TT Spalding, The Van Harding Case

Bruno took out a small box and sat it on the desk. Polly reached in for a couple of folders and began to remove pictures. She sorted through them and laid a couple out on the desk. At first glance, they seemed sort of tame until you looked closer. In one that Maggie held, Mrs. Van Harding was standing in what looked like her bedroom. She had on a leather skirt and top, and held a whip. The whip was nasty looking, the fibers tipped with what appeared to be blood. The next picture showed her still with the whip, but now it was directed at a young boy, sitting on a chair, his arms and legs tied. There were signs of cuts on his skin, across the shoulders and chest. His mouth was open in what looked to be a scream.

Maggie threw the picture down with an oath and I felt a little sick myself. I looked at Polly and Bruno and asked the question with my eyes. My mouth was too dry to speak. Bruno looked at Polly and then started. "There's a lot more of that in here. From what we know, it was the wife's thing, not the husband. At least, she only did this when he was gone, traveling or visiting somewhere. She had one of her drivers bring the kids in and take them away. She was paying them off with a lot of cash. This went on at least three times over three weeks. She beat them, not bad enough to leave many marks and then she had sex with them. Forced sex, not fun stuff.

He nodded at Polly. She opened another folder and pulled out more pictures. Polly was damn good and she took clear pictures that were date stamped and easy to use as evidence in divorce cases. She just tossed them down in no particular order. "These are of the husband. He's gay. Has at least two lovers we were able to find. Visits them often, one guy every day. They stay in and spend the evening together. Seem real calm to me. No kink, no multiples, no drugs. Just straight gay sex and some cuddling."

"OK, we have all we need. What I want you guys to do now, is to forget all about this shit and go have some fun. Take some time off and go somewhere. Just play. Maggie and I are going to do just that once we close these out. We're going to find some sun and some sand and just chill. You should do the same."

Bruno got a little red and looked down at his feet. Polly laughed and poked him in the shoulder. "Actually, Bruno and I are going to take a little trip to Hawaii. I have an assignment there and I invited him along. He's agreed." She grinned evilly and went on. "I thought we could save a little on expenses and share a room." Now she laughed and grabbed him around the waist. "He's a little shy about it. Tell him it's OK, Mom and Dad."

Maggie clapped her hands together and hugged Polly first and then Bruno. "I think it's great. You two are our favorite people in the whole world. Go! Have some fun with no worries. Just be together for a while and have fun!"

I smiled and seconded the thought. "I agree. Be with each other just for fun. Dad approves!"

Maggie and I watched as the two of them walked out, holding hands and laughing. Now it was over for them but just beginning for us. Well, that was the job. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you. We took the first two cases and decided to close them first. Not much left on either and a good chunk of change coming in.

I took the first case, summarized the findings, documented the proof, with dates and accounts, all frozen by Bruno by the way, and indicated the amount embezzled at a total of $300,000 over a period of two years. I made a note that our fee was fifteen percent of funds recovered as agreed and billed the final total of $42,500 remaining to be paid on receipt of the final report. I took that out to Maggie for finishing. She leafed through it quickly and smiled at the amount. She gave me a blinding Maggie smile and blew me a kiss. One down with a promise of a significant reward later that night.

The second one was a little harder to write. In that case, money was not the goal. It was the mother who was going to be hurt. Since her daughter was old enough to be considered legal, there was little to be done except what we did. Bruno would take him down and put him out of business permanently, but that was little comfort to the mother. She was going to have to deal with her daughter somehow. I wrote the report myself as gently as I could, but bad news was bad regardless of how it was phrased. I called the mother myself, told her I was having the final report sent by messenger over to her and told her to call me if she had any questions. She pressed me for answers on the phone but I declined, citing confidentiality. She hung up depressed, knowing bad news was coming. Best I could do. I wasn't even going to bug her about the additional fifteen-hundred she owed me. Knowing her, she'd probably pay it. Decent woman.

Finally, the bitch. Now, this report was one I would enjoy. I worked on it the rest of that day and some that evening. I finished it up the following day and talked to Maggie about it once it was done. She read it, made a few suggestions and then typed it up formal like. We included pictures, DVDs, and a couple of CDs of sound only. It made an impressive report. We made three copies, one went into our personal file. Now, for how to handle it.

Maggie called the husband and invited him to visit us as soon as possible. He was available and we met with him for an hour that afternoon. One edited copy went with him and he left a very happy man. He knew what to do and promised to wait for our call.

