Mystery at the Hedge Fund

by Eleanor Kittering

  “Fred will get here before the deadline Roger.”

  “Great. You know Colin, you really come in handy in fighting crime.”

  “I'm glad you approve Roger.” Colin rolled his eyes again and shook his head.

  Lana who had been watching this whole show for a while now asked “What do I get to do?”

  Roger said “Actually, I'm glad you asked. When the time comes, you start hissing.”

  “Hissing!? I'm not a hissing cat.” Lana said indignantly

  “Look, you just have to pretend you're a hissing cat. You gotta look fierce.”

  “But I don't like hissing, it hurts my throat.”

  “Look, it may be a little uncomfortable but people lives are at stake. I didn't like being hit by the truck, but an old lady's purse had been stolen. I'd hiss till I was hoarse if it meant saving your life.”

  “You would?” Lana asked, touched by Roger's words.

  “Of course!” Roger said, as though why would anyone question that.

  “But how do I know when to start hissing?” Lana asked.

  “Oh you'll know, believe me, you'll know.” Roger said.

  “I've never done anything like this.” Lana said.

  “It'll work out, you'll see.” Roger said.

  Mandy had been watching Roger and Lana with Roger meowing and Lana answering from time to time. She's never seen behavior like this in cats. What was going on, she kept asking herself? Right around that time, Fred rang the bell. Mandy ran to the door.

  “Oh Fred, I'm so glad you're here. Roger has been acting very strange, and he's been talking to Lana for over 5 minutes.”

  “Now he's talking?” Fred asked more incredulous than ever.

  “Well, he's meowing to Lana, but it's a strange meow. Roger honey, look who's here, Fred, just like you asked.”

  Roger said “Look Fred, I need you to hide, so that we can surprise these weasels when they show up. They're coming under false pretenses, but that's going to fade real fast, cause Mandy's a liability to them.”

  All they heard was strange meowing.

  Fred said “I see what you mean, he is acting strange.”

  Roger jumped on the sofa and started to tap on the tablet.

  Mandy said “See, he wants to tell us something.” Mandy set up the tablet so Roger was able to type again. Roger typed one word. HIDE.

  Fred asked “what did he type?”

  “He typed HIDE.”

  Roger nodded and with his head, he would point at Fred and then point at the curtain in the corner. He kept doing this over and over so they would get the message while at the same time saying “Fred, hide behind the curtain in the corner, we don't have much time.” All Mandy and Fred heard was meows and Roger point to Fred and to the corner.

  Mandy said. “Fred, I think he wants you to hide.”

  “I came all the way here to play hide and seek with a cat, great.” Fred said sarcastically.

  Roger shook his head as though saying no and told Fred “Fred, hide in the corner, these people are almost here. How much time we have Colin?”

  Colin said “two minutes.”

  All Fred was able to see and hear was a cat shaking his head, meowing strangely and pointing to the corner.

  “Fred I think he wants you to hide behind the curtains.”

  “I get that, but why?”

  “Just humor him and do it, let's see what happens.”

  Fred went over to the corner to hide behind the curtains shaking his head all the way and saying to himself, 'now I'm taking orders from a cat. Unbelievable.'

  Roger told Lana and Colin “Ok, it's almost show time, Lana get ready to start hissing and me I'm going to take a nap.”

  “You're going to sleep?” Lana asked confused.

  “I'm just pretending. Ok, places everybody.” Roger climbed on top of the sofa and curled up into a ball. Not two seconds later, the doorbell rang. Mandy went to answer it.

  “Oh, hi Tim and Cathy, this is a surprise.” Mandy let them in and thought this visit was very strange. But so far, it has been a series of strange events. Fred watched from behind the curtain and seeing what was going on said to himself 'Well, how do you like that, maybe this cat's onto something.'

  “Tim wanted to come over to explain some of the benefits in the investment portfolio both in traditional investments and cryptocurrency investment.” Cathy said smiling.

