Page 63 of Benjamin and the Thief

Delilah nodded, and he tapped on the phone to answer the call.

“Anita? I’m with Delilah. Is it urgent?”

“You could say that,” she replied. “The Prestons recognized Catalina on the security tape they sent to your father. They know she’s Santiago Vargas’s sister.”

“Fuck!”

He rubbed his neck. This wasn’t good news. Now the Prestons were warned and would be on their guard.

“I’m assuming you’re aware of what’s going on?” he asked her.

“Your father filled me in. But I kind of guessed that something was up when you introduced Catalina to me at the station. You could have given me a heads-up.”

“We wanted to keep this on the down low until we had more information.”

“Unfortunately, your time is up. The Prestons are pressing charges. There’s a BOLO out on Catalina. You’ve gotta bring her in.”

The words rocked him to the core. He hadn’t expected this—at least not so soon. He’d hoped that it would never come to this, because they would have evidence to expose the Prestons before that.

“I can’t do that,” he said. “We need more time.”

“You don’t have any time. The longer you hide her, the worse this is gonna get.”

“Please, Anita, isn’t there anything you can do?”

A sigh came through the line. “Listen, just bring her in tomorrow morning first thing, and I can arrange for her to be arraigned right away. They’ll set bail, and you can get her out. Be smart about this, or the Prestons will have you charged as an accessory.”

He contemplated her words for a moment, but he knew she was right. How he would make Catalina understand, he wasn’t sure. This would definitely be a blow for her.

“Okay. Tomorrow morning. Thanks for the heads-up.”

He disconnected the call.

“What’s wrong?” Delilah asked.

“Our clock’s running out faster than I thought. Which makes it even more important to get something on the Prestons.”

“Then you’ll be pleased to hear that I’ve indeed found something. The Prestons were up to their eyeballs in debt.”

He listened up. “Enough to do anything to raise money? Even something risky and illegal?”

“Absolutely. So, a month before the burglary at their house, they faced almost certain bankruptcy.”

“How so? They own that huge home. It must be worth ten to twelve million.”

“It is, but it’s mortgaged to the hilt. They own two other properties, but they are also mortgaged.”

“Isn’t Preston an investment banker? They must have stocks and bonds.”

“That’s where it gets interesting. James Preston traded a lot on margin, and most of his bets didn’t go his way.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“He sold massive amounts of stocks short, betting that the stock price would drop so he could then repurchase the shares for less, thus making a profit. Unfortunately for him, the companies whose stocks he sold short, rallied and made unexpected gains. The stock price rose. He was facing massive margin calls, which he couldn’t satisfy. He had to come up with cash. All his credit lines were already exhausted.”

“How much are we talking about?”

“By my estimate, somewhere between fifteen and twenty million dollars.”