The Perfect Crime Pt. 04: The Plot

"WOW", I said.

Corey then turned to Allison.

"Boss, your wife had two freestanding companies, one of which was multi-national. They marketed her holdings, and her... uh... products. It really was a tad disturbing, boss; I don't normally deal in the adult market. I'm sorry for being privy to some of the things I saw."

"It's O.K, Ally. I'm sorry to put you through it."

"Anyway, Boss, she marketed her products pretty much around the world. The value is around $17,000,000. She was involved with a Victor Solange, as partner. He also owned the bar she was murdered in. He was also killed. They had insurance policies on each other. $1,000,000 each. We aren't sure if there will be trouble collecting on them, as the case is ongoing. But we are pressing our demands. It is interesting to note that the bar has lost its liquor license because they did not note the nature of the "entertainment" they provided. It's in receivership right now, and is closed. I think we can make a case to acquire it and dispose of it."

I thought for a moment, and then I looked at the eager faces.

"Thank you all for your fantastic work. Here is what I would like to do. If it's legal, take all the cash, and put it in c/ds and annuities. That way, if we have to, we will have the money to disburse. Liquidate all the real estate, except for the Bermuda cottage, the French building, and the condos closest to us. Find out about the vacancy rate in it. Keep it all legal, and do it as fast as possible.

"Pursue the acquisition of the bar, and look to selling the property after we bulldoze the building. Sell off all the fixtures, and stock. Liquidate all her adult material, or have it destroyed. Get

me some more info on the European aspect of this. Thanks, everyone. You did a great job. Take next week off."

"Pete, let's talk in my office. Please join us, Janine."

We adjourned to my office. "Pete, what have you got?"

"The young women's name is Jillian Carsten; she is 28 years old; she attempted to divorce her husband, citing abuse, and mental cruelty. But the suit was thrown out. It turns out that his family has some money, and political influence.

"That was followed by a trip to the emergency room for various bruises. She took refuge at her grandfather's place, and when the arm healed, she took off. As near as I can determine, she wound up here 3 weeks ago. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi, with a Bachelor's in accounting, and a minor in forensic accounting. She was married just after graduation. The baby was born 8 1/2 months later, but she went to the hospital just after she was married, with the claim that she was raped. She had multiple bruises, and a broken arm. Like I said, she claimed she had been raped.

"They did a rape kit, and drew blood. The kicker is that her husband was on a 'fishing trip' when the baby was born, and never even bothered to come to the hospital."

"Oh, I like him already" I said, sarcastically.

"It's guys like him that give the rest of you a bad name" said Janine.

" Another thing, there is no name for the father on the birth certificate. It just says "unknown." There is another thing. Her grandfather is rather elderly, and has a sizable amount of money. He owns a piece of property that is known as Ravenaux Island. It was recently found to have considerable oil reserves on it. They are close to the surface, and easily obtainable. His will stipulates that all his estate goes to his Granddaughter. If she's married to this shit, he'll get his hands on it."

"Hmmmm" I thought. "I think we can help this young lady." I buzzed Giselle, and asked her to come to my office.

"Pete, I'm glad you're single, cause I got a road trip for you. Go to Biloxi, and see what else you can find out."

With that, Giselle knocked, and came in. I handed her what Pete had dug up, on the attempted divorce, and asked her opinion.

"Well, this is Mississippi. We're in Texas. Where is the young lady right now?"

" She's local."

"Well. If she can establish residency, and get employment, we might have a chance." She read a little more. "And quite frankly, I'd like to have shot at this 'person'. What else can you get for me?"

"We are working on it, Giselle. Take that, and start working on our strategy."

"Janine, I need you to meet me for breakfast at the Waffle House tomorrow morning, 7:30. We have to gain her confidence."

"O.K. boss."

"Let's get to work, everybody."

I made a phone call after lunch.

"Raptor Petroleum, Mr. Lodge's office, Nadine speaking, May I help you?"

"Yes, Nadine, this is James Tremaine, would it be possible to speak with Mr. Lodge?"

"Oh, Mr. Tremaine, of course. Hold just for a second, please.'

5 seconds later, Sam Lodge picked up the phone.

'JAMES!! Son, how you doin?"

"I'm fine, Mr. Lodge, how about yourself? I haven't spoken to you in a while." "I've told you, Mr. Lodge was my dad. Call me Sam."

"O.K., Sam, I need a favor."

