Chapter 4 - "Blackmail"
Mike Cutter sighed as he stared at his computer screen. Working on a Saturday was certainly not unheard of for him, especially after a break for Thanksgiving, but it was definitely not how he had been hoping to spend this particular Saturday. He and Connie had been enjoying an early dinner at Maxwell's. She was giving him a play by play of how she spent the Thanksgiving holiday with her family, including the revelation that her mother had sent home some leftovers with Connie specifically for Mike and had insisted that she let him know that he was more than welcome to join them at Christmas, as well as Black Friday shopping with her sister yesterday . They were planning to head back to Connie's apartment after dinner. It was her turn to choose the DVD for movie night. Though he knew she had chosen somewhat of a "chick flick" for them, he didn't mind too terribly. She had mentioned how much she had enjoyed the book The Secret Life of Bees, and had wanted to see the movie when it came out the previous year, but just never had the chance to. Oh well, he thought. She sat through Eight Men Out the previous weekend for him, so it was only fair. And anyway, the movie they watched would never be more important than the company. Plus, if he got really bored with the movie, he had ways to distract her.
Which was why the call that Connie received as they were leaving the restaurant, letting her know that there was some new information on Dennis DiPalma's money trail was, quite frankly, annoying. They'd just looked at each other for a moment, and then instead of crossing the street to go to Starbucks as they'd planned, they made their way down Reade Street to Centre Street, past Foley Square, and to their office at Hogan Place. Connie had headed straight to the fax machine, Mike to his office to pull the rest of the file as the shadows outside lengthened. Both of them were hopeful that they could wrap this up quickly and salvage what was left of the evening together.
Mike sat back in his desk chair with a smile on his face as he gave himself a minute to just think about Connie. Truth be told, he had worried early on that she'd change her mind about pursuing a relationship with him, that the potential damage to her professional reputation from "sleeping with the boss" would outweigh her feelings for him, But as the days turned into weeks, they only grew closer. Maybe it wasn't the greatest idea - he wasn't really sure what he would do if this relationship ended badly, which only made him more determined to make it work. He really believed that they could handle whatever came next together. He remembered the feeling he'd had before their first kiss, when he had looked into her eyes and had just known that everything was going to be okay. As things progressed between them, that feeling hadn't gone away. Though he hadn't told her in words yet, Mike knew he had undeniably fallen in love with Connie Rubirosa.
He shook himself out of his woolgathering and pushed away from his desk. Crossing over to one of the low filing cabinets, he pulled it open and began thumbing through the files inside. A few seconds later he heard a knock behind him, followed by Connie's voice. "Cayman Islands."
Mike pointed in her direction. "An offshore bank account," he said, once again focused on the case as the wheels in his head started turning.
"Opened one month ago in the name of Feature Literistics. A corporation registered to a Bahamas post office box," Connie said as she handed Mike the fax she had just received and perched on the corner of his desk. This had become something of a habit of Connie's as of late. Mike didn't mind at all, though at times it could be a bit distracting. Connie seated on his desk sometimes led to thoughts that bordered on less than pure. Mike sat down in his chair, focusing on the papers in front of him.
"Mr. DiPalma went to a lot of trouble to create an untraceable account to deposit a check he was never gonna cash," he said.
"Yeah, he was definitely more interested in the three million dollars than the Pulitzer Prize. But there's more," Connie told him. Mike looked up from the papers in front of him with raised eyebrows as he ran a hand through his hair. "He opened the account in person during a three day stay at a beach resort with Megan Kerik."
A smile played at Mike's lips. "A little more pubic hair transferring going on?" he asked.
"Apparently," Connie chuckled. "Either they were doing the blackmail together and had a falling out,"
"Or she really was working on an article, he found out about it, decided to go the blackmail route instead," Mike finished her thought, leaning forward at his desk. "She didn't want to go along, and he kills her."
"Or his accomplice did," Connie added.
"What accomplice?"
"The weekend they were in the Caribbean," Connie told him, "It's the same weekend Sara Bradley's apartment was broken into, and her hard drive with the compromising photos showed up in DiPalma's apartment. The police assumed that he had stolen it."
Mike shrugged. "Well, we all did."
They were both quiet for a moment before Mike pulled a marker from the drawer next to him and moved toward the whiteboard. "So, game plan," he said as he began writing, "we need to talk to DiPalma. We need to check with the police to see where they are on locating the missing laptop. And right now, we need to try to anticipate how Baron is going to try to spin this when he finds out what we know." He turned back towards her. "I guess this puts a wrench in our movie night plans," he said as he crossed to stand in front of her.
Connie just smiled. "Don't look so relieved. You're not completely off the hook for watching my 'girlie movie'," she said. "There's always next weekend. It will still be my turn to pick."
Mike glanced around before leaning in for a quick kiss. "I'm looking forward to it," he told her.
There were a few more twists and turns, but the DiPalma case was finally wrapped up. Things had been very busy, which had not afforded Mike and Connie much time to spend together outside of the office during the past week. They were both more than happy to take off early, well early for them which was normal time for most other people, on Friday evening after they had finally completed the paperwork to officially close the case. Mike had just grabbed his briefcase and saw Connie waiting for him at the door of his office.
"Blackmail Daisy chain," Connie said, "they definitely didn't teach that in law school."
Mike switched off the light in his office and fell into step beside her. "Turn about. It's only fair."
Connie smirked, "So that's the new game plan. We do what they do. Next time we try a murderer, we'll kill somebody "
Mike shrugged. "I don't know, we'll have to ask the boss," he said as they made their way to the elevator. Once alone inside, Connie turned to Mike.
"Coercion can be a pretty impressive tool," she said slyly.
Mike met her gaze, intrigued by the look in her eyes. "Impelling someone to do anything can be powerful, whether or not blackmail is involved," he said.
She took a half step closer to him and lowered her voice. "Any chance I could coerce you into coming home with me for movie night tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow?"
Mike adopted a thoughtful look, shaking his head. "I think I'd need something pretty compelling to persuade me."
Accepting his challenge, Connie leaned in and whispered in his ear her plans for the evening after the movie, her lips grazing his neck as she finished. She pulled back with a smile on her face as she heard the "ding" signaling that the elevator doors were about to open. Mike's eyes were wide as he gestured ahead. "Lead on," he said quietly, hoping the trip to her apartment would pass quickly, "I'm right behind you."