Deadly Defiance, page 18
“So, how are you staying clear of the cartel?” Jodie asked.
“Moving around, living on cash, not staying in any one place more than a night.”
“Yeah. But how long can you do that?”
“For a while. I guess eventually I’ll have to relocate somewhere.”
“You should do that now. Don’t hang around here for me. I don’t want to be responsible for your death.”
Ricardo leaned forward. “I was hoping you’d come with me.”
Jodie’s stomach tightened. Running off with Ricardo wasn’t an option, but she didn’t want to hurt his feelings after he’d forsaken his family for her and saved her life. The situation was unbearable.
“You know I can’t do that. I never led you on about our relationship. I tried to discourage you but you wouldn’t give up.”
“I wouldn’t give up because you never told me to get lost like most women have done in the past. I could see in your eyes that we had a future and was sure in time you’d come around.”
“Well, you may have been right under normal circumstances, but the situation is impossible for us now. You need to be realistic and accept that.”
“I’ll never accept that,” Ricardo replied stubbornly. “I love you and I won’t settle for anything less than to be at your side for the rest of my life.”
A tear welled in Jodie’s eye. She turned away in frustration. Ricardo leaned forward and took her hands in his.
“I’m going to hang around until we figure this thing out. Maybe if you catch my father and brothers, things will calm down and I can come out of hiding. You never know.”
Jodie shook her head in disbelief. Ricardo was a hopeless romantic and she feared that would be his undoing.
Chapter 19
The World's Worst Patient
Dr. Michael Sanders was in his sixties and reminded Stan of one of his professors at UCLA. He was definitely the scholarly type, taking voracious notes and ordering a long list of tests. Rebekah wasn’t happy about any of it. She hated being x-rayed, couldn’t pee on demand for a urine sample, and hated having her blood drawn. She was the world’s worst patient as far as Stan was concerned and he was embarrassed taking her to the doctor.
“Well, when we get all these tests back perhaps we’ll understand better what’s going on with you,” Dr. Sanders said. “Your blood pressure is okay and there wasn’t anything unusual with your EKG, so I can’t tell you much right now. I’ll need to see you next week to go over your test results with you.”
“I have to come back?” Rebekah complained. “Can’t you just call me and tell me what you find over the phone?”
“I could, but I’ll probably want to discuss treatment options or refer you to a specialist depending on what the test results show. Is that a problem?”
“No,” Stan said, frowning at Rebekah. “We’ll see you next week.”
Rebekah was noticeably quiet all the way home. This was normal behavior when she was angry. Stan didn’t understand why she was mad at him but didn’t have time to drag it out of her. He had stayed home and accompanied Rebekah to the doctor because he was afraid she wouldn’t have gone had he not taken her. Perhaps that was why she was mad, but he couldn’t think about that now. He had clients waiting for him at the office, urgent matters that had to be attended to, and a probate hearing in the afternoon that he had to attend.
When he got to his office a client was waiting for him with a new bankruptcy. He took her in immediately and started working on her case. After a while he took her into the conference room where Maria sat down with her to ask her questions about her assets and liabilities. When Stan got back to his desk Jodie was waiting for him. He shut the door.
“I saw Ricardo last night,” Jodie said.
“Really? How did that happen?”
Jodie explained everything except the more intimate moments between her and Ricardo. Stan thought about it a minute.
“Well, I guess we need to let the FBI know. We don’t have to tell them where we got the lead. I’m sure the Waco location is on one of your lists. If not, you can add it to one of them. Nobody will know any better.”
“Thanks. I don’t want it to get out that Ricardo is helping us.”
Stan nodded. “No. That would just make the cartel search harder for him.”
“So, how should we handle this?”
“Tomorrow you and Brandon go to Waco to do your morning stakeout. If you don’t see anything in the morning stay on until after lunch just to be sure. Then, if you come up empty, have a vendor lined up between Waco and here for your afternoon stakeout.”
“All right, but how will I explain the deviation from our plan?”
“You know,” Stan said thoughtfully. “I was noticing on your list there was one of our old clients down in Waco.”
“Really? Who is that?”
“The Party House Strip Club.”
“What? You have a strip club for a client?”
“Yeah. I put them through Chapter 11,” Stan said, smiling wryly. “Took my fee in kind.”
Jodie’s mouth dropped.
“No—just kidding. I did it as a favor to a friend down there. Anyway, if there is anything illegal going on in Waco, Arnold Moses will know about it. Just tell Agent Lot I’m going to see Arnold and you’re meeting me there for lunch.”
“Okay. What if he wants to meet with Arnold, too?”
“Tell him he’s an old client and will open up to me, but not to a federal agent. Tell him we’ll call him immediately if anything turns up.”
Jodie agreed and left. Stan thought about Arnold Moses. At the time Stan had been excited about having an excuse to hang out with the girls at the club, but after he had met them and spent some time with Arnold he lost his appetite for the place. Most of the girls smoked, were on drugs, and made their real money after hours. A few of them were pretty but many of them were much too old for what they were doing and had to put on layers upon layers of makeup to cover up their age, bruising, or poor physical condition. After a while Stan quit making trips to Waco and made Arnold come to him. When the case was finally confirmed, Stan vowed never to represent a strip club owner again.
