[Katerina Carter 01.0] Exit Strategy

by Colleen Cross

  Nick Racine was engrossed in conversation with a petite, silver-haired woman in a cream business suit in front of the podium. Her back was facing Kat. Suddenly Nick’s eyes locked in on Kat, and he broke off the conversation, striding over to the door, never taking his eyes off her.

  “Excuse me, Kat. This meeting is open to shareholders only. Now if you’ll just leave quietly—”

  “Uh, Nick? I am a shareholder. Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to make sure I get a seat up front. I’m expecting this to be a very lively meeting.” Kat fought to keep a smirk off her face. She bought a hundred shares last week for the sole purpose of attending the meeting. She really couldn’t afford them. Then again, she couldn’t afford not to buy them. Kat pushed past Nick and eyed the room. He wasn’t going to intimidate her.

  Harry was here, back from his curling bonspiel and waving her over to where he was sitting in the second row. He was dressed for success too. His suit might have been trendy twenty years ago, but the pinstripes made him look like an aging gangster.

  “Isn’t this exciting? I get to hear all about my company. And all this…” Harry gesticulated with a wave of his arm. “It’s all mine. At least partially mine. I could be the deciding vote.”

  He wouldn’t, but Kat didn’t have the heart to tell him. She scanned the room as more people filed in. The meeting started in five minutes, but the one person who Kat hoped would make a difference was not here. That didn’t necessarily mean anything. Audrey Braithwaite didn’t have to attend the meeting in person. The Braithwaite Family Trust shares would likely be voted by their nominee, or she could vote by proxy. Whether she showed up or not, Kat hoped Audrey would vote against the Porter takeover.

  “Kat? You seem distracted.”

  “Sorry, Uncle Harry. I’m trying to find someone.”

  “Ha! Wouldn’t it be funny if that Bryant guy showed up?”

  But Kat wasn’t listening. She grabbed her purse and practically sprinted over to the door, where Audrey had just arrived. Her fast twitch muscles sprang into action, no doubt a benefit from all those training runs.

  “Audrey!” Kat tried to slow her breathing so she wasn’t gasping. Chanel No. 5 enveloped her as she drew closer.

  “Audrey—there’s something you need to know. Liberty is laundering diamonds for organized crime. The mine at Mystic Lake? Faked. All in order to drive up the share price.”

  “What? That’s ridiculous! Besides, I’m not supposed to talk to you. When I told Nick about our meeting, he said you had been fired. You’re just making up stories to get even. I don’t like liars.”

  “I never said I still worked at Liberty. And I’m not making anything up. There are a lot worse people than me in this room right now, believe me. Can I just have a minute of your time? Please?”

  Audrey glanced uneasily around the room, no doubt looking for Nick.

  “Well, okay. Make it quick.”

  Microphone feedback pierced the air as someone spoke, testing the sound.

  Kat gave Audrey a one-minute summary of the faked production, stock market manipulation by Opal, the Argentine mafia connection, and how it tied to the Porter takeover offer.

  “The Mafia? You’ve got to be kidding.” Audrey was incredulous. “No wonder Nick fired you. Coming up with crazy stories isn’t going to change anything.”

  “Audrey, please. You’ve got to believe me. They’re using Liberty as a diamond-laundering scheme. These are dangerous people. They probably had something to do with the murder of your brother.”

  “Now don’t go playing the Alex card again. Tying my brother into this is a cheap shot. Have you no respect? I’m not talking to you anymore.” She started to walk away.

  “Wait! It’s the truth, Audrey.” Dare she say it? “Someone on the inside is crooked.”

  Audrey scanned the room for someone to rescue her.

  “Audrey, Susan Sullivan is not who she appears to be. She’s the daughter of an Argentine mafia don. And she’s here to swindle you and your family out of your company.”

  “This is preposterous. Did someone spike your drink? Now leave me alone.”

  Audrey turned on her heel.

  Kat grabbed her shoulder.

  Audrey regarded Kat with a mix of shock and fear. As Kat released her hold on Audrey, she felt like one of the untouchables, in some sort of forbidden inter-caste battle.