"Anything, boy, I'm at your disposal."

"Have you ever heard of Ravenaux Island?"

"Sure, it' a small island in a swamp over in Mississippi. It's supposed to have a large pool of oil real close to the surface- only a couple of hundred feet down."

"Do you think you could negotiate a deal with Mr. Ravenaux to buy that island?"

"Don't know for sure; rumor has it that he has it set aside for his granddaughter after he passes. I don't think he wants some Texas oil company trying to get a hold of it. Why?"

"We are going to be representing his granddaughter in a divorce procedure. She is being abused by her husband, and the only reason he won't give her a divorce is that he wants to get his hands on that land when her granddad passes."

"What's his name?"

"Clayton Carsten."

"I know the family; they have no class at all. But I still don't see how me buying the land will help. He won't want to cut his granddaughter out of her inheritance."

"You're right. All anyone will publicly know is he sold the land to you. BUT..."

He listened for a while, laughed a belly laugh, and said "James, you are a sneaky devil. That just might work. Let me get my legal beagles on it. You call me when you're ready, and we'll get in the Gulfstream, and go make our pitch."

"Thank you, sir. I really appreciate it." "After what you did for my family, son, it's the least I can do. Keep me advised."

"Will do, sir. And thanks again."

I gave Barbara a call, and asked if everything was alright.

"Yes, everything is great. I got his settlement check deposited this morning, and Giselle said all the papers are signed and filed. 6 months from now, he will be a bad memory.'

"Great. I'm going to make his life really miserable tomorrow. I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of."

"Well,... if you want to come over here and take care of me, I won't complain. My thigh is still warm from your hand that Friday night."

I chuckled. "Maybe dinner some night, and we'll see what happens."

"I owe you. You can come and collect anytime. Make the bastard cry, James."

I called Corey, and said "Let's take a ride. I want to go see those condos."

"O.K. boss.' He came to my office, with all the paperwork concerning the units, and we took the Jag to go see them. We drove for a while, and finally turned into a small cul-de-sac. At the head of the cul-de-sac was the development, 3 story buildings, 4 of them. We went to the rental office, and asked to see the manager. We were ushered into the manager's office, and seated before a Mr. Lane.

"Mr. Lane, I am Corey Rodgers, Attorney at Law, representing the estate of Sonia Tremaine. She will probably be better known to you as Sonia Inc., the prime owner of this development. We are here to oversee the transfer of ownership to her husband, Mr. James Tremaine. Here are the appropriate forms, and paperwork. We have no problem with you continuing in your present position, as it appears you have done a commendable job of running the facility.'

He handed the folder to Mr. Lane, a business card stapled to the cover. He also handed him another card. "It appears Mrs. Tremaine died intestate; we have no other legal contact. Do you know of any lawyer she used?"

"First off, I am sorry to hear about your wife's death,... under very strange circumstances, I might add. We were never in contact with any law firm in the United States, but did from time to time hear from a law firm in the U.K. I have no problem in acquiescing to your wishes, unofficially, and as soon as we hear from the court, we will gladly acquiesce to your wishes officially."

"No problem; it should be about a week. We would like to know about the availability of units."

"We have 4 units still available out of a total of 24. There are 3 units on various floors of both buildings, and one 3 -bedroom unit on the first floor, with a connecting garage, in the front building." I nodded.

"We would like to see that one" Corey said. "Certainly, gentlemen. This way." I picked up a brochure and put it in my jacket pocket.

We drove to the building, and went to the front door.

"The apartment is also accessible from the garage, and the unit comes with a garage door opener. It is 2500 sq. feet, 3 bedrooms, washer, dryer, and" he opened the front door, "is equipped with a security system, and front door camera. The price is $ 2500 per month, all utilities included. It's all electric, there is a pool, a gym, and a sauna.'

"Wow" said Corey, "I better not let Marie see this. It's nicer than our house." Marie is his wife, and they have 1 little boy. We walked in, and looked around. It was very nice, spacious, and well lit.

"It is wired for internet, and cable. An extra $200 per month, and it is completely furnished, but if you want this unit, we can make a deal. It'll save us from having to move all the furniture out, and painting."

"We will take it as is," I said. "$1700 a month. How's that?" "We can live with that, sir. Helps our occupancy rate, and besides, you're the boss," said Mr. Lane.

"Draw up the papers, and send them to our office," I said. "First and last?"

