Deadly Defiance, page 8
“Arnold will be right with us. He’s on the telephone with his stockbroker.”
“Oh. All right,” Stan replied, wondering if Arnold was trading on margin. He’d had several clients over the years not only lose their life’s savings speculating on the market, but also ending up having to file bankruptcy.
“Would you like a glass of ice tea?”
Stan nodded. “Sure, that would be fine.”
Mrs. Wolf gave him the tea and sat across from him. A moment later Arnold showed up. “Sorry I’m late. I was just discussing how to invest the five hundred and fifty thousand dollars we’ll be getting from the settlement.”
“Oh, you’re beneficiaries, too?”
“Yes, we agreed to 10 percent. Our attorney thought we should get twenty-five, but rather than go to court we decided 10 percent was enough.”
Stan sighed. He wondered if this visit was going to be a waste of his time. If Wolf’s parents were getting money, too, they’d have no interest in helping to find another heir to further dilute their interest in the settlement.
“I see. Well, I won’t take too much of your time, but I guess you know my job is to make sure there aren’t any unknown heirs.”
“Yes, well I assure you there aren’t,” Eunice said.
“So, I understand your son was married twice?”
Eunice nodded. “Yes, his first wife cheated on him not six months after he was deployed to Vietnam. If Herb had have known about it, he’d have divorced her in a minute.”
“If she didn’t want to be married, why didn’t she divorce your son?”
“She liked those government checks coming in. No use having to work if you don’t have to.”
“Do you know this for a fact, or are you speculating?” Stan asked.
“I know it for a fact. She bragged to Herb about it one time during an argument.”
“That’s funny, Glenda didn’t mention any of this.”
“Glenda didn’t know anything about it. It was ancient history when she hooked up with Herb. Herb didn’t talk much about Vietnam or his first marriage.”
“Did Herb have any girlfriends over in Vietnam?” Stan asked.
“No,” Glenda said. “He was an honorable man.”
Mr. Wolf smiled. “Well, you know men. I’m sure he got a little pussy from time to time while he was on leave.”
“Arnold!” Eunice spat. “Just because you did that kind of thing in South Korea doesn’t mean Herbert did. You were single, he was married. I’m sure he respected his vows.”
Arnold rolled his eyes and winked at Stan. Stan smiled. “So, what unit was he in?”
“VR-2. The Second Naval Transport Squadron operating out of NAS Almeda. He flew a C-130 Hercules to Hawaii and then on to Vietnam.”
“Did he belong to any veteran groups?” Stan asked.
“Yes, he went to a reunion in Galveston last year.”
“Do you have any information on the unit? I’d like to talk to some of his friends.”
“Why on earth for?” Eunice asked.
“Oh, just to verify what went on while he was serving in the war. If his wife wasn’t faithful, he might have found out about it and decided the marriage was over. In that case he might have met someone.”
“No. He would have told us about that.”
“But you said yourself he didn’t like talking about the war. There’s probably a lot that happened that you know nothing about.”
“They sent him a program for the reunion,” Arnold said. “I think there’s a copy in his personal things we have upstairs.”
“He left some things here?” Stan asked.
“No. After he died Glenda said we could come get any of his things that we wanted. She was going to give everything away to Goodwill and throw out whatever they didn’t want, so we went over and got a bunch of his stuff.”
“That would be great if I could get that brochure. Also, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go through his things.”
Eunice frowned. “Well, I don’t think you’ll find anything about children in his things.”
“Probably not. But the judge might question my thoroughness if I neglected to, at least, look through his things.”
Eunice shrugged. “Okay, but it’s mostly junk.”
Stan was escorted into a small bedroom that appeared to be used for storage. Over in one corner was a big cedar chest. Mr. Wolf opened it and Stan started going through the contents. Inside the chest were photo albums, letters, memorabilia, medals, and newspaper clippings. Eunice watched him as he worked and answered any questions he had. When Stan was done Arnold gave him the reunion program and he left.
When he got back to the office Agent Lot from the FBI was waiting for him. When Stan walked in the front door he shook his hand and escorted him back to his office. Then he sent for Jodie. After Jodie had joined them Stan played him the tape.
“So, what do you think?” Stan asked.
“Well, that’s enough for a search warrant, but from what I understand INS has been through their records before and came up with nothing.”
“My clients will testify if they can get some protection.”
“That would be good, but since they are related to the victim their veracity might be challenged. What we need are some of the other employees to come forward.”
“That’s the problem,” Jodie said. “They’re all too scared for that.”
“Well, I might be able to talk my boss into sending in an undercover agent to verify what’s on the tape and what your clients will testify to.”
“Perfect. If you’ll provide protection for my clients, I’ll go ahead and file suit for the overtime and child labor violations. That should stir things up a bit, particularly when I notice Mr. Melendez for deposition. They might just get scared enough to make a mistake.”
“Yes, and if they make a move on your clients, then we’ll have all the proof we need.”
