Three Lovers on the Grift - 16

Vaughn walked into Mr Leigh's front office three minutes after Page had left. He stopped at the receptionist's desk, flashed a badge, and told her that he was Detective Sinclair and he needed to speak with her boss. She immediately let Mr Leigh know and then told Vaughn to go right in.

"Thank god," Mr Leigh said. "I was just going to call the police."

"About Ms Alexis Del Gado?" Vaughn asked.

"I guess that's her name. She never actually told me. About so tall"—he held up one hand—"shoulder length blonde hair, pregnant?"

"That's her, although she's not really pregnant, that's just part of her con. We've been after her for the past year, but until now we haven't found anyone who's willing to help us stop her. I'm hoping you might be the one."

Mr Leigh frowned deeply. "She's a criminal then?"

"Oh yes. She runs confidence games on married men, like you. Her favorite one is pretending that she's pregnant and blaming her victim. Once she's got him believing her, she asks for money. The problem is, as I said, none of the men have been willing to help entrap her."

"I—how would I be able to help do that?"

"First, I need to know how she asked you to deliver the money, presuming of course that you didn't already give it to her."

Mr Leigh shook his head. "Believe me, I don't keep that kind of money here. I'm supposed to withdraw it from my bank and then meet her at her hotel."

"Perfect," Vaughn replied, smiling. "I need you to do exactly that."

"I don't know," Mr Leigh replied hesitantly. "How will I explain withdrawing that much cash?"

Vaughn seemed to be thinking for a moment, and then told him to tell anyone at the bank who might question it that he was in the process of making a down payment on a vacation home and the owner requested it be in cash.

"I can do that," Mr Leigh said slowly. "And then what?"

"Take something with you to carry it in, obviously. Do you have a briefcase?" Mr Leigh nodded. "Excellent. From the bank, we'll go to her hotel. As soon as you hand over the money, I can arrest her." Vaughn checked his watch. "We should get moving. The sooner we get this done the sooner I can get her off the streets and you can stop worrying."

Mr Leigh still hesitated. Then, with a sharp nod, he put on his suit jacket and picked up his briefcase.