by KC Crowne
As the phone shook in my hand I tried to think where I’d seen the number before. Then it hit me – it was the number on the front of the business card I’d been looking at earlier. Someone from Blue Sky was calling me.
My heart skipped with excitement. I swiped the screen and lifted the phone to my ear. “’Hello?” Silence for a long moment. “Hello?” I prompted again.
“Is this Gerald Walker?” The voice on the other end was deep, tinged with an accent I recognized as Northern Mexican. The tone was foreboding, and though he’d only spoken four words, I knew he was the kind of man who didn’t fuck around.
“It sure is. This Michael Diaz?”
“You’re correct. I recently received a voicemail from you inquiring about our business. Is there something I can help you with?”
“There sure is. I just bought a chunk of land outside of Patterson, Texas. I was lookin’ to set up a little ranch out there. I was over at one of the businesses you own, Zed’s Contracting, and he mentioned you to me, gave me one of your cards.”
More silence, followed by, “Mr. Walker, if we are going to have any kind of productive conversation, I’m going to need a minimum amount of bullshit from you.”
“Huh? What kinda bullshit?” I replied, playing the dumb card a little longer.
“Please don’t test my patience or insult my intelligence. I know you’re not planning on building any kind of ranch. You were inquiring about my business because of some work you’re planning on doing at the B&B where you’re staying.”
Time to drop the act. “How do you know that?”
“Because your brothers, Isaac and Russ, stopped into a hardware store I own. They told one of the clerks what they were in town for, and word got back to me.”
“That right?” Very interesting, I thought.
“That’s right. I’ve got eyes and ears in this area, Mr. Walker. Not much happens that I don’t know about.”
“Well, if we’re straight-shootin’, then let’s do it.”
“Excellent. Now, tell me why you’re interested in my company?”
“Because I got reason to believe you’re not all that you say you are on the surface.”
“And what has given you that impression?”
“You own nearly every business in this area.”
“Is it a crime to be a successful entrepreneur?”
“It ain’t just that – it’s that you’ve got people all over town, from City Hall to the damn car dealerships working for you, squeezin’ out businesses that don’t cooperate. And I got reason to think you’re involved in something a little more unsavory.”
He chuckled. “Yes, I own many businesses in the region – and in other regions, too. And yes, I have close ties with some members of the city government. Such relationships are sensible for a man such as myself. And as far as the other matters…well, I won’t bother justifying that with a response.”
“Bullshit.”
“You can think whatever you want. But I’m guessing you’ve been spending plenty of time doing a little homework about my organization. Tell me – have you found anything untoward?”
“No,” I begrudgingly admitted. “But it’s only a matter of time.”
“It’s only a matter of time before you find there’s nothing illegal going on and give up this pointless endeavor. And there’s something else you ought to know.”
“What’s that?” I asked, frowning at his tone.
“Your brothers. I did a little research of my own and discovered they’re not licensed to work in the state of Texas as contractors. In fact, a little more research revealed they almost exclusively do under-the-table work.”
Fucking hell. More red-tape bullshit.
“Allow me to make a suggestion from one business owner to another – putting them to work at the B&B would be quite illegal. Unless you want to risk some serious fines, you ought to really consider having them working there. Just a bit of advice.”
“Easy for you to say when you’ve got half of City Hall in your pocket.”
“More conspiracy nonsense,” he scoffed. “I know the rules, Mr. Walker, and I play by them. Unless you want trouble, I suggest you do the same. Have a good evening.” The line went dead.
“Fuckin’ hell,” I said, tossing my phone on the bed.
If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. And despite what Michael had said on the phone, I was even more certain some serious shit was afoot. I turned my attention back to the financial information on the desk, numbers I hadn’t been able to make heads or tails of.
But I knew someone who could – Crystal.
Getting her involved would be dangerous, and I was dead set on keeping her safe. However, I needed her help.
I gathered the documents, ready to take them to her office. I had to be careful about it. If she were to find out exactly what was going on, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind she’d want look into it with me. And I wasn’t about to let her put herself at risk like that.
Chapter 14
Crystal
I let out a sigh, shutting my laptop after looking over the budget for what felt like the ten millionth time that hour. The door opened, and Gerald stepped in. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, as if I’d forgotten how good-looking the man was. He strode into the office like some living statue, built solid.
His eyes were narrowed into little slits, his brow furrowed as if he was thinking about something he didn’t quite know how to talk about.
“What’s up?” I asked, sitting back in my chair and propping my feet on the desk, folding my hands behind my head. I glanced down and saw a folder tucked under his arm, the papers inside about an inch thick. He drummed the side of it with his fingers, still looking like he wasn’t sure where to begin.
“Got somethin’ I wanna talk to you about.”
“Yeah? Sit a spell and let’s hear it.”
He sat down and placed the folder on his lap. “I’ve been doin’ a little research on some of the local businesses, pokin’ around in their financials.”
