Thrill Kill (Matt Sinclair #2) - Brian Thiem Page 0,46
and pimping case into a federal crime?”
“Danielle gave Helena payment for her to travel over state lines to engage in prostitution.”
Sinclair didn’t know whether to feel angry at how his old partner and the Feds used him or applaud them for their ingenuity, but knowing the Feds had a different agenda worried him.
He explained his stalemate with Helena and asked, “Have you and your Fed friends found any client files that are cross-referenced by escort name?”
“Everything’s computerized,” Roberts said. “Not a piece of paper in the whole place. When we tried to question the workers, all they would say was ‘lawyer.’ The FBI’s computer forensics people shut down the system and cut Internet connections so no one can remotely delete the data. They’ll send the computers back to the FBI lab. Their first step will be to clone the hard drives. Then they’ll analyze the data from the copied drives to protect the integrity of the original computers.”
“How long will it take for me to get the data on Dawn’s clients?”
“The Feds move slow,” Roberts said. “Even if they overnight the evidence back east, I doubt they’ll start work on it until after the weekend. That is if there’s not a backlog or other priority cases.”
“Can they make us a copy of the hard drives so we can look at it ourselves?”
“I’ll ask,” Roberts said.
“What should I do with Helena?”
“Up to you. The Feds won’t want to talk to her until they make their case. That will be months, and I’m sure that process will begin with the AUSA who’s assigned to the task force talking with her lawyers,” Roberts said, referring to the assistant US attorney. “That transporting women across state lines for the purposes of prostitution charge is just a placeholder. They’ll be focusing on the income tax evasion, RICO, and public corruption angles.”
“Public corruption?” Sinclair asked, surprised.
Roberts was quiet for a few counts, and Sinclair could tell he had revealed something he shouldn’t have and was formulating a way to backtrack.
“You have to assume some politicians or government officials will show up on the client list,” Roberts said.
Sinclair felt like kicking himself for being so naïve. The Feds were after the client list, a gold mine of influential people involved in an assortment of criminal activity much more serious than prostitution. But he couldn’t dwell on that now. “So, if she’ll deal, you have no problem with me dropping the pimping charges?”
“I’d use it as leverage and keep it hanging as long as you can. In the long run, the DA would probably defer to the Feds and be glad to dump it.”
After Sinclair ended the call with Roberts, he and Braddock moved Helena to the soft interview room, a windowed office next to the lieutenant’s office. In addition to the metal table and three chairs as in the other interview rooms, the soft interview room also had a sofa, an end table, and a working telephone. “Call your attorney,” Sinclair said. “If we can work something out, I’ll release you pending further investigation.”
Helena looked around the room. “No cameras in here? Is the phone tapped?”
“If I recorded a conversation between you and your attorney, I’d go to prison.”
They left Helena alone in the room. Five minutes later, she tapped at the window and Sinclair stuck his head through the doorway. Helena placed her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone. “My attorney wants to know if she comes down here, that there’s some place she and I can talk?”
Out of the thousands of people Sinclair had arrested over the years, he could count on one hand the number of suspects he allowed to talk with an attorney before booking. It was a waste of time, because lawyers never allowed their clients to make a statement to the police except in the rare occasions when they were clearly innocent of all charges and the attorney could convince the investigator of that fact. If lawyers wanted to talk to someone Sinclair had arrested, they could visit the suspect in the jail.
“Why should I waste my time setting up your little conference,” Sinclair said, “just so your lawyer can tell you to retain your right to remain silent?”
“Because she knows I don’t want to sit in jail and we have to give you something to prevent that from happening.”
“Tell her yes.”
Helena brought the receiver to her mouth. “He says okay. Yes, the homicide office.” She hung up and looked at Sinclair. “She’ll be here within the hour.”