Movie Mogul Mama

by Connie Shelton

  He picked up his computer with the presentation software on it and opened his door. Immediately, four men surrounded the Land Rover. One presented a badge.

  “Robert Williams?”

  Rob nodded automatically, before he thought better of it.

  “You are under arrest for tax evasion, international money laundering, and financial fraud. You have the right to remain silent—”

  Someone grabbed his computer bag and handcuffs clamped onto his wrists. Rob didn’t hear the rest of the words as the agent droned on. Bright lights flashed into his eyes, seemingly from nowhere, and questions were shouted at him from all directions.

  Rob ducked his head. What the hell—?

  Chapter 70

  Sandy hung back until the black van with Rob in it pulled away. Four media vehicles followed, like vultures catching the scent of roadkill. Agent Daniels stepped out of another black car nearby, his phone to his ear. He ended the call and thanked Sandy for her help with the apprehension.

  “I don’t know where those guys came from,” Daniels said with a nod toward the media vans.

  Sandy didn’t say anything. “Rob Williams won’t get away with it again, will he?” she asked.

  “Not this time. Federal charges are much more serious, plus we’ve got a lot more evidence than in the previous case. And, he doesn’t have a judge in his pocket this time.”

  “How will that go?”

  “Williams will definitely do time in federal prison if convicted on these charges. It’s not a slap-on-the-wrist type of thing. These are all serious crimes.”

  “And the judge?”

  “I can’t comment on that. It’s an ongoing investigation.”

  Sandy felt some disappointment that everything couldn’t be neatly wrapped up in one swoop, but Pen had assured her that real crimes and justice did not play out the way they appeared to in hour-long TV dramas. She handed something to Agent Daniels.

  “What’s this?” he asked.

  “You’ll see.”

  He looked at the phone, checked it, and saw that the contacts list contained only one name. Another agent gave a shout and Daniels needed to leave. Sandy watched him get back into the black car. She looked around the parking lot where she now stood alone.

  She needed to be with her friends.

  Ten o’clock Saturday night wasn’t typically the time for friends to gather around the television, but it was where the Heist Ladies found themselves. They’d met at Gracie’s house, where the kids were already in bed, and Scott joined them to catch the nightly news. He sat close to his wife, their hands clasped together.

  Sandy had already given the scenario, up to the point where the media showed up. “It was very fortunate there was a big wedding reception in the ballroom there tonight. I watched Rob drive up and give a long glance toward the lights and the crowd. I couldn’t have staged it better if I’d had the power to.”

  “Ooh, wait—here it comes,” Amber said.

  “In breaking news tonight, a California movie producer is arrested here in Phoenix on charges of tax evasion and international money laundering. And the interesting part is, he’s not really in the movie business. The whole story right after this message …” The newscaster flashed his very white smile and the video cut away to a hype-filled ad by a local car dealer.

  Gracie muted the volume. “Is there any way he can skate out of it this time? Please say no. Families like ours can’t take a whole lot of this. I’d really like to believe we protected others, his future victims.”

  Sandy relayed what Agent Daniels had told her. She glanced over at Mary, who’d been fairly quiet, although smiling widely. Just then the newscast resumed and Gracie turned the sound back up.

  “In our lead story …” The announcer went on with the same set of facts the ladies already knew. Video showed Rob being led to a government vehicle, his wrists cuffed, his tuxedo rumpled as the agents grabbed him by the elbows. Across the bottom of the screen, large letters followed the suspect: Movie Mogul Fraudster?

  The announcer’s way-too-pretty female cohost spoke up, delivering the enticing bits about how Williams was suspected of bilking hundreds of people out of millions of dollars using fake movie trailers and investment schemes.

  “They certainly obtained a lot of material on him, very quickly, didn’t they?” Pen commented.

  Mary and Amber exchanged a glance but didn’t say a word. The entire news story finished in fifteen seconds. Gracie shut off the TV and the room grew quiet.

  It was over.

  Chapter 71

  Almost over.

  The lead story the next morning on all the national cable and network channels focused on the Movie Mogul Fraudster, and it captured the nation’s attention.

  “Probably because it’s a refreshing change over the usual rash of murders and abductions, and doesn’t involve dozens of people being brutally murdered,” Gracie told her husband over breakfast.

  The phone rang almost immediately and she saw it was Pen. “If you aren’t watching Channel 10, turn there quickly,” she told them. “They just showed the judge being led from his home to a police van.”

  Apparently the network had managed to be first with the scoop—Judge Layton Alderston was now accused of being involved with the notorious Movie Mogul Fraudster. Channel 10’s investigative reporters had learned that the judge had invested in Robert Williams’s scheme, and was one of the only such investors to have received his money and the promised dividends from the supposed film, although it was now proven no such film had been made.

  The announcer continued: “We have obtained additional evidence showing Judge Alderston allegedly received a bribe in the amount of twenty thousand dollars, allegedly to dismiss the original case against Williams in California district court.” Across the screen flashed images of Lois Alderston’s Facebook posts bragging about their wonderful suite on the cruise ship.

  As her husband was led away, Lois appeared on the front porch in her robe, hair askew, weeping. The cameras swept in.

  “I knew it. I knew it! I found credit card receipts for hotels I knew nothing about, vacations disguised as business trips.” The reporters became ravenous, throwing more questions her way. No doubt the family attorney was having a stroke by now.

  Even Gracie cringed a little. “Is it a good idea for her to be talking so much?”

  “The IRS, they were always on us about taxes,” the judge’s wife wailed. Someone finally had the good sense to pull her away from the cameras.