"Yes, sir, to keep the books straight."

"Also, if you could send over anything regarding that U.K. firm; would copies be good, Corey?"

"Sure, boss."

"Thank you, Mr. Lane. You have been very co-operative. I will not forget this."

"My pleasure, sir. And again, my condolences."

"Thank you."

We got in the car, and drove back to the office.

"Janine, ask Jeremy to come see me. Have we heard from Pete at all?"

"No, sir. He probably just landed."

"O.K., keep me advised." Jeremy knocked on the door frame, and I motioned him in. "Take a seat". I handed him Pete's report. "Tell me what you think about this young ladies qualifications."

He started to read, and at one point whistled.

"I'm looking at her transcripts. She had Professor Turner for a teacher. That guy is excellent." He looked at me. "Are you thinking of replacing me, boss? Other than experience, she seems to be very qualified."

"Do me a favor, see if you can contact this professor today, and get his impression of her."

"Got it, boss."

"Janine, can you come in here a moment, please?" She appeared almost instantaneously, and came in and sat down. "I want to get her back here and offer this young woman a job. She needs a break, and we have it in our power to give it to her. But I'm going to need everyone's help. So I was ..."

"Don't sweat it, boss. From what I've heard and read, she is pretty much shell shocked. We'll turn on the charm, and between you, me, and Ginger, we'll get her to love us. ...Maybe some have more at stake than others." She raised her eyebrow ever so slightly, and stared at me.

"I don't know what you mean, Janine," blushing.

"Uh huh," she said. "Just be on your best behavior."

"Uuhh, yes ma'am, I will." She went back to her desk, and I tried to get some work done. Was I investing so much time and effort in this because I was interested in the young lady? I was 6 years older than her!! I was just trying to right a wrong!! I looked at my watch, and saw it was almost 4:00. I put in a call to Hernando.

"Garza Towing. Michael speaking, can I help you?"

"Miguel, how you doing buddy."

"Mr. Tremaine, How's it hangin?"

"It's hanging, son. That's about all I can say. Is your dad there?"

"No, sir, he's out on a job. Can I help you any?"

"Maybe; that mini-van your dad brought in, what can you tell me? Do you know what's wrong with it?"

"What isn't wrong with it? Engines shot, 275,000 miles on it, front wheel drive unit leaks, tranny leaks, tires are worn, etc. etc. You're looking at north of $8000 to fix it. And until we tear into it, we don't know about the transmission. Those particular trannies don't have a good reputation."

"I was afraid of that. Please, ask your dad if he can get that thing under cover, preferably inside in a stall."

"No, sweat sir. We pushed it inside last night when we off-loaded it."

"Great, thanks.'

"Hey, my mom wants to know when you are coming over for dinner."

"I'll have to get back to her on that, but soon, I promise. How's Denise? You gonna propose?"

"Informed sources say there should be a press release about Xmas. This is all hush-hush, of course."

"You better hurry up, before somebody else beats you to it" I chuckled.

"Bite your tongue, sir. I'll tell dad you called."

"Thanks, son."

I hung up and immediately fielded a call from Jeremy. "Yeah, Jer, what you got?"

"Professor Turner says if you don't hire her, you're a fool. She's smart as a whip, and very ethical in her work. He tried to get her as a research assistant, but her asshole husband wouldn't have it. His words, boss, not mine. He says she's extremely scrupulous."

"Good, Jeremy, thanks, I appreciate it. Be available tomorrow for an interview, would you please?"

"No problem, boss. See you tomorrow."

I placed a call to Terry Kinkaid, and talked to the Sergeant.

"Terry, have you got some time to look at something I found, with regards to the case?"

"Sure, Counselor. Want to come on down, or should I come see you?"

"I'd better come to your shop. See if you can have Det. Walsh there too."

"No problem, I love ruining his weekend. See you in a little bit?"

"You got it." I got up, and stopped by Janine's desk on the way out. "I'm going to police headquarters, if anybody needs me. I'll probably go home from there."

"O.K., boss. Be careful" she said.

20 minutes later, I was on my way to Terry's office on the 4th floor of police headquarters. I found his office, and was entering with Det. Walsh right behind me.

"What can we do for you, Counselor?"

