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

by Sara Gauldin

  The commander paced the floor. “I could never leave my daughter to deal with this on her own. I just pray that I can find her in time to stop things before they go too far. At this point, I need to find the person who put all of this into motion. That's the key to finding Myra and Lawrence. If he's involved in this, so help me, I’ll kill him myself!”

  “Sir, we could've helped you do just that," I said. "I don’t understand why you have us tied up when we could be more helpful to you on the case.” It made absolutely no sense that Calbert would consider us the enemy. We weren't the people who were hurting his family. We wanted these punks stopped as much as he did.

  “That's just it, you've already done your part. I knew when you reported Douglas White's murder that I had them. That crime scene is being legitimately processed as we speak, and if your timing was or on par, those two mules should be headed for prison. With them out of the picture, more will come to take their place. I have to act now to get my family out of this mess, if there is anything left of it. I have to find whoever started this scheme and end it. I have a feeling I won't be able to work within the system to make that happen.”

  Calbert had a sad look in his eyes, and I wondered if he believed that he was too late.

  “So you're going into this alone?” Kain asked. “What good does that do for you or for your daughter? If you run in with no plan and get yourself killed, whom will your granddaughter have to care for her in this world? Does she even know the danger she's in?”

  “That's where you come in. You've stirred the bee's nest. At this point, you're a more interesting target than I am. If I fail, then what reason do they have to come after Cassandra? She's oblivious. She's only a means of manipulating me, to keep me at bay. If I'm caught, I'll offer your whereabouts in exchange for her safety. If I'm killed, she will be free of this. Her life alone does not pose a threat." His mood was hard to read, but his grip on the gun never wavered.

  I, however, lost my composure. “Calbert, that's ridiculous! You're offering us as sacrifices to an institution that can't be appeased. Do you really think finding us is going to be enough to stop anything? You will have wasted your only chance at help for the slim chance that the people who are to blame for this whole situation will accept us as a trade? That's assuming that the police actually catch Maple and Parker. Otherwise, we may receive a courtesy call from them any minute.” How dare he use us and then turn us over when we were no more use to him. He was not in on the plot, but he had become as bad as the criminals.

  Calbert’s ire was raised. “Do you think this is what I want? Show me a way out. Tell me how I can fix any of this for my daughter or for her family.” Calbert shouted. "At least this way you both may have a chance. If I'm killed and the two grunts go to prison you have a chance of walking away. I owe you both that much.” Calbert's allegiances were giving me whiplash. Was he offering us as tribute or protecting us from ourselves?

  “You don’t have a clear picture of what you're rushing into, Calbert.” Kain’s voice was smooth and cool. I wondered how all of the shouting had not broken through his façade of composure.

  “What don’t I know?” asked Calbert.

  “Go to the car. I have some documents in the glove box that I think might give you a legal way out of this mess. You have to play by the rules. You're dealing with people who twist the law to their advantage. At this point, you can prove the two grunts are murderers. That doesn't fry the bigger fish. The only way to put a stop to him, short of a bullet, is to figure out his game, and play it better than him. Plus, if you can show where there is any idiosyncrasy, you'll have all the leverage you need to get your family back, if there is anyone left to claim.” As Kain spoke I knew what he said made perfect sense. If we could turn these legal and financial transactions into a liability, then we had Collins, or whoever was at the top of the pyramid of corruption. This was never a game we could win with brute strength.

  “What do you have in mind?” asked Calbert.

  It was obvious that an alternative interested him. His back was to the wall in terms of options. Kain was calling his bluff by giving him another possible out. Part of me questioned the alternatives’ existence.

  “First get the papers,” demanded Kain. “I can't give you a firm course of action without all the information and a little time to put things together.”

  Calbert wavered nervously in the doorway. His eyes moved involuntarily in the direction where his granddaughter had retreated. I suspected he was deciding between the desire to stay and protect his granddaughter, and the possibility of a clean out that would leave all of us alive and able to move forward with our lives. He heaved a sigh and squared his shoulders in resolution. “All right, I’ll get them, but I'm counting on you to have something good. Otherwise, I'm left showing up at Maple’s office with nothing more than a demand and the possibility of a public spectacle.”

  “Maple’s office? What good does that do? He's not there!” I responded, automatically.

  “Ah, that's the information that I've found and you haven't.” Calbert smirked. “When you called in the murder of Douglas White, you gave me four names: White, Maple, Parker, and Will Collins.”

  “Yeah, and we know Maple and Parker have been actively involved,” I said.

  "When you gave me the lead, I did a little background research on the names. Maple is a bank president, we knew that much already. Tom Parker used to be on the force. He left when he was accused of corrupting evidence. His brother, Paul, is still there. As for Will Collins, I had to dig a little deeper to find his connection. Collins is a Corporate Tax attorney that's actively employed by First National Bank. He has the know-how and the means to put together all kinds of trouble in the industry. Apparently, he needed the sign off of various banks’ presidents to make his scheme legitimate. It looks like Maple was more than ready to help. I doubt Alan Morris or Lawrence were as willing to be involved. That would explain why they fell off the grid. They were not willing puppets, so they were forced to cooperate in exchange for their survival and the safety of their families. I'd bet all of it is tied together in a neat, legal package that will be nearly impossible to circumvent.”

