Masquerade

by Desiree Holt

  “I don’t think it’s so sharp at the moment, but you’re right. We have work to do. Let me get everyone together for the meeting, which will be brief. Then I’m all yours.”

  Heat flashed in his eyes and when he spoke, his voice was deeper. “I hope you mean that in more ways than one.”

  Answering desire coursed through her, making her nipples harden and the pulse in her core beat in a heavy rhythm. “Maybe I’ll show you tonight after this day is over.”

  “That can’t come soon enough for me.” He paused and lowered his voice. “For more than one reason.”

  The staff meeting was brief. Everyone had work to do and she didn’t want to keep them from it. After she’d been updated on where everyone was, she refilled her coffee mug and joined John in Craig’s office.

  “I’m ready to dig in again,” she told him.

  They worked without a break for the next three hours, John taking apart Craig’s financials with meticulous care, Lindsey looking for anything and everything on Masquerade. She also decided to do some research on Parrot Cay where the location shoots took place. There had to be something somewhere. She was so engrossed that she was startled when John broke the silence.

  “Okay! I think I’ve got something here.”

  Lindsey saved her screen and sat back. “I’m glad one of us is having success. What have you got?”

  “I won’t bore you with how I got to it unless you want a lesson in complex accounting, but—”

  Lindsey held up a hand. “Thanks, but no thanks. My brain is already frying, attempting to dig up stuff about this spa. Just the basic details, please.”

  He turned his laptop so she could see the screen. “It appears Elite wasn’t Craig’s first venture into marketing. Check this out.”

  She scanned the article he’d found abut Craig Wainwright and his former businesses. “I knew that, and so did Arroyo.”

  “When he and Natalia married,” John reminded her, “she dumped a ton of money into the company, jazzed it up and helped him get top-tier clientele. They became friends with two other couples who helped him attract more.”

  “And who exactly were these couples?”

  “Frank Podesta, George Merriam and their wives. Are you familiar with them?”

  Lindsey nodded. “The three men have been friends for a long time, both business and social. There’s no doubt they have money and influence. Podesta owns Capricorn International Shipping and Merriam runs an influential hedge fund. They both have huge estates, one in Miami and the other across the causeway on Black Swan Island.”

  John lifted an eyebrow. “I’m surprised the Wainwrights don’t live in either of those places.”

  “I once asked Craig why they didn’t move to Miami if they had close friends there. He said that was a place Natalie liked to visit but wouldn’t want to buy a house there. But it is odd, especially if both Podesta and Merriam are somehow involved in all of this.”

  “If Craig was the front man,” John pointed out, “he may have wanted a place equally as luxurious but less ostentatious. Not calling attention to himself.”

  Lindsey sat back in her chair and stared at John. “Do you get the feeling something’s going on here that we can’t quite get a handle on yet? Especially about Enescu and Madea?”

  He chuckled. “Lindsey, I always get the feeling. It’s the naturally suspicious nature that goes with my line of work. I’m about to dive into everything I can find about the previous firm, plus Podesta’s and Merriam’s financial situations.”

  “Can you do that?”

  “Only if I don’t talk about it. The original business gives me an in. It’s perfectly logical for Taylor to ask me to do a financial health check on Craig, especially considering the method of his death.”

  She studied him for a long time, hoping that the little shivers skating over her were just a false alarm.

  “This is getting more and more complicated, isn’t it?”

  John dipped his head in answer. “I’m afraid so. And I’m just beginning to scratch the surface. I’m sure what I find when I get even deeper into this will be much worse.” He turned his laptop back to face him. “So. Back to Masquerade. Have you found anything more about it?”

  She shook her head. “Barely. It’s as if they’re deliberately low-keying the place, so there really isn’t much to tell. Talk about keeping a low profile. I can hardly find a mention of them anywhere. Not even an ad. And that in itself is telling, because what legitimate customer-oriented business doesn’t promote itself? And why have a marketing agency if you aren’t marketing?”

  John nodded. “No one has so much business they don’t need to look for more.”

  “I did a full search online first and nothing came up. Then I did a search for day spas in the Fort Lauderdale area. There sure are plenty of them, but none named Masquerade. They aren’t even in the listing.” She clicked her mouse and brought up the screen with the list.

  “Maybe it’s listed as something else? Some other kind of business?”

  “Anything is possible, but why? Why not put it in the right category? It doesn’t make sense if it’s a legitimate business.”

  “Legitimate being the operative word,” John pointed out.

  “So then I tried other similar classifications. I even tried different spellings of the name, and—” She flapped a hand. “Never mind. You don’t need all the minutiae. The point is, except for a listing in the phone directories, you can’t find it anywhere. Why wouldn’t they advertise? Why not be included in category listings? Why try to hide it?”

  “You wouldn’t unless you had something to hide to begin with.”

  “And needed a way to hide it,” she added. “But what? That’s the million-dollar question. And again, like Noah said, there has to be someone with a lot more power pulling all these strings.”

