by Karen Black
Fritz stood by the serving table filled with coffee, orange juice and pastries. He greeted me cordially.
Another dignified-looking, equally well-dressed man I didn’t know, walked toward us.
“Greg, I want to introduce Sam Merced. He was Charley’s personal attorney.”
I shook his hand, and sat in the chair Leonard pulled out for me then stood behind. Fritz quickly placed a cup of coffee and an apple muffin in front of me. I nodded and mouthed my thanks.
Leonard addressed the others, “Let’s get on with it, shall we?” All the partners nodded their heads in agreement. “Sam, why don’t you fill Greg in.”
“Sure,” Sam nodded. “Charley left some papers with my secretary a couple weeks before he was killed. I was out of town at the time and didn’t actually read them until last week, after his murder. He left a codicil to his Will, a deed to some property, and a letter he had written and enclosed in an envelope that said “To be Opened Only in the Event of My Death.”
“Wow,” I exclaimed, “that sounds like Charley knew he was in danger.” Although my attention was directed to Sam, I could see out of the corner of my eye the others nodding their heads in agreement.
Sam continued, “That letter outlined the people Charley thought were behind all this. Charley had discovered that a South American drug cartel, maybe an offshoot of the Medellin Cartel, was using TINMAN construction vehicles to smuggle drugs into the US. Those large boring machines, after being out of country on a job site, come in through customs with minimum scrutiny, and they have a lot of large cavities in which to conceal huge quantities of drugs. I turned his letter over to the DEA and the L.A. Police, but they already had an open case. Apparently, Charley personally discovered a package of dope, probably heroin, in one of the rigs.”
Again I interrupted, “Why the hell would Charley be personally inspecting one of the returning rigs?”
Leonard responded, “We don’t really know, but here’s what the police think. He must have been suspicious. Why we don’t know. But Charley was a very hands-on guy on every job he ran. He must have suspected, as he would colloquially say, ‘a skunk in the wood pile,’ and decided to personally find out who or what it was.”
I could picture Charley poking around one of those big machines. “Yeah, despite never getting a spot on his white linen suits, he really did get down in the trenches, so to speak,” I agreed, and heard a few chuckles.
Sam picked up his story. “Anyway, he must have immediately delivered the package to his DEA buddy and they started an investigation. They think that’s probably what got him killed. The gang, thinking it was still in his possession, was looking for the heroin which, according to DEA, had a street value of several million dollars.
“The DEA had already found one large cache right here in L.A. before I contacted them. Then they engaged in a massive manhunt for the cartel leader. Of course they won’t share any info, but apparently they found some pretty good clues at the stash site identifying the guy.
“I received a call this morning from Charley’s DEA buddy. Last night, they caught up with the gang down in San Diego, apparently trying to cross the border using one of those drug tunnels they’ve built between Otay Mesa and Tijuana. The leader, who they think was responsible for giving all the “kill” orders and taking care of the recent “clean-ups,” was killed in a shootout, along with several of his crew. Turns out he was actually an American citizen, but most of the crew that were captured or killed were either from Columbia or El Salvador, and in the U.S. illegally. Some of those captured were offered some ‘incentives’–he didn’t say what they were and I didn’t ask–to break with the ‘don’t talk to the police’ directives, and gave up a lot of information. As a result, the police and feds have also taken out the heads of the cartel in several other cities of distribution…about five total so far, including one in the Minneapolis-St Paul area…and there’s more on the way.
“They still think there are bigger fish out there, probably in South America, most likely Columbia, but they also probably have a major connection in Mexico. So, the Feds will continue to keep this as an open case. But, bottom line, it looks like the traffickers connected with this particular ring in the States have been eliminated and hopefully that means the danger to Charley’s friends is over as well.”
“That’s great news.” I inhaled deeply. “Thank you.” I could hardly believe this was all going to be over and I could go home. Home! All of a sudden, all those disturbing thoughts that had sprouted in the fertile area at the back of my mind over the last week and a half were replaced by a new, exciting, ecstatic idea…coming home to a loving wife. I wanted Corky to come back to Minnesota with me. I could picture it…a loving wife, another Darwin, and maybe some cute little brown-skinned redheads running around.
