Girl Sleuth-Chapter 34

(To read from the beginning go Here.)

Light posts zipped by. Anne braced herself for a sharp right turn.

A grin played about Erik’s lips and she had a feeling he lived for this, the thrill of the chase. He glanced over at her.

“I know a shortcut. Ought to save us ten minutes or so. We’ll get him.”

“Good.” Exhaustion pushed her head back against the seat. “I never did get him to confess.” A yawn escaped before she could swallow it back.

He glanced over at her again before cutting his eyes back to the road. “So spill it. What makes you so certain that he’s going to head to Grand Central?”

Anne grimaced. She might be completely off base, but then again, if she were, the only thing at risk was her pride. “I thought—I mean it occurred to me.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I think this is part of a Russian plot.”

Erik’s head whipped toward her. “What?”

Anne pointed frantically. “The road!”

He yanked the wheel back and Anne slid across the seat to bang into his side.

“Sorry.” He helped her sit up again. “What did you say?”

Her cheeks burned. “Russians. Communists.”

“How did you leap to that conclusion.”

In for a penny, in for a pound. “There were a couple things. I kept wondering why they needed so many sets of plates. Plus there was the cost of the operation and those papers Carol gave me. It occurred to me that there had to be an organization fronting the costs.”

Erik nodded. “Did you think of the mob?”

“What would the mob need with so many sets? Surely one or two good sets of plates would be enough to make the thing lucrative. I thought what would happen if a set of those plates were sent to every major city in the country. Just think what would happen if counterfeit currency flooded the markets in every part of the nation.”

A low whistle emerged from Erik’s lips. “Confidence in our currency would collapse. The markets would panic.”

His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second.

He gave a little huff of air through his nose. “That’s why he has to go back for those papers. I thought they felt like the real deal, and they were. They must have someone inside the National Mint. He’s determined to get those documents because if we realize what they are their whole plot could be exposed.”

“That’s what I thought.”

A wicked gleam came into his eye. The car’s tires screeched in protest as he slammed on the brakes in front of Grand Central’s main entrance.

He thrust open the car door. “Stay here.”