  “I’m going to start a search for their bank accounts as an extension of Wainwright’s finances. It all falls under the Elite banner, so theoretically it’s all good. I want to know how much income the place has, what their expenses are, where their cash goes. I don’t know if all this was Craig’s doing or he had someone with accounting smarts setting it up for him. They’ve buried the shell corporations under a lot of layers, and the accounts have to follow that trail.”

  “I’m getting an increasingly bad feeling about all this,” she told him.

  “Me too. I’ve seen situations like this before and it’s not good.”

  “Damn.” She sat back in her chair and blew out a breath. “If they have no visibility, what was Elite doing for them? We’re a marketing firm. Our job is to promote the name or the brand.”

  Just then the intercom on Craig’s desk sounded, interrupting them. Lindsey got up and answered it.

  “Yes?”

  “How are you two coming?” Taylor asked.

  “John’s doing better than I am, although maybe no progress is progress itself.”

  “How did your staff meeting go?”

  “About as expected. They weathered the detectives questioning everyone, although they had plenty of questions of their own. Hopefully I’ve got them calmed down for the moment. Everyone’s still very concerned, but they know work has to be done and clients don’t wait.”

  “Good. Glad to hear it.”

  “I set up a new reporting system,” she went on, “that I’m pretty sure will make things a lot easier to manage.” She checked her watch. “Did you want me to order up some sandwiches, so we can have a quick lunch before the funeral?”

  “I already tasked Sharon with that. It will be here in a few. I thought we’d eat where you’re working and catch up on where we are.”

  “Sounds good.”

  She relayed the message to John, then took a moment to stretch and work the kinks out of her body. She was glad to have a break from the computer. Her eyes were beginning to tire and she was getting a crick in her neck.

  “I don’t know how you do it,” she told John. “Stay glued to that comp
uter studying figures all day.”

  “Would I sound like a nerd if I said I am so fascinated by figures that none of that bothers me?”

  “Well,” she teased, “a nice nerd. Okay?”

  He laughed. “Okay.”

  But his humor disappeared once the food arrived, the Cantrells had joined them and he began to outline what he’d learned so far.

  “I was afraid of something like that.” Taylor put down her sandwich and took a drink from her bottle of water. “Okay. Let’s have it all.”

  By the time he’d finished, no one at the table was smiling.

  “I just wish I knew how my people missed it.”

  “Because they were looking for something different. Clean business. Good reputation. No financial problems. The usual due diligence process. And Elite’s financial records are impeccable.” He looked at everyone for a moment, as if choosing his words. “And something else. We have an unexpected problem here so I’m looking under the bed and in the closet, so to speak. I don’t think that firm uses some of the websites I do. These are places I go to when I am looking for money hidden from my clients. Places where I can find hidden corporate tracks, bank accounts, other related items. The first thing I did was track the corporate papers. I’m not going to bore you with all the details right now. I’ll put them in my final report. And I found something else very interesting.”

  “Oh?” Taylor looked at him. “We already have more interesting things than I’m happy with. What did you find out?”

  “I felt confident doing this,” he told them, “because it’s attached to the structure of Elite. Natalia’s money comes from a trust that is funded through a holding company that is sheltered through another holding company.”

  Taylor nodded. “The way people do when they want to hide money.”

  “Well, damn.” Noah balled up his napkin and threw it on the table. “How many more surprises are we in for, John?”

  “The fact that Craig did this so long ago,” John said, “makes me believe he’s been in bed with Madea for a long time.”

  “And he saw Elite as another way to handle his off-the-books enterprises, whatever they turn out to be. I just wish to hell we knew what he was dealing in.” Taylor blotted her lips and pushed her plate away. “I think I’ve lost my appetite. It’s almost time to leave for the funeral, anyway. I’m debating about whether we should go to the cemetery, too.”

  Noah picked up his drink and drained the last of it. “Let’s play it by ear. But whatever we do, we should plan on dinner together afterwards. We have a lot to discuss.”

  “And I haven’t even told you about the inconsistencies with Masquerade yet,” Lindsey told them. “Things that if I’d been paying attention would have made me ask questions a long time ago.”

  “Great.” Taylor grimaced. “A lot of people are going to pay the price for sloppy work because of this. I promise you.”

  “I called Charley Graham earlier,” Noah told them, “and told him to add Podesta and Merriam to his list. He can find a gnat hidden under a log, so he’ll get whatever we need.”

  Lindsey blew out a sigh. “I can’t believe how complex this whole thing has gotten. You’d think running an agency this size with such high-profile clients wouldn’t have left Craig time for anything else.”

  Noah just shook his head. “Whatever this is started long before Elite. But rest assured, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  Lindsey had just finished eating when the phone in the office buzzed. Leda.

  “What’s up? We’re just getting ready to leave for the funeral.”

  “There’s a Detective Moran on the phone for you. Shall I put him through?”

  “Of course.”

  Kevin Moran was pleasant enough, and courteous, but he wanted to meet with her and the Cantrells first thing in the morning. He’d spoken to everyone else and needed to wrap things up with them. Lindsey put him on hold so she could check with the others.

  “We have to do it,” Taylor pointed out. “We’re the principal players in this and he’s just doing his job. Ask him to come by at nine. That okay with everyone?”