After lunch Stan drove to downtown Dallas to the records building where the probate court was located. He wasn’t looking forward to the hearing as he detested family disputes. Everyone was always so emotional. It was almost as bad as family court. Maureen Thompson was sitting on a bench in the front of the courtroom when he walked in. Andrew Thompson and his lawyer were standing in front of the door to the courtroom talking.
“Hi, Maureen,” Stan said.
“Hi, Stan. How is Rebekah? Paula told me she wasn’t feeling well.”
“She’s okay. Thanks for asking.”
“So, what’s going to happen today?”
“Well, there are two applications for administration of Rodney’s estate—yours and Andrew’s. The court has to consider both of them and then make a decision as to which one of you to appoint as administrator. Usually, a wife would have priority but since you were separated and are charged with Rodney’s murder, it’s going to be a toss-up as to who is appointed.”
“I don’t want Andrew handling the estate. He’s an asshole.”
“Well, you’re going to have to convince the judge you can handle the job. Andrew’s attorney will try to rile you and get you to lose your temper. Just stay cool.”
“Okay. I’ll try but I hate Andrew.”
“Don’t say that to the judge. Andrew is one of the beneficiaries of the estate and you will be representing his interests, too, if you get appointed.”
The bailiff stepped out of the courtroom and motioned for them to come in. When everyone was seated in the gallery the constable said something into his intercom and then stood up. A moment later the door behind the bench opened and the judge stepped out. Everyone got to their feet as the judge took the bench.
“Okay. The Estate of Rodney Thompson, Application for Appointment of Administrator filed by Andrew Thompson and Application for Appointment of Administratrix filed by Maureen Thompson. Since Mr. Thompson filed his motion first we’ll start with his argument.”
Andrew Thompson’s attorney stood. “Your Honor. I’m Paula Bracken, attorney for Andrew Thompson, brother of the decedent. Although we concede that Maureen Thompson has a superior right under Probate Code §77, as the wife of the decedent, to be appointed administratrix of the estate, it is our position that she is disqualified to so act. As the court probably is aware Ms. Thompson has been charged with the murder of her husband and is currently out on bond. Although she has yet to be convicted, she will be quite busy defending herself and will not have the requisite time to handle the responsibilities of the job. Further, if she is convicted she will no longer qualify to be administratrix under Probate Code §78 and the court will be forced to appoint someone to replace her. Also, if she is convicted she will lose any right of inheritance of her husband’s estate and likely be incarcerated. Finally, it is no secret that the decedent had left Ms. Thompson, they were no longer living together, and a divorce was in the works.
“Your Honor. Under Texas Probate Code §78 the court has the discretion to disqualify any applicant if he or she is unsuitable in the discretion of the court. We think it is obvious that Ms. Thompson is unsuitable and therefore her application should be denied.”
“Thank you, Ms. Bracken,” the judge said. “Mr. Turner. What do you have to say about this?”
Bracken sat down and Stan stood up. “Your Honor. As counsel admitted, Maureen Thompson has the clear right to be appointed administratrix. The fact that she has been charged with her husband’s murder means nothing since there is a presumption of innocence which the court is bound to respect. The speculation about a divorce is, just that, speculation and of no legal force or effect. Ms. Thompson is clearly the proper person to administer this estate and we request her application be accepted and an order to that effect be signed.”
“Thank you, Mr. Turner.”
The judge took a deep breath. “Mr. Turner’s arguments are correct. There is nothing technically blocking Ms. Thompson’s appointment as administratrix; however, this court would be remiss if it were to ignore an indictment for murder. This is why the state legislature wisely gave the court discretion to disqualify a person from serving in a fiduciary capacity if in the court’s discretion such person was unsuitable. In making this decision I must consider what’s best for the beneficiaries and the creditors of the estate. In this regard I think it unwise to appoint someone who may in time have a conflict of interest with the other beneficiaries and the creditors of the estate as long as someone else has come forward and is qualified to do the job without any potential conflict. Therefore, I am denying Maureen’s Thompson’s application and appointing Andrew Thompson as administrator of the estate subject to qualifying and posting bond.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Bracken said.
“I’ll need to set a bond amount. How much do you estimate the personal property of the estate to be worth?” the judge asked.
“That’s hard to say, Your Honor,” Bracken replied. “With the economy as bad as it is business was at a standstill. I doubt the company’s had any market value.”
“Then what is the approximate liquidation value of each of the companies?”
“I’m not sure, Your Honor,” Bracken admitted. “We’d have to do an inventory.”
The judge turned to Maureen. “Ms. Thompson. Are you familiar with your husband’s estate? I assume you are since you also applied to be administratrix.”
“Yes. I’m very familiar. We have done a recent inventory.”
“So, what’s the liquidation value of the various companies your husband owned?”
“There is cash of about $2,000, accounts receivable of $88,000, materials of $3,000, tools and equipment of about $50,000, and three trucks and two trailers worth about $30,000.”