  I felt myself exhale heavily, and realized I'd been holding my breath. We learned Will Collins’s name at the beginning of this journey. Now we knew what part he played in the game.

  “So what do you need to put him away?” Kain was smiling like he'd won the lottery. I assume that he already knew the answer to his own question.

  “I need him to slip up. I need him to leave some bread crumbs on the table so we can prove his role in whatever they are playing at,” Calbert said.

  The look on Calbert’s face betrayed his desperation.

  “I strongly suggest you go get the papers from the car,” Kain said. “You don’t want them falling into the wrong hands if you want to resolve this thing.”

  Calbert's face was the same shade of red I'd seen in his office. He clenched his fists, then shook his head. “What are you after, Kain? If I buy your story that there is some miraculous evidence in the car that will put this case to bed, what is there to stop you and Detective Rich from escaping, or from turning this situation around on me? Then I'd have nothing to offer.”

  Ryan Kain looked Calbert in the eye with calm confidence. “Be realistic. We want out of this in a lasting and legitimate way as much as you do. We have nothing to gain from running. You will have our evidence, our keys, and access to the vehicle. What advantage does that give us?”

  Calbert knew he was trapped between two bad options. Finally, he shook his head. “Don’t make me regret this.”

  “We need to work with each other to get out of this,” I reminded the Commander. “We all stand a better chance if we work together, and within the system.” I had always believed this to be true. After the events of the last couple of days, I merely hoped it to be. I was holding on to the idea that somewhere in Calbert, the honorable man Kain had described still lingered.

  �
�Cassandra,” Calbert called to his granddaughter, “come in here. I need you to stand guard.”

  “Grandpa, I’m busy,” Cassandra whined.

  Who could blame her? I wouldn't have wanted that job at her age.

  “None of that whining! Get in here, young lady,” Calbert said.

  “Yes, sir,” she answered in a tone that left her sarcasm clear to all. Despite her objections, Cassandra entered the room with a sour expression on her face a moment later.

  “Cassy, I need you to hold this gun and point it at our visitors.” As soon as Calbert said the words I envisioned the years of counseling it would take to erase the experience from the girl's memory. “If they try to go anywhere, shoot them. Do not hesitate. Do you understand me? We need them to stay put if we have any chance of bringing your mom and dad home.”

  Cassandra’s eyes seemed to widen noticeably, but she nodded her understanding and extended her hand to accept the weapon.

  Calbert turned to me, his hand outstretched. “Keys, please,” he demanded.

  I tossed my keys to Calbert. He scooped up our weapons as he left the room. Part of me wondered if we should try to make our escape while Calbert went to the car. I immediately felt guilty for even considering it.

  Cassy’s hand was trembling. She began to sniffle, and tears flowed as soon as her grandfather closed the front door. “Please, just sit. I don’t want to hurt either of you. I only want for my parents to come home!”

  “I know you do, sweetheart. We want them to come home, too.” I could not help feeling sorry for the girl. She was in this situation up to her neck, and she had never asked for any of it. I knew I was going to sit tight. Overpowering the girl would not be a challenge, but to do so would put her in danger, which was unacceptable--she was the one person I could be sure of being innocent in this whole situation.

  Calbert was gone for what seemed to me like moments. I'm sure that to Calbert and his granddaughter, those moments were an eternity of uncertainty.

  When the door reopened and Calbert rushed through with the stack of papers in his hand, Kain leaned forward to greet him. "Did you bring the entire stack?" he asked eagerly.

  “Yeah, but what is all of this? I It looks like you cleaned out a filing cabinet.”

  “We kind of did, but none of it's admissible," I said. "We searched Maple’s house. It seemed reasonable that the missing bankers might have been inside.”

  “Then it's useless for putting this guy away,” Calbert said.

  “Not if it is obtained legally a second time,” Kain pointed out. “If Maple's a murder suspect, then it should not be a stretch to obtain a legal warrant for his home. Quite a bit of that stack is from the online records and transaction confirmations of Douglas White. As a murder victim, his business practices are only logical to search, especially when you take into account that he was killed in his office.”

  “But you did the search before any of that was confirmed. No judge will buy it once they see all the information you took,” Calbert complained. “You’re the ones saying to work within the system, but you haven't been following the rules.”

  “That’s true, but we were working off the grid," I said. "At this point, I say we use the information to further the investigation while we see about obtaining a search warrant for Maple’s place and White’s business records. We'll just leave out the part where we already know what we'll find when we request the warrants, there's no other way.”

  Calbert thumbed awkwardly through the documents. “Do you mind telling me what I'm looking for here?” h grumbled at Kain.

