Off the Record: An Avery Rich Mystery (Avery Rich Mysteries Book 1)

by Sara Gauldin

  As if on some unconscious signal, we opened the car doors and quietly closed them. We followed the tree's shadow line, silently, toward the Maple house. There appeared to be some kind of central lighting on the main floor of the home. We reached the garage entryway, and Kain immediately went to work on picking the lock. I was useless here; breaking and entering was not part of my training. The lock made a few popping sounds before it yielded, and the door swung open quietly.

  We entered the darkened house like a couple of cat burglars. With weapons drawn, we proceeded through the garage and into the kitchen area. It was barren and elegantly finished in granite and dark cabinetry. It appeared that it had never been cooked in. Besides a slight layer of dust on the stove, there was nothing of interest there. We proceeded to the entryway of the great room. The furniture was oversized and earth-toned. The pictures on the walls were abstract, and of a grand scale. Somebody had spent a fortune to decorate the room, but it had an impersonal feel. So far, I had not noticed a single-family photo; there were no mementos of trips or special occasions. The room looked like it was staged for visitors, but not used for living. Most notably, there was no sign of the missing bankers. I quickly moved to check the coat closets and the half-bath that adjoined the room.

  Kain noted a stairway that led downwards toward the basement. He gestured for me to join him, and we both descended the steps. This was no dank, musty basement. It was fully finished, with a huge media room containing a projection screen. There was a doorway on the far side of the room. We passed through the door to find ourselves in a hallway. So far, we'd only found empty rooms, as though the house had no occupants. Could this be a model home?

  I gripped my gun to my chest as we reached a closed door at the end of the hall. Kain nodded in my direction, and I knew he was asking me to cover him. He opened the door to the room that turned out to be an office, the first space that appeared to be used. The desk was littered with files and paperwork. The computer cast a soft blue hue on the room, and amazingly, the system was not locked. Bank documents were clearly present on the screen.

  We did a quick sweep of the room. Finding it unoccupied, we went to work. We could not remove anything from the room, but if we could find something that led us to locating Morris and Shultz, then our search would be worthwhile. I took out a small digital camera from my pocket and began photographing the room. I opened files and photographed the documents. As I neared the end of the first folder my heart almost skipped a beat--there, on the endorsement page, was Lawrence Shultz’s signature, dated from Tuesday. Next to his was Douglas White’s signature. One story was confirmed: Lawrence Shultz was alive as of Tuesday, and he was involved in a business exchange.

  While I photographed the files, Kain began to work at the computer. His fingers flew over the keyboard with extreme proficiency. The printer jerked to life causing me to jump. “They’ll hear us!” I hissed at Kain.

  Kain shook his head and pointed upward toward the ceiling “Sound dampening ceiling. It’s a rather nice addition to a basement.” He answered in a quiet but smooth tone.

  My fingers continued to fumble through the pages of the folders. There were four that contained signatures from our missing bankers at Tuesday’s meeting. It seemed they could not process the documents for foreclosures or transfers of large amounts of funds without the written consent of the branch president from the affected bank. I finished searching the littered the desk and made an attempt to put them back the way they were when I'd found them.

  Kain was still busily printing. I went to him and watched. He had printed the foreclosure documents and the balance sheets that were left open. He had inserted a jump drive that I recognized as the one from my home computer, and was copying a batch of files in one corner of the screen. While that program was working, Kain had accessed some accounting website and was busily downloading documents.

  “What are you finding?" I asked.

  “Quite a paper trail, actually,” he responded. “They seem to be channeling a massive amount of funds into several overseas accounts. If I’m correct, some of this game is based on foreclosing on homes by throwing huge loopholes into loans, then substantially undervaluing the homes to resell them to a select group of people. The homes are later resold at a vast mark up, or they are destroyed by ‘natural causes,' and the insurance money is collected by the buyer.”

  “You can tell all of that from his documents?” I could sense Kain was leaving something out.