After Jodie and Agent Lot had left, Stan called Rebekah to see how she was doing. She said she was fine, but sounded a little tired, so Stan told her they’d order pizza for dinner and not to cook. She didn’t put up any argument. Stan spent another half hour cleaning up his desk and answering telephone messages before he left to go home. Just as he was leaving Detective Besch called.
“I listened to the tape you sent over. That was some pretty good work.”
“Yes, I told you about Jodie. She’s a no-nonsense attorney.”
“Well, I think we’re going to reopen the case.”
Stan told him about his conversation with Agent Lot.
“That’s good. We have different agendas, so there shouldn’t be any conflict.”
Stan hung up the phone feeling pretty good. Before he left he told Jodie about Besch’s call. She was elated and told him she had the original petition almost done. Stan promised he’d go over it with her in the morning and then left for home. When he walked in the door he announced in a loud voice that he was home, but Rebekah didn’t respond. He went into the kitchen and then the bedroom but didn’t find her. Feeling a little panicky, he rushed into the living room and found her on the sofa apparently sound asleep, but when he tried to wake her up she didn’t respond.
Chapter 8
Old Flame
Andrew Thompson’s quick application to be appointed executor over his brother’s estate upset Paula. She needed access to the money in Thompson Construction for her fee, but if Andrew was appointed executor he would try to block Maureen’s control over the corporation. Legally, Maureen owned a one-half undivided interest in the company. More importantly, as vice-president she had the authority to run its day-to-day operations. With Maureen as independent executrix she could do whatever she wanted, but if Andrew became executor he could challenge anything Maureen did since he would control 50 percent of the corporation’s voting stock. That was the problem with 50/50 owners in any enterprise—either party could cause a deadlock and virtually destroy the company’s ability to do business.
Paula’s only hope was that the appointment of an executor would take long enough for Maureen to drain the company of its cash before Andrew could stop her. Ordinarily legal proceedings of this type would drag on for months, but Paula feared somehow Andrew would expedite the process. She thought about it awhile and decided, if she wanted to get paid, she’d have to help Maureen speed up the completion of the houses and push the city to do their final inspections. She figured she only had about ten days.
While she was pondering her strategy, Maria indicated Roger Rand was on the telephone.
“Roger? How’d it go?”
“Your lady is free. She’s right here. Do you want to talk to her?”
“Yes. Put her on.”
“Paula?”
“Maureen. I’m so glad you’re out. How do you feel?”
“Much better now.”
“Good. Have Roger drive you to my office. I need you to sign some papers. Rod’s brother is trying to get control of the estate and leave you destitute.”
“Oh. Please don’t let him do that!”
“I’m going to try to stop him, but we’ve got to move quickly.”
“All right. I’ll see you in a minute, but I don’t want to stay too long. I’ve got to pick up my kids. I’m sure my sister is sick of them.”
“I understand. I’ll call her and tell her to pick you up here since you don’t have a car. What I need right now won’t take long, but I will need to spend some more time with you later in the week. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
“Yeah,” Maureen said with a sigh. “I guess I do at that.”
Paula hung up and took a deep breath. She could feel the muscles in her neck tightening as she began to worry. Stripping Thompson Construction to pay Maureen’s legal expenses would infuriate Andrew and the rest of the family. It might put her in a bad light with the press and the judge too, but she couldn’t think of any other option. She’d just have to deal with the backlash when it came at her.
Twenty minutes later Maureen was sitting in her office and Paula was explaining the corporate documents she had prepared.
“We’re having a meeting of the board of directors right now. You’re the only stockholder at this moment able to vote, so you can elect yourself as president to replace your husband. You and your sister need to go to the bank tomorrow and sign new signature cards. Then you need to get with your superintendent and make sure the houses are finished up in the next few days. I’ll contact the city and push them for a final inspection. Once that’s done we’ll all go to the bank and collect the retainage money. This all has to be done before there is a hearing on Andrew’s application for probate. There’s no telling what will happen at the hearing and, if Andrew is appointed executor, the assets of the company will be frozen.”
“Okay. But what about work?” Maureen asked. “I don’t get paid unless I’m working.”
“I know,” Paula said. “We’ll just have to work around all of our schedules.”
The door opened and Elena walked in with Maureen’s two girls. They ran over to their mother and they embraced.
“Oh, I missed you two so much,” Maureen said, trying to hold back her tears. She smiled at Paula. “This is Angela and Michelle.”
“Hi, girls,” Paula said, smiling broadly. “Did you miss your mommy?”
They both nodded timidly and leaned in closer to their mother.
“Well, you can take her home now,” Paula said. “Thank you, Elena, for all your help. I don’t know what we would have done without you.”
“She’s a good sister,” Maureen said, still fighting to hold back her tears.
After they’d all left Paula wondered how it would all turn out. Maureen’s situation was so desperate. Not only was she on trial for murder, but she was bankrupt, and owed the IRS nearly a hundred grand. As she was lamenting Maureen’s situation Stan walked in.
“Just the man I need to see,” Paula said.
“Oh, really. Was that Maureen who just left?”
“Yes, she just made bond.”
