Masquerade

by Desiree Holt

  “You’d be surprised how many times people like that make their money in the muck and mud.”

  Anger surged through her. “Everything about him was a lie.”

  “Not everything,” John corrected. “Part of him was just as you described, or you never would have stayed with Elite.”

  “I guess you’re right. So where does everything stand now?”

  He pointed to the document up on the screen. “Since Natalia provided the startup capital for Elite, I want to find out where her money came from. It could be something simple like family money, or it could be illegal funds washed through so many shell corporations it would be difficult to define the source. And if the shell corporations were all based in Delaware, like Litton, that makes it even more difficult. That state is a breeding ground for paper companies. Do you know that almost three hundred shell corporations list one address in Delaware as their corporate address?”

  Lindsey stared at him. “I knew that companies used Delaware because of their secrecy rules, tax incentives and business-friendly case law. But holy shit, John, none of that applies to Elite.”

  “No, but it could apply to Natalia. The money came from her, so I’m not so convinced she’s uninvolved in all this. And maybe Litton is the lynchpin to move the money in and out.”

  Lindsey’s eyebrows rose almost to her hairline. “Natalia? The perfect wife? The society queen? I can’t even.”

  “Don’t be fooled by appearance,” he warned her. “The best people in the dirty money business are those who appear to be the least likely. You’d be amazed what I find when I start digging like this. It will take some time, but I’ve never not found the trail.” He winked. “That’s what I do, kiddo.”

  “And he does it well.” Taylor stood in the doorway. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but Sarah just let me know that Natalia had someone call here to remind us the funeral is tomorrow at two. The message is she hopes we will all be there for Craig’s final farewell.”

  “As we will,” Lindsey told her.

  “All their closest friends will be there. I’m not saying any of them are involved, but it never hurts to scope things out. We probably won’t be lucky enough to overhear incriminating conversations, but we might at least get a feel if anyone might be involved in whatever this is.”

  John looked up at her. “Absolutely. If in fact Craig was involved in some nasty business, and if he was using Elite to clean money, you know he wasn’t doing this alone.”

  Taylor fiddled with her pen. “I agree there have to be more people involved in this. I’d say someone—either one or both of the Wainwrights—has known a long time. This didn’t just start yesterday and Craig wouldn’t go into whatever this is with complete strangers. He didn’t trust easily. That much I know about him.”

  Lindsey drew her eyebrows together. “Do you think Natalia knew what was going on? And obviously still is?”

  “I don’t know. Hard to tell. She could be just what she seems to be on the surface—a rich woman who bankrolled her husband.” She sighed. “Sometimes I just hate being so suspicious of people, though.”

  “Being doubtful can save a lot of anguish later on,” John pointed out. “Anyway, our skepticism may be overboard, but Lindsey and I think one of Craig’s clients, a spa called Masquerade, might not be what it seems.”

  Lindsey turned her laptop so Taylor could see the screen. “First of all, take a look at the place. Here.”

  “Pretty building,” Taylor remarked. “But not quite the usual client these days for Elite.”

  “That’s what Lindsey and I both think,” John told her. “And for a place that size, unless they charge up the yin yang and then some, there’s an unrealistic amount of money moving in and out.”

  “Not that Masquerade isn’t an attractive place,” Lindsey added, “but it is so much smaller than the other Elite clients.”

  “You won’t be too happy with what I’m finding in Craig’s bank accounts, either,” John added.

  Taylor’s smile disappeared. “What do you mean?”

  He gave her a rundown on what he’d discovered. “I’m going to look further into Litton and into Natalia’s trust. Because the money to start Elite came from there, there is a connecting financial thread. And it also means I need to check the financials on every other one of Craig’s clients.”

  “Which is why I have Lindsey working with you.”

  John nodded. “I hate to say this, but Elite is the kind of structure that is ripe for money laundering because of the nature of the business.”

  Lindsey grimaced. “Lucky us.”