  At that moment, Tim pulled out a gun and said “Actually, not exactly, Mandy you're coming with me.”

  Cathy asked “Tim, what are you doing, you said we were going to show her how to invest her money.”

  “No Cathy, you see, Mandy has been snooping and she's figuring out Michael didn't commit suicide.”

  “What do you mean Michael didn't commit suicide, what are you talking about?” Cathy asked.

  “Let me make this clear for you. The reason the investment firm is doing well is because I pay hackers to steal cryptocurrency from miners and other investment firms. After a while, our cryptocurrency portfolio seems immense and the firm appears to be doing great. Michael found out what I was doing and was going to blow the whistle on me. I had to get rid of him, so I made it look as though he died in one of his kinky games.

  “But why are you telling me?” Cathy asked.

  “Because you've become a liability too. The way I see it, we get new blood in the firm and we can be doing great. Jake doesn't have a clue as to what he's doing, he's a rich boy with an investment. He relies on me to advise. I'll tell him you got a job at another firm.”

  Then he turns to Mandy and says,

  “C'mon Mandy, let's go.” And he used his gun to tell her to get moving.

  Mandy was very afraid, but realized this was what Roger was talking about. Where was Roger anyway, she asked herself? She looked around and saw him sleeping on the sofa behind her. She knew Roger would never go to sleep in a situation like this, so this was part of the plan. He was playing possum. She had to create a diversion. Mandy asked:

  “Can I get my bag before we leave?”

  Tim said laughing “You're not going to need it where you're going but sure go ahead.” He turned to Cathy “You chicks are all the same, in the face of danger you're thinking about your bag.”

  The word bag hadn't left his lips when Roger leapt on his head with so much force, he fell and dropped his gun in the process. Mandy ran for the gun and Fred came out from behind curtains. Lana didn't know what to do, so she started hissing at Cathy and circling around her. Cathy was terrified.

  “This is the police, put your hands behind your back and don't move, I have a gun pointed at you.” Fred said.

  Roger continued scratching and biting Jake's head saying “I hate guys who deliberately hurt people because of greed.” All they heard was angry meowing.

  Tim screamed “Get this cat off of me.”

  Mandy had grabbed the gun and pointed it at Cathy and said “Don't move. Either I'll shoot or Lana there will tear you to shreds.” She figured she'd take advantage of Lana hissing.

  Cathy said “Please Mandy, call off your cat, I had nothing to do with this, I swear. I thought we were coming over to talk over the investments. You heard him, he wanted to get rid of me too. He had me fooled as well.”

  Fred said “Alright Roger, that's enough, I got it under control.”

  Roger came out of his frenzy, still snarling at Tim, and swatted him one last time.

  Fred continued speaking “Beats me how you knew all this was going to happen, but you saved the day, and protected Mandy again.”

  Roger said to Lana “Ok Lana, you can stop hissing.”

  “Oh thank heavens. I won't be able to talk for a week.” She said in a croaky voice.

  Meanwhile, Fred read Tim his Miranda rights while putting the handcuffs on him. Mandy put the gun down and told Cathy to sit down and relax. Cathy sat down relieved and in complete disbelief as to what happened.

  Roger addressed Colin and Lana. “Well, the disaster was averted. Good wo
rk Lana, the woman was terrified of you. She'll have nightmares for years to come that she's being attacked by a white cat. And Colin, thank you for your help. I know I come across as a moron a lot of the time, but I get excited and start going off at the mouth. I'm truly sorry. Being a cat and knowing I'm not really a cat doesn't help matters either. I think I'm still angry about that.”

  “I understand Roger. Remember, I'm your guardian angel, and I know more about you than you'd believe. I'm just glad no harm came to anyone and that the perpetrator was captured.”