“Congratulations! How did you pull that off? I thought she was broke.”
“She is, but her parents had a lake lot that was valuable enough to secure the bond.”
“Well, that was fortunate. So, now what?”
“Now I’ve got her husband’s probate to deal with.”
She told Stan about Andrew and his application to probate the will. Stan agreed he didn’t have a chance as long as Maureen was free on bond and hadn’t been convicted of a felony.
“Do you need any help on the probate?” Stan asked.
“No, but I do need you to keep Maureen’s creditors at bay while this trial is going on, particularly the IRS. Maureen’s going to have enough stress as it is without some revenue officer breathing down her neck.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Stan replied. “If she files an Offer in Compromise it will stop all collection activity for six months or a year while they’re considering it. And, if they reject it, I can appeal it and get six more months.”
“Good,” Paula said, grinning. “Now tell me how I’m going to prove her innocent of murder.”
Stan laughed. “Well, Rodney obviously had some problems other than the IRS. I bet if we start digging into his business and personal affairs we’ll find other people who wanted him dead.”
Paula nodded. “You’re probably right. I’ll ask Maureen and Elena about that tomorrow. They should know if he had any enemies.”
“Once we have a suspect list, then we need to see who on the list would have wanted Maureen’s first husband dead as well.”
“That makes sense,” Paula agreed. “It’s just a little hard to imagine who that would be.”
“I know, but there has to be a connection between the two murders,” Stan argued.
“Not necessarily. The killer may not have had anything to do with Randy Rhymes’s murder but only used an ice pick as the murder weapon in order to confuse us and send us down a rabbit trail.”
“You may be right. We’ll just have to explore all possibilities before we come to any conclusions.”
After Stan had left, Paula started to think about how she was going to get the city to expedite its inspection of Thompson Construction’s last few houses. She’d been told that due to personnel cuts it could take as long as seven to ten days to get a final inspection. She knew someone who used to be an assistant city attorney. He had switched years ago to the DA’s office to become an assistant DA, but she was sure he’d still have contacts in the building inspection department. They’d been intimate a time or two before she married Bart, so she decided to contact him and see if he might have any suggestions. Looking at her watch, she saw it was after five. She doubted he’d still be in the office, but she remembered he was single and often went to Hooters for dinner or a few drinks after work. She decided to stop by there on the way home and perhaps “accidentally” run into him.
She laughed when she pulled in the Hooters parking lot and recognized Lee Long’s big Cadillac parked in a handicapped parking spot. Lee had lost a leg during the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War. He had a prosthesis and could walk as well as anybody, but he reasoned he was entitled to a lifetime of prime parking spots as a reward for the sacrifice he’d made for his country. To her knowledge nobody had ever argued with him about it.
She went inside and spotted Lee flirting with several of the scantily clad waitresses. She walked his way and then feigned surprise when she saw him.
“Lee? Is that you?” she said, smiling broadly.
Lee looked over at her and then returned the smile. “Paula!”
“Yes. How are you?”
“Fine. What brings you into a Hooters? Are you here alone?”
“Yes. I was on my way home from the courthouse and I got a craving for one of their great ham sandwiches. The guys in the DA’s office used to come here all the time to gawk at the waitresses, so unless I wanted to eat alone, I went with them.”
“Oh. I see. So, sit down then and join me.”
“Thank you, but I don’t want to interrupt anything.”
“It’s all right. I wasn’t having much luck luring any of these girls home to my apartment. I guess I’m getting old. It used to be a piece of cake.”
“Sorry about that,” Paula said sympathetically. “The years do take their toll.”
“Well, perhaps I could lure you back to my place. It would be like old times.”
“That would definitely be fun, but I’m married now. Bart probably wouldn’t approve.”
Lee chuckled. “Probably not . . . So, I heard you’re defending the Ice Pick Widow.”
“Yes, that’s right. When I took the case I knew nothing about the first murder.”
“Really. She kept that from you?”
“Not intentionally. She’d actually hired us for something else prior to the murder. It’s hard to say no to an existing client. But that’s water under the bridge. Right now I’ve got to focus on giving her the best defense possible.”
“Of course.”
“And, since I’ve run into you, there is one thing you could help me with.”
Lee frowned. “Really, what’s that?”
Paula explained her predicament.
“Well, technically the inspections are supposed to take place in the order they are received, but if an inspector wanted to he could pull one out of order and it’s unlikely anybody would know the difference.”
“So, should I talk to one of the inspectors? Tell them my sad story?”
“No. I doubt they’d want to help your client. Most people think she’s guilty. But you’re in luck. It just so happens I go fishing with one of the inspectors. I’m sure if I ask him he’ll be happy to expedite your inspection, particularly if I picked up the tab for our fishing guide the next time we go striper fishing at Texoma.”
“That would be great. The fishing trip is on me.”
“Of course, all he’s going to do is inspect the property out of order. The property still has to pass inspection on its own merits.”
“I understand. That’s all we’re asking for. The superintendent assures us the property is complete and will pass inspection.”
