The Double
- Автор: Пелеканос Джордж
- Серия: Spero Lucas #2
- Год: 2013
- Язык: английский
- Год: Little, Brown and Company
- ISBN: 978-0-316-07839-9
- Жанр: Криминальные детективы
Электронная книга - «The Double». Краткое содержание книги:
“But the one you’re looking for first is the guy who ran the Nigerian four-one-nine thing?”
“I think he’s going to be the easiest to find. The name on his e-mails was Grant Summers, but his real name is Serge Nikolai. If that’s his real name. I really don’t know.”
“After you called me, I contacted a Swiss friend who specializes in this type of fraud. He said that most of these guys are organized and operate out of Internet cafés overseas.”
“I don’t know how organized they are. The other one, Billy Hunter, he left my client a total wreck after he stole something out of her apartment. Used her till there was nothing left of her and then walked away with a valuable piece of art. They’re leaving behind a trail of hurt, man. That makes them sloppy.”
“What’s their motivation? Is it money?”
“In part, I would imagine.”
“So tempt them with more. The Internet scammer first.” Starr sipped from his coffee cup. “I assume the ad for the Mini Cooper has been taken down from Craigslist.”
“Yes.”
“But you still have the Grant Summers e-mail address. So reach out to him. Try to ferret him out. Tell him you want that particular car and will overpay to get it. Let him lick his chops while you dig out pieces of information that you can use to identify him. Basically, bait him. If he’s about money, he’ll surface.”
“You think?”
“He’s a lowlife,” said Starr. “Dangle some dollars in front of his face. He’ll rear his ugly head.”
Lucas pedaled back to his apartment and phoned Grace Kinkaid. He had been looking through the notes of their first meeting, and something had come to him.
“You said you had the painting assessed not long before you met Billy Hunter,” said Lucas.
“That’s right,” said Grace.
“Who appraised it?”
“Charles Lumley.”
“How did you get his name, originally?”
“I met him at a get-together here in the building. The Realtor sponsors these rooftop parties, open bar, ostensibly to let the residents mingle and get to know one another. But I think the real motive is to entice people who are thinking of buying and moving in here. There are always a few folks who show up who don’t live in the building. That’s where I met Charles.”
“He was considering buying a unit?”
“No, I don’t think so. He said he had a friend who owned a condo on one of the upper floors. Charles buys and sells art. He has a little place, a by-appointment thing, around Dupont Circle. We got to talking, and I told him about my painting, that I was curious about its value. He said he’d be happy to look at it. A couple of nights later he swung by and did the assessment. He was a nice man.”
“You have his contact information?”
“Hold on.” Lucas waited for her to find the phone number and address for Charles Lumley. He heard the rustle of a piece of paper as she got back on the line. “Ready?”
“That’s great,” said Lucas, after typing the data into his iPhone.
“Are you making any progress?”
“Yes,” said Lucas, though it didn’t feel that way to him. “I’ll get back up with you soon.”
After lunch, Lucas opened his laptop and set up a Hotmail account under an assumed name. Using this account, he then typed a message to the Grant Summers e-mail address.
Hello, my name is Rick Bell. I am very interested in the 2003 Mini Cooper S you advertised months ago on Craigslist. I know you have taken the ad off the site but I’m wondering, is the car sold? I’ve been looking for this particular car for some time. Not to get into a long story, but my wife owned one just like it when we were dating, and it had tremendous sentimental value to her. We had to sell it after we got married for financial reasons, but those concerns are behind us now. I’ve been trying to find this Mini, this model, this year, and this color, to surprise her for our anniversary. Is the car still available? Assuming it is in good shape, I’d like to make you a generous offer.
Please respond to the e-mail provided.
Thank you,