  “Audrey, you can’t tender to the offer. Susan Sullivan is an imposter. Her real name is Clara de la Cruz Ortega and she’s wanted in South America for embezzlement, drug trafficking, and money laundering. She works for one of the largest organized-crime organizations in the world. You’re about to give Liberty to them.”

  Kat saw a glimmer of hesitation in Audrey’s eyes.

  “You want to know what happened to Alex? I’ll bet Susan, or rather Clara, knows. Why don’t you ask her?”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m very serious. Her father is the most ruthless organized crime boss in South America. He’ll stop at nothing. Murdering your brother and Ken Takahashi is just a cost of doing business to him. He’s stealing Liberty out from under you. Don’t you care?”

  “I—I’ve got to go.” Audrey turned and marched out of the room as the speaker announced the start of the meeting. Kat sighed in disappointment. She hadn’t expected to convince Audrey on the spot, but hoped the information might at least make her think twice about tendering the Braithwaite Family Trust shares. Time for Plan B.

  37

  Kat stood up and yelled in the loudest voice she could muster, drowning out Susan Sullivan’s speech to the shareholders. Everyone turned around in their seats and stared at Kat in bewilderment as she addressed the crowd.

  “Imposter! Susan Sullivan is a criminal. Susan and her mafia father are trying to take Liberty out from under your noses.”

  There was a rumbling in the crowd as everyone strained to see the interloper. A couple of burly security guards were already making their way from the back of the room down the aisle in her direction. Kat bolted towards the podium and grabbed the microphone from its holder in front of Susan. Susan stood speechless, her mouth agape as she stared at Kat in disbelief.

  “Susan’s real name is Clara de la Cruz Ortega. Her father heads the Argentine mafia. He deals in drugs, weapons, and land mines. He kills people. And he wants Liberty badly. That’s why Susan, his daughter, has been CEO for the last two years.”

  “Enough!” Nick Racine strode to the podium and grabbed the microphone out of Kat’s hands. “She’s lying. What we have here is a disgruntled consultant. She wasn’t able to track down Bryant and the missing money, and now she’s come up with these ridiculous lies to hide her incompetence.”

  Nick pointed at the two security guards, now standing off to the side of the podium. “Goddamn it, Security! What the hell’s wrong with you? Get her out, NOW!”

  They moved towards Kat. One of the security guards grabbed her left arm firmly and tried to move her towards the aisle. Nick glared at Kat from the podium as Susan fidgeted nervously beside him, avoiding Kat’s stare and saying nothing.

  Kat jabbed an elbow in the guard’s ribs and wrestled free of his grip. She spun around to face Nick.

  “Tell this goon to lay off! You don’t want to face the truth, Nick. Why? Are you part of this conspiracy?”

  Nick again motioned for the security guard to take Kat away. Kat felt a tug on her right arm. It was Harry, counterbalancing the guard, who had her left arm again. She felt like a rag doll about to be ripped apart in a tug of war.

  “Let her go! She has a legal right to be here. She’s a shareholder. You can’t just throw her out like this!”

  Nick interjected. “She’s causing a disturbance. Disorderly conduct is grounds enough to eject her.”

  “There’s a good reason why she’s causing a commotion. She isn’t being allowed to speak. It’s something that concerns all of us as shareholders. I’m a shareholder, and I want to hear what she has to say.”

>   Several people in the crowd now stood in a show of support. The din in the room grew louder.

  “Hear, hear, let the woman speak.”

  Before Kat could say another word, Audrey rose from the front row and strode towards Nick and the microphone.

  “Wait a minute, Nick. I want to hear her too. At least let her say her piece.”

  Nick’s face reddened but he didn’t say a word. He glared at Audrey, and then Kat, but returned to his seat. The guards released their grip. Audrey motioned for Kat to return to the front.

  “Susan Sullivan’s an impostor, and I’ve got proof.” Kat held up the picture of Clara. “Here she is. Also known as Clara de la Cruz Ortega. She and her father, Emilio Ortega Ruiz, hope that you will vote yes to the Porter Holdings takeover bid.