I cocked my head to the side. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
“Well, that’s the first thing I gotta say before we get into this – the less you know about this, the better.”
“Wait, what? You wanna talk to me about somethin’ but I can’t ask what it is?”
“That’s the long and short of it. I wanted to take care of this on my own, but I ain’t got a mind for numbers. You, on the other hand, do. I need that brain of yours.”
“Why would I help you with somethin’ that you won’t explain?”
“Because I’m gettin’ it all sorted out in my head, and I don’t want to bring you in on the whole picture until I’m goin’ on more than just my gut.”
I considered his words, going back between helping him and wanting to grill him until I got some answers.
“Here’s the other thing,” he continued. “My brothers aren’t gonna be able to start work.”
“What?” I sat up and leaned forward.
“Yup. More legal bullshit about permits and licenses and all that shit.” He tapped the file. “Which is why I gotta get to the bottom of this. You want help with your situation, I’m happy to provide it. But the only thing I ask is that you give me a little time before I explain exactly what I’m doin’.”
I sucked in a deep breath through my nose and let it out. “Let’s see it.” He nodded before handing over the file. “And tell me what I’m lookin’ at here, exactly.”
“It’s tax information,” he said. “Income declarations and the like for businesses in the area.”
“Mhmm,” I said, opening the folder and seeing more or less what he was describing. “This is a pretty comprehensive list. There a reason you’re pokin’ around in tax information?”
I flicked my eyes up at him and saw that his mouth was in a flat line.
“Oh, right – you ain’t sayin’ nothin’ about nothin’.”
“For the time bein’. Just trust me. I’m n
ot tryin’ to be coy about it or nothin’. It’s for your own good.”
“You know, I’m not really in the business of lettin’ men tell me what’s for my own good.”
“I get it – I really do,” he said, lifting his hands in a defensive gesture. “How about you just trust me for now? That work? And trust that I’ll bring you in as soon as the time’s right.”
I wanted to keep at him, but more than that, I wanted to look over the information in front of me, see if I could puzzle out the reason he wanted me to check in the first place.
“Fine, fine. But there’s only so long I’m gonna let you keep me in the dark, got it?”
“Got it.”
I flipped through the folder, looking over the tax information for the businesses. It all seemed pretty bog-standard at first – information on income and expenses and all that. I almost wanted to shut the folder and tell him it wasn’t worth looking at. But then something caught my eye – prices for one of the local car dealerships.
I tapped the number for the sale of a ’96 Ranger. “Now, I ain’t exactly an expert on cars, but even I’m pretty sure a twenty-five-year-old truck isn’t gonna sell for nearly thirty thousand dollars.”
One side of his mouth curled and he nodded, as if I was seeing what he thought I might. “Go on.”
I turned my attention back to the numbers and spotted one that made me burst out laughing. “Look at this!” I tapped another number. “Ten thousand for a damn clear-coating? I mean, maybe that’s some fine-quality, top-tier work, but it still seems a little high.”
“That is a little high.”
“All of these prices are just insane. Used cars sellin’ for this much? What the hell is goin’ on here?”
“Check out the numbers for one of the contracting companies, Zed’s.”
I flipped around to the back until I found the company he was talking about. The numbers didn’t jump out at me right away, but I pulled open my computer and did some quick research, adding up the numbers long-hand on a scrap piece of paper. As I worked, I could feel Gerald’s eyes on me.
“Damn, you’re a whiz with those numbers.”
“I went to school for it for six years – I should hope I am.”
“You got a real knack for this, Crystal.”
I was hardly worried about compliments, but damned if I didn’t enjoy hearing him talk like that to me. Fucking charmer. I cleared my throat and went back to work, comparing the prices for services and materials I found online to what was listed in the information.
When I finished, I sat back, almost unable to believe what I was seeing. “Holy hell – this is insane.”
“What is?”
“Either Zed’s is working with the finest damn lumber on God’s green earth, or he’s jacking up the prices like crazy. I did some quick math trying to compare prices for what a contracting company ought to charge for these kinds of services to what Zed’s is charging, and it’s insane.”
“So, they’re gouging customers?”
I shook my head. “Most companies like this inflate their prices a little for the customer. But this is way, way more than that. The prices are so different that any client would know immediately somethin’s up.”
“So, it’s all just how they’re recording things for tax purposes.”
“That’s right. They’re jacking up the prices on the tax books to make it look like they’re earning more than they actually are.”
Gerald sat back, clearly trying to process the information. “But why the hell would they do that? Wouldn’t declaring more than you’re making mean you’d have to pay more in taxes?”
“Sure. But if you’ve got another source of income, one you don’t want other people findin’ out about, then it’s worth it.”
“Alright,” he said thoughtfully. “You sound like you got a theory for what you’re lookin’ at.”
“I do. But it’s only a theory,” I warned.
“Let’s hear it all the same.”
“You heard of money laundering’ before?”
