Did Edward lie to me? she wondered. Brushing aside all thoughts of her former temptation, she unlocked her truck and, after settling inside, quickly dialed Ashley's number. she wondered. Brushing aside all thoughts of her former temptation, she unlocked her truck and, after settling inside, quickly dialed Ashley's number.

"Ashley, it's me," she spoke to the answering machine. "I need Lincoln to meet me at the dealership. I've got to ask Alek for some help and she might require his permission, but Ashley, I think some kind of scam has been going on at Love Motors. I'm going to head over there right after I grab a bite to eat. Please call me back as soon as you get this message!"

Cooper fought her way around the Short Pump Mall traffic, marveling for the hundredth time how poorly the exits and entrances to the gargantuan structure were designed. She usually went out of her way to avoid the entire stretch during the weekend, but she had a craving for a grilled cheese sandwich on rye, a bag of crisp potato chips, and a few dill pickles from Jason's Deli, so she sat through endless traffic lights until she finally found a parking s.p.a.ce toward the very back of the Dillard's parking lot.

During lunch, she kept her cell phone on the table in case Ashley returned her call. As she chewed the perfectly toasted cheddar cheese sandwich, she jotted down the questions she'd need to ask Alek Jones or whoever else might be available from the Love Motors finance department.

The dealership was mere minutes from Jason's Deli, so Cooper called Ashley one more time before getting back in the truck.

"I'll just have to see if they'll work with me without Lincoln's blessing," Cooper declared firmly.

However, as she turned into the dealership, she spotted her sister's Lexus in one of the visitor parking s.p.a.ces. Cooper opted for a less prominent spot, being that she wasn't a customer. As she gathered her notebook and purse, she cast a brief glance out the windshield at the sky. It had darkened ominously since she'd left the auto auction and it looked as though Richmond was about to receive more freezing rain. In fact, the instrument gauge on Cooper's dash showed that the temperature had dropped over the last hour, falling from forty-four degrees to thirty-four.

"I can't wait for spring." Cooper held her coat tight at the neck, grabbed her purse, and hurried inside the dealership. Just as she opened the side door, a few needle-sharp raindrops fell onto the pavement.

The dealership was quiet. Cooper knew that the service department closed at noon, and the three salesmen seated at desks around the perimeter of the showroom were languishing. A bored receptionist sat at an elevated desk near the front door, sipping coffee from a Love Motors mug as she studied the pages of People People.

"I guess they won't be rushin' in to buy today in this weather," one of the salesmen told another. "Let's grab lunch. Harry'll cover for us, won't ya, Harry? He brown-bagged it today."

The third man gave a friendly wave but didn't look up from his crossword. "Bring me something for dessert."

As the two men departed, Ashley emerged from the restroom. She spied Cooper and smiled broadly. "I hope you know what you're doing, Coop. Lincoln's visiting with his daddy and it wasn't wasn't the kind of visit that could be interrupted." She unwound a pale pink cashmere scarf from about her neck and stuffed it in her Coach hobo bag. "So you get me instead." She removed a slip of paper from her coat pocket. "We've got carte blanche to ask Alek anything we want." She smirked. "After all, Lincoln the kind of visit that could be interrupted." She unwound a pale pink cashmere scarf from about her neck and stuffed it in her Coach hobo bag. "So you get me instead." She removed a slip of paper from her coat pocket. "We've got carte blanche to ask Alek anything we want." She smirked. "After all, Lincoln is is the boss here. It's like having a note from home telling the teacher to give you recess all day long." the boss here. It's like having a note from home telling the teacher to give you recess all day long."

"Thanks, Ashley."

"Is this about Maria's box?" Ashley asked. "You never called to tell me what was inside."

"I'm sorry, but there wasn't a real lead to follow until today." Cooper showed her sister the folder of t.i.tles. "The secret lies with these, but we need Alek to look up the vehicle identification numbers on her computer in order to see the history of each of these cars."

"Let's get on with it, then!" Ashley moved forward impatiently. "I'm as antsy as a kid in church."

Following Ashley to Alek's office, Cooper wondered how receptive the finance manager would be when presented with a note from Lincoln requesting that she aid his wife and sister-in-law.

Ashley knocked lightly on an open door midway down the corridor. Alek, who was talking on the phone, indicated they should enter. She wrapped up her call with a few terse but polite phrases, and then rose, eying the sisters with interest. "What an unexpected pleasure," she said, sounding rather insincere. "How can I help you ladies?"