Sam disrupted my wandering thoughts. “Charley’s estate plan also has some interesting news. You, Greg, if I may call you that,” I nodded my assent, “will receive one-half of Charley’s TINMAN holdings. Despite not being a ‘named partner’…his choice, not the other partners’…he was actually the largest shareholder of TINMAN, so you’ll be an equal owner with most of the other partners.” Well, that accounted for the smiles and handshakes when I arrived. “The other half goes to Patrick Hennigan, but I understand he’s missing. We’ll have to have someone appointed to manage his shares until he can be found, or his body is discovered. The other person we’re trying to locate is Consuela Gonzales, who I understand was Charley’s Aspen girlfriend.” I didn’t correct him. Charley’s personal life might as well remain personal, and having a cute chick like Corky as a girlfriend would leave a nice impression.
Sam continued, “She’s the beneficiary of Charley’s Aspen condo and one million dollars. He also left a million to Mrs. Morales, his housekeeper. The rest of his sizeable fortune goes to various charities, including some of the same environmental groups that are protesting the project in Alaska.” He shrugged at that last disclosure and shook his head ever so slightly. To me he whispered, “How’s that for irony?”
I liked Sam, he reminded me of Mike, a no-nonsense, don’t-waste-time-just-to-increase-the-hourly-billing-fee type of attorney. If I ever needed an L.A. attorney, I’d want him.
I was convinced this was on the up and up and it didn’t appear anyone at TINMAN was involved. Clearly, the drug cartels would have had the means and contacts to have hired Stella to bomb my house and the thugs who killed Charley. It also made sense why they broke into his condo in Aspen and his L.A. apartment, even Mrs. Morales’ home. They were searching for the missing drugs.
“Leonard, I need to make a phone call. And please arrange for two more people to be escorted up. I may be able to solve some of your problems.”
While we waited, Leonard approached me. “Greg, now that you’re an owner, and I’m sure you’ll be elected a partner at our next Board meeting, which we could hold later this afternoon if you’re available. You’re the only one with the kind of engineering expertise like Charley and we wondered if you might be willing to take over for him? You know, running the construction jobs.”
Before I could answer, Corky, dressed in a stunning white form-fitting linen suit, reminiscent of Charley, and bright purple blouse, her hair “coiffured” as she had explained to me was the correct term when she got it cut only a few days ago, and Hennie walked into the room to the absolute gaping mouths of each and every one of the high powered, normally reserved, normally in-control corporate executives of TINMAN. Even stoic Fritz uncharacteristically stared.
I shrugged and grinned. Never had I seen more surprise on Leonard’s face. I turned to Charley’s lawyer. “Guess this’ll save you having to get someone appointed for Hennie’s shares, huh?”
Leonard shook his head. “You really didn’t trust me, did you?”
“Nope. Everyone was a suspect in my mind. But we’re all good now” I offered him my hand, leaned forward, and spoke quietly. “I’ll have to talk with Corky before I can let you know abo
ut that offer. Perhaps you could delay that board meeting a few days.”
He stepped back, tilted his head and squinted his eyes, as he slowly absorbed what I had just said. Surprise, followed by understanding, registered on his face. “You gotta be kidding me! You–and Corky! Man, Charley would love that!” Now smiling broadly, he grabbed my hand, shook it vigorously and leaned close again. “And just between us, I know she wasn’t his ‘girlfriend’ as everyone seemed to assume. He and I shared a lot of personal information.” Then stepping back, he warned, “And it stays that way…personal…if you know what I mean.” I did.
