Watson Manor Eventually (Watson Manor Mystery Series Book 1)

by Ronald S. Craig

  "Hello, James, this is Jenny. Did you get the bank records from Summit?"

  "We did. The company is in Sacramento. The owners listed are David and Janise Stanford, a brother and sister team with a local address there. The company was opened in January of 93."

  "Janise Stanford? Why does that ring a bell?" Jenny asked.

  "Janise was the name Margret used before she moved to San Jose, but her last name was Harris."

  "That's it. Janise Harris, from Boise was Janise Stanford. That's Margret."

  "Looks like we have a tie to Margret, but I never knew or heard of David," James said. "The D.A. is trying to track them down. I need to call them back with that information."

  "I'm guessing that about a year ago regular withdrawals started from that account?" Jenny asked.

  "Not withdrawals, purchases. $10,000 monthly from San Jose Gold & Silver," he told her.

  "Are these purchases regular?"

  "The 28th of each month, it's set up as an automatic payment."

  "That's tomorrow. Eberhart might think one more payment is coming in?"

  "The account is frozen, but you're right, she may not know that."

  "Is there any money in the account you can recover?"

  "Actually, a little less than half of what she extorted from my company is still in the account."

  "I hope you can get that back, thanks James. We'll look into that, see if we can connect Detective Eberhart to those transactions," she said, hanging up the phone.

  "Charlie, the payment to Eberhart was apparently going through a San Jose Gold & Silver company on the 28th of every month."

  "I can't see her hauling gold bars around. Maybe they take a little off the top and give her cash. Or maybe she has something on them also; they must deal in a lot of cash," he said.

  "If they know who she is and, she has something on them, they won't talk to us."

  "I don't get it. Eberhart is smart, why wouldn't she just demand a cash payment directly?"

  "Maybe in the beginning Margret didn't know who the detective was that was blackmailing her, or Eberhart thought Margret would have a bullet show up instead of cash at a handoff?" she suggested.

  "Somewhere things changed. They knew each other in the woods. Eberhart's plan to kill James might have changed their relationship? Our getting involved might have united them in a common problem… us," he said.

  Charlie reached for the phone, hit speaker and called Chief Walker.

  "Good morning, Chief. Can you help us locate someone?"

  "Good morning, Charlie, Jenny. Got a name?"

  "David Stanford lives in Sacramento."

  "Not anymore," Walker replied. "He's residing in our morgue. He's the man that was with Margret out in the woods. He had ID, a license and a few credit cards in his wallet under the name Steve Franks. His prints came back as David Stanford this morning. We're taking a closer look at everything."

  "Another dead end," Charlie said.

  "Literally. We do have Detective Eberhart's prints on the phone so it's a stronger link and certainly a piece of evidence. I only wish she had the phone on her. We contacted the service provider and hope to get some cell tower location information in a few days. If she had the phone with her, we can place her in Santa Clarita."

  "That'd be great. Any word on the search for Ellis down there?"

  "Not good news. They gave it two days but the area is too large and the only thing we had to go on was what Detective Eberhart told you. She could have dumped him anywhere along Interstate 5."

  "Thanks for trying, Chief. We figured it was a long shot."

  "I sent the phone logs from both phones to Susan Abbott this morning. Yes, before you ask, we have copies for you too."

  "Mind reader also? See you in about an hour. Thanks again," Charlie said.

  "Yes, Chief, I can't thank you enough for helping us," Jenny said.

  "See you in an hour," Walker said, hanging up the phone.

  Jenny turned to her computer and searched for San Jose Gold and Silver. She printed the web page and contact information page. None of the employee names jumped out at her, but they had phone numbers that she could check against Detective Eberhart's disposable phone log.

  "We have Margret connected to San Jose Gold, we need to pull the string to Eberhart. So do we watch the place? Jenny asked.

  "Itching for a stakeout, detective?"

  "No, Charlie. I don't know what else to do!"

  "I'm sorry, poor joke," he said, reaching to hold her.