  Kain smirked. “I told you I had collected some information at White’s office yesterday. I memorized his login information. The accountant always keeps better records than the client, even if they’re both criminals.”

  Kain was in his element, but I knew we needed to get out of this house. We were no closer to finding a location for the missing bankers, but we did know more about the reason behind the crime.

  “If that’s true, then you may be the only one with that information, now that they killed White,” I said. “If that is the case, then we can investigate later. We need to clear this house and make sure there's no sign of Morris and Shultz before those goons make it back here.” My voice had raised its pitch by the time I'd completed my speech. Kain gazed at me with his twinkling blue eyes, as though he was going to ask me a question. Apparently he thought better of it, because he shook his head and began closing documents. I scooped the papers off of the printer.

  We quickly searched the remainder of the house. There was no sign the missing bankers had ever been there. It appeared we were going to have to go deeper into this corruption to have any hope of pulling them back out of it.

  When we pulled out of the neighborhood, I was relieved that our search hadn't been interrupted. One thing was certain--if Maple ever had a family, they had never lived in that house. The bedrooms were barren and hotel-like. There were no clothes in the closets or the dressers. We headed toward the highway and towards the Shultz home with a new resolve to get to the bottom of whatever scheme this was.

  Chapter 13

  Kain actively shuffled through his pile of papers. He had pulled my list of evidence out of the bag and was adding new notes as he went.

  “What are you finding there?” I asked. It was impossible for me to snoop and to drive at the same time, unless he was charitable enough to share.

  “I am trying to find a pattern in this data,” he said. “I think I can put together the details of the banking scheme, but what I want to know is who's responsible and how they are related. It does no good to bring the deeds to light if the criminals are never brought to justice. They'll just find a way to cause more damage somewhere else.”

  I shook my head. “Not all patterns can point to the same conspiracy.”

  “True, but all the evidence should point to a specific crime, and in this case, the crime has a motive and a hierarchy, we just need all the pieces of the puzzle to see the whole picture.”

  He was determined, that much was obvious. As the sun began to rise, the traffic steadily increased. We crept across town toward the address we had found for the families of Lawrence Shultz.

  As I drove, my mind played various scenarios in anticipation of what we would find there. I was hoping to see Mr. Shultz answer the door to tell me he'd been set free as a result of the police taking Maple and Parker into custody. That was a fantasy, however, and not a very likely outcome. I doubted we would find anyone at home at all. If nothing else, we could possibly search for more evidence that would either eliminate or connect Mrs. Shultz to the unexplained call to the Commander.

  “We really need more information on this Will Collins person," Kain said. "That's where we need to focus our energy.”

  I felt my eyes automatically begin to roll. We were only a block or so away from the Shultzs’ home; it seemed pointless to chase our tails if we were already there.

  “I’d love to find out more about Will Collins, especially if it means we can solve the case and get our lives back, but we're already here, so why not check it
out before anybody has time to catch up to us."

  I could tell by Kain’s expression that he was not entirely satisfied with my answer. Like it or not, I pulled up to the curb in front of my target address as he glowered.

  “Here we are!” I grinned at Kain, and he warmed slightly.

  Kain shrugged. “I suppose we should check things out, since we're here."

  I turned in the driver's seat to face Kain. “We should take the angle that we need to speak with Lawrence, that way we can get a feel for the family dynamic before they get the idea that we're here to find out what they know.”

  “Maybe,” said Kain, “But if they're being threatened, or feel as though they're in danger if they talk to anyone, you're just going to trigger them to panic. They may shut down completely, or they may lash out. We need to be prepared for whatever reaction we get.”

  “I guess there's only one way to find out.” I was already swinging my feet out of the driver’s door and toward the pavement. My khaki pants did not collect the sun's heat like the staunch suit from yesterday, but the day was still young. I had a feeling it was going to be another scorcher.