"I have something you need to see. I found this behind Sonia's college books. As soon as I looked at it, I brought it down here, and locked it in my safe. It's been there since Monday. I had some things to take care of; this is the first chance I've had to get a hold of you.' I handed him the ledger. He took it in glove encased hands, and opened it. Walsh pulled on a pair of gloves also, and moved to look over Terry's shoulder.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Art Walsh.

I started explaining what I had found, as I knew it. "The passport is hers. It is her real one. There is an itinerary for a trip on Valentine's Day next year to Mexico City, for her and Marcus Blaine. Both under their real names.

"From there, they start to use false papers, with brand new passports. They travel to Argentina with new passports, under the name of Mr. and Mrs. Garcia. They then leave from Buenos Aires to Johannesburg, South Africa, with brand new Argentinian passports, as Mr. and Mrs. Kreitzman.

"From Johannesburg, they travel to Madagascar as Mr. and Mrs. Von Talmann, again with brand new passports. Once they get to Madagascar, they have reservations to the Seychelles.

" But she has a single passport in her name, Dianne Vorten. It is a new Madagascar passport. She also has a reservation in that name to Cairo, Egypt. Then she has a new, unused Egyptian passport, and a reservation to Lyons, France. Name of Hoda Osedr. From there she disappears."

"Holy shit!!" exclaims Terry this time.

"For the past 2 months she's been telling me a big surprise is coming on Valentine's Day, but not in a tone of voice that led me to believe I would like it. And look at this. Spread sheets with 11 accounts on them, to the tune of $23,000,000. They are in about 8 banks scattered around the globe. These sheets are labeled Sonia's copies. There are duplicate ones that are labeled Marcus's copies. Here's her laptop. I don't know what's on it. It's locked. And I'll bet there are incriminating entries at her work."

Terry and Art looked at each other. "Motive" they both thought. "Counselor, we need to get the Feds involved. This is bigger than we ever thought." "Do you need me?" I asked. "No, just stay available for any questions we may have." "I'm going home. I may go out for dinner tonight. You've got my number."

"O.K., just keep your cell on. I'll probably see you tomorrow at breakfast."

"Count on it."

As I went down to my car, I speed dialed Barbara Blaine.

"Hey, how about dinner, and maybe I can cash that rain check."

"Be here in 1 hour,45 minutes" she replied. I ran home, showered, and changed, and pulled up in front of her house in 1 hour and ½, and as I rang the doorbell, she opened the door and smiled.

A sea green sheath which hugged every curve she had. 4" black cfm pumps, seamed stockings in a shade of green that matched the dress, and her hair was done in an up sweep.

"Where we going, cowboy?"

'Wow' I thought. "Uhh, seafood, steak, or Italian. Your choice, my lady."

"'This is a revenge / victory celebration. One time only. Understand? Then we go our separate ways."

"Sounds good" I said. "I can use the reward." She picked seafood, and the most expensive seafood restaurant in town. I escorted her to the Jag, and admired the show as she slunk into the passenger seat.

"Where are the kids?" I asked innocently.

"Well, they aren't at home to critique their mother getting her brains fucked out." O.K., this is going to be a hell of a night.

"They're at their Grandparents for the weekend. But this will only be tonight; I have something else lined up for the rest of the weekend. No offense."

"None taken." I brought her up to date on what was going to come down on shithead over the next week.

"Jesus, they were really going to do a number on us, weren't they?"

"Yeah, it seems that way."

We pulled up to the Sea Ray, the swankiest seafood restaurant in Texas. The valet got her door, and was treated to a gorgeous display of leg and femininity. We walked into the restaurant, and the maître'd seated us at a small, secluded table. "No wonder he seemed to care less about the financial split, and visitation. He wasn't going to be around for any of it."

"That's about the size of it" I said. "She had been baiting me over the last month or so about Valentine's Day, and I was clueless, until I found her ledger. I really am too God damned trusting."

"Well, there are no secrets tonight. It's all about excellent food, and then great payback sex."

We ordered drinks, and then dinner. She ordered shrimp, crab cakes, and lobster. I ordered rock lobster, and an 8 oz. rib eye, with a side of oysters. Got to keep your strength up. Dinner progressed nicely, and the alcohol flowed just enough to keep it light. We finished with sorbets, and coffee. I paid the check, and we got up and left, arm in arm.

My cell buzzed, and I answered it.

"Hello?'" I answered.

"Counselor, can you be in my office at 11:00 Monday morning?" said Terry Kinkaid.

"It's really scary that I recognize your voice with no introduction" I said.