  “Another thing, over and above the ridiculous sums of money,” John went on. “The more I look at Masquerade, the more it sticks out like a sore thumb.”

  “It’s out of whack with the norm and we want to know why.” Lindsey glanced at him. “Right?”

  “Exactly,” Taylor agreed.

  “What other reason would it have for being on the books as a client?” Lindsey asked. “If it’s not a phony enterprise used to launder money, and it’s not a big legitimate client like all the others, then what? I’ll tell you, the words ‘laundering money’ give me the shivers.”

  John snorted. “No kidding.”

  “It’s strange they haven’t even called here yet,” Taylor pointed out, “when everyone else has. You know, someone is going to have to take over that account. Make contact with them.”

  “And that makes this the perfect opportunity to check them out.” Lindsey looked from John to Taylor and back again. “Why don’t I do a little more research about them first, just so I can make sure we aren’t getting false alarms before we do anything else? I can make a list of similar spas around the country and dig up the kind of promotions that have been done for them. You know, for comparison. I’ll bet we’ll find a lot more activity than we’ve got here.”

  Taylor nodded in agreement. “I think it’s important to take the time to do that.”

  “Yes, it is,” Lindsey agreed. “If Craig was into something illegal, he’d want to disguise it, right? And look here.” She clicked over to another page. “Do you know what the word masquerade means? To go about under false pretenses. To disguise oneself. Maybe it’s just that simple.”

  “Very smart.” John smiled at her. “Whatever Craig was into with Ruben Madea, you can be sure he wasn’t doing it for free. He’d need a conduit for the money and a way to hide it. A spa would be perfect for that.”

  Lindsey sat back in her chair and raked her hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ears. “What if this isn’t just about the money?”

  John frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “What if the spa is not just a money pipeline? What better place to use to smuggle drugs? A good accountant can build a pyramid of accounts so it takes someone like me to trace its origin and disbursal.”

  Taylor stared at her. “You’re right. What if that’s all true?”

  “And something else.” Lindsey swallowed. “We thought of this yesterday. What if this isn’t just drugs or guns? What if Craig was also involved in sex trafficking, like you brought up, Noah? They could run the girls through Masquerade to beautify them”—she used her fingers to make air quotes—“before shipping them off to the next stop.”

  John’s face darkened. “That’s not uncommon. And if that’s true, it’s no wonder he wanted to keep it all to himself and not discuss it.”

  “We don’t really even know anything about their operation,” Lindsey pointed out, “except what’s on Elite’s books and their website.”

  Taylor nodded. “Someone needs to go take a look at the place. Lindsey, I’d say a day at the spa is just what you need after the funeral. You’ve been under a lot of pressure and shouldering a lot of responsibility. And where better to relax than at a client’s business?”

  Lindsey chuffed a laugh. “Me?” She pointed at herself. “You want me to be a spy?”

  Taylor shook her head. “No. I want you to treat yourself to a day
of pampering, courtesy of Arroyo. Of course you wouldn’t think of going to someplace that isn’t a client. I know when I go to a spa or a salon, I always gossip with the staff, so I’m sure it wouldn’t be out of line for you to do the same thing.”

  “You want me to pump them?”

  “In a way that’s not obvious. And take a good look at everything. Scope out their operation. Call them and get an appointment. You’re clever, Lindsey. I know you can do this.”

  Lindsey gave an unladylike snort. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m still trying to absorb the fact that Craig was involved with people like Madea and—” Then she sobered. “You don’t think this agency was funded with money from that source, do you?”

  “Not as far as I’ve been able to tell. He told us Natalia had covered the startup costs. We checked her out, and she comes from a very wealthy family in South America. Her money is all inherited, comes out of a trust and, as far as we can tell, it’s squeaky clean.”

  “If Natalia has all that money and Elite has been doing so well, why would Craig get involved with people like that?” Lindsey rubbed her forehead. “Doesn’t make sense.”

