Thank God for Irish Women Ch. 11

"I'm sorry, Linda Sue." I opened her car door, and she sat behind the wheel.

"I'll see you Monday," she said with a smile. "I'll bring a little gift for your lady friend. Something I recently invented."

"Thanks, I think." We both grinned.

I walked back to my office. The meeting between Emily and the lawyer was to begin shortly. Thirty minutes after the meeting was scheduled, I received a call from the attorney's office.

"Mr. Anderson, I've been asked to connect you to Mr. Nix and Miss Ryan. Can you hold?"

"Sure."

The phone clicked, and Mr. Nix came on.

"Matt, this is Jerry Nix. Emily is with me, and I think we've prepared what she needs, but she wants to review it with you before we process it."

"Matt, Mr. Nix has been very helpful. The agreement that the FBI must sign and notarize says that my attorney or I will notify the FBI of the location of the safe deposit box two hours before the box will be opened. During that time, they must secure a search warrant for the box and present it to the bank official at the branch involved. The bank requires the warrant since there's no one living authorized to enter the box.

"When the box is opened, it will be in the presence of my attorney, myself and a bank representative. All documents will be examined while we are present. Those documents clearly marked for Agent Hennessey will be given to him. All other documents will be my property and for my eyes-only. All currency or currency equivalents will be my property. All jewelry or other tangible property will be mine. If there's any dispute concerning the ownership of any piece of property or document, that dispute will be decided by a Federal judge in a court of law. That piece of property or document will be returned to the safe deposit box to await the judge's decision.

"Now this is the English version of what the agreement will say. Mr. Nix will put it into legalese and send it to Agent Hennessey for signature and notarization. Do you see anything I should add or change?"

"During the two-hour head start you're giving them to get the search warrant, are you planning to be at the bank to make sure they don't beat you to it?"

"Yes, I'll be sitting in the lobby with Brad. We talked to the branch manager and told him about this agreement, and he's very supportive. He also told me that the box rent had been prepaid for two more years, and no one has been in it since June 15, 2007, when Mom entered it. The plan will be to open it Tuesday afternoon, but no one except the three of us knows that. Mr. Nix is available that afternoon."

"That's fine with me, Emily. I don't have any better ideas."

They ended the call, and I tried to go back to work. I was amazed at how quickly our lives had changed.

****

Friday evening, I returned to the hotel and met Brad Morris, the bodyguard who had been with Emily all day. He had spent several years in the Marine Corps and was just as experienced as Jason. He was very personable, but I could tell he was as tough as they came.

We decided to drop Emily's Civic off at Darren's house that evening. Before dinner, Emily prepared a note to leave in the car in case it was needed. I drove it over to the house where her stepdad lived. Emily followed me but remained in the BMW with Brad while I walked to the door to give Darren the keys. There was only one car in the driveway.

I rang the bell but could hear no one walking to the door. However, I thought I heard something like a faint moan or groan. I rang it again and could hear another muffled sound inside. The front door was the type with small windows at the top, just above my eye level.

I motioned for Emily and Brad to come and told them what I'd heard. Brad was taller than me and he could see inside.

"There's a body in the hallway," is all he said.

I dialed 911 and reported the emergency. The first police car arrived in a few minutes, followed shortly by an ambulance with paramedics. The police broke open the door and rushed in with guns drawn. We were told to stay outside while they cleared the house.

The paramedics followed the police inside and began working on the individual. He was barely alive. The victim was Emily's stepdad, Darren O'Brian, who she hadn't seen in over two years. After trying to stabilize him for several minutes, they transported him to the trauma center.

A policeman said he'd been shot twice in the back. The house and yard were marked as a crime scene. Because we had found him and Emily was a relative, the officer asked us to wait outside until the detective arrived.

We waited in the car while the house was searched, the forensics team processed the area and a police photographer did his work. Brad called Agent Norris and briefly outlined what we found. After the call, he told Emily that Norris and Jackson were on the way.

The detective arrived and spent several minutes with the officers processing the crime scene. He eventually came to talk with us.

