Soul Sucker Ch. 01-10

"That's essentially right," Lana replied. "Each 'coin' has a unique digital code. If you have the code, you have the asset. The 'coin' can be traded like a commodity or used as quasi-cash in a business exchange. I used it a lot to move money overseas without being traced, but that is becoming much more difficult now with international banking regulations."

Lonnie nodded. "Street Cryptocurrency Exchange downtown is a brick-and-mortar, regulated exchange. It is registered with the Security and Exchange Commission. You can open a digital currency account, called a 'wallet,' with them. You can buy any of dozens of kinds of crypto currency with cash, credit card, or bank transfer. Once it is in your wallet, you can buy goods, make trades for other digital currencies, or use it to buy commodities like gold, silver, or stocks. They charge an annual fee to maintain the wallet, and a fee for each transaction. It's like a brokerage house, but the account can be in forms other than dollars."

"And this stuff is popular?"

"Absolutely. The established cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are being used in place of a national currency in El Salvador. It frees them from dependence on central banks in other countries. New coins are issued all the time, and there is a lot of speculation involved. If it takes off, those there at the start can make fortunes. You can lose a fortune just as easily, in minutes, if the coin is a fraud. My sources say Landon is behind a few schemes that have defrauded investors of tens of millions."

It made sense. "So, Landon Street has a legitimate company. How profitable is it?"

"It's a private company, but my date let slip they cleared ten million dollars in profit last year. At standard valuations, that would value the company at between fifty and a hundred million, depending on liabilities. He is majority owner, with the other executives owning thirty percent between them."

I whistled. "Not bad for a guy who's what? Thirty-five?"

"That's why I picked him," Lonnie replied. "I'm sure his overseas accounts are substantial if the rumors I've heard are true."

It would be enough of a cash infusion that we might be able to put off the next mark for a few years. Each Black Widow operation took months of planning and effort to pull off, then up to a year to liquidate and move the assets around. Sometimes, I'd fake the widow's death, while other times I kept the identity active in case I needed her again. I pulled up Landon's photo on my phone. He was in a tuxedo at a charity event with a young model on his arm. "We are sure he isn't married?"

"My source says he's sworn off marriage, but he likes him women barely legal and stacked. When you are young, good looking, and rich, you have no shortage of opportunities."

Lana looked at me, then at her brother. "So why doesn't she look like a cheerleader?"

"He won't admit it, but he wants an equal. Someone who is wealthy like him, beautiful, and shares his hobbies. He does like blondes, so Ingrid will attract him. The rock climbing is our in. It's his passion outside of his business."

It made sense. "Don't worry about it, Lana. You should know that once he sees me, he won't be able to stay away. I'll have a ring on my finger in a month."

"I don't underestimate you, Mom. How bad was his divorce?"

"Bad," Lonnie said. "No kids, but he gave up a big chunk of his fortune and the house, plus alimony. It dragged out for over a year. She lives in Florida now with her boyfriend while he pays ten thousand a month in alimony."

"Ouch. No wonder he swore off marriage," I said. "He's got plenty of assets, Lana. What is our plan?"

Lana set down her glass. "The easy way would be to liquidate his assets after his death and pay the capital gains taxes. We could clear thirty to fifty million that way. The better way would be to buy enough insurance to cover the taxes and get the full value of the company and assets."

"How much insurance are we talking about?"

"Twenty million should cover it. We might have to spread it over two or three companies."

I whistled. "Isn't that a risk? How am I going to sell that to Landon?"

"You want to be taken care of if he dies on you like your first husband. If he objects, we can pay the premium on the term life policy out of our own pocket before we get married. You can tell him it's to protect you if something happens. The policy will likely require a physical, which I'm sure he will pass, and will contain a dangerous activities exemption for mountain climbing. Don't let him die that way."

I rolled my eyes. "On a mountain climbing trip in the hotel, maybe." My kids laughed at that.

"That's not a bad idea, especially if it is overseas. It's more difficult for a US-based company to challenge the coroner if he's in some remote foreign land, and you bring his ashes home with you."

"No, I'll scatter his ashes on the mountain he died on. Landon would want it that way," I said to laughter. "Here's to Landon Street, crypto banker and cheat."