  Taylor shrugged. “There’s no understanding some people. I’ve learned that.”

  “I just can’t believe I misread him so badly. I worked with him for four years and none of this ever showed up.” She spread her hands. “I guess some people have a hunger for money and power that overtakes them. I’ve been questioning my own intuition since this all came out, wondering if I read people as well as I think I do.”

  “He fooled us all,” Noah said. “And that’s not easy for any of us to admit. Especially since it’s more and more evident he was already involved in this before we brought Elite into the Arroyo fold.”

  “Damn, Noah.” Taylor blew out a breath. “You can bet the next company we look at for a subsidiary is going to be put under a virtual X-ray machine. Meanwhile, let’s move on. John, you need to get out your biggest shovel when you go back to digging.”

  “Okay.” John swallowed the last of the coffee in his mug. “Let me get a refill and go back to work. I have to cast a much wider net. If Craig indeed was washing the money through Elite, there are a number of ways he could be doing it. I may dig into some things that piss people off.”

  “No problem,” she assured him. “The majority owner of this agency died in an unusual manner and Arroyo needs to protect its interests. I’ll get one of our lawyers on it right away.” She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and was already punching in numbers as she walked out of the room.

  Lindsey glanced at John. “Must be nice to have an army of legal eagles on speed dial.”

  He grinned. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. You didn’t know Taylor before she inherited Arroyo, did you?”

  “No. I met her when she did some business with the firm I was with in Miami.”

  “She’s always been smart. More than smart. She was a hotshot financial manager in Tampa when she discovered that the father she’d been told was dead was actually alive and head of a multinational conglomerate.”

  Lindsey’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

  John crossed his heart and held up his hand. “Scout’s honor.”

  “So how did all this happen, then?”

  “She went to San Antonio to tell him who she was. He figured she was just some cheap money-grubber trying to scam him and threw her out. She went home madder than a hornet.”

  Lindsey laughed. “I’ll bet. But…didn’t she try to see him again?”

  “Are you kidding? Not her. She was once and done. But the old man had her investigated, found out she was the real deal and was about to reach out to her when he was killed. Shocked the hell out of everyone when his will was read and he’d left everything to her.”

  “So what happened?”

  “She wanted no part of it. She’s got a boatload of pride, you know. She ignored every letter they sent her and refused all phone calls. Noah finally went to Tampa and practically dragged her back to Texas. She gave him hell and told him in no uncertain terms she made her own decisions.”

  “But she went?”

  “Oh, yeah.” John chuckled. “Bitching at him the entire time. There was some nasty business with the executives at first. You can ask her about it sometime. But she stepped into the head role at Arroyo liked she’d been born to it. Old Josiah Gaines must be grinning from ear to ear at how she handles everything.”

  “She certainly does it well,” Lindsey agreed. “And it’s obvious she and Noah got past their initial animosity.”

  “That’s quite a story, too. Maybe someday you can get her to tell you all about it.”

  “Oh.” Lindsey flapped a hand in the air. “I’m not sure we’ll ever be that close. Besides, half the time she terrifies me—she’s so knowledgeable and efficient and in command.”

  “That she is. A lot of people have underestimated her, to their eternal sorrow. That only happens once, though.”

  “Let me call Masquerade and see if I can make an appointment for a day of coddling.” She dialed the number on the computer screen.

  “Masquerade.” The voice was low and musical.

  “Yes, your place was recommended to me by a friend. I’d like to make an appointment for a full day…massage, facial, the works.” She named the day.

  “Of course. Who did you say recommended us?”

  “Oh, I don’t remember. It was at a luncheon with a lot of women.”

  Pause. “I see. Well, I’m sorry but we are fully booked with our regulars for the moment. If you’d like to leave your name and a phone number, I can call you when we have an opening.”

  “Booked?” Lindsey glanced at John. “I’m sorry to hear that. You came highly recommended. Are you sure you can’t squeeze me in?”