  “Well, the perp got the harm that was coming to him from me. That'll teach him to hurt people. All the while I tried to figure out, what could the motive be. I'm sure he thought he had this all figured out. But now his scam is exposed and I'm sure plenty of people will come forward.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jennifer arrived at Mandy's house and she was shocked at what she found outside. There were cop cars outside, an ambulance, a lot of commotion. And there was a policeman putting a handcuffed Tim into a police car. What happened, she asked herself? She got out of the car and started to head to the door. As she approached the house, a policeman told her that she couldn't go any further.

  “I'm here to see Mandy.” Jennifer said.

  “Sorry miss, but this house is off limits due to a police investigation.”

  “But, what happened?” Jennifer asked, confused. In the distance, she saw Mandy. “Mandy, Mandy what happened.” Jennifer yelled out. Mandy walked over to where Jennifer was.

  “Oh Jennifer, you're never going to believe this. Tim killed Michael.”

  “What!? But how? Why?”

  “It's a long story, but basically, Tim was committing financial fraud, Michael caught him and Tim did away with Michael so he wouldn't get caught.”

  Jennifer stood there speechless. “I think I'm going to be sick.”

  “Come on in and sit down. Cathy's in there as well.” Mandy said.

  “Cathy? What is she doing here?”

  “She was almost Tim's victim too. He came over to kill me.”

  “Kill you!? But why?”

  “Cause I was secretly investigating this case with the police. I think he suspected me when I went over to interview him yesterday.”

  “You were working with the police!?” Jennifer said astonished.

  “I've solved murders before Jennifer, they thought I could help with this.”

  “Well, it seems like you triumphed again.”

  “That's actually another long story. Let me get you something to drink.”

  “Please.”

  Jennifer sat on the sofa, next to Cathy. Cathy was still sitting there in a mild state of shock as to what could have been.

  “Are you alright?” Jennifer asked.

  “I don't know yet. I just found out that Tim was going to kill me.”

  “What happened?”

  “The police intervened. I think they set a trap for Tim. I'm so glad. He was going to kill Mandy and me.”

  Mandy came back with an iced tea for Jennifer.

  “Do you have anything stronger?” Jennifer asked.

  “I don't have alcohol in the house.” Mandy said.

  “Oh well, this helps. My mouth is so dry. This is so bewildering. Cathy here tells me that Tim wanted to kill her too. This guy could have been a mass murderer.”

  “Yes, he appears to be one of those people who are extremely intelligent and extremely crazy.”

  “Poor Michael, and here I thought all along he had accidentally killed himself. What happens now?” Jennifer asked.

  “Well, a lot is going to be up to Captain Stone. Most likely we're going to have to hang around here and eventually make a statement at the station. So make yourself at home.”

  At around this time, Roger and Lana came around to see what was going on.

  “Oh, by the way, there's Lana.” Mandy pointed out Lana.

  “Oh, she's so beautiful. This is so crazy, I came over to see your cat, never in a million years would I expect this.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  Fred came over to give them an update.

  “Well ladies, there's not much more to do here, I would like you to go down the station and make a statement. Mrs. Winnans, I didn't expect to see you here.”

  “I came over to see Mandy's cat. I never expected this.”

  “Is this true Mandy?”

  “Yes, she actually called me shortly before Tim arrived saying that she wanted to come over and see Lana. We had spoken about this yesterday.”

  “Captain Stone, I had nothing to do with this. I'm just as freaked out as everybody. I just learned that he wanted to kill Cathy too. This guy is a maniac.”

  Roger started talking to Fred “Fred, she's clean. I heard that weasel Tim conning Cathy to come over today. Jennifer never came into the picture.” All everybody heard was very weird meowing. Mandy and Fred looked at each other.

  “I think he's weighing in on what's going on. This is the most bizarre case of my life.” Fred said.

  “He definitely sounds like he's talking.” Mandy said.

  Jennifer and Cathy didn't know what was going on.

  “Ok everyone. Just go down to the station and make your statements. If we need to, we'll contact you for further questioning.” Fred said to the ladies. Then he turned to Roger and said. “I'd love to take you down for questioning, but I don't think I'm going to have a job much longer after that.”

