Textbook Murder

by Laina Turner

  “Nine o’clock then, and don’t be late.” Randall ended the call before Marshall had a chance to answer.

  “Well?” Chloe looked at Randall and leaned forward, eyebrows raised.

  “He’ll be there,” Randall said, tossing his phone back on the table. “Son of a bitch actually had the gall to try and pretend he didn’t frame me. I can’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head.

  “I’m sorry you have to deal with this. Losing a friend, especially one you thought was a good one, is tough.”

  Randall just shook his head again, and she could tell he didn’t want to talk about the friendship piece anymore, so she decided to change the subject.

  “So, where are you meeting him, exactly?” she asked.

  “There’s this train station, strictly freight, just on the north end of town. It’s been shut down for thirty years now, but it’s almost as if just they decided to close one day and left everything as it was. Train cars and everything. Back in high school our group of friends would always hang out there. You know, to drive and do stuff we weren’t supposed to do. It’s a really cool place.”

  “You and Marshall have been friends since high school?” No wonder Randall was so upset about the betrayal. Their friendship had deep roots.

  “Since middle school, actually. His family moved here when we were in the sixth grade. Marshall was a brainiac even back then, and, as you may remember from your days of middle school, nerds got picked on. I felt sorry for him and befriended him. Being on the baseball team gave me a little middle school clout, and when we teamed up, people left him alone. Turned out, we actually had things in common, and the friendship stood the test of time. Until now, at least.” Randall shook his head as if to get those fond memories out.

  “I guess it’s better to know the truth now,” Chloe said. Even though it sounded trite, she knew nothing she could say would really help.

  “I know.”

  Chapter 17

  Chloe sat waiting in her car at a gas station around the corner from the train yard. She and Randall had driven separately so she could be close, just in case something happened, but not close enough that Marshall would see her and be scared off. They had an open line between her phone and Randall’s, and as long as no one accidentally hung up on the other one, she should be able to hear everything going on. Then, if she felt he was in danger, she could call the police. Thank goodness for the capabilities of smartphones.

  They’d debated on whether or not to tell Detective Rodriguez about what they’d found, and their plan, but in the end decided not to. Chloe felt bad about it, but she still thought it was the best thing to do. Detective Rodriguez had his own set of protocols he had to abide by, and he would have no choice but to stop them from carrying out their plan. Chloe was afraid that the more time that went by, the bigger chance there would be of Marshall covering his tracks and taking Randall’s freedom with him. She knew they were taking a risk by doing this, and that it could get them in trouble rather than solving everything if it didn’t go right. She hoped it was a risk that would pay off.

  Randall was worried that she was putting her law license, and therefore her livelihood, in jeopardy if this went wrong and they got in trouble. She told him not to worry, that she was a big girl and knew what she was doing. Now it was a waiting and worrying game.

  “Can you hear me?” Randall’s voice came over the phone she was holding in her hand.

  “Loud and clear.”

  “Good.”

  “Are you ready for this?” she asked, feeling nervous.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “You’ll be fine,” she assured him. “Just think, you’ll soon have your ticket to freedom, and this can all be over.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “Of course I’m right,” she said playfully, trying to bring some levity to the situation.

  “I’m pulling in now, so let’s maintain radio silence.”

  “Roger that, Mr. I Watch Too Many Movies.”

  That got a chuckle out of him, and then all she could hear was crunching of what she assumed was gravel under the tires and the car shutting off. The car door opened and closed, and she could hear him walking. A dozen steps later he stopped.

  “I see you’re early, as usual, Marshall.” Randall’s voice came through the phone without any problems. Score one for technology.

  “Some habits die hard.”

  Chloe had a nervous pit in her stomach, wanting this to go the way they had planned so they could get the information they needed and clear Randall’s name.

  There was silence, which Marshall finally broke. “What do you want, Randall?” he said coldly. “Why did you bring me out to this godforsaken place?”

  “You used to love this place.”

  “I used to love a lot of things. Now, let’s get down to business. What do you want?”

  “If you want me to stay quiet, and I assume you do, because I’m sure you don’t want to go to jail, then you need to make it worth my while,” Randall said, keeping his voice calm.

  “Randall, I don’t know who’s been telling you things, or what you’ve worked up in your own mind, but you’ve got this all wrong.”

  “You mean to stand here, face-to-face, and deny that you framed me? You were my best friend. I trusted you, and this is what I get? Facing a prison sentence for embezzling money I didn’t actually embezzle. No, I’ve got it right, Marshall. Now, what’s it going to be?” Some of that calmness began to fade, and his voice started to rise.

  Marshall sighed. “Randall, I never meant to hurt you.”

  “Then just admit you did this to me, and we can move on to the part where you make it right.”

  “Fine. You got it. What will it take for your silence?” Marshall bit the words off.

  “I want eighty percent of what you took.”Marshall burst out laughing. “You’ve got to be joking,” he said in a derisive tone. “I was thinking more like fifty/fifty, and that’s only because we go way back.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes, even though no one could see her. Marshall was full of it. He was only offering that because he knew Randall had enough information to send him to jail.

