Three_Deception Love Murder

by K. J. McGillick

  Using the house as part of the criminal enterprise is out of his reach. Justice is ready to take possession of it as soon as Emma leaves. Did he switch all the money over to Emma, and why? We found the stolen paintings and dismantled the studio, but there must be more we haven’t found yet. And as much as I want to put Roselov away, he’s not our problem. He’s London’s headache. Except damn. He’s on US soil, and that gives us a clear shot at him. If he would do something stupid, we’d be able to detain him. Perhaps he can’t leave here until he ties up whatever loose end White presents, which brings us back full circle. If White is gone, why stay?

  Now how to keep Emma safe? Witness protection is a crap shoot, and it’s unlikely she will agree. If she opts for witness protection, we can give her a new life. With millions on the line when this explodes, her safety will be on the line. I should try to get her to reconsider, but the selfish bastard I am, that means I could not see her again.

  The seat belt sign on final descent call was given. I woke Emma to let her know we were almost home.

  Mental and physical exhaustion clawed at my body. I wanted a bed to sleep for a few hours, and a plan. Jackson threw our luggage into the back of the truck, and he looked worse than I felt. The problem with Jackson and me is we did not accept defeat on any level. Our brains are wired to stay one step ahead of the next disaster, and if a catastrophe arose, to find out why and never allow it to happen again. Any unsolved case was considered a personal failure. We searched for clues and patterns in the smallest crumb of evidence, and until we had an answer sleep would evade us. It seemed as if he hadn’t slept in days and could use a beard trim.

  “How’s Aunt Mary?” Emma asked.

  He took a moment to think, ran his fingers through his hair, and shook his head.

  “Oh my God, what does that mean? Why are you shaking your head? What is wrong? Is she okay? Please don’t tell me she is sick in the hospital over this?” she said barely able to get it out.

  “Oh, hell no. If anyone will be laid up in the hospital over this it’s me. My head is ready to explode from Eloise and Mary’s conspiracy theories. It reached the point I agreed with them only to try to stop the insanity. You need to take the computer away from Mary and hide it,” he said as he raked his fingers through his hair to the point it stood on end.

  “Why?” I chuckled.

  “Oh God,” was all she could say.

  “Damn right, oh God. Those women are a menace to society,” he responded.

  “Hit me. What happened?” she said bracing for the worst scenario.

  “Normally I would shield you from this insanity, but you left me with those two lunatics so here it is. The Vatican bank and the Russian Mob are co-conspirators. You both deserve to know this because I endured an hour of this drivel,” Jackson scoffed.

  “Come again?” Emma replied turning toward him as if hit with a cold fish.

  “Apparently in her research, she came across a story that the Vatican opened a money laundering investigation against its two top guys through the IOR. Now mind you, the story has nothing to do with Russians but you know she’s obsessed with Russians. Mary informed me because of this she believes the Vatican bank is in cahoots with the Russian Mob. And she is positive Roselov is part of the Russian Mafia,” Jackson reported.

  “What’s the IOR?” Emma asked. And yeah, I’d like to know that also.

  “The Institute for Works of Religion. It’s the formal name of the Vatican bank. But it is more a financial institution rather than what you would think of as a traditional bank. They don’t do loans or mortgages, credit cards, or car loans. Only certain people are allowed access,” Jackson said flipping his blinker as he passed the car in front of us a little too close.

  “Go on,” Emma said leaning forward trying to understand where this was heading.

  “Remember I am giving you Mary’s theory. There is no way I want this to come back to me. I am just the messenger, not the originator. This is her research and her conclusion. The Vatican bank works in a somewhat secret capacity, it’s the nature of that beast. Over the years it has come under a cloud, and that’s no big secret. I see where she could form a suspicion about whether or not it operates above board. Because they are a country state separate from Italy, the Italians have no authority over the Vatican state. Since the Italians are not privy to the Vatican bank, no one could prove or disprove money laundering because they can’t be audited by anyone other than themselves.