  They were greeted warmly when they entered the Marina Police Station. Detective Edwards handed them the copies of the phone logs. "The Chief is expecting you, go right in," he said.

  "Thank you, Detective," Jenny replied as they headed to the Chief's office.

  "I really want to nail this Eberhart," Walker said as they sat down in his office. "San Jose P.D. is calling it a justified shooting of Margret. Detective Eberhart is on recovery leave, she doesn't know that we found her disposable phone. We did take the battery out so, if she checks, she'll be satisfied in thinking the battery died while it was still behind our refrigerator."

  Jenny handed him the copy of the San Jose Gold and Silver's website. "We have the money trail from Margret to this place and with automatic payment on the 28th of each month. She might be expecting one last payment there," Jenny said.

  Walker scanned the phone log of Detective Eberhart's phone and found two calls made on the 29th of the previous month. He compared them to the phone numbers on the printout Jenny had just handed him.

  "No tie there," he said. Then he thought a moment and pulled his own cell phone off his belt. "It's a private number," he said as he made the call.

  "San Jose Gold and Silver," the woman said.

  "Hello, do you have a direct line for your financial officer?" he asked.

  "Yes sir, 555-6732. Mr. Burns is away from his desk right now, may I take a message?" Walker noted that this number was already on the printout, which didn't help. He decided to take one more shot.

  "It's a sensitive matter, kind of urgent. Does he have a cell phone number?"

  "Yes sir, but I'm not allowed to give it out."

  "I think Burns gave it to me, let me check my notes," Walker said, looking at the phone log. He picked the number tied to the shortest phone call about 30 seconds duration. "Here it is. Is it the 555-3487 number?"

  "Well, yes, that's it," she said. "And your name sir?"

  "I'll call Mr. Burns later, thank you," he said hanging up the phone.

  "Another link in this chain," he said, turning to them. Looking at the printout he continued, "Mr. Anthony Burns CFO of San Jose Gold and Silver has a cell phone number on Eberhart's phone log." He stood up and opened his door, "Edwards, see what you can find on an Anthony Burns, in San Jose."

  "Right away, Chief."

  "So Mr. Burns as CFO receives the check, takes it to the bank and walks out with cash. It never goes through San Jose Gold and Silver's account." Jenny said.

  "And Eberhart calls him to see if her money is ready," Charlie added. "She'll call one more time, on the 29th to see if the check came in. When she hears it didn't we've lost her."

  "Not if we can get someone from the San Jose P.D. or D.A.'s office to go talk to Mr. Burns… convince him to cooperate in exchange for jail time for his involvement in this," Walker said. "That'd be enough to put Detective Eberhart away."

  "Susan said she thought Detective Derrel Miller was good, maybe he could do it," she suggested. "We can run it by Susan and get her thoughts."

  Detective Edwards knocked on the door; opened it and handed the printout on Anthony Burns to Walker.

  "Looks pretty clean; no arrests or priors. There is an interesting note; he was brought in for questioning a year ago, no charges filed. But get this; he was interviewed by a Detective Nicole Eberhart."

  Walker smiled broadly, turned on his speaker phone and called Susan Abbott. He brought her up to speed on all they had found out and asked her abou
t Detective Derrel Miller.

  "It's hard to say. I've always felt like he was a good cop, but he may be sleeping with her for all we know," Susan said.

  "Can you call him? See if you can get a feel for him? If you don't think we can trust him, I'll call the D.A. or go talk to Mr. Burns myself," Walker said. "I don't want to miss this link and its very time critical."

  "Fax me what you have. If I get a good feeling, I'll present it to him so we can move quickly."

  "It's on the way, Susan. Let us know right away."

  "Thanks, I'll call Detective Miller right now," she said and hung up the phone.

  *****

  Susan went to her card file, pulled Detective Miller's card out and wondered how to approach him. She had been comfortable working with him before, but it has never been related to someone inside the San Jose PD. She dialed the number.

  "Detective Miller."

  "Derrel, this is Susan Abbott, have you got a minute?"

  "Hello, Susan. You're the defense for Mrs. Watson," he said.