"To your next victim," Lana said as she raised her juice glass to mine.

"May he get everything he deserves," Lonnie added as he clinked his glass to ours.

Chapter 7

John Miller's POV

Manhattan Life Building, New York City

Monday, August 8, 2022

I returned to my office floor, stopping in to update Terry Callahan on what I'd found so far. "The autopsy is a dead end," I told him. "Doctor White tells me an inconclusive cause of death in a young man is common enough not to indicate foul play, and everything else is clean. The timing is unfortunate, but I don't see any reason to deny the claim at this point."

He leaned back and nodded. "What does your gut tell you?"

"It's all too convenient."

"That was my thought as well. Keep digging, John."

Terry was enough of a cop to know that you had to follow your gut. "How much time to I have?"

He looked at his desk calendar. "Thirty days from the claim being filed is a week from Wednesday. As long as we don't delay the payment without cause, we're still within the bounds of the policy. Of course, if you find cause, bring it to me right away."

"And the other cases I'm working?"

"Email me a list. I'll reassign them if they can't wait. Do whatever it takes to run this to ground, John. If you need to travel, let me know."

Something wasn't right here. "Terry, why the full-court press on this one? I don't even have an unreasonable suspicion, much less a reasonable one. The Medical Examiner and the report from the ship show no signs of foul play."

He smiled. "Take a look at this. I had our actuarial staff search for males under sixty-five with an unknown cause of death who passed within 30 days of getting married and carried over a million in life insurance." He handed me the list.

I scanned the page and a half long list. Two stood out, both for the relatively young age of the deceased and the size of the policies. The first was twelve years ago, a six-million-dollar policy on the owner of a dozen fast-food franchises. The second was five years ago, a ten-million-dollar payout on a San Francisco internet executive. "You think they are connected?"

"I don't know what to think. I find it curious, and I'm willing to let you vet it out."

"Got it. I'll keep you posted."

"Thanks, buddy. Now I need a favor. And when I say I need a favor, Cathy wants this and you're saving me from marital strife by agreeing."

I rolled my eyes. "What?"

"She wants you to come to our place for an informal dinner gathering tomorrow. Her parents have the kids, so it's a rare Tuesday night alone for us."

"And you're taking advantage of this by inviting me?" He tried not to smile. "Let me guess. The fourth at this party is an attractive woman in her thirties to early forties who is a friend of Cathy and single?" By his reaction, I'd hit the nail on the head. "You know I hate blind dates."

"You hate dating period, John. She's wants you to be happy, and for some reason thinks that happiness requires you to be married. I can't stop her from trying."

"You aren't refusing to toss me into the arenas with the divorcees," I objected. "What kind of night are you dragging me into?"

"I'll grill some steaks, dinner out back, then we can watch the Red Sox take on the Royals from the pool and hot tub. Cathy says she's a huge baseball fan and swears you will hit it off."

"Red Sox fan?"

"Mets." I rolled my eyes. At least it wasn't the damn Yankees. "You need to bring a bag along in the morning and take the train home with me." Terry had a home in the suburbs near Newark, New Jersey.

God, a blind date? You'd think she'd have learned her lesson from the last one. I was trapped, and I knew it. Nobody said no to Cathy. I felt like Sal Tessio when he realized Michael Corleone had seen through his schemes. I changed my voice to his. "Can you get me off the hook, Tom? For old time's sake?"

Terry grinned and shook his head. "Can't do it, Sally."

Fuck. "I guess I hit the gym tonight then. You owe me, buddy." I took the paper back to my desk and opened my computer. "Follow the money," I told myself.

The file told me Jordyn had already collected the standard $500k life insurance benefit for employees of Petersen Trucking. A quick internet search turned up an article from the Indianapolis paper on Friday. "Petersen Trucking Sold to Allied Transportation in Cash Deal." I printed it out to add to the file. Jordyn (Carter) Petersen placed the company on the market early last week, requesting cash offers. She received three. Allied Transportation's reported twenty-million-dollar bid was accepted on Friday and was expected to close in the next week. A spokesman for Allied assured their new employees that their jobs were safe and promised a bright future with their new bosses. "Yeah, until they figure out who they don't need anymore," I said to myself. The value of the company went beyond the equipment and the people; it was the contracts they held, which now went to Allied.