"Could we sit down for a moment?" Cooper asked, warning Ashley with her eyes to let her take the lead.

"Of course." Alek made a slow, regal gesture with her slim hand and resumed her seat. She waited patiently for Cooper to continue, her unreadable blue eyes shifting from one sister to the other.

"I was wondering if you could look up these car t.i.tles on your computer," Cooper began. "I'd like to see if any of them have liens or anything ... unusual in their history."

Alek looked surprised by the request. "If there is a lien, it will say right on the t.i.tle." But she accepted the folder and flipped through the papers. "Where did you get these?"

Cooper hesitated. She didn't want to mention Maria, but as she was asking Alek to bend the rules, she figured the woman deserved to know the truth. "From Maria Gutierrez."

"She should not have these in her possession," Alek remarked, her eyes briefly sparking with disapproval. "These are the original t.i.tles and are supposed to be in the owner's possession. Not only that, but Mrs. Gutierrez is no longer an employee of Love Motors."

"Perhaps that's why she gave them to me," Cooper answered lamely. "I believe they contain a clue as to why her son was murdered."

Alek seemed to ponder Cooper's bold statement for several minutes. "I'd like to help, of course, but it would be highly unethical for me to look up a vehicle's history without the owner's permission."

Ashley, who had been miraculously silent up to that moment, leapt out of her chair. "Don't worry about that! You've got Lincoln's Lincoln's permission. And if Lincoln Love says it's okay, it must be. I do believe the name of this dealership is permission. And if Lincoln Love says it's okay, it must be. I do believe the name of this dealership is Love Motors Love Motors, so let's get on with the search." Without waiting for Alek to reply, she unfolded her husband's note and placed it on the other woman's desk. "Can we stand behind you while you search your database or whatever? Otherwise we can't see the computer screen."

Retrieving the note, Alek read it over carefully and then issued a small sigh of irritation. "Very well."

She didn't bother waiting for Cooper and Ashley to reposition themselves and Cooper saw a pa.s.sword screen and another screen flicker by as Alek rapidly typed in a set of VIN numbers. She recited a stream of information in a robotic monotone. "This is the vehicle history on a 2010 Cadillac Escalade. The vehicle was new when purchased. The vehicle was purchased here, at Love Motors, November second of last year. The vehicle was delivered to Love Motors direct from the factory and had 400 miles on it at the time of purchase. Purchase price was $78,900. No lien. The buyer was a Mr. Charles Hanc.o.c.k."

Cooper was having trouble viewing the entire screen. It looked as though there was a note added at the bottom of the vehicle report. "Can you scroll down, please?"

Alek complied. "Ah," she read, her voice belying a sudden interest. "The vehicle was reported missing on December twentieth."

Removing her notepad from her purse, Cooper asked Alek to enter in the next VIN number. It appeared that six vehicles, all costing over fifty thousand dollars, had been reported missing over the past four or five months.

Cooper turned to Ashley. "Didn't you say that sales were unusually high for the months of January and February? The months when sales are usually the most sluggish?"

Ashley nodded. "Yes. Lincoln said some of the sales went to buyers in the same family."

Tapping on her notepad, Cooper thought for a moment and then looked at Alek. She pulled the top three t.i.tles off the pile. "Can we find out if Charles Hanc.o.c.k, Sandy Mitch.e.l.l, Burt Knupp, and the rest of these people were some of those family buyers?"

"It is possible." Alek regarded Cooper with her icy stare. "But what would the reason be?"

Feeling excited, as though she were finally on the right trail, Cooper clasped her hands together to prevent them from shaking the finance manager by the shoulders. "Because they might have committed insurance fraud. And Maria Gutierrez and Hector might have helped them." The picture was becoming clearer now. And they were working under Albion Ivan's orders. And they were working under Albion Ivan's orders. Cooper kept this thought private. Cooper kept this thought private.

"What?" Ashley and Alek exclaimed in unison.

Cooper inhaled and then explained her theory as succinctly as she could. "Listen. Hector produced fake IDs and sold stolen Social Security cards as well. Charles Hanc.o.c.k's stolen card, for example. Hector then makes 'Charles' a matching driver's license and 'Charles' comes here to buy a Cadillac Escalade using the real Charles Hanc.o.c.k's credit. He then reports the car as stolen and resells the car. Probably privately."

