Worst Case - James Patterson [79]
MY HEART WENT out to the two CEOs as we exchanged their coats for bulletproof vests. Many parents believe that they would gladly give up their lives for their children’s, but these men were actually being given the choice. The simple, staggering courage they were showing blew me and every other cop in the room away.
“I don’t want to die, Edwin,” Parrish said as his eyes welled with tears. He seemed to be speaking more to himself than to anyone there. “But hey, I’ve led a good life. Been really, really fortunate. I always tried to do my best. And if I do go, at least my money will go to my boy and a good cause: the AIDS Research Alliance.”
“Well said, Howard,” Edwin Mason agreed, squeezing Parrish’s shoulder. “That’s the right way to look at things. My dough is destined for Amfar. Millions of people will benefit from what we achieved.”
Wait a second, I thought. Charities again? Something suddenly occurred to me.
“Who does your legal work, Mr. Mason? Who did your will?” I said.
“Ericsson, Weymouth and Roth,” Mason said.
I don’t know whose eyes went wider at the mention of Mooney’s firm, Emily’s or mine.
“That’s funny. Small world. Mine, too,” said Parrish.
Emily and I faded into the corner of the bus.
“Charities? Wills?” she said. “This is definitely connected. Mooney was the head of Trusts and Estates, wasn’t he?”
“Wait a second. Damn it!” I said. “There was something Mooney said in our last conversation. Something about the Ash Wednesday Gospel.”
I whipped out my cell and speed-dialed Seamus. Sometimes having a priest in the family came in handy.
“Listen up. I need your help here, Seamus,” I said. “No monkeying around. Today’s Gospel. Read me today’s Gospel.”
“Don’t tell me you weren’t listening? Remind me to box your ears next time we meet, ye heathen. Okay, I have it right here. Let’s see. Matthew six, one to four: ‘Beware of your practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them. For then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give alms, do not sound the trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say unto you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret, and your Father who sees what is in secret will reward you.’”
“Wait a second. Read that back about the alms.”
“‘That your alms may be in secret,’” Seamus said.
That was it!
I grabbed Emily as I slapped the phone closed.
“I got it! Mooney’s giving alms in secret!”
“Giving what?” Emily said, confused.
“Alms. Charity. Don’t you see? In every case, the family had a philanthropic bent. And in every case, the child was the sole beneficiary of mega wealth. When Mooney learned he was going to die, he concocted this whole thing as a way to cut out the child and donate as much money as he could directly to charity!”
Emily stood there with her mouth open.
“That clever little weasel. That explains the deal with the tests he gave the kids. He was trying to see if they were socially conscious enough to be allowed to inherit their parents’ wealth. That explains why he let the Haas girl live. But how does that help us now?”
“I’ll tell you how,” I said. “Mooney doesn’t want to exchange the fathers for the kids. He’s not going to exchange anything. Mason and Parrish are both single. Once Mooney sees the fathers, he’s going to kill all of them. The fathers, the sons, and himself. The money won’t even have to wait for the fathers’ natural lifetimes to expire in order for it to go to charity. It’ll happen right now.”
Carol Fleming came over.
“What’s the story, guys? Are we sending the fathers in or not?”
“No way, boss,” I said. “But I think I have a plan.”
Chapter 92
“LET’S TALK ABOUT the horrors of the modern world that the greed in this room has helped to create,” Mooney said into the balcony microphone.
“Let’s go over the crimes that all of you here have helped to perpetrate. The environmental travesties, the worker exploitation