  “Why? Because they control Porter Holdings. Once you vote yes, they will have a nice little diamond company to launder all their dirty diamonds through.” Kat was bluffing. She didn’t have the hard evidence that Porter Holdings was related to Opal, but getting it was just a matter of time.

  There was a low rumble in the crowd. A slight, grey-haired man in the back stood up.

  “Is that true, Ms. Sullivan? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

  “It’s a lie!” Susan turned to address Kat. “Ms. Carter, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers. Keep making these unfounded accusations, and I’ll sue you for slander.”

  Kat pulled out the Opal Holdings statement she had printed off the computer.

  “See this? Your CEO has been shorting Liberty stock. How’s that for a vote of confidence? Made a nice little profit too.” Kat held the statement up for effect. “The proof is all here.”

  “Susan? Is this true?” Audrey asked. “If it is, you’ve got no right to be CEO. You should step down immediately.”

  “Clara, why aren’t you talking?” Kat said as she stared pointedly at Susan. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”

  Susan sat impassively, no emotion showing. She studied Nick, waiting for him to rescue her. Kat turned her attention to him.

  “And what about Nick Racine? He hired her. He’s no fool. Don’t think for one minute that he doesn’t know who she really is. Clara de la Cruz Ortega. Liberty’s very own mafia princess.”

  The crowd hummed as everyone turned to talk to those around them. Kat waited for things to calm down a bit before continuing. But before she could say another word, Audrey grabbed the microphone.

  “Motion moved to delay the Porter takeover vote for two business days.”

  “Motion seconded!” Harry said as he raised his arm in the air.

  “Move to suspend the CEO pending further investigation.”

  “Motion seconded!” Harry could barely contain himself. Shareholder activism was his new calling.

  Kat breathed a sigh of relief. Two business days wasn’t a lot of time, but at least she had postponed the wholesale theft of Liberty.

  Except now she was in a race against time. Calling Clara’s bluff had turned her into a flight risk, and Kat expected her to bolt at any moment. There was no time to waste. Kat might have delayed the Porter takeover, but she had just unleashed something far worse. She had given notice to Ortega to come and get her.

  38

  “You sound different, Ms. de la Cruz.”

  “Do I? It’s this nasty cold. I’m losing my voice. Excuse me,” Kat said as she cleared her throat.

  “You shouldn’t be talking. It’s only going to get worse,” said the helpful woman at the Bank of Cayman.

  Kat had gambled, making the call at closing time. It had worked. Instead of Opal Holdings’ personal banker, she had reached a younger associate, someone who wouldn’t recognize her voice or question her routine inquiry on a small transfer into the account. There was no such transfer, it was just an excuse to call the bank and verify the money was still there.

  “Yes, I can confirm your balance is still the same as yesterday. Will that be all, Ms. de la Cruz?”

  “No outstanding transfers in or out, correct?”

  “That’s right.”

  “Good. You’ve been a great help.”

  “Thank you, Ms. de la Cruz. And please take care of that cold.”

  Kat thanked her and hung up the phone, disappointed her call hadn’t been more fruitful. She had hoped to find a pending funds transfer so she could cancel it. Cancelling it would buy some time, and the attempted transfer would provide an audit trail of Clara’s intentions. Still, she was relieved the money was still sitting in Opal Holdings’ Caymans account. That wouldn’t last long—the money would be on the move soon.

  She had to alert the authorities. But who? The securities regulators? The police? That was the problem with overlapping jurisdictions. In the end no one would be accountable.

  She decided to call Platt. She reasoned that it provided an obvious motive for the murders, and it might convince him to strike her off his suspect list. Besides, she hoped there was less bureaucratic red tape with the police than the regulators. That’s what she was thinking as she waited on hold. He sounded in a hurry when he picked up the phone.

  “Don’t you want to arrest her?”

  “That’s hardly my jurisdiction. I’m homicide.”

