Couples

Chapter 107

A reverse look-up gives Kate the identity of the Lorenzos' possible prey. The Atterbury family has owned the mansion on the Upper East Side for 90 years. From what Kate saw, it has been periodically updated since that time, with the conversion of a carriage house to a garage. According to the Atterburys' Wikipedia page, she learns that the family originated in Great Britain. There were rumors that it was connected to the royal family on the wrong side of the blanket. Those rumors were never confirmed. However, during the Regency era, Leopold Atterbury was granted a considerable estate to settle gambling debts run up by one of the royals' lesser lights.

The Atterburys did well until 1918, when many members of the family and the servants and field hands fell ill with the flu. Head of the family, Royce Atterbury, mortgaged the land to stay afloat, but without anyone to work it effectively, the crops failed, and the Atterburys were ruined. After the disease ran its course, Royce felt he had no choice but to take the remaining family to the United States to start over.

The Atterbury patriarch quickly perceived that automobiles would be the future of transportation and started a small factory making custom accessories for motorized contrivances. As the vehicle companies flourished, so did the Atterburys. When Royce's grandson Simon took over, the family's businesses were already looking forward to greener times and invested in electric motors and renewable energy. According to Wikipedia, the Atterburys maintain a presence all over the U.S., but New York City, where Lady Liberty first beckoned Royce, is still home base.

Kate studies the text on her screen. People have been known to try to make themselves look good by editing their pages in the popular reference, but the staff is pretty effective at tracking the changes to fix any inaccuracies. If the essence of the story is true, the Atterburys, at least some of them, are pretty sharp. If they are a target for the Lorenzos, they may be willing to help turn the tables. While Tori runs facial recognition on the occupants of the Momentous Mops' van, Kate decides to interview Simon Atterbury.

Simon stands when Kate walks into his private office. "Detective Beckett, I'm delighted to meet you. I'm a fan of your husband's books, particularly those featuring your alter ego. He and I are actually slightly acquainted. We attend some of the same charity events. We met up at a fundraiser for the planetarium."

Kate smiles, extending her hand. "Good to meet you too, Mr. Atterbury. And I know Rick would never miss out on a chance to support stargazing."

Simon gestures at a high-end guest chair. "Please, take a seat." As Kate sits, he settles in behind his desk. "So, Detective, what brings you to my door? My assistant informed me that your visit has something to do with bringing down a crime family. I find that most intriguing."

"First, Mr. Atterbury, are you familiar with a janitorial company called Momentous Mops? They were observed working at your residence."

"I'm afraid that I'm not involved with the day-to-day maintenance. Our butler, Kingsford, takes care of those functions. But Momentous Mops seems a strange appellation for a criminal enterprise."

"We believe it to be one of many businesses controlled by the Lorenzo family," Kate explains.

Simon steeples his fingers. "I've heard of the Lorenzos. I don't imagine there's anyone who reads The Ledger who hasn't. But I can't imagine Kingsford having anything to do with organized crime."

"I doubt he knows he's dealing with the Lorenzo family. They take pains to hide their connection with this particular business. And do you by any chance get your clothes cleaned by Garment Perfection?"

"Again, that's within Kingsford's purview, but I believe I've seen a Garment Perfection tag a time or two. Are they part of the Lorenzo holdings as well?"

"We believe they might be," Kate explains.

"Assuming you are correct, how can I help?" Simon queries.

"We believe that the workers, or at least some of them, in Momentous Mops, are gathering information to enable the organization to rob you. What we need to do, is catch them in the act to get someone to implicate the Lorenzos."

"Ah, you want to collar a perpetrator you can flip," Simon assumes.

"Essentially, yes," Kate confirms. "We need you to let it be known that you and your family will be away, perhaps on a short vacation. Your staff would need to be given time off as well. Have Kingsford, or whoever deals directly with Momentous Mops, cancel a cleaning and make a point of saying why. That would mean leaving your home for a while. If you like, the N.Y.P.D. can arrange the use of one of our safe houses."

Simon shakes his head. "No need for that. We can kill two birds with one stone. I've been planning to make an inspection tour of our facility in North Carolina. The golf is much better down there this time of year. We have a guest facility that we use when we're visiting. Our staff, except for Kingsford, live out. They can spend some time with their families. I'll take him along to handle incidentals."

Kate hands Simon her card. "Please contact me when you have things in place or if you have any questions at all."

"I'll do that, Detective," Simon assures her, "and as one astronomy buff to another, give your husband my regards."

"I will," Kate promises.

Azra is led into a room that doesn't officially exist. In fact, the building that houses it doesn't officially exist either. The other occupants of the room, however, do. She finds herself looking at the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the ambassador to the United Nations, the Ukraine special envoy, and the Director of National Intelligence. Agent Baqri?" the D.N.I. inquires.

"No one has called me that since 2009, but I'll answer to it," Azra replies.

"We'll get right to the point," the D.N.I. announces. "Our intelligence regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been poor at best and sabotaged at the least. We were totally unaware of the compound at which you were held. That should never have happened. Until your preliminary debriefing, we had no idea of the scale of the buildup in the Crimean Mountains, either. As far as we've been able to ascertain, the only accurate reports we've received have been from you and the agent known to you as Jack. However, when we've traced the erroneous data back to the source, we found it had been altered."

"Are you talking about a cyberattack?" Azra queries.

"That's precisely what we're talking about," the Secretary of Defense confirms. "We have a high level of confidence that it originated from the G.R.U., but short of bombing their cyber center in Saint Petersburg, we have no way to dismantle their efforts. We want to make their measures irrelevant by putting the truth in front of the world. That will be your mission."

"How?" Azra demands.

"I've arranged for you to address the General Assembly," the U.N. Ambassador informs her. "You'll tell them where you've been and bear witness to what you've seen and heard."

"It would hardly be the first time, but I'd be putting a target on my back," Azra points out.

"Yes, you would," the D.N.I. agrees. "So after you speak, we'll have your appearance modified and give you a new legend."

"May I ask where?" Azra questions.

"You'll be in New York," the D.N.I. replies. "Park Avenue has some of the best plastic surgeons around. And over 600 languages are spoken in the city. It's as good a place as any to put your skills to work and most likely the last place the Russians would expect you to stay."

Azra slowly nods. She wonders if she and Jack will cross paths in the Big Apple. And if they do, would he even know who she is? Who's she kidding? Of course, he would. Some things can't be faked.