Corky walked over to join us. I put up my hand to Leonard and shook my head. I didn’t want him to give away my plan before I even had a chance to spring it on her. Almost immediately, a disturbing thought intruded. We’d only known each other less than two weeks, although I couldn’t have loved her more had it been two years. It really was awfully sudden. Maybe she didn’t feel the same way. Come to think of it, she was the one who, when I told her I loved her, had said let’s cool it, and she hadn’t brought the subject out of cold storage since. Maybe she didn’t believe I meant it. Maybe I hadn’t realized just how much I meant it until now. Of course we had been a bit distracted, trying to survive and all. I’d sort of promised myself that, after Helen, I wouldn’t risk the pain of getting my heart smashed again, not for a long time at least. But here I was and my heart was definitely very vulnerable. Corky grabbed my hand. I exhaled loudly. Apparently I had been holding my breath.
The lawyer dug into his brief case and pulled out a piece of paper. “There’s one more thing that Charley left with my secretary, and since the two of you are here, I’ll give it to you.” He started to hand the paper to Corky.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s a deed to some property in Alaska, and the title is 50/50 between Consuela Gonzales and Gregory McGregor. I have no idea what it’s worth.”
Corky and I stared at each other in disbelief. This was why Charley had wanted me to go to Alaska, and it had nothing to do with the drug business that got him killed. The killers just hadn’t known that. I leaned over and whispered in Corky’s ear, “Nine figures. Let’s go back to Alaska in the morning and find out where the property is located. I’ll bet it’s where he found the rhenium.”
When we returned to the hotel, I called Mike, updated him on how Charley’s murder appeared to be solved, how I was now the proud owner of half his stock in TINMAN, and about the deed to the land in Alaska. “Corky and I are heading back up there tomorrow to see if we can find it.”
Before we hung up, as I had promised Corky, I asked him to have the charges against Jazzy dropped. I had debated long and hard. Would letting Jazzy off the hook seem like I was diminishing Darwin’s loss? His companionship had been worth a lot to me and I still missed him. I even choked up just talking about it to Mike, but given Darwin’s loving and caring nature, I think he would have been okay with me doing this. Emotionally, I couldn’t forgive her, even if causing his death had not been her intention but someone else’s screw up, but legally I could make it happen, and in so doing, do something special for Corky.
CHAPTER XXVIII
Friday, Back to Alaska
Confident the danger was behind us and anxious to see this “nine-figure property,” Corky and I caught the early morning flight from L.A. to Anchorage after promising an eager Hennie we’d let him know as soon as we found the property, probably later today.
“We’ll ask Jack to fly us to the Denali Recorder’s office and find the location of the property. Maybe he can even fly us over it. We’ll call you as soon as we’re back at the TINMAN office. In the meantime, Hennie, please stay here and bone up on the company’s existing projects so you can brief me when we get back. Since we’re probably both going to be partners, we need to be up to speed when they hold the next board meeting.” I wasn’t just using it as a carrot. I really wanted an honest assessment of what the company was doing besides the dam in Alaska, particularly if I was going to consider Leonard’s offer, something I still hadn’t discussed with Corky. And while Hennie had been familiar with a lot of the projects, particularly the ones Charley was running, he agreed that he, too, wanted to review everything.
No longer looking over our shoulders or concerned about being “tailed,” we walked leisurely through the airport, rented a car and headed directly to Talkeetna. When we walked into the TINMAN office, Buddy Lee expressed both his delight and surprise to see us. Well, maybe he was delighted to see Corky and surprised to see me, but, no matter. Max, on the other hand, was clearly delighted to see me. At least I rated some attention.
After giving both of us a warm hug–Corky’s lasted longer than mine, but then she kind of snuggled closer than I had, and to boot, she gave him a kiss on the cheek–Buddy Lee pointed to the table, “Hey, I just made a pot of coffee. Help yourselves. But to what do I owe this unexpected return visit? Greg, if that dog is bothering you, I’ll put him out.”
“No, don’t you dare. He isn’t bothering me at all.” I patted him on his head. “You’ve really cleaned him up nicely. He’s a beautiful animal.” Max seemed to know I was talking about him, and put his feet on my legs when I sat down. This placed his head just below mine, and he simply stared up into my eyes.