"I'm Detective Richard Addison with the Palo Alto Police Department." He showed us his badge and ID. "Who are you?"

"I'm Emily Ryan, the stepdaughter of the victim, and this is Matt Anderson, my fiancé."

"And I'm Brad Morris, special security for Miss Ryan assigned to her by the FBI." He pulled his ID and showed the detective his concealed carry permit.

"Does the FBI have an interest in this incident?" Addison asked Brad.

"Possibly. The agents who ordered the protection of Emily are on their way here."

The detective asked us to recount how we found the victim. He also asked Emily to recount what she knew about Darren and any associates he had.

Emily replied, "I've not seen him in more than two years. We were estranged after my mom died, and I moved out of the house. I don't know any of his current associates."

"What's his occupation?"

"He's a computer security specialist. He tested the security of online systems and informed his clients whenever he found a problem. He worked with several others in a small company."

"Do you know of anyone who might have wanted him dead?"

"No, but the FBI has been looking into his possible involvement in one of their cases," Emily replied.

"We will coordinate with them, of course. Miss Ryan, would you be willing to walk with me through the house to see if you remember anything that might now be missing? Robbery could have been the motive."

"I'll be glad to. Could Matt and Brad accompany me?"

"Sure."

There was a large bloodstain on the hallway carpet. We stepped around it and went to the kitchen. Emily said the kitchen and dining room looked very much like they did the last time she was there. There were dirty dishes stacked in the sink and a faint smell of pizza in the air. When we walked into another room off the kitchen, Emily stopped.

"This was the office that Darren always used. The computers are missing. He normally had three set up here and arranged in a semi-circle." The area was now bare, but I could see dust that marked the outline of the computer bases.

"Were they laptops or desktops?" asked Detective Addison.

"He had one laptop and two desktops but that was two years ago."

When we entered her old bedroom, the memories must have flooded back. She turned into my arms and began crying softly as I held her. Brad stood with his head down. After a few moments, she pulled out of my embrace and sat on the edge of her old bed. I handed her my handkerchief, and she wiped her tears.

"It's all so real, Matt. We talked for hundreds of hours in this room about everything I wanted to talk about. This is where I learned almost everything about life and the love of a mom. It was us against the world, and we won in this room."

She walked to the closet and opened the door.

"My old childhood clothes are still here." She moved the hangers slowly to one side and looked at each dress, jumper, top, and pair of pants. Tears ran down her face the entire time.

"Mom wanted me to give these to Goodwill so other children could use them. But I wanted to keep them. They were mine, and they were important to me. They were part of the best years of my life with Mom."

Emily walked to a child's table and chairs set in the corner. There was still a plastic tea service on the table, all properly arranged.

"Mom and I would often sit here and play tea party. She taught me how to properly serve and how to hold the cup and wipe my lips as a lady should. This is where she taught me about the world outside our poverty."

Emily sat in one of the small chairs, reached for the teapot and began pouring the imaginary tea into a plastic cup one more time. My heart was breaking for her.

There was a subtle rubbing sound that Emily, Brad and I heard.

She took the lid off the small pot and looked inside. She reached in and removed a small red envelope. It contained the key to the safe deposit box. Brad and I saw it at the same time, and he moved to be between Detective Addison at the door and Emily. She saw Brad's move and knew what to do. She slowly slipped it back into my hand in a way that no one behind us could see. She returned to the tea set and talked about her mom.

Shortly after we returned to the living room, Agents Norris and Jackson arrived and introduced themselves to Detective Addison. The three walked together into the kitchen, out of our hearing range.

Moments later, a police officer walked in carrying a box that resembled the one we found in the back of Emily's car. He went directly to the kitchen. Detective Addison returned and asked us to come with him.

There on the table was the opened box containing bundles of currency wrapped in rubber bands.

Agent Norris said, "This was just found in the trunk of the car in the driveway."

Emily replied, "It's identical to the one found in the back of my car a week ago today."

"Exactly," responded Norris.

Emily asked, "Where's the box of money we turned over to you?"

Norris responded, "It's in the evidence locker."

Addison received a call. He only said, "Okay."