  “But, Detective Platt—it’s related to the murders. I’m sure it is.”

  “Being sure of something isn’t the same as having proof, Katerina.”

  “I’m offering you proof. There’s a risk of losing both Clara and the money. I know she’s behind the murders. Why are you ignoring an obvious lead?”

  “Katerina. I’m not free to discuss which leads I am or am not following.”

  “Just tell me, detective—are you following Clara or not?”

  Silence.

  “So I’m still the suspect?”

  The only way Kat knew Platt was still on the line was his breathing. She felt anger well up inside her. Not only was Clara about to get away with murder, she was also going to get very rich in the process.

  “Katerina, I—”

  “Detective, how can you not be concerned about a person with the strongest possible motives to murder Takahashi and Braithwaite? Clara de la Cruz is operating under an assumed name, has ties to organized crime. She’s connected to the biggest fraud in history, and is about to leave the country with billions of stolen money. What stronger motive is there?”

  “Fine. I’ll check her out.”

  “I’ll send you my notes.”

  “That won’t be necessary.”

  “Will you let me know?”

  “Katerina, I can’t discuss aspects of the investigation with you.”

  “I meant—let me know if I am still a suspect or not.”

  “Fine.”

  Click. Platt hung up on her.

  Kat was furious.

  Obviously Platt wasn’t going to keep her informed. Could she trust him to follow up on Clara? She didn’t think so. She needed a contingency plan. But what? It would take the securities commission a day or two at best to get a court order to freeze the funds. But that was on a Canadian bank. The money was now outside Canada. There was no effective legal recourse, other than court action that would be tied up for years, long after Clara had vanished with the money.

  Kat checked the kitschy German cuckoo clock above Verna’s kitchen table. It was twenty after one and another sunny afternoon, rare for Vancouver in winter. It matched her mood.

  She had triumphed over both Nick and Clara. They could call her names and question her abilities, but that didn’t alter the fact that she was onto them.

  She gazed out the kitchen window as she thought about her next steps. A squirrel jumped from tree to tree, narrowly avoiding disaster as the branch swooped down under his weight. He swung upside down on the branch for a split second, then righted himself and scurried down the trunk to the ground. He ran across the yard, and then suddenly froze.

  Kat couldn’t believe her eyes. Bent over by the vegetable garden, directly in front of the squirrel, w
as a woman in a red tartan raincoat. She rose slowly, holding some leaves in her gloved right hand.

  Kat bolted from her seat and scrambled out to the back porch in her socks.

  “Verna?”

  The woman didn’t respond. Kat ran down the steps and onto the lawn, the wet grass soaking through her socks. Her feet squished as she walked towards the woman.

  “Verna Beechy?”

  The woman turned and smiled at Kat. The buttons on her raincoat were in the wrong buttonholes, and she wore open-toe sandals instead of shoes.

  “That’s me. Who are you?”

  “My name’s Kat.”

  “Who?”

  “Kat. The, uh, caretaker.” How else to describe herself after emerging from Verna’s house?

  “Did you get my notes?”

  “I did. There’s something I’d like to ask you about them.”

  It was as if Verna didn’t hear her.

  “You’ll stay on while I’m away?”

  “Sure. When do you think you’ll be back?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. They’ve just extended the tour. I’ve got to get back to the bus or they’ll leave without me. We’re in Italy this week.”

  “Well I won’t keep you long,” Kat said. “Verna, did you forget to pay your taxes?”

  “Of course not. I’ve paid enough taxes over the years. I’ve decided I’m not paying any more. Besides, I’m on vacation. Why should I pay taxes if I’m not here?”

  Verna was obviously a little confused.

  “You’ll take care of things, won’t you?” Verna asked.

  “Of course I will. Where do you rejoin the tour?”

  “At the Golden Arches, just down the street.”

  Golden Arches? Was Verna living at the Golden Oaks? The long-term care home was less than two blocks away. That might explain why she had left her house the way it was. But didn’t she have any family or friends? How could anyone let her lose her house in a tax sale?