  Kain smirked. “Of course, if you are so kind, please lay the documents out on the coffee table. Avery, we'll need that camera of yours, too. I have a feeling you may have the missing piece.” I tried to take the camera out of my pocket. After a moment, Calbert snatched it from where it hung and handed it to Kain. He immediately began examining each photo for any tie to the overall scheme.

  Calbert fumbled through the papers. He had to balance holding the gun he'd reclaimed from Cassandra and the documents. While he attempted to arrange them so he could see them, Cassandra made a hasty retreat down the hall.

  “Here we go. This file has the owner of the overseas account listed as one William J. Collins,” Kain noted as he skimmed the photos.

  I took the opportunity to look through the printouts that were now covering the coffee table. Calbert attempted to read the documents upside down, while still holding the gun. “Sir, I think we've proven that we have no intention of escaping at this point. It would be a lot easier to concentrate if you were aiming your gun somewhere else,” I said.

  Calbert did not acknowledge my request.

  As I looked down at the papers, Kain’s earlier observation that there was a pattern of loan defaults became apparent, as these were loans that should not have been foreclosed upon. It appeared that there were hundreds of homes throughout the tri-state area alone that had been taken by the bank. In one analysis, the homes were re-auctioned to the general public, but in reality, only about five names seemed to be purchasing the homes. I wondered if the auctions had even been advertised. Maple, of course, had bought more than twenty homes, including the one we had searched earlier. I wondered if he had an actual family in another of his purchases. Tom Parker was the proud owner of ten of the homes. Douglas White had invested in twenty three. A man by the name of Fredrick George seemed to own four or five of the homes, and a woman by the name of Caroline George seemed to have claimed the rest. None of them paid more than ten percent on the value of the home.

  Another file gave insurance claim information. The mortgages of the re-auctioned property were paid for by property insurance on seven separate occasions. The remaining homes were listed in various states of sale. None of them were being sold for less than 110 percent of their appraised value.

  I focused on the new names that appeared frequently. “Hey Kain, have you noticed anything else with links to the two Georges, Fredrick or Caroline?” I asked.

  “You have to be kidding me!” Calbert exclaimed.

  Chapter 15

  Commander Calbert's strange recognition of the last name, George, made me wonder what I was missing. “What is it?” I asked Calbert.

  “Don’t you know who Fredrick and Caroline George are?” Calbert asked.

  Kain shook his head as he smirked. “They were minor players a long time ago. If what I'm seeing is any indication, they've been quite ambitious!”

  “Let me back into the loop, please! Who are these people and why do you two seem to know all about them?” My frustration was growing. This was my find. At the very least, they could tell me what was so interesting about it.

  Calbert cleared his throat. “They're socialites on the local level. There's been quite a bit of talk about Fredrick George running for a Senate seat. I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the ballot next November!”

  “Well, that explains why I haven't heard of them; I'm new to town," I said. "And I don’t really have time to check out the local social scene.”

  Kain had been busily shuffling papers. He was having some difficulty with his hands bound. “Calbert, I understand if you're not ready to part with your weapon, but keeping my hands tied is slowing down our progress. I have a feeling that we'll need to go over evidence very quickly. Do you mind?” Kain held up his hands.

  Commander Calbert begrudgingly cut the tie with his pocket knife. “Don’t get any crazy ideas."

  A nervous laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it.

  “What's so funny, Rich?” Calbert asked.

  “You sit Ryan Kain down with a stack of financial documents, ask him to find the common thread, and then you ask for no crazy ideas? It just seems to me that you're asking for two different things.”

  Kain laughed a loud, roaring chuckle. He looked at me with inquisitive eyes. “I've found that Detective Rich is honest to a fault!”

  I blushed. “I say what I see, although sometimes I think it would be better if
I could filter what I say a bit more.”

  Kain shook his head. “According to this analysis, the George family stands to gain over twenty-five million dollars in the next quarter. I think it is fair to assume that they have a hand in this.”

  “Unfortunately, it may be difficult to get a search warrant for those two. Few judges will want to offend them so openly.”

  “Just get the warrants for the Maple home and the office computer systems in White’s office. That should give you enough evidence to justify the warrant for the Georges after the fact.” I knew it would not be an easy sell if the Georges were as connected to the community as Calbert suggested.

  “Hmm, I think I'm on to something. Do you have a map handy?” Kain asked.

  “I think so,” Calbert said. He crossed the room to rummage in an over-sized desk in the far corner. A moment later, he returned with a street map. The two of them spread the map out on one side of the table. Kain began looking over the documents listing the foreclosed homes and marking the locations on the map. From what I could tell, specific neighborhoods were targeted. I was willing to bet those with nicer homes were more desirable for investment purposes.

  “Let’s see,” Kain said, “we can assume that the signatures of Shultz, Morris, and Maple are needed to finalize these transactions. We know they were alive to sign this Tuesday.” He gestured to the camera. A photo of the signatures was still on the display screen.

  “So you think those two are being kept alive. Do you think they're involved, or being held against their will?” Calbert asked. It was obvious what he was digging for. He needed to know if his son-in-law was a part of the situation that had taken his daughter from him.