  "There are some loose ends here, I wonder if we could talk about them?"

  "That would put me in a very awkward position. I was on the shooting investigation team in this case," he said.

  "A difficult task, I'm sure. Especially when things are not so clear cut?"

  "Yes it is. When you didn't see it firsthand…" he said.

  "Derrel, I've always regarded you as a straight shooter. I want you to see something that might interest you. My office is a half a mile from the Superior Court Building. I know Detective Eberhart is out on leave, would you go to her assigned car and turn on the tracker?"

  "Ok. I don't know what that will show me…"

  "There's a transmitter in my office that I personally saw being removed from the Watson's truck. If that tracker brings you to me, we have a lot to talk about."

  "And if I change the frequency set on the tracker, you lost a lead."

  "You're right. Was I wrong to trust you?"

  "I'll call you back," he said, hanging up the phone.

  About 15 minutes later Detective Miller entered her office. She looked up at him and said, "So I didn't need to give you an address?"

  "My neck is stuck way out here Susan."

  "I know, Derrel, really I do. But when you see what I have, and the urgency there is to follow it up, you'll understand.

  She went through the cell phone logs and the money trail that led to Anthony Burns, including the documentation when he was brought in for questioning by Detective Eberhart.

  "I'll go talk to Burns. If I find something, I'll set this up. I'm hoping it doesn't lead us to Detective Eberhart. But if it does, I'll arrest her on the spot," he said.

  "Thank you Derrel. That's all I could ask."

  Detective Miller left Susan's office and drove directly to San Jose Gold and Silver. He was directed back to Anthony Burns' office and found him seated at his desk.

  He pulled the door closed and sat down. "Mr. Burns, I'm Detective Miller with San Jose P.D. I have a few questions for you."

  "What can I help you with?"

  "It's about a check cashing service you're providing for Summit Advertising."

  "Do I need my attorney present?"

  "That’s up to you. If you cooperate with me, I don't see any reason to arrest you as an accessory in this matter."

  "Look, I was approached about a year ago. Some guy offered me $500 to cash the check and slip the remainder of the $10,000 in a car window."

  "A man approached you? Do you have a name?"

  "No. Initially it was a man, but it's been a woman that calls to set up delivery of the cash."

  "Have you made contact with her?"

  "I put the cash in an empty car. The check comes in; I cash it and slipped the money through a car window. That’s it."

  "And this didn't have an illegal feel to you, Mr. Burns?"

  "It was just too good to pass up. What do you need me to do?" he asked, nervously.

  "There are no more checks coming in. It's more important for me to see where the money is going than to bust your ass as an accessory to this crime. So, Mr. Burns, when you get the call from this woman you're going to convince her all is well and go through the transfer one more time," Miller told him, pulling two of his cards out and handing them to him. "One of those cards goes in the envelope you will stuff with paper this time. The other is for you to call me when she contacts you. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, and you won't arrest me?"

  "That again depends on you. If this goes smoothly I don't have any further interest here. If you are involved with others doing this kind of thing, I would suggest you consider the risk of jail time.

  "Ok. I'll call you when I hear from her."

  "Then this will be our last meeting," Detective Miller told him as he stood and left his office. When he returned to his car, he called Susan at her office.

  "I don't have anything linking Detective Eberhart, but I'll be there to watch the transfer."

  "Thanks again, Derrel," Susan said.

  "We'll know tomorrow, if it all goes as it has before and Burns gets the call," he told her.

  "Will you call me and let me know it's in motion?"

  "Yes, but don't plan on being here. It could blow the whole thing."

  "I won't, as much as I'd love to be," she conceded, hanging up the phone. She knew her client would be excited to hear the update so she called Jenny with the news. She invited them to her office the next day so they'd be close when the results came in.

  Chapter 37

  Detective Miller received the call from Burns at 10:15 am that he had just been contacted by the woman. The conversation, he was assured, went as normal. The car was going to be a five year old, blue Nissan. The transfer was to be at 12:30, which Burns indicated was typical and though the cars often changed he had seen this one before.