  I rang the bell and fidgeted while I waited. It seemed like it was taking forever for anyone to answer, and I felt very exposed standing on the front step of the handsome split level in full view of any passersby. Kain turned his back to the door and scanned the street for any changes.

  “One more time,” I grumbled, and rang the bell again. Presently, I heard movement inside the home, and my spirits lifted slightly; someone was home! I heard the bolt unlock, and someone fumbling with the door knob. Then the door opened slowly and my nervousness ebbed.

  There stood a teenaged girl, still dressed in her pajama bottoms. The girl was tall and thin. She was probably about fifteen. Her red hair was tied back in a sloppy bun. I wondered if we had woken her up.

  “Hi, my name is Avery Rich. Is your dad home? I need to speak with him.” I tried to keep my voice calm and reassuring. It wasn't easy, as I was standing with my back exposed to potential trouble.

  “Umm, he's at work now.” The girl looked at her feet. Either we were the most boring people she had ever encountered, or she was not being honest.

  “It is seven-thirty a.m. It's a bit early to be at work,” I said.

  “You're at work, right?” The girl glanced up at me and rolled her eyes.

  A mouthy kid--I should have known better than to challenge a teenager. “Yes, I suppose I am, but I work strange hours. Can we come in and speak with you?”

  “No, nobody can be in the house when my parents are out,” she said.

  A man’s voice called out from another room. “Show Ms. Rich in. She has questions that I can answer.”

  I felt the instant recoil of shock. Could Lawrence Shultz be comfortably making ready for his day at his own home? I distrusted the situation, but at this point, I had to know--it was now or never. I looked at Kain and he gave a quick nod of approval, so we moved into the foyer. The girl gestured toward a doorway. We followed her lead and found ourselves in a modern great room. She gestured toward the couch. The girl remained disinterested as she slouched through the doorway in retreat.

  “Do you suppose it's Shultz?” I whispered to Kain.

  “I’m not sure, but this whole situation seems wrong,” Kain answered.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” a male voice said.

  I looked towards the stairwell in the direction of the voice. I knew in that very moment I'd completely lost my grip on reality. Standing before me, his gun raised, was Commander Calbert. Instinctively, Kain and I both moved to draw our weapons.

  Calbert responded by cocking his gun and taking a step toward us. “Bad idea, kids. I would dispatch you both before you could draw your weapon. Besides, it seems you're letting your guard down too easily these days, Mr. Kain.”

  Both Kain and I moved our hands away from our weapons and raised them before us.

  “Keep your hands where I can see them!” Calbert demanded.

  “Calbert, I was wondering how your part of this story fit,” Kain said.

  “I regret that I'm any part of this mess, but when the situation was thrust upon me, I had no choice in the matter.” Calbert's expression was sincere.

  “Regret does not change the fact that you have us, including your own detective, at gunpoint,” Kain said.

  “I hope you won't think only negative things about me. I'm not the one who put this whole mess into motion. I merely failed to stop it before it hurt the ones I loved. Now I'm just as trapped in this mire of criminal intent as you both are.”

  “Calbert, you sent me to investigate this, you sent me to Kain—surely you knew what you were sending me into.” I felt my pulse race with anger. I had been betrayed by the very man who had pretended to have my best interests at heart, by the man who'd touted my qualifications only to sell me out. “It's clear to me that you made a choice to be involved in this. If you didn’t want anyone looking into this case, why would you bother to send me?”

  Calbert’s face contorted into a grimace. “I never meant to put you in this position, Rich. I needed you to find out more about this case because it would put others in even more danger if I had done it myself. I needed you to recruit Kain because this is exactly where he is most knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I also needed you both to cause a distraction. I’m sorry I had to use you both this way, but you must understand--I had no choice.” Calbert’s voice sounded strained, as though he was about to have some sort of emotional outburst. His face had taken on the same red and explosive countenance that I had originally witnessed in his office.

  He pulled some zip ties from his pockets and laid them on the coffee table before us. “Since I can’t have you wandering off or leading anyone back here, and I don't care to be shot, please restrain Mr. Kain, Detective Rich."