Alek issued a dry laugh. "You have a vivid imagination."

"Do I? How long does it take for the bank holding the loan to look for a t.i.tle after the sale's gone through?"

"That depends," Alek answered evasively.

Ashley threw out her arms. "Just give us an estimate!"

"Financial inst.i.tutions don't really look for the t.i.tle in the first ninety days," she replied tersely.

"That's a lot of time!" Cooper was certain she was on the right track. "Look, even if I don't have the details or the lingo right, there was a reason Maria gave me these t.i.tles. She wanted me to set the record straight, and something's definitely definitely shady about half of these cars going missing in less than two months after their purchase dates." Cooper gave Alek a hard stare of her own. "I need to know more about these customers and their relatives or spouses. This could be a major case of insurance fraud." shady about half of these cars going missing in less than two months after their purchase dates." Cooper gave Alek a hard stare of her own. "I need to know more about these customers and their relatives or spouses. This could be a major case of insurance fraud."

The finance manager looked at her watch, an expensive gold affair with a gemstone-studded face, and then closed the program on her computer. "We'll have to go back to the file room to view their individual customer folders, but the only records we have in there are the bill of sale, the odometer statement, and the t.i.tle application."

Cooper said, "And a copy of their driver's license."

Alek nodded. "We moved the files when our offices were getting painted in the fall and we never got around to moving them back. We're storing them in an oversized closet in the service area. Let me get my keys and I'll take you there."

"This is so so exciting!" Ashley squealed. "You're onto something, Coop! I can exciting!" Ashley squealed. "You're onto something, Coop! I can feel feel it! You've got that bloodhound air about you." it! You've got that bloodhound air about you."

"Not bloodhound, bulldog," Cooper corrected. "I'm not leaving this place until I have the proof Investigators McNamara and Johnson need to put that strip-club slime bag in jail."

Alek arched an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're investigating, but I too am intrigued as to why Maria had copies of these t.i.tles." She wiggled a bunch of keys. "If you'll follow me."

The three women b.u.t.toned their coats, wrapped scarves around their necks, and hunched their shoulders as they stepped out into the freezing rain. The dealership seemed deserted. The only cars in the rear parking lot had sale stickers on the windows and were being coated by a thin but slick layer of precipitation.

Hustling forward to the employee entrance of the darkened service area, Alek unlocked the door's deadbolt. She waited for the two sisters to enter and then shut and locked the door behind them.

When Cooper threw her a questioning glance, Alek gestured at the a.s.sortment of cars in the service bay. "I'm responsible for these cars while we're in here. After all, it will take some time to sort through a dozen folders."

"Right." Cooper knew that Alek's comment made sense, but it was creepy to be in the empty garage. Their footsteps echoed on the cement and the rain drummed on the metal roof above. Alek walked with brisk confidence to a shadowy hallway at the rear of the building. She flicked a switch and a weak fluorescent light hummed to life, casting an orange-yellow glow on the gray carpet and the gray-and-beige speckled wallpaper.

"Do you come out here to file things?" Ashley asked. "Seems like a ha.s.sle."

Alek opened the door to a small room and turned on another overhead light. "Someone of a lesser position than mine does that." She made a beeline for the row of horizontal file cabinets covering the longest wall of the room. "The drawers are arranged alphabetically. Feel free to get started. I need to make a phone call and then I will return to help you." She turned and walked away, closing the door gently behind her.

"Let's hurry, Coop," Ashley whined. "It's cold and spooky in here."

Cooper nodded and, because she opened the drawer containing the letter M, began to search for Sandy Mitch.e.l.l's file. Ashley chose Charles Hanc.o.c.k.

"Look at this!" Cooper exclaimed and rushed to Ashley's side with Mrs. Mitch.e.l.l's file. "She did did take a loan out on her car!" take a loan out on her car!"

"Then why does the t.i.tle say 'no lien'?" Ashley sounded doubtful.

"Maria must have changed the t.i.tle electronically," Cooper replied. "That's what she felt guilty about. She falsified the t.i.tles on the computer, and since only the DMV can print them out, they'd be printing whatever Maria inputted into the database. See here? Mr. Ronald Mitch.e.l.l also borrowed money to buy his Saab, but his t.i.tle claims no lien as well."