“That’s market value rather than cost?”
“Yes,” Maureen replied.
“How did you make your valuations?” the judge asked.
“I had an appraiser give me a preliminary estimate.”
The judge nodded. “And is it true there is no income at this time?”
“Correct. Everything is at a standstill right now.”
“Then I’ll set bond at $173,000.”
The judge made a note on his docket sheet. “Thank you. Is there anything else?”
Bracken looked at Andrew Thompson. Thompson started to open his mouth to say something and then closed it. Stan grabbed Maureen’s arm and escorted her out of the courtroom.
“Sorry about that. You can’t really blame the judge for his ruling. He’d have probably taken a lot of heat had he found in your favor.”
“What about the money we took from the company?”
“Ah. Don’t worry about that. You had a right to take it. You were in charge of the company as VP and it was your profit from all those jobs. Besides, it will take Andrew months or years to figure out what happened. If we don’t get you off by then it won’t make any difference anyway.”
Despite his assurances to Maureen, Stan was very worried about the discovery of their raid on the company’s assets. Although it was technically legal since there was no court proceeding pending at the time and all the vendors had been paid, the court still might try to set aside the transaction and have the money be restored and administered as part of the estate. If that happened the firm would be in trouble since much of the money had already been spent. Stan prayed it would never come to that.
Chapter 20
Enforcers
When Paula walked in her office she saw a thick envelope on her desk. She opened it and discovered it was Excel Security’s background report on Doc Mellon. According to the report Mellon had two associates who worked with him on a daily basis. Rich Ralston was his business manager who supervised his various enterprises and investments, and Arch Lang handled security. Ralston had an MBA from the University of Dallas and Lang was an ex-cop from Waco.
The report went on to say that Lang had been fired from the Waco Police Department for use of excessive force in the arrest of a college girl for underage drinking. After cuffing the girl her boyfriend became angry and made some disparaging remarks about Lang. In response, he pushed the boyfriend and when he pushed back, Lang began hitting him repeatedly with his billy club. He eventually arrested the boyfriend for disorderly conduct. Unfortunately for Lang, the boyfriend sustained a broken arm and extensive bruising on his arms, shoulders, and back. Witnesses at the scene uniformly agreed the beating was unprovoked and totally out of line.
Rich Ralston had no criminal history according to the report but had been sued for his alleged involvement in an oil and gas scam. The suit claimed Ralston fabricated drilling reports and prepared a fraudulent financial statement which was sent to investors. The suit was still pending and no trial date had been set. Paula closed the report and set it back on the desk. Next she picked up a surveillance report on Ralston and began reading it.
The report indicated a driver had picked Ralston up at his home in the White Rock Lake area of Dallas at 8:30 a.m. The home had a value of $322,000, according to the Dallas Central Appraisal District, which was a conservative value. They stopped at Denny’s at 9:10 a.m. where they met a second man identified as Rex Russo. Russo was another former football player, a tight end, from Mellon’s alma mater, Texas Tech. From there they went to Mellon’s office where they stayed until 12:30. In the afternoon, Ralston and Russo stayed at the offices but Lang picked up a man named Simon Smith and together they visited a long list of residential addresses and small businesses.
Simon Smith was described as a white, dark-haired male, thirty-five years of age, 6' 2", approximately 280 pounds, with several visible tattoos on his arms and neck. According to the report he was arrested and convicted of assaulting an officer, burglary, DUI, and possession of a controlled substance. He served thirty days in the Dallas County Jail for the assault charge and two years for the burglary and possession charges. He did 1000 hours community service for the DUI. He was currently on probation for another year on the DUI.
Attached to the report was a list of the businesses and individuals who were visited by Lang and Smith. Paula knew what the visits were about. These were collection calls or visits to encourage people to pay their debts in a timely fashion. The fact that there were businesses on the list interested Paula. These were not payday customers. They were most likely larger borrowers like Rodney Thompson. She decided she needed to pay them a visit. There were seven names on the list stretching from Grand Prairie to Mesquite. She started with Grand Prairie, stopping at a café called the Mid-Cities Grille. It was a single-story structure that at one time housed a Denny’s. When Denny’s lease was up, Art Anderson leased the building to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning his own restaurant. Paula took a seat at the counter and ordered a cup of coffee. After she’d been served she asked the waitress if Mr. Anderson was around. The waitress nodded and went to the kitchen to get him. A moment later a tall, grey-haired, fair-skinned man dressed in white pants, shirt, and apron walked out. Anderson was the owner as well as the cook, it appeared. He introduced himself and Paula gave him her card.
“An attorney?” Anderson said, frowning. “What did I do now?”
Paula laughed. “No. I’m not after you. I’m actually hoping to get your help.”
Anderson looked at her warily. “What kind of help?”
“You do business with Doc Mellon?”
Anderson stiffened. “Yeah. The biggest mistake of my life. I was a fan, thought it would be cool to be associated with the Clock. Now I know he’s nothing but a cocksucker.”
Paula nodded. “That’s what I’ve been told. Maybe you can help bring him down.”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t have a death wish.”