  “Perhaps if you told me who referred you,” she said again.

  “No, that’s all right. Thank you, anyway.” She disconnected and stared at John. “That’s very weird.”

  “Weird how?”

  “I’ve been to a lot of spas, and they never turn away a client. If they’re booked, they either figure out how to squeeze you in or convince you to take an alternate date. And the woman asked me twice who recommended me, as if that would make a difference. Legitimize me somehow. Like I said, weird.”

  “I agree.” John closed out the screen on his laptop.

  Lindsey studied her screen again. “I’d like to get a look at this place.”

  “You realize if you do, then you can’t be the one from Elite who contacts them about a new agent for their account. You can’t snoop then show up as their new account manager.”

  She curved her lips in a half-smile. “Then maybe I should just go and personally introduce myself. Tell them I’ll be handling things for them and also make an appointment to try some of their services. Give me a chance to scope the place out and see if the so-called owners are there.”

  He frowned. “Lindsey, these aren’t going to be nice people. They’re dangerous, and so are the people who work for them. You’d have to be very, very careful.”

  “I know that. But it’s natural for someone from Elite to come by and reassure them that their account is going to be handled in the same manner. Right?”

  Lindsey looked at their worktable, notes strewn across the surface along with a stack of printouts.

  “You think we can leave all this for a while?”

  “I think for the moment we’re at a standstill.” He closed his laptop. “I’m with you. Something doesn’t sound quite right here. My senses are telling me we may have stumbled on to something. I have no idea what it is but maybe taking a look at it will help.”

  “Let’s do it.” She closed her own computer and picked up her purse. “But first I want to make sure Jerry Ortiz canceled the current shoot and brought everyone home. They flew there in a private plane, so transportation shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Jerry was behind his desk, his phone to his ear, feet up on the des
k when she rapped on his door.

  “Let me call you back,” he told the person on the other end and disconnected. “Hey, Lindsey. What can I do for you?”

  “Just making sure you called off the shoot and brought everyone back from Parrot Cay.”

  “Yeah. About that.” He frowned. “It seems the plane they were using had to leave to ferry some friends of the owner someplace. But they should be back soon. I told him how important this is.”

  “What did he say?”

  He grimaced. “He wasn’t too happy, I can assure you. Gave me a whole spiel about how good he’s been to Arroyo. How he likes to invite his friends over the last day to meet everyone.” His laugh sounded forced. “Said he wasn’t the least bit happy about this.”

  “I imagine. So when is the plane due back?”

  “Uh, today I think. I can call him back and double check.” He tried for another smile. “But he did say they got part of the shoot finished, so it’s not a total wash.”

  Lindsey tamped down the wave of anger rising in her. She wanted to strangle him, but it wouldn’t do her any good.

  “Okay, here’s the way it is. No more shoots of any kind. Kill it. I’ll deal with the client. We’ll gift him one free campaign if I need to. But Arroyo has three planes within an hour of that island. Either that plane gets back and unloads those people today or I’m sending my people in, and they’ll have security with them. Understood?”

  Jerry paled. “That’s not necessary. I’ll take care of it right away.”

  “Good. Anything else will make me very unhappy.”

  They left Jerry’s office and John went to give Taylor a heads-up, while Lindsey told Leda where she was going.

  “If anything urgent comes in, forward it to my cell. Otherwise I expect we’ll be back before long.”

  It was a typical Florida spring day, warm but not hot, with a nice breeze scented with salt water and tropical flowers. They did a quick drive-through at Coffee Talk before Lindsey plugged the address of Masquerade into her phone and let the sexy voice give her directions. As they drove, Lindsey sipped her mocha latte and tried to run through everything in her mind. Neither of them said much, for which Lindsey was grateful. Last night was still too new for her. She was still sorting through the mixture of emotions she’d been able to put aside while focusing on work.