“Of course. It’s what people with money they earned illegally do to make it usable.” He sat forward interested, clearly thinking. “If you earn a million a year from drug dealing, you can’t just run out and spend that money. If you’re officially makin’ thirty thousand a year and you’ve got on record a purchase for a fifty-thousand-dollar car in cash, for example, that’s the fastest way to get the tax man knockin’ on your door.”
“So, if you’re doin’ business in cash you’ve got to find some way to clean the money up.”
“Exactly,” he said with an emphatic nod. “You can either spend the cash a little at a time, which no one wants to do, or you set up some kind of operation to clean the money. You put it through a legitimate business, like a restaurant or—”
I smacked my hand on the desk, enjoying our minds working together. “Or a car dealership or contracting company.”
He grinned at me. “One where you can slip money in, pay taxes on it, and hopefully never arouse suspicion. You won’t have access to the money right away and you gotta pay taxes, but you can spend it. And most importantly, you can convert it from hard cash to somethin’ you can actually put in the bank. Depositing a hundred thousand in cash will get the IRS on your ass so fast your damn head’ll spin.” He frowned and added, “But this all looks obvious, right? I mean, you were able to poke around for a few minutes and see what was likely goin’ on.”
“That’s where it helps to have friends in high places – like city hall, for example. You pay off a couple of people there to look the other way, and everything comes out fine and dandy.”
Gerald sat back again, rubbing his chin as he thought the matter over. “Is there enough there” –he pointed at the documents— “to get the police involved? Bring some legal action against whoever’s doin’ this?”
“Hard to say. I mean, I don’t know that much about money laundering,” I admitted.
He grunted as his eyes moved faraway, talking as much to himself as to me. “Thing with laundering is that it doesn’t leave much of a trace. You go to the IRS or whatever and get them involved, the business can just say, hey, it’s all right there – we’re chargin’ a price, and people are payin’ it.”
After giving him some silence to think in, I asked, “Now, you want to tell me what’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”
He glanced at me, his frown lifting slightly. “Like I said, the less you know right now, the better. I’m gonna keep you posted – don’t you worry about that.”
“But still no work on the building.”
“It’s bullshit, I know, but as soon as I can get this all sorted out, I’ll have my brothers doin’ what they came here to do.” He stood up and collected the folder from my desk. “I’ll let you know when I know. But right now, I’ve got a meeting. Talk to you later, Crystal.”
Folder tucked under his arm, he headed out. I let myself lean forward to look at his ass packed into Wranglers, my pussy clenching at the sight. As soon as he was gone, I was back to thinking about what the hell he’d just showed me. Were businesses around the B&B pulling shady shit? Was I right in the middle of it?
I wanted to get to the bottom of it all, but Gerald was keeping me at arm’s length, and as much as I wanted to push him, I had a feeling he was doing it for a reason.
And in the pit of my stomach I had a feeling things were only going to get more complicated.
Chapter 15
GERALD
I was on my way to City Hall, having given Mayor Josh Simms another call letting him know I wanted to meet. Josh was available, and I had the impression he was just as eager to figure out what the hell was going on as I was.
I strolled through the building after checking in with the front desk. I barely had to wait a minute before Josh called me up to his office. He was behind the desk like he was before, an eager expression on his face.
“What’s the story, Gerald?” he asked. “You manage to find out anyth
ing?”
I glanced aside, trying to figure out how to describe what I’d learned. “Now, it’s only speculation at this point. But I showed these numbers to someone who’s got a mind for math and she thinks there’s somethin’ that stinks like shit happenin’.”
“Like what?”
“Like money laundering.”
Josh raised his eyebrows, processing what I’d said. “Is that right?”
“Just the theory so far. But man, I checked out a few of those places and somethin’ for sure is goin’ down. They’re all chargin’ through the nose for their services or products or whatever, and more than that, they’re all owned by the same holding company.”
He nodded, frowning. “You got anything more than that? Anything concrete?”
I shook my head. “Not so far. Right now I’m puttin’ all the pieces together. But if I had to guess, I’d say there’s somethin’ seriously shady happenin’ in your town.”
“Shady dealings aren’t enough for a conviction – that’s what we really need,” he said. “If this thing’s as big as it looks, we’re gonna need a mountain of evidence and an air-tight case before we move forward. If we jump the gun and can’t push it all the way to a conviction, they’ll just scatter like roaches and disappear into the shadows.”
“This might be the cartel we’re talking about,” I warned him, and reminded myself. “They might try and make an example of us, show other people what happens to people pokin’ around where they shouldn’t.”
“Yeah. My brother’s in the ATF division down in El Paso. These cartels are fuckin’ ruthless. You start messin’ with their money and they’ll come for you and everyone you care about.” He shook his head. “Got more than a few horror stories he’s told me about what they do to the law down there who get too close to the truth. If you’re lucky, they pay you off and that’s that. The less said the better about the unlucky sorts.”
“I’ve heard a few stories myself. But we’re not gonna let it come to that, y’hear?”