Next, I notified a friend of mine and asked him to stop by the office to see me. I went over the report with him and gave him a complete copy. I showed him the signed consent forms from the wife and he made sure they were legit. They gave me permission to use monitoring equipment in their home. He was satisfied with what I gave him and agreed to meet with me at 1:00 p.m. the next day here at my office. He knew what to do then.

Finally, Maggie called Mrs. Van Harding and told her we had the information she asked for. Maggie told her she would be satisfied by the husband's behavior. She scheduled her in to meet with us at 12:45 the next day. She was to bring a certified check for the balance of the $15,000 agreed to. That was another $10,000. We would collect the check before giving her the report. Of course!

That night, Maggie and I made love. No rowdy sex, no experimentation, just a reaffirmation of our love. What we had seen the past few days was too disturbing for anything else. We reminded ourselves of what love was really about. It was wonderful. Afterwards, I just held her tight and we fell asleep that way. We woke once during the night, made love again and woke refreshed and ready for the day. God, I truly loved that woman! I really did!

Mrs. Van Harding came in right on time. She was dressed as wonderfully as before, her ample figure exuding sex. This time, Maggie was less impressed and showed her in very coolly and very professionally. She smiled at me as she closed the door. It was my turn.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Van Harding. I believe I have what you wanted. These pictures are just a sample of what we have. There are DVDs in addition to audio files. All show Mr. Van Harding in the arms of his lover, a Gerald Coffman. The other man is Walter Waldman. They are also lovers, as you can see. This is what you wanted, I presume?"

She looked at the pictures, smiled and wet her lips as she flipped through them. The smile was feral and not very pleasant. I watched her eyes narrow with pleasure. Now her true character was plain to see. This was a very nasty woman, regardless of the package. Her hands shook as she held the most revealing of the group.

"I see Paul is a pervert. Not what I expected. I thought he would have a young woman or maybe even several. Paul never gave me any indication that he was gay. He was a very accomplished lover when he was there. Not often, but very good. Yes! This is very good. I assume the DVDs and the audio show will confirm the same things? Perfect. Here is the check you were promised. I have the report so I believe our business is concluded."

She rose and started toward the door. As she did, I buzzed Maggie, the signal we arranged. When Mrs. Van Harding opened the door, Detective Woody Mars was waiting.

"Mrs. Victoria Van Harding? You are under arrest for soliciting sex with minors. You have the right to an attorney. If you refuse, anything . . . "

You know the rest of it. The case made all the papers for several days. It was a real scandal. Rich woman in sex with minors! Case broken by NYPD Detective W. Mars. Acting on a tip, surveillance proved case beyond doubt! Mrs. Van Harding was arrested and the report I gave Woody the day before was used to file charges of sex with minors, abuse of minors, and several other charges. Since she had given us permission to use surveillance to trap her husband, all videos and tapes were admissible. She was convicted and sentenced to twenty years.

The real bonus arrived by messenger the next day. It was a check from Mr. Van Harding for $25,000. He was now the master of the estate, since Mrs. Van Harding was indisposed. She had signed over control to him in exchange for keeping the remainder of the report suppressed. Since she had pleaded guilty to avoid a trial, none of the information we had was released. Only the cops and Mr. Van Harding had access to it. Besides us, of course.

Maggie and I worked on business for the next couple of weeks, waiting for our two 'children' to come home. Bruno had called once from Maui to let me know things were going great and that he had heard from one of his contacts that the person I was concerned about was back in Ohio and keeping his head down. Seems he heard that there was word out to let me know when he came back to NY. Also, one of his bank accounts had suddenly been closed. Cost him a cool $3,500. Just a warning but he got the word.

I had made the arrangements for a trip for two to St. Croix, an island in the Med. I got us a suite in one of the hotels there with a waterfront view, a hot tub, room service and deluxe accommodations all round. Cost me a pretty penny but for my Maggie, never even questioned it. We leave this coming Friday and we will be gone two whole weeks. Maggie has done some shopping and the bathing suits she bought! Wow! It even made her blush and that took some doing. Me? I just wanted to be with her. I didn't care about much else. And I didn't worry over much. Maggie was mine, body and soul just as I was hers. Didn't care who saw her or looked at her, because she never paid them any mind. She was mine, and she made sure I knew it.

Oh, yes. One other thing. Maggie read my novel while we were on vacation. She actually liked it! She said she would help me send it off to some publisher she knew. Who knows, you may read it soon. She's thinking up a name for it now.

Damn, I love that woman! I truly do!