Ashley shook her head. "I can't believe that! She was such a sweet lady!"

"She told me that it felt like she wasn't hurting anyone. All she did was. .h.i.t a few keys and collect money from Ivan. Hector took care of the forged doc.u.ment side of things and he got paid, too." Cooper laid the Mitch.e.l.l file on her lap. "If you hadn't found Miguel's body, who knows how long this scheme would have continued?"

The door eased open. Alek entered, gripping something shiny. "Not for much longer, clever Cooper. We only stay in one place for three or four months. It's too risky to continue after that. Someone always gets greedy. Someone always threatens to talk."

Cooper gaped at the woman blocking the exit.

Alek raised the object in her hand and the light glinted off the metal. It was a gun, a very substantial and lethal-looking gun. "Yes, you have figured out a portion of our operation, but not all. Unfortunately for you, you won't have the opportunity to show those pesky policemen just how clever you are. No one knows you're back here and by the time they find your bodies, I will be long gone." She smiled her first genuine smile and raised the gun.

"Oh, please!" Ashley cried. "You can't shoot me! I'm pregnant!"

18.

The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction ...

Galatians 6:8 (NIV) Despite the fact that a gun was being aimed at her, Cooper turned to her sister. She looked over Ashley's head, however, hoping to spy something on the file cabinet behind her to use as a shield against Alek's weapon. "You're pregnant? Why didn't you tell me?"

There was nothing to use in their defense. Cooper looked at her sister in despair.

Ashley sniffed. "We wanted to wait until we saw the doctor-to make sure everything looks the way it should." Her sapphire blue eyes were wide with fear. "Please don't hurt us!" she pleaded with Alek. "No one needs to know about this. We have money ..."

Alek laughed and took three steps in their direction, holding the gun in a comfortable, familiar grip. "Money, but no brains. Your husband is the most gullible fool I've ever met! He was so desperate to impress his daddy daddy that he was eating out of my hand from the moment I presented him with my fake resume!" She made a that he was eating out of my hand from the moment I presented him with my fake resume!" She made a tsk, tsk tsk, tsk sound with her tongue. "As long as our sales numbers went up, he didn't bother to take a second look at a single piece of paperwork. If he did, he might have noticed that all those expensive cars we sold were reported missing soon after the first payment was made. The banks never saw a second one." sound with her tongue. "As long as our sales numbers went up, he didn't bother to take a second look at a single piece of paperwork. If he did, he might have noticed that all those expensive cars we sold were reported missing soon after the first payment was made. The banks never saw a second one."

"And Maria Gutierrez falsified the t.i.tles," Cooper stated, finally understanding Maria's declaration of guilt and regret.

"For the DMV, yes. Of course, we have someone on the inside there, too. We are very thorough and we pay well." She looked around the spa.r.s.e room with disgust. "There are so many people trying to start a new life in this country. They are more than willing to type a few little words in exchange for cash."

"You knew Maria Gutierrez when she lived in Norfolk." The pieces began to form a picture. "Double A Autos! You're the other A! You're the other A!"

Alek uttered a haughty snort. "We train many of our special employees there. Maria, Nina, Hector, Miguel ... call them what you will. Except for Nina, they all worked under false names. We've already operated in Roanoke, but I wanted to live near my brother, so I interviewed for jobs with five dealerships in this city." She cast Ashley a look of pity. "As soon as I met Lincoln Love, I knew I'd found the perfect boss and the perfect dealership. Maria got hired first and then I came aboard a few months later. It was so nice nice of the former t.i.tle clerk to decide to move to California. Like I said, this was the perfect place." of the former t.i.tle clerk to decide to move to California. Like I said, this was the perfect place."

"To be a lowlife swindler, sure!" Cooper snarled and then tried to stall for time as her eyes traveled around the room in search of a weapon. "What happened to the stolen cars?"

"They are exported to my country. To Russia." Alek's icy eyes ignited at the mention of her homeland. "With no lien on the t.i.tles, those vehicles were halfway across the world before they were even declared missing. And when these inst.i.tutions went after Mr. Hanc.o.c.k or Mrs. Mitch.e.l.l or any of the rest, they either wouldn't find them or they'd learn that these people lived in different states altogether and had had their ident.i.ty stolen."