  “In 2012, there was an incident that forced the Vatican bank to be proactive and investigate itself. They didn’t want to, but let’s say they were forced to comply with the request. After a lengthy investigation by the Vatican authority, no one was charged with money laundering on their end. They felt it was sloppy bookkeeping. That didn’t sit well with the country of Italy and the city of Rome, so they opened their own line of inquiry. Because the Vatican opted to join the Eurozone and did business with Rome, this bound the Vatican to abide by EU rules. So, they found a back door in and started an investigation.

  “The completed investigation raised some eyebrows, and there was a whiff of money laundering. But in the end, all they could prove was there was sloppy paperwork which did appear as if they were involved in a crime. The Italian government jumped on this, and used this opportunity to peek into Vatican affairs. The Roman court charged the two with a criminal omission in their documentation, and they sentenced them to four months in jail.” He shrugged.

  “Can you move it along?” I asked.

  “Hey, I was forced to listen to this, and you asked so you need to hear it to the end. You should thank me for giving the cliff notes version. So Moneyval, the financial watchdog, files the reports that the Vatican states, despite some progress, still does not meet some critical financial transparency standards. The Swiss didn’t want Brussels and Frankfurt in their business, so they opted out of the Eurozone, and the Vatican should have taken the same route. According to Mary, the Vatican bank was and probably still is in cahoots with the Italian Mafia, who over time lost some of their financial clout. She thinks the Vatican bank continues to need a steady flow of secret income, so they are now open for business to the Russians to launder their money. She has informed me that’s how Roselov is involved with the Vatican bank,” Jackson responded shaking his head in disagreement.

  “Will you explore this with your superiors?” Emma asked tapping her chin.

  “Sweet Jesus. Does insanity run in the family? Are you seriously asking the FBI to take advice from an eighty-nine-year-old conspiracy theorist?” Jackson’s brows were raised almost to his hairline in disbelief.

  “Yep, that’s what I’m asking,” Emma said.

  “I am not going to start an international crisis with the Catholic Church over some conspiracy theory.” In his mind, the case was closed. However, I believe he was sadly misguided. It was not closed by a long shot.

  The rest of the car ride back to the house was quiet. Fine by me, I wasn’t getting in the middle of the US versus North Korea. As we pulled into the drive, I gave the agent at the door the go-ahead to get his partner and leave. The partner leaving the house offered me a smirk and a shake of the head and said, “Good luck.”

  Entering the house was eerily quiet. No Lucy bounding to the door and no loud voices. God, I hope they did not need to bind and gag Mary to the chair.

  Well, that was short lived. The minute Emma entered the kitchen, all hell broke loose. Lucy was on her feet slipping across the kitchen, and Eloise sat a little taller trying to look steady. Although it was clearly a drunk trying not to look drunk. And Aunt Mary leaned casually back in her chair.

  “A fine mess this is, Emmie Lou, isn’t it? I wasn’t much of a fan of the memory place. But at least I had some fun, flirting and teasing, and starting trouble here and there. All I get here is Mr. Sourpuss,” she said pointing at Jackson. “He won’t even play cards anymore because I beat him hand after hand and he’s a sore loser. As soon as I got the hang of those video game
s he plays, I knocked him on his ass. What does he do? He confiscates my controller,” Aunt Mary bellowed as she came in for a hug.

  Followed by Eloise who somberly added, “Truth,” as she swayed.

  I glanced at Emma, she gave me the nod that Eloise was indeed shit-faced. Great.

  “Ah, now, ladies, that is not true. I cooked, played, and let you win, Mary, because I couldn’t take any more of your cussing and throwing of the controller,” Jackson replied in his defense.

  “Yeah, yeah. If you weren’t so pretty to look at I would have booted your ass out of here, you cry baby,” she said, her voice raised and finger pointed. “Even with my arthritic thumbs, I was still all over you. And we leave the defense of our country in your hands. Scary.”