  By the end of the day, the story had gone international, as the BBC picked it up, along with news agencies in a dozen or more countries.

  Pen had received a call from Maisie Brown. “You asked me to let you know if I had any new information about Robert Williams,” Maisie said. “I don’t know if this is news to you or not, but my bank account magically grew a few days ago. All my investment money from Rob is back!”

  Pen caught the subtle ‘or not’ in Maisie’s statement. She congratulated Maisie and said nothing more.

  Later that afternoon, Mary heard from Abby Singer with a similar update. She’d just finished teaching a martial arts class at the gym and was wiping sweat from her forehead when the call came. It reminded her of an important task. She left work and drove up to Roosevelt Lake, where she rented a paddle boat from a concessionaire. Eighty yards from the shore, she paused and pulled an item from the small pack strapped around her waist. She handled it with a kerchief and wiped it completely clear of fingerprints before dropping them into the chilly water.

  So, this was why they called them throwaway phones, she thought with a smile. Her only tie to Rob Williams and the Mexico real estate transaction vanished.

  * * *

  Six months went by before they gathered at Pen’s home to hear the verdict. Rob Williams, convicted on all counts, sent to the federal prison near Pima, a zillion miles from nowhere; Judge Alderston had been disbarred early on—now he too would do federal time on corruption charges. His po
or wife and her lawyers would still have to deal with the taxation authorities.

  As the case came back into the limelight, people around the country began to figure it out.

  “Some kind of angel was looking out for us,” one New York couple said.

  “We got our money back, along with a note from Robin Hood, thanking us for our patience,” said another, who came forward at Easter in Oregon.

  “This Robin Hood saved me from losing my home,” a widow from Baltimore told her local news station.

  “My husband has terminal cancer,” came the story out of Dallas. “Getting our retirement money back will keep me out of poverty.”

  Amber had found the various news clips online and compiled the quotes into a little file on her computer. When the elation over their success had been toasted with champagne and the cheers died down, she opened the screen and showed them the effects of their hard work.

  “It was all worth it,” Gracie said with tears in her eyes. “I’m so happy to see it wasn’t all about me and my family. We really did help a lot of people.”

  “We did.” Amber wrapped her in a hug and the rest joined in.

  * * *

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  Thank you for taking the time to read Movie Mogul Mama. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and is much appreciated.

  Thank you,

  Connie Shelton

  * * *

  Author’s Note

  As always, I have a huge amount of gratitude for everyone who helped shape this book into its final version. Dan Shelton, my husband and helpmate for nearly twenty-nine years, is always there for me. And thank you Stephanie, my lovely daughter and business partner, for giving my business and writing career a burst of fresh new energy this year!

  Editors Susan Slater and Shirley Shaw spot the plot and character flaws and help smooth the rough bits in the prose. And topping off the effort are my beta readers, who drop everything in their own lives to read and find the typos that inevitably sneak past me. Thank you for your help with this book: Christine Johnson, Marcia Koopman, Lisa Train, and Isobel Tamney. You guys are the best!

  * * *

  Books by Connie Shelton

  The Charlie Parker Series

  Deadly Gamble

  Vacations Can Be Murder

  Partnerships Can Be Murder

  Small Towns Can Be Murder

  Memories Can Be Murder

  Honeymoons Can Be Murder

  Reunions Can Be Murder

  Competition Can Be Murder

  Balloons Can Be Murder

  Obsessions Can Be Murder

  Gossip Can Be Murder

  Stardom Can Be Murder

  Phantoms Can Be Murder

  Buried Secrets Can Be Murder

  Legends Can Be Murder

  Weddings Can Be Murder

  Alibis Can Be Murder

  Holidays Can Be Murder - a Christmas novella

  The Samantha Sweet Series

  Sweet Masterpiece

  Sweet’s Sweets

  Sweet Holidays

  Sweet Hearts

  Bitter Sweet

  Sweets Galore

  Sweets, Begorra

  Sweet Payback

  Sweet Somethings

  Sweets Forgotten

  Spooky Sweet

  Sticky Sweet

  The Woodcarver’s Secret

  Spellbound Sweets – a Halloween novella

  The Heist Ladies Series

  Diamonds Aren’t Forever

  The Trophy Wife Exchange

  Movie Mogul Mama

  Children’s Books

  Daisy and Maisie and the Great Lizard Hunt

  Daisy and Maisie and the Lost Kitten

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  Contact by email: connie@connieshelton.com

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  Movie Mogul Mama

  Published by Secret Staircase Books, an imprint of

  Columbine Publishing Group, LLC

  PO Box 416, Angel Fire, NM 87710

  Copyright © 2018 Connie Shelton

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of information contained in this book we assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any inconsistency herein. Any slights of people, places or organizations are unintentional.

  Book layout and design by Secret Staircase Books

  Cover images © Aleksey Telnor and Sandra Stajkovic

  Cat silhouette © Jara3000

  First trade paperback edition: November, 2018

  First e-book edition: November, 2018

  * * *

  Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Shelton, Connie

  Movie Mogul Mama / by Connie Shelton.

  p. cm.

  ISBN 978-1945422553 (paperback)

  ISBN 978-1945422560 (e-book)

  1. Heist Ladies (Fictitious characters)—Fiction. 2. Arizona—Fiction. 3. Hollywood movies—Fiction. 4. International money laundering—Fiction. 5. Women sleuths—Fiction. 6. Con men—Fiction. 7. Mystery caper—Fiction. I. Title

  Heist Ladies Mystery Series : Book 3.

  Shelton, Connie, Heist Ladies mysteries.

  BISAC : FICTION / Mystery & Detective.

  813/.54