  Lindsey confirmed it with the man and hung up.

  “That ought to be a fun way to start the day.”

  They cleaned up the debris from lunch and Lindsey made sure to tell each person she was leaving for the funeral and she’d appreciate them making the effort to attend. It was important that the agency show their support for Natalia. She was pleased that most of the staff agreed and began preparing to leave right away. She also instructed Sarah and Leda to let the answering machine pick up the calls so they could attend. She was sure Natalia would appreciate their presence.

  “Actually,” she told John when she was finished, “I have no idea if that’s the truth or not, but I want Natalia to see that the staff had enough regard for Craig, and by extension her, to pay their last respects.”

  “Be interesting to see who shows up,” Taylor commented. “I know they traveled in the well-heeled circles. I wonder just how many of those people made their money without any taint attached to it.”

  Lindsey and John rode to the funeral with the Cantrells in virtual silence, none of them having much to say. They had left before the others because, as Taylor said, she wanted a chance to read the crowd, especially Craig’s closest friends.

  “We may not find a thing,” she said, “and his friends may have no connection to whatever Craig was involved in. But the Podestas and Merriams will be there so maybe we can do a little snooping. At least try to get a read on them.”

  “I know Podesta,” Noah told them. “I’ll make it a point to say hello.”

  The chapel at the funeral home was nearly full when they arrived, people in expensive clothing milling about, conversing in hushed tones. Noah and Taylor exchanged greetings with some of the people they’d met through business dealings in the area.

  “The money in this room could wipe out the national debt,” John murmured to Lindsey, scanning the crowd. “Craig Wainwright definitely moved in the top circles.”

  A tall, thin man wearing a black suit and somber expression directed people to sign the register of attendees. Another man stood by an archway draped with a black curtain, pulling it aside to allow two couples to walk back into the chapel while two others entered the alcove.

  At the front of the room, the coffin sat on a platform, bracketed on either side by tall urns filled with flowers. Other floral arrangements filled the space behind and on either side of it. Several people had paused beside the coffin and stood in somber silence for a moment before moving on.

  “I think that’s the alcove reserved for the family.” Lindsey pointed to the arch. “I’m sure Natalia’s in there, out of the way so she doesn’t have to stand out here with everyone else until the last moment. It’s enough of a strain without that. Let’s go pay our condolences so she knows we’re here. Then we can sit down.”

  John hung back. “I’ll wait for you here. She doesn’t know me from Adam and this isn’t the time to make introductions.”

  Natalia, dressed head to toe in black, sat on a couch facing them. Her hair was drawn back from her face in a severe style and there was minimal makeup on her face. The only jewelry she wore were a diamond wedding band and her engagement ring, a solitaire with a stone big enough to use as a searchlight. On either side of her were two women also dressed in elegant, subdued money. They looked ready to whisk Natalia away at the first sign of distress.

  Lindsey stepped up first. “I am so sorry for your loss. I am truly grateful for the years Craig and I spent working together. His loss is felt by all of us at Elite.”

  “Thank you so much.” Natalia forced a tiny smile. “I know he appreciated all your hard work and thought very highly of you.”

  “Craig was very important to us,” Taylor said, taking Natalia’s hand. “We’re doing everything we can to find out how this dreadful thing happened.”

  If possible, Natalia’s face turned even paler. �
�But—but the police said it was an accident, brought on by those stupid pills he took.”

  “And we’re hoping that’s all it is,” Taylor agreed, “but we’ve asked the police to do a very thorough job.”

  “Thank you for caring so much.”

  But to Lindsey, her voice rang false.

  Back in the chapel, Lindsey was doing her best to overhear any conversation she could, just in case someone let a nugget drop by accident. It wasn’t easy, what with everyone speaking in hushed tones and several different conversations going on at the same time.

  “It’s hard to tell who might be involved and who is not,” she whispered to Taylor. “There are the Podestas and Merriams over there, by the two large urns.”

  “I’m going to say hello to Frank,” Noah told them in a low voice. “And I recognize George Merriam from pictures I’ve seen. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “It’s always possible no one here is involved,” Taylor reminded her, “but after what John dug up today, I’m voting yes. There’s a connection here. Definitely. I just have a gut feeling whatever was going on is a lot bigger than we’re imagining.”

  “If it includes the sex trade,” she murmured, “you can bet on it.”

  Lindsey was still trying to eavesdrop as she moved through the crowd, when the funeral director called for their attention and asked that they be seated. The four of them sat near the back, doing their best, Lindsey thought, to be unobtrusive. She sat there, quiet, letting the somber environment wash over her, when a whisper from the row behind her distracted her.

  “We have to get some answers, and soon.” A male voice, very low.

  Every muscle in Lindsey’s body tightened. She eased her hand over John’s and gripped it tightly, hoping he’d get the message because she couldn’t say anything out loud. His answering squeeze was his signal for “Message received and understood.”

  “We will, but not here today at the funeral. Have some sensitivity.” Another male voice, a little deeper.

  “We can’t wait too long, or we’ll be in trouble. People have expectations and operations cannot simply be halted like this, just because Craig is…dead.”