  Again, Eloise confirmed, “Truth!” She picked up her half-empty glass that looked like a margarita which had come from the large pitcher on the table.

  “Christ,” was all Jackson said as his hands lifted up in defeat.

  “Mary, I am so sorry you had to get involved in all this. But, and here is the but,” Emma said with a raised finger. “You are the one who insisted on telling the government about what you saw on the dock.” She looked at me. “I am not saying you should withhold information, but you put yourself in the center of this drama. And now I understand you came up with a new theory you are floating and won’t let go of, creating more hype and drama. In fact, making Jackson quite cranky and edgy. Is that about right?”

  “Oh, please. Mr. Cranky Pants could do with a little good humor. I want this case solved because I want to go back to a normal life. I don’t want to be on the lam in some half-ass government program the rest of my life. They won’t put me in a decent place like where I am now. I’ll be dumped in a run-down state facility somewhere all alone and I’ll never see you again. I want to do my part to get these people rounded up and put away so I can go on my merry way,” Mary responded. “I want no part of witness protection. Didn’t you ever watch In Plain Sight? They always found the witnesses. And most got killed or almost killed.”

  “Okay, okay, everyone settle down,” I said. “I see a full pot of coffee and the bottom of a pitcher of margaritas, so I’m grabbing a cup of coffee. Give me a minute to make a sandwich. Anyone else want one?” Noes all around. “In a minute, I want to hear Mary’s theory. I understand her frustration, and she has a right to offer an opinion,” I said hoping it would appease her and I actually wouldn’t be forced to listen to her thoughts.

  “Seriously, I have heard nothing but nonstop theories for two days. I know more about the Illuminati and Freemasons than I will ever need to know and how everything the Vatican does is wrong,” Jackson said with a sulk. “You want to listen to this be my guest. I am done, or my head might explode.”

  “Well, Mr. Cranky Pants, are you doing any better getting this solved?” Aunt Mary asked crossing her arms.

  Eloise took a moment to respond and the only word she seemed to be able to get out, “Truth.” This time swaying to the right and lifting her index finger for emphasis.

  “Jesus, El. You are drunk off your ass. How many have you had?” Emma asked looking at the pitcher.

  “That’s her second pitcher,” Aunt Mary said with a chin lift and head shake.

  “Truth,” Eloise slurred.

  “All right. I get the picture,” I said “Eloise, if you can sit there quietly drunk, I want to get Aunt Mary’s take on this. Can you do that?”

  “Yep,” she said and down her head went on the table to rest.

  “Okay, good. Now, Aunt Mary, pray tell what are your thoughts,” I said, and I knew I would get an earful.

  “Well, once I heard the words money laundering, I started doing research. Don’t shake your head at me, Jackie boy, just because I’m on to something,” Aunt Mary said. And before he could start an argument, I ran my finger across my throat to shut him up.

  “As I was saying, the term money laundering goes back to the roaring twenties. The way to push cash through and make it usable again was by investing in a laundry mat and getting cash mingled up. That way no one knew they were slipping money in, it just looked like a profitable business. Other people say it came from putting new money into a washer to make it look used. Anyway, now the Vatican bank has been a playground for the Mafia for a long time.”

  Again, Jackson was ready to jump in. I had to give him the stand-down look.

  “It was really used to its fullest during WWII in the forties. But over the years the Mafia leisurely walked their money across the street from the Rome side to the Vatican side to a friendly priest. No regulations, lots of secrecy,” she informed us as if she was an expert, and I was having trouble stifling a laugh.

  “Say a religious person who works for the Vatican has access to its funds. Don’t give me that look, Jackson. And don’t shake your head either. Okay, follow me. You government people and lawyers like the words hypothetically or allegedly. Feel better? Let’s say this person is a religious person who is hypothetically working in cahoots with bad guys. Let’s say the bad guy is a mobster who sets up phony charities where people send money to him. They send the money to the charity by snail mail, and that money gets deposited into an offshore bank. When they want to clean it, they transfer it to their Vatican account. Once they need it, they withdraw it from the Vatican account and pay for what they want,” she said as Jackson tried to interrupt, but to no avail. “They can buy a car, pay their mortgage, whatever they want to use their money for it’s taken from a religious person’s account. Who’s looking at that, right?”