"I just learned that your stepdad passed away while being transported. We're sorry for your loss, Miss Ryan."

"Thank you, but we were not close. I hate that someone killed him."

Addison asked, "Did he have children or relatives other than you?"

"Not that I know of."

"Did he leave a will or did he have a safe deposit box?" asked Jackson.

"Not that I know."

Norris said, "Emily, as we drove over, Agent Hennessey called and said he had received the proposed agreement from Jerry Nix. He will sign and have it notarized and faxed to Mr. Nix on Monday morning. Do you know when we can open the box?"

Emily replied, "We'll do that on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 pm. I'll tell you the location at noon that day so you can secure a search warrant that the bank will require."

"Good," Norris responded. "The quicker we can see what Keira left for us, the better it'll be."

We returned to the hotel and found Jason waiting. Brad told him what happened and that Emily had found the key. They agreed with us that no one should know that unless Emily said otherwise. The bank address was pre-printed on the key envelope.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

I was up early and checked the news. There was a small mention of Darren being killed but no details were provided. The only video was of the crime scene tape surrounding the house.

As Emily and I dressed, I noticed she had become withdrawn and contemplative. Gone for now was that happy, bubbly personality I dearly loved.

During breakfast with Brad and me, Emily asked, "Do you think there's a connection between our meeting with the FBI on Thursday night and the death of Darren yesterday?"

I replied, "Could be a coincidence, I suppose."

Brad added, "Coincidences rarely happen but drug hits happen every day."

I asked, "You think it was a drug hit? Why did they take the computers?"

Brad responded, "The cash in his car looked like drug money to me. It's always bundled like that. The computers had information on them that someone wanted, or maybe they didn't want someone to see."

"Maybe someone needed to get rid of Darren and his computer records because of something they think is in the safe deposit box," added Emily.

I asked, "Could Darren have killed your mom?"

"She was killed about 9:00 pm. He could have done it. Remember, I wasn't home that night." She paused for a few moments. "Let's just say that Darren was involved with Mom's death. What did he gain from that?" she asked. "From everything I saw, they were happily married."

"I've no idea," I replied.

She continued, "Let's look at another possibility. Let's say Pat was funding the drug operations through Patrick and others. Darren found out about it, somehow, and was blackmailing Pat. Remember, my stepdad was an expert at hacking computers.

"Mom's laptop was likely encrypted, but I'm sure he could get past that. If Mom knew about Pat's involvement, the details may have been on the laptop she used and Darren saw it."

I asked, "Did you know that Pat introduced your mom to him? They must have been friends at one time."

"Yes, I do remember that. Darren did consulting work for one of Pat's banking clients as I recall."

I suggested, "Maybe they were still working together but Darren was no longer useful to him for some reason and he killed him. Or maybe Darren knew too much, and the corrupt FBI agent killed him. Darren could have had several enemies."

Emily replied, "This is all conjecture. We don't know whether Pat was involved in any of this. All we know is my stepdad was murdered, he had the skills to move the drug money and he knew Pat."

"Is Pat in California?" Brad asked.

"I don't know," she replied. "Let's go to the room and call to check."

****

Emily called Nancy, but no one answered. She left a message to say that she was now back in California and wanted to know the plan for the memorial service. She asked that they call back.

I departed for the lab. Our team was to meet for two hours to assess our progress and update the development plan if needed.

We were pleased with the early research and preliminary testing of available materials. Our plan was adjusted to show completion one day earlier than our original goal. The team thought Linda Sue's innovation would be useful in solving our energy storage and unit weight issues. I hung around two hours longer to work on the electrical schematics. I wanted them ready to review with Linda Sue on Monday.

Emily took Brad shopping for furniture to go into the new house. She treated him to lunch at an Italian restaurant, and they spent the afternoon watching the Giants play on TV.

I think being around Brad all day put Emily in an amorous mood that evening. She wanted it in missionary position, hard and fast. Having gone for several days without sex, we both exploded quickly. I felt at home in her warm body, and she made me feel more than welcome. We again were able to get a good night's sleep.

End of Chapter 11