While rubbing Max, I gave Buddy Lee the update, reciting how Charley had left some information with his attorney that pointed to the drug cartel; that the DEA had been involved, and several members of the cartel had been killed or captured. I decided it was safe to share with him the information about the deed and what it might mean. I recounted how we happened to be in possession of this thing we had taken from Charley’s apartment, fearing it might have our fingerprints and how Hennie had recognized the core drilling, had it tested and how it turned out to be a valuable rare earth metal called rhenium. “Remember how Jack flew us to all the boroughs to try to find a deed in Charley’s name? We thought it might indicate where he had taken that core drilling, and where he might have discovered rhenium.”
Buddy Lee nodded his head thoughtfully. “But you didn’t find it.”
“No, we didn’t. Charley had left that deed with his personal attorney, who gave it to us yesterday, but it was in Corky and my name, not Charley’s.”
Buddy Lee chuckled. “Clever man. That way if anyone was following him, they wouldn’t have been able to trace the property, since it wasn’t in his name.” He seemed genuinely impressed with Charley’s ruse. “But, then Charley always was a very careful man, bordering on paranoid.”
“But then you’re not paranoid if they really are after you.” I corrected, unable to pass up the over-used maxim.
He gave a deep belly snort and then cocked his head, as if remembering, “Charley used Jack and his helicopter a lot when he was up here. Of course, I never questioned him–he was the boss, but…,” he paused, scrunching his face and wrinkling his nose in deep thought, “strange that Jack never said anything. Oh, well, I suppose Charley told him to keep it confidential and Jack probably would have been loyal to Charley.”
“So, would it be possible to borrow Jack and his helicopter again?” I asked. “This is clearly not TINMAN business, but we would certainly appreciate it.”
Buddy Lee looked at Corky, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet this whole time. She smiled. If he had been hesitating for any reason, that seemed to be all he needed.
“Of course, of course. Jack’s on retainer for TINMAN. We allow him to do some of his own personal sightseeing or, as they call them here, ‘flightseeing’ tours, when he isn’t needed by us. So, this isn’t even going to cost TINMAN a penny…well, except for the gas.” Buddy Lee immediately picked up the phone. After a short pause, “Hey Jack, our friends Greg and Corky are back up here and they have need of your services…I don’t know; you’ll have to ask them….Okay, they’ll meet you at the field in an hour if that works for you.” Another pause. “Good.”
Buddy Lee turned to me, but seemed to focus on C
orky momentarily. “He’ll meet you at the same spot in an hour. He certainly seemed curious about what you needed him for this time.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Corky walked over and planted a loud kiss on his cheek. “We should be back in three to four hours. How about we take you to dinner?”
There was no way Buddy Lee was going to refuse that invitation. His wide smile covered his wide face as he put an arm around her shoulder. Pulling her toward him, almost protectively, he turned somber, “You know, if I were you guys, I wouldn’t broadcast what you’re looking for. Even if Charley’s murder has been solved, gracias a Dios, if you’ve got something of value, there are a lot of bad guys up here looking to take it away–a lot of opportunists, or even worse. This state isn’t that far removed from the time when one prospector killed another for a gold stake, just a chance to look for gold. Greed for easy money still prevails.” He squeezed Corky’s shoulder again.
I nodded my head in understanding. “Good advice. But if Jack was hauling Charley around, he probably knows about it…don’t you think?”
“Probably, but I suggest you let him tell you what he knows before you offer much. Just a tactic I learned. Works well in treasure hunts and in many business situations too,” he chuckled to himself, obviously recalling examples.
We finished our coffee and, giving Max one last rub on his cold, wet nose, I stood up.
“We just want to fly to the Denali recorder’s office…that’s what’s stamped on the deed. We want to find out exactly where the property is located. We’re not going to land there this trip, maybe fly over it if it’s on the way. Be ready in about four hours. Don’t forget we’re taking you to dinner,” Corky reminded him, flashing one of her dazzling smiles.