It was all a little sudden for me; a family company sold within two weeks of the funeral service? Was she doing the best thing for the company or for herself? I highlighted the relevant information and put it in the file. I made a few calls after that, speaking to the law firm handling the sale and the reporter who wrote the story. Neither were much help; the lawyer confirmed he was handling the sale at the request of the widow, but refused further comment. The reporter was more interested in why an insurance investigator was asking about it than the actual sale.

I pulled up the stories about Michael's death and the next. The stories were sympathetic to the newly widowed Jordyn, with several references to how in love they were and what a tragedy his sudden death was. The article about the memorial service showed Jordyn sitting next to the urn and a photo of her late husband. It was my first look at her, and Michael had been a lucky man. The black dress and hat couldn't hide her beauty or her voluptuous curves. I added the printouts with my notes to the file.

The next step was to dig into Jordyn's background. She had zero presence on social media, which was suspicious nowadays for a 25-year-old female. This makes my job a lot harder, as social media is the public source of so much data on people these days! As a private investigator, I don't have access to the law enforcement and government databases I used to have. I sent what I had on Jordyn to one of our interns in the office. He could troll the Internet for more data and give me a report.

I went back to the report Terry gave me. I opened my email program and started a message to a group of my peers in other companies. A single insurance fraudster could hit multiple companies, so we shared data regularly to protect ourselves. I modified the search criteria to look for younger men with bigger policies, figuring that would reduce the noise.

Hey all,

I'm investigating a potential Black Widow life insurance case, and I'm wondering how common this sequence of events is. We did a search at Manhattan Life for the following:

-Male policy holder under fifty

-Dies within 30 days of marriage of unknown natural causes

-Policy taken out within a year of death

-Death benefit of more than $3m

My search over the last two decades shows two that stand out.

I included a short summary of both cases that caught my eye.

Please respond with a similar summary of results, and indicate if there was anything suspicious in the claim besides the timing and unknown cause. Thanks, John.

I hit SEND and went on a break. When I returned, I decided to change course while I waited for the results on Jordyn. I went back to the list Terry gave me, and did a search on the widow in the San Francisco case.

It wasn't a long search, showing nothing newer than four years ago. Changing the search to her maiden name didn't help. "The fuck?" The search programs came up with phone numbers that were now disconnected, addresses she no longer lived at, and emails that no longer worked. I went into official government record databases next. I found her marriage certificate and driver's license, but that had expired, and the address was still from before her marriage. She hadn't married again, and she hadn't died.

Where the hell did this woman go after inheriting millions of dollars?

I shifted gears again, searching for the widow of the New Orleans fast-food owner. Once again, I found plenty of information from around the time of his death. His widow had sold the businesses, taken the insurance money, then disappeared. I couldn't find any records on her in the last decade.

I looked up at the clock, seeing it was nearing five o'clock. I gathered what I had on the old cases and went to knock on Terry's door. "What did you find?"

I sat in the chair opposite his desk. "Houston, we have a problem."

Chapter 8

Frances Dortmund's POV

Near Wick, Modern Day Scotland

Sunday, July 12, 847 A.D.

It was two hours before sundown when I spotted my target.

I nudged the horse away from the coast when the Viking camp came into view. Looping to the west, I found a meadow and tied the horse up near the Wick River. I had no weapons, but I needed nothing else. The furs I wore provided some protection from the cold wind as I followed the water to the sea.

My senses picked up on the sentry well before he noticed me. He was a young warrior, maybe twenty, tall and lean with short hair. He would be the first raider to feel my wrath, and my resolve hardened like my heart as I planned it out.

I kept the furs on but undid the ties so it opened the front of my body to him. I made my way to a hill just above his position, with the setting sun behind me. I stopped in a grassy clearing, put my hands on my hips, and waited.

He froze when he saw me. "Sjofn," he said as he knelt down in reverence. The demon and I laughed. The Norse Goddess of Love? That's not me. I'm the Goddess of Vengeance now.

