorney
“But not you
“Of course not. I don’t defend clients anymore. But I do believe in giving him the benefit of the doubt. I believe in that for anyone. By the way, Marc offered me a fee. Ten percent of what he collects from Ray
“Which you turned down, of course
“Of course.