Realization slapped Cooper in the face. She pointed a shaky finger at Alek's face. "That's why you seem familiar! You have the same eyes as Albion!"

Alek smirked. "I should. He's my brother." She smoothed her blunt-cut auburn hair. "But I am the attractive one of the two, no?"

"You're both killers! You took advantage of illegal immigrants in need of money and then disposed of them the second they disobeyed your slightest order! That's a nice gene pool you've got going on! Attractive? You're an ugly, ugly person!"

Ashley whimpered as Alek's lips thinned in anger. Pretending to be unable to meet the finance manager's menacing glare, Cooper raked her eyes around the room. The only potential weapon she could see was a stapler. Other than the file cabinets, the desk, and the single chair, there was nothing else in the room. The desktop was neat and uncluttered, having only a small clock, a tissue dispenser, the stapler, a three-ring binder, a pink memo pad, and a Far Side Far Side daily calendar on the surface. daily calendar on the surface.

"Either way, our Russian genes are more impressive than your weak, American ones," Alek remarked, following Cooper's covert a.s.sessment of their situation with amus.e.m.e.nt. "A trophy wife and a woman who fixes Xerox machines." She huffed. "I haven't killed an American yet, but this is the land of opportunity, is it not?"

Confused, Cooper couldn't help but ask, "Then who killed Miguel and Hector if not you?"

"Those puppets were not real Americans, now were they?" Alek spoke of the two young men as though they'd barely been human. "Miguel was my responsibility, and it was nothing to tie him up and suffocate him. He was such a little man and he underestimated me in many ways. However," she glared at Ashley, "you were not supposed to have been given that Cadillac to drive. That was a mistake by one of the idiots in the service department. were not supposed to have been given that Cadillac to drive. That was a mistake by one of the idiots in the service department. You You were supposed to get the white one, but they brought you the one I had used to ... store Miguel's body in." were supposed to get the white one, but they brought you the one I had used to ... store Miguel's body in."

"And Hector?" Cooper prodded, still trying to think of a way out of their dire predicament.

Alek sighed, indicating the conversation was becoming tiresome. "Albion took care of Hector. We would have completed the circle with Maria and Nina, had you not interfered."

"Nina," Cooper murmured. "She was the person inside the DMV. That's why Maria was still so afraid. Both she and her sister worked for you. They was the person inside the DMV. That's why Maria was still so afraid. Both she and her sister worked for you. They knew knew you'd come for them." you'd come for them."

Suddenly, a cell phone began to vibrate from the bottom of her coat pocket. Alek pulled it out and flicked it open. "Where have you been?" she hissed impatiently. "Come to the file room in the back of the service garage this instant! Use the key my brother gave you." Rolling her eyes, Alek began to describe the shape and color of the key.

While the finance manager's focus was diverted by the phone call, Cooper began to slowly edge toward the desk. She wanted to put s.p.a.ce between herself and Ashley, in hopes that she could attack Alek and allow her sister at least a chance to escape. Pulling out the chair, she settled into it and then grabbed a handful of tissues from the plastic dispenser. She pressed the soft cloth into her eyes and then gave Alek a tearful glare as their a.s.sailant snapped shut her cell phone.

"Why did you have to kill Miguel and Hector? Couldn't you just punish them? Fire them? Did you have to murder murder young men in the prime of their lives?" Cooper asked angrily. young men in the prime of their lives?" Cooper asked angrily.

Alek pivoted the gun so that it was aimed right at Cooper's heart. "Hector got greedy. The fool started selling doc.u.ments to unapproved customers, like you you. Miguel's problem was also one of greed. His only job was to drive the cars to Norfolk and return with our product. He began to steal said product to sell himself."

"You can stop with the vague talk. I know your brother deals China White." Cooper did her best to sound calm. "So you traded stolen cars for heroin?" It was an educated guess.

"Even with your self-centered American education you must be aware that China is quite close to Russia." Alek shot Ashley a disgusted glance. "Our family has imported cocaine and opium from China for many years. When the Russian economy grew too weak to sustain our customer base, Albion and I decided to relocate our half of the business to this country. We have two brothers overseeing the operation in Russia." She grinned nostalgically. "The Ivanovich family runs the finest car dealership in Kiev."

Cooper felt flattened by the complexity of it all. "An international smuggling ring. Right here in Richmond, Virginia."