I pushed the furs off my shoulders and walked nude to meet him, my long blonde hair blowing in the wind. I'm sure the sun behind it made it look like fire. "Come here," I yelled to him in Norse. He dropped his short sword and shield, then ran towards me. He went to kneel again, but I stopped him. "I need you," I said as I put my hand inside the furs on his chest.

"How may I serve you, my Goddess," he replied.

I let my hand move down, pulling the leather cord holding his pants while my right hand moved his chin up to look at him. The leggings dropped away, exposing his rapidly hardening cock. "I need a warrior to satisfy my lusts," I told him as my hand encircled his manhood. "Are you such a man?"

"I have killed many men in our raids," he said proudly.

"Let me see your scars." He quickly doffed his remaining furs, standing proudly before me as I stroked his length. I ran my free hand over a fresh wound on his left arm. "Where did you get this?"

"Raid on a village," he told me.

"Tell me about it," I said as I dropped to my knees. I caressed and stroked his cock and balls while he told me of the battle where he'd destroyed my village. I'd heard enough. "I need you to fill me with your seed," I told him. "Lie down."

He spread his furs on the grass and lay upon them. I crawled up his body, my breasts swinging around until his hands gripped them and squeezed. I ignored the pain, lining him up with my ready sex and slowly sinking down. He groaned in pleasure as I bottomed out. "By Odin, that feels good," he told me.

"You just wait," I said as I started to rock on top of him. I leaned over and kissed him, allowing my fangs to come in. The bite on his lower lip took him by surprise. I grabbed his head and kept my mouth on his so he couldn't cry out.

Seconds later the venom kicked in. He was paralyzed, but fully aware of everything going on around him. His cock swelled inside me as I started to move faster.

Time for my revenge. I shifted from the Nordic goddess to my original body as his eyes got wide. "You and your friends killed my husband and raped me on my wedding day, but you didn't kill me," I said as I leaned back. "That was the last mistake you'll ever make. You fucked with the wrong woman."

He couldn't reply, but I could see the fear in his eyes. I wanted to feast on his pain and suffering, so I did. My demon owner let me have free reign, knowing the promise he made. I didn't sense anyone nearby, and the sun was below the hills now. I shifted to my full Succubus form and extended my bat-like wings out.

My claws extended, digging into the muscles of his chest and shoulder. I kept fucking him while they slowly moved down, slicing deep furrows into skin and muscle. He could feel the pain, I saw that in his eyes, but he couldn't do a thing to stop it. I sliced his arms and legs, then started to cut his face to ribbons.

Through it all, he was approaching orgasm. My body was designed for sex, and no man could resist it for long. I moved faster, knowing I had to bring him off before blood loss killed him.

"You are but the first of many," I told him. "None of your party will survive." I used my inner muscles to clamp down on him, riding him fast, and then he exploded.

The demon cackled in glee as he harvested the Viking soul. I watched as the fear and pain faded from his eyes with his lifeblood. I leaned back and roared silently to the skies in triumph, feeling the power move through me under the demon's guidance.

When it was over, only a bloody corpse lay below me. I let my rage out, tearing and ripping his body into pieces and scattering it in the grass around me. When I couldn't find a piece big enough to bother with, I finally stopped.

My succubus form was covered in blood and gore. I walked down to the river and washed my body clean in the twilight. When I was calm again, I shifted back to my Norse Goddess form, found my furs, and dressed again.

I walked to the fallen weapons and took the short sword in my hand. I'd never held a weapon until now, but the demon had all the knowledge of fighting I would need.

I worked my way downstream, using my heightened senses and new knowledge to approach the camp silently. I could pick out eight Viking longships tied along the shore, and dozens of tents along a grassy hill. There was no sign of the prisoners or the plunder they'd taken from my village. "Returned by boat to their homes," the demon supplied. The camp was turning in for the night. I spotted a half-dozen men near a fire and a few more patrolling the perimeter.

The demon was full of helpful ideas. It wasn't enough of a punishment to only kill them. I wanted them to be isolated, fill with fear, and picked off one by one. I wanted the remaining ones afraid of the night and the beast that moved through it.