Thief by Mark Sullivan Read Free Book Online

remind her that their plantation outside New Orleans could have been bugged as well, there was a sharp knock at the door.
    â€œYes?” Louisa demanded.
    â€œIt’s Billy and Meg,” said Saunders. “We’ve got something.”
    Arsenault got up fast and opened the door. His security chief and attorney entered, dressed casually, and holding paper bags. When he closed the door, Louisa whispered, “Is this room safe, Billy?”
    â€œSwept three days ago,” he replied.
    â€œThat doesn’t answer the question, does it?”
    The security chief reddened, and then shook his head.
    Louisa let her displeasure show, and crossed to a cabinet and opened it, revealing the components of a stereo system. She plugged in her iPhone, and cranked the volume up on Miranda Lambert singing about the fastest girl in town.
    They had to stand close to hear one another.
    Saunders said to Louisa, “You hit him. We found a speck of blood on the carpet on the staircase.”
    â€œAnd he made a mistake,” Pratt said. “There are prints on the shards of a champagne glass that he threw against the wall in the game room.”
    Arsenault brightened at the idea of quick retaliation. No matter what the Sicilians said about revenge being a dish best served cold, he favored striking back as soon as possible. “How fast can you run the prints? The DNA?”
    â€œPrints by tomorrow,” Saunders said. “DNA minimum is four days.”
    â€œHow did he get out of here?” Louisa asked.
    The attorney and the security chief exchanged glances, before Saunders said, “He left the grounds with Cassie Knox, in her car.”
    Louisa was instantly irate. “Why that little ungrateful bitch!” She stared at her husband. “After everything you’ve done for that girl?”
    Arsenault blanched, thought of Cassie Knox naked in a bed at the Four Seasons in San Francisco the week before, and said, “Let’s not jump to conclusions. I would imagine he forced her to help him.”
    â€œPerhaps,” Pratt allowed. “But it appears she dropped him at his car, a Range Rover that was parked down by the stable.”
    â€œAnd never called us,” Saunders said.
    â€œMaybe she didn’t know he was wounded,” the mogul said.
    â€œMaybe,” the security chief replied. “You want me to call her?”
    The mogul thought about that, said, “I’ll talk to Cassie. I’m supposed to meet with her Tuesday in Chicago.”
    Louisa looked at him sidelong. “For?”
    â€œHer producers asked me to the meeting,” he said quickly. “Her entire team will be there to discuss her coming year.”
    His wife hesitated, glanced at her husband again, and then said to Saunders, “It sounds to Beau like they bugged our phones and computers. How is that possible?”
    Looking uncomfortable, Saunders said, “I don’t know. With what we paid those IT security guys, the computers should have been bomb proof.”
    â€œA dud is more like it,” Louisa said. “I want every computer we own checked and fixed. Am I clear?”
    Chagrined, and knowing better than to cross her, the security chief said, “More than clear, Mrs. Arsenault.”
    She nodded sharply, said to her husband, “I’m packing.”
    Big Beau waited until his wife had closed the door behind her before leaning toward Saunders and Pratt.
    He showed them passion, a rare thing, said, “I don’t care if it costs me another twenty million, we’re getting this motherfucker. Whatever it takes. He’s going down, and he’s going down hard.”

 
    8
    TWO DAYS LATER …
    MONARCH CREPT OUT OF the darkness, lying there with his eyes closed, becoming aware of things one by one. It was hot. He heard children laughing in the distance. There was a soft click, and a low beep every few seconds. He breathed in through his nose and smelled