  Miller had parked behind the mall at 11:00 that morning to avoid being spotted. He was dressed casually and observed the area from the office window above a pharmacy in the mall. Captain Joe Richards, his superior was beside him as this might involve of on his detectives.

  The blue Nissan pulled into the parking lot just after 12:00 and a young woman left the car and entered the mall. He noted the license plate number and returned to his car using the rear exit of the pharmacy. The car was registered to a Patty Martin, age 20, with a local address where she apparently lived with her parents. Detective Miller then called Susan.

  "The transfer car is here, belongs to a Patty Martin; does that mean anything to you?" he asked.

  "Not to me, let me check with the Watsons," she said, turning to Charlie and Jenny and repeated the name. When they shook their heads no, she said, "No Derrel, sorry."

  "Looks like a go between, I'll follow her. Talk to you later," he said, disconnecting.

  Standing at the corner of the building at 12:30, he watched Burns slide the envelope through the window, turn and walk back towards his office. At 1:00 he watched a car drive by slowly on the street, but he couldn't see the driver or the license plate. It was a new black Lexus. He had run the DMV on Eberhart's personal car, but it came back as a 3 year old Toyota. Detectives were assigned the standard white Crown Victoria and that was all he had seen her driving. The Lexus moved on and was out of sight. Fifteen minutes later he saw it pull up on the opposite side of the street, and it made a left turn into the parking lot. The car moved slowly through the rows as if looking for a parking spot but, as many were available, the driver was looking for something or someone out of place. As the car turned and circled the blue Nissan, he saw the license plate and entered it into his dash computer. His heart sank as he read the screen:

  Eberhart, Nicole; Detective, San Jose Police Department. 2348 Saint Rosa Court, San Jose, CA.

  "Damn it Nicole, I wanted them to be wrong," he said to himself. Then he picked up his secure radio, "Captain, I have a visual and it's Eberhart in the black Lexus?"

  "Yes, Miller, we also have visua
l confirmation, driver is Eberhart. Hold for possession of the envelope," he said. "I'll stay here above the pharmacy until then."

  "Roger that. This is some real shit," Miller said.

  "Didn't see this coming. No flags went up the year she's been with us," Richards said.

  The Lexus moved away from the Nissan, turned into the parking lot exit row and waited for traffic to clear.

  "Stay with the Nissan, Miller. We know where Eberhart lives."

  "Roger, Captain. Think she made us?"

  "We never said she wasn't smart. We need her hands on the envelope."

  Detective Eberhart made a left turn on the road and was gone. Ten minutes later Patty Martin walked out to her car, got in and drove to the exit. Miller was four cars back and followed her through a left turn onto the road. Captain Richards had gone to his car as soon as he saw Patty leave the mall and was two cars behind Miller. The Nissan went about a mile then turned right into a restaurant parking lot. Miller pulled to the curb just before the drive way to stay out of sight.

  Richards drove past the driveway.

  "Both cars spotted. Driver doors together. It's the transfer," Richards said. He turned around a block away, out of sight and waited. The Nissan was exiting the parking lot and Miller saw the Lexus right behind it. When the Nissan moved into traffic, Miller blocked the drive way with his car and jumped out with his gun in hand.

  "Out of the car, now!" Miller commanded, his gun pointed at Eberhart through the window.

  Captain Richards pulled in behind the Lexus with his lights flashing. He walked over to the driver's side door and opened it.

  "I can explain, Captain, I was working a sting operation…" she started to say.

  "Save it, Eberhart!" Richards said. "Out of the car, you're riding with us. Miller, get the envelope."

  "I've got it, Captain. We're done here," Miller said.

  "No, Miller. Eberhart is done here," Richards said, turning to cuff Detective Eberhart and read her the Miranda Rights.

  *****

  Jenny was back in court two days later and the D.A. dropped all charges against her. The case against Detective Eberhart was building and Detective Miller asked them to drop by the police station after court. "It's difficult when it's one of your own. I'm sorry we put you through this Mrs. Watson," Miller said.