  Randall snorted. “You’re not the one going to jail over this. Twenty percent of ten million is still a nice chunk of change. Take it or leave it.”

  “Okay. Deal. I give you eighty percent, and you keep your mouth shut,” Marshall said.

  Marshall agreeing so easily gave Chloe pause. Something didn’t feel right.

  “Here is the banking information where I want the money transferred. You have twenty-four hours to get that money into my account, or the deal is off and I go to the police,” Randall said with ease, as if this were something he did every day. But Chloe knew how hard this must be for him.

  “You got it,” Marshall said without missing a beat.

  “Twenty-four hours,” Randall repeated.

  Chloe heard the car start and wanted to say something, but refrained as she knew Randall probably needed a few minutes to process what happened. She didn’t have to wait long because just minutes later he pulled into the gas station parking lot where she was waiting. He got out of his car and slid into the passenger side of hers and just sat there for a moment. His face was stoic. She wasn’t sure what he was thinking.

  Chloe finally broke the silence. “That went well. I mean, from the standpoint of we got what we were hoping to get.”

  Randall shook his head.

  “I’m wrong? We didn’t? I heard the conversation and heard him as much as admit he stole the money.”

  “It’s not that,” Randall said, reaching inside his waistband to pull the tape off the recorder and pull it out. “He caved too easily.”

  “I kind of thought that too,” she admitted. “But he had no choice. He knew you could send him to jail, and some money is better than no money.”

  “It’s not like him to give in so easily. It’s in his personality to argue. He argues about everyth
ing. And sticks to his guns, even when it’s way past the point of making sense, a personality trait of his that’s always driven me crazy. No. Something’s up. This went too easy.”

  “What do you think his plans are, then? You think he won’t transfer the money?”

  “I’m not sure what his plans are,” Randall said, tapping his fingers on the gearshift as if he was trying to figure out his ex-friend’s next move.

  “Well, in any case, we need to download the recording and take it to Detective Rodriguez. Maybe he’ll have some ideas of what to do with this information.”

  Chapter 18

  After stopping at Randall’s and downloading the recording onto a flash drive, Chloe called Detective Rodriguez and asked him to meet them. Time was of the essence, just in case Marshall did plan on transferring the money or had some other plan up his sleeve.

  They were currently sitting in the detective’s office at the police station. After listening to the recording and reading them the riot act for having the meeting without police involvement, Rodriguez had called someone—he didn’t offer up who, and Chloe wasn’t about to ask, since he was already furious and was now pacing back and forth. It was driving Chloe crazy, but it was his office, so she kept her mouth shut.

  “And you don’t think it’s going to be as simple as Marshall transferring you the money and going away?” the detective finally said, addressing Randall.

  “No. He’s got something up his sleeve. I’m just not sure what it is.”

  “Any educated guesses?”

  Randall thought for a minute. “I’m sure he’s not in this alone. There has to be a bigger picture here. This just isn’t the Marshall I’ve known for twenty years. And I know what you’re about to say, that people change and all that, but I just can’t believe he would do this on his own. I just can’t. Something or someone is motivating him.”

  “Surely what’s on this tape will clear Randall?” Chloe interjected. She wanted justice, but her immediate concern was clearing Randall’s name.

  “Ultimately, that decision is a few pay grades above mine, but yes, I think this evidence will go a long way toward clearing his name.”

  Randall suddenly stood up. “May I use your computer?” he asked Detective Rodriguez.

  “Sure.”

  Randall walked behind the desk and sat down and started typing. After a few minutes, he turned the screen around so the detective and Chloe could see it. It was a website.

  “ProCon?” said Chloe. “What’s that?”

  “A competitor,” Randall said excitedly. “Or rather, a wannabe competitor. Last year we were in talks with them about a possible merger of resources. Marshall was gung ho for the merger. It would have brought a lot of capital to the table that would have funded a research project Marshall was interested in. But during my due diligence of researching them, I came across some of the places their resources were coming from and nixed the deal. Marshall was furious, but the board sided with me, not wanting to take that risk. What if Marshall thought this was a way to get rid of me and merge with ProCon?”

  “Do you think the board would agree to merge if you were out of the way?” Detective Rodriguez asked, giving voice to Chloe’s own thoughts.

  “I believe so. They’ve always gone with the direction we felt was the best one. They have a lot of faith in us. This was one of the few times we had a difference of opinion with something we took to the board. Them thinking I had embezzled the money would have weakened their confidence in me, and they may have started second-guessing my opinion on that deal. Yeah, I think they would do whatever he said was best with me out of the picture. Marshall can be very persuasive.”

  “What was your hesitation?” Chloe asked.

  “There was a paper trail that indicated they were taking money from a conglomerate in Japan, a company whose values and social responsibility differed from ours. And whose money didn’t seem to come from legitimate sources. We asked for more information from the investors and asked a lot of questions that they didn’t want to answer. They kept dodging, and it made me uncomfortable. That, on top of what we already knew, made me not want to close the deal. Marshall said I was paranoid, and that I was stupid to pass up the opportunity of the money this deal would bring us because of all the good that would come from the investment in his research project. In hindsight, it was really the first time he seemed to focus on the money rather than the research. Maybe that should have been my clue that his goals had changed.”