  “That doesn’t help with our case at all, that’s something for the Italian police to jump in on,” Jackson said not impressed and getting agitated.

  “Hold up here, Jackson. I see where she is going with this. Boil it all down to the phony religious charity with the illegal money which can buy art directly from Roselov’s gallery or through the auction house. Who is going to question a charity run by a priest who works for the Vatican? Someone sees an account with the Vatican account attached will think it is legit,” I said probably giving too much credence to her scheme. “Perhaps they were moving in a new direction. But that would take a solid network already in place.”

  “You people are all crazy. What religious person would get involved and take that big a risk? And for what? To help fund terrorism? I do not see it, and I need you to shut this whole line down before my head explodes and you are cleaning up brain matter,” Jackson said.

  “I’m drunk, and even I get it,” Eloise said. “Say you own a company that has a quarter of a million euros since we are now in Europe. They donate that money to the bad guy’s charity who has the religious person’s connection to the Vatican bank. Or more than likely spread the money over several phony charities run by the same person. Now that money is sitting in a legitimate bank or more likely in an offshore account and still looks like a legitimate charity.

  “But now the criminal has to move it and clean it again, so he moves that money to his contact who has the Vatican bank account. If his contact is someone who has a big job in the Vatican, he has more access and less oversight right? So possibly now over time, he has several million accumulated. No one knows because he’s a big shot and there is no regulatory oversight.

  “But he can’t withdraw it all out, deposit it into an Italian bank and then use it. Boy, how bad would that look? How would he explain five hundred thousand euros going into an account or paying his bills or buying luxury items?

  “So, he gets say fifty people to agree to take ten thousand euros from him. He’s a big shot, and people love to be in favor with a man associated with the Pope. You know, a person who has power. So, he says take this ten thousand euros in cash and get me a check for nine thousand euros with a check from your checking account in your name made out to cash, and you keep one thousand euros for your trouble. They want to help him and don’t question the request. Who doesn’t want to help someone working for God? So, all those checks from all those people no
w in his name as payee or cash as payee can be used a little at a time. He can cash or deposit them.

  “Or he can open an account with an auction house using the proceeds from the checks and buy a painting and later sell the painting. Thus, clean money. Now, Jax, please try to keep up, you’re embarrassing yourself.”

  There was a middle finger. I swear I saw a middle finger in my peripheral vision from Jackson.

  “Thank you, Eloise. I also understand that a person who works for the Vatican has options to move property around. A qualified person can move money freely using their diplomatic immunity, and the same would go for a painting if they used a diplomatic pouch. Those pouches cannot be searched. The pouch is considered soil of the land,” Aunt Mary said as if she was an expert of diplomatic immunity. “Who will frisk a priest coming and going, country to country on a private plane?”

  “Aunt Mary, you are scaring me. Where did you come up with this?” Emma asked.

  “Ever heard of Google?” She smiled. “I got bored beating his lame ass, so I needed a diversion.”

  “So, from a man associated with the Vatican bank found hanging in London in the eighties you got all this?” Jackson said with his palms resting on the edge of the table ready to push away and signal he was finished.

  “Jackson, it’s fairly ingenious. This would be quite a pearl for them if they could get access to that type of secrecy. I would think if Roselov is Russian Mafia, the Italian Mafia didn’t appreciate him making headway. Think about it. Diplomats can move things around in their pouches. Charities can be set up offshore. And who would question the Vatican? Which by the way, is not under European control itself. So, there is an opaque art market possibly being used by an opaque banking system,” I said. “I know this sounds far-fetched. In your wildest dreams, would a trip to Egypt for a body part removal as payment for transportation out of the Middle East ever hit your radar?”