  “Hey look. You caught the murderer. That's all that matters. Take the credit and continue protecting the people.” Roger said while everybody heard strange meows.

  Fred said to Mandy “I swear he's answering me. I don't even want to think about what that implies.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Three weeks later, Mandy and Fred were having a quiet dinner at Joanie's. Roger and Lana were there as well since Mandy still didn't feel comfortable leaving Roger alone.

  “Well, things have been progressing smoothly ever since Tim's arrest. He's become more and more unhinged since his capture. We also found out all the techs working at the office were really hackers. They were hired by the firm on Tim's advice. So now, there's a warrant for those people who are on the run once they heard of Tim's arrest.” Fred said.

  “Yet another case of somebody who is probably brilliant but also insane.”

  “He confessed to the murder. He actually killed him in the gym at the office. Hung him by a belt. Then he took off his clothes and moved him to the closet to make it seem as though Michael had killed himself while engaging in his personal activities. Apparently, he and Michael had actually become friends in the course of working there.

  “Michael discovered discrepancies in the accounting and the money coming in and saw the huge amounts coming in from cryptocurrency. Michael figured out Tim was engaging in illegal activities, and he asked him to turn himself in. Michael told him it would work better that way with the authorities. Tim told him he'd think it over and Michael said, he'd give him till tomorrow and then he'd have to report him to the authorities. Tim killed Michael the next day. What I still don't understand is how Roger knew Tim was coming over.”

  “That's not all, what really bothers and amazes me is that Roger can actually type words on a tablet to communicate what he's thinking. That's the real mystery here. Not only did he know they were coming but communicated with me in human language to call you. This is all happening since he got hit by the truck. It's a mystery to me what happened to his brain, but he's not the same cat. He's become something more. And I'm not sure what to do about it.” Mandy said concerned.

  “Well, let me ask you this, has he done anything negative in the house? Does he tear up the furniture, attack Lana, things out of character?”

  “No, not at all. Those two are as friendly as ever, doing things together, playing together. However, I do notice Roger meows to her a lot more and she meows back. Which to me, it seems as though they're talking. Sometimes Roger just sits there and does a
lot of meowing into empty space. Maybe he's talking to himself. But I believe those meows are some sort of speech. Roger is thinking.”

  “Normally, I would say you're crazy, but after experiencing it myself, when he motioned for me to hide in behind the curtains, and then he played possum, he had a plan. He set a trap for the murderer. And he protected you because he knew you were next in line. He actually saved two people, Tim wanted to kill Cathy too because she didn't want to be his girlfriend again. I guess, once bitten, twice shy.”

  “Well, hopefully she'll be able to find a job after this. So, what happens now with the investment firm?”

  “It seems the SEC is investigating to see if any other fraud other than the cryptocurrency has been perpetrated. But Tim was the mastermind behind the whole process and his minions were the tech people. Jake is pretty much off the hook. He was an investor and his function was that of a PR specialist, the face man. He tried to drum up business by getting new customers and keep up morale in the company.

  “He wasn't aware of what it took to be an investor. As a result, Tim acted as his advisor, so he listened to what Tim said because he regarded Tim as the maven. And he was, unfortunately a dishonest one. Jake was just a rich guy looking to create an investment opportunity that would also give him something to do. Other than the cryptocurrency, they were a regular small investment firm.”

  “Guess I won't be investing with these guys, huh?” Mandy said joking.

  “No, the company is pretty much defunct after this. Jake wants no part of it, Cathy is definitely done with this.”

  “Jennifer has gotten a couple of surprises too.” Mandy said.

  “Oh, how so?”

  “Well, apparently Michael's lawyer discovered a newer version of his will and that's the one they have to go with. In this will, he leaves a nice sized amount of money to Lucy, as well as some money for Jennifer. The rest he left to his mother. Jennifer is not upset by this. She still has Jake and they are actually in love and are planning to marry. Not just yet. She's doing this mostly for Michael's mother's sake. Michael's mother had no idea of what arrangement he had with Jennifer.