  “Don’t be too hard on yourself, Randall. We always see things more clearly after the fact,” Chloe said. “It’s what we do now that counts.”

  The phone in Detective Rodriguez’s office rang. He looked over at the display, and then picked it up. “Rodriguez,” he said into the phone by way of greeting. “Yeah. They’re both here. Uh-huh.” Rodriguez nodded, looking at the two of them, which made Chloe wonder who was on the other end of the line, and what they might be saying.

  “Okay, yeah. Ten minutes?” Rodriguez asked. “See you then.” He hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair, where Randall was still sitting.

  “C’mon.”

  “Where are we going?” Chloe asked, standing up.

  “We’re going to meet the Feds. Their office is a few blocks down.”

  Randall had a shocked look on his face as he glanced at Chloe. She was also worried. Having people on that high a level wanting to meet this late at night was a big deal, and not necessarily a good one.

  “They want to hear what’s on the tape,” Jack said, obviously seeing their worry. It made sense but was still scary. “And talk to you about it.”

  They all rode in the detective’s car the few short blocks to the Federal Building, none of them saying a word. Chloe knew Randall was probably freaking out, even though the detective had said not to worry. It would be next to impossible not to worry if she were in his shoes.

  They pulled in and started to get out of the car.

  Detective Rodriguez turned to them. “I know I probably don’t need to tell you this, but tell them everything you know. Even if it seems insignificant. Even if you think it might get you in trouble,” Jack said, pointedly looking at both of them.

  Chloe and Randall nodded, and they all headed inside.This wasn’t the first time Chloe had been in a federal building. She just needed to remember federal employees were people too. She smiled inwardly at her bad humor.

  “Detective Rodriguez?” A man in a navy suit walked up to them and stuck out his hand toward the detective. “I’m Agent Smolder. Follow me, please.” He barely glanced in the direction of Randall and Chloe, not unusual, she knew, under these circumstances. They weren’t criminals, per se—well, she wasn’t, and Randall was in the alleged category—but they weren’t fellow law enforcement or anyone important either. At least in the opinion of the federal officers.

  Agent Smolder quickly ushered them into a conference room similar to ones found in any corporate office, where they joined a man and a woman who were already seated.

  “Thank you, Agent Smolder,” said the man. He had gray hair and wore a dark navy suit, which was the unofficial uniform of all the federal employees Chloe knew. While Agent Smolder took a seat, the man turned to the three of them and introduced himself.

  “I’m Jim Thorpe, federal prosecutor assigned to this case, and my colleague is Tanner Blume. I appreciate you coming down here so quickly, especially at this time of night. I hear you have some new information pertaining to this case?”

  “We have a recording that proves Randall didn’t embezzle money from GlobE. That Marshall Cooper did,” Chloe spoke up first. Jack slid the flash drive across the table to Jim, who gave it to Tanner and whispered something in her ear. Tanner jumped up and left the room, most likely to listen to what was on the tape, and Jim turned his attention back to them.

  “How did you come by this information?” he asked.

  “Randall met with him and got him to admit it,” Chloe replied, and
proceeded to detail the entire story. Jim listened, his expression not giving away a single sign of what he was thinking about the whole situation.

  “Were you involved in this?” he eventually asked, looking at Detective Rodriguez, who shook his head.

  “No, sir. They came to me after the fact.”

  Tanner had come back in the room while Jim was asking that question and whispered in his ear. They seemed to do a lot of whispering.

  “Sir, if I may,” said Randall, clearing his throat nervously. “We didn’t involve anyone in this because, well, frankly we didn’t figure anyone would believe me until there was concrete evidence.”

  Again, Jim just sat there, his face not giving an indication of what he might be thinking. “The tape does give an indication that Marshall Cooper may have been involved. It lines up with some other evidence we have.”

  “Does that mean you believe I’m innocent?” Randall said.

  “Slow down. Not yet.”

  Randall’s face fell, and Chloe saw Jim’s face soften just a little, or so she thought. It could have been wishful thinking.

  “It’s a good start, and if we verify a few things, this might very well be your ticket to freedom. I will share with you that we were looking into some of Marshall’s activities, and maybe you can fill in some of the blanks.”

  Randall pretended to be surprised, not wanting to give away what they had already learned. “Really?”

  Jim nodded. “You were smart to not want to get involved with ProCon. They have ties to some people who are, shall we say, less than desirable.”

  “So what can we do to clear his name?” Chloe asked.

  Jim thought for a moment. “This is what I propose.”

  Chapter 19

  The feds agreed with Randall, not thinking Marshall had any intent to share any of the embezzled money. But none of them were sure what his angle was. So the new plan was to let the twenty-four-hour deadline pass, and if Marshall didn’t come through, have Randall call Marshall and once again demand the money, telling him he would go to the press as well as the authorities. The feds believed Marshall was working on someone else’s behalf, which fell in line with Randall’s thinking.