  I glowered at Calbert, but began the process of tying Kain’s hands before him. I purposely connected the ties in the front since Calbert had not been specific.

  “I’ll need both of your guns as well. You can retrieve Mr. Kain’s weapon, Detective. No brilliant ideas just lay the guns on the coffee table. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

  Calbert’s mood was all over the place. Either he was setting us up, or he was concerned for our well-being--he seemed determined to be both. I slid my hand along Kain’s waist line and grabbed his gun. As I withdrew it from the holster, it crossed my mind to try to turn this situation around, but the odds were not in my favor at this angle. Even if I could pull off a shot, how could I prove my reasoning for firing on my commanding officer? At this point, I had no choice but to play nice, and hope to find out enough to get myself and Kain clear of this mess. I put the gun on the coffee table, and then repeated the process with my own sidearm.

  Calbert moved toward us with his gun raised. He bent over the coffee table and scooped up our guns.

  I felt deflated. I knew I couldn’t shoot Calbert, but I had given up any chance of regaining the upper hand in the immediate future.

  “I never thought I would see the day when you would choose an alliance. Whatever happened to finding the truth as it really was? Did somebody name a price you couldn't turn down?” Kain asked.

  Calbert deposited the guns unceremoniously on a shelf across the room and moved toward us again.

  “It’s not about money, not for me anyway. They have my daughter.” Calbert gestured to the family portrait over the mantle. I recognized the face of Lawrence Shultz right away. Next to him were his wife, and the red-haired teenager that had answered the door. The wife had fair hair and a kind smile. If you looked closely, you could see a family resemblance between her and Calbert. Kain sat up and leaned toward the portrait. I could see him putting things together.

  “Mrs. Shultz is your daughter?” I asked.

  “Yes, her name is Myra,” Calbert said as he attempted to fit my wrists with zip ties using only his free hand, while his gun remained poised in his other hand.

  “My
ra called you from the park, didn’t she?" Kain asked.

  “She shouldn’t have tried it. They took her husband. She was warned not to talk. She panicked and called me. She gave me Maple’s name before they caught up to her.” The zip ties closed on my wrists with a mechanical buzz. Calbert stepped back.

  “Was she able to tell you anything more?” Kain asked. His voice was calm and reflective. I thought it was odd he was able to remain so composed, considering the situation.

  “She said that Lawrence had been taken. She was here when they came for him. Luckily, Cassandra was at a friend’s house. She said they'd pulled up in a white work-van and come to the door. She thought they were work men who had shown up at the wrong house. She answered the door and found herself at gun-point. Lawrence came into the room to see who she was speaking to. It was him they wanted. They forced Lawrence to the door. They told Myra that they wouldn't hurt him, but if she contacted anyone or reported him as missing, they'd come back for her and Cassandra. She recognized Jim Maple as one of her husband’s work associates. She contacted me to give me his name. I haven't been able to find her since the day she called me from the park. I’ve been trying to protect Cassandra ever since.”

  Calbert’s grief was evident as he told about his daughter’s family being invaded and harmed. I wished Calbert had been on the level with me. I hated that things were like this now, but part of me understood why Calbert had done what he had done. He was desperate.

  Chapter 14

  The oddly calm expression on Kain's face as he glared at Commander Calbert did not match the surge of adrenaline that was coursing through me, making me feel ready to jump out of my own skin.

  “That does clear things up,” said Kain. “You stand to gain nothing, only to reclaim your loved ones. I suppose each of us has a weakness. Yours is your family, and mine is my willingness to help pretty detectives with impossible cases.” Kain looked at me and his eyes shone, almost as they had after our first, staged kiss. I was baffled. He was flirting while we were tied up and being held captive. Even if I could survive this situation, I doubt I would ever truly understand Ryan Kain. Every time I thought I was making headway toward figuring him out, he said or did something to throw me off.