“It’s what you asked. I think Brad must have been a little loco, you know? I don’t mean to say anything bad about your friend, but the man had maybe four bank accounts. Pull up the first few pages and you’ll see.”
“I wanted to ask about that. I thought I was seeing things,” I said.
“Either he had a weird accounting system or there’s something fishy.”
“Brad wasn’t the world’s best businessman. Sometimes he was dizzy, but he wasn’t stupid. Maybe a little naive.” Poor Brad, I thought. He’d probably gotten himself in over his head with his dreams for the spa. I don’t know what he thought when he opened the accounts. If he’d hoped to hide anything he should’ve known better.
“A lotta money passed through those accounts,” Nina said.
“Can we find out where it came from?”
“There’s always a way, unless he deposited cash. Then…”
“Think you can check it out?” I turned and bumped into the chair’s armrest. I inhaled sharply against the pain.
“You all right, papi?” Nina asked.
“Yeah… I wasn’t kidding about being drop kicked last night, though.”
“You guys and rough sex. When you gonna learn?” Nina laughed. “Take a break. Let me check out the accounts. And next time go home with somebody nice.”
She hung up, and I tried not to laugh. It’d hurt too much.
Nina’s file gave me a lot to think about. Brad had made several large deposits some weeks earlier. There was an electronic transfer of some money as well. He’d also made sizeable withdrawals, which would explain the lavishly expensive changes I’d noticed at the spa.
In looking over Nina’s findings on Wheeler Enterprises, I saw that some of Brad’s money had come from Wheeler. This was recorded proof that Wheeler was an investor in Brad’s business. The only problem was Brad’s deposits amounted to a lot more than Wheeler’s accounts showed.
The financials on Wheeler, Berwick, and other developers didn’t appear out of the ordinary. If they had done anything irregular, they had ways of making it seem legit.
Both Nina and Olga had come up with the same information on the political contributions these men made. They all needed political connections to get things done, and money cemented the links.
I sat back and stared at Nina’s work. Then I glanced at Olga’s voluminous research. The solution to the case was in all those pages somewhere. I had to devise a way to mine the documents for what I needed. That would take time… and help.
The tea was still warm. I gulped it down and poured another cup. Olga was right, it did make me feel better. I even reached for the kartoshka and took a bite. Now that made me feel good, despite a small but fiery pain at the cut on my mouth. Except for the extra time I’d have to spend at the gym, eating that pastry was the best medicine.
I printed Nina’s document so I could compare it with Olga’s work and organize it in some way. Just having information didn’t solve a case, it’s the way you organized it. I had to avoid making the facts fit any theory I had. That was a recipe for disaster. Better to come up with a solid theory that fit the facts you had.
I took everything into the conference room where I lay papers and folders side by side to compare bits of information. The pain slowed me down and my head was still fogged up, but I sat and concentrated hard trying to hear what the information had to say. Something from that huge gob of facts would speak to me eventually.
“Hey! Need help?”
I looked up and Luke stood there smiling. When he saw my face, his smile disappeared and he moved quickly to my side. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Long story but the short of it is that I made somebody nervous with this investigation. You know how sensitive some people can be,” I joked, wincing from the cut on my lip. I noticed Luke didn’t find it amusing.
“Who? You know who did this?” He looked me over and when he touched my chest I grimaced. “You sure nothing’s broken?”
“Pretty sure. They can’t do much for broken ribs anyway…”
“When did this happen? Why didn’t you call?”
“Let’s see, I think you still have fifteen questions to go. Am I right?”
“Wise ass. I guess it isn’t as bad as it looks.” He smiled sympathetically.
“Oh it’s bad,” I said not wanting him to stop fussing over me. “I could use your help. Got some time?”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“How’s Xinhan?”
“Busy as usual. He doesn’t get to take a day off here and there like I do.”
“You two seem to hit it off pretty well,” I said, rearranging the papers on the table.
“On some levels. He’s sexy, that’s for sure, and that goes a long way. We have a lot of things in common. We come from similar backgrounds. I’m just not sure he’s looking for the same things I’m interested in.”
“Never know if you don’t take time to find out,” I said. I knew Luke would find what he was looking for when he was ready. Maybe it’d be Xinhan, maybe not. Luke and I had a good relationship with lots of benefits, but I didn’t think I was “The One” either. “Xinhan seems like one of the good guys.”
“He is. I think. A little on the demanding side but that may just be the businessman in him. We’ll see…”
“Thank him for me, okay?”
“Why what did he do for you?” Luke almost seemed jealous.
“When we had lunch, he shared a certain contact in Wheeler’s office.”
“Oh, right! That was helpful?”
“If I can make sense of what the guy said and tie it into what I’ve got here.”
“What is all this?” Luke waved a hand over the pages and folders.
“That’s what I need help with.” I paused. “Actually, you’re perfect.”
“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself. When you aren’t all beaten up, I mean.”
“Now who’s the wiseass? What I meant was that you’re perfect for this job because you’re a detail man. I need to pull details from the documents and correlate them.”
“Tell me what you want me to do.” Luke took a seat at the table and looked over the papers. “Who did all this anyway?”
“Nina and Olga.”
“Super Geeks to the rescue again.”
“Shhh, don’t let Olga hear you call her a geek. First, she doesn’t exactly know what it means and second, she might get insulted and, bam! no more kartoshka.”
“Okay, okay. Wouldn’t want to cut off your karkrakoff supply.”
“It’s kartoshka. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.” I said. “Take a legal pad and I’ll explain what we have to do.”
What I wanted was a chart that showed each businessman and developer along with their political contributions, charitable giving, other large expenditures, contracts, and their development projects.
“Whew!” Luke said. “That’ll take a while.”
“After that it’ll be important to make correlations. I want to know who was involved with whom and how they interconnect financially or contractually. I want to see which development projects they cooperated on and what contracts were involved.”
“Sounds like we could use more help.”
“I can call Anton. Maybe he’s free.”
“What about the French-Canadian hottie? What was his name? I wouldn’t mind him hanging around for a while.”
“If Xinhan finds out, you’ll be one sorry guy.”
“Hey.” Luke held up his hands. “Do you see a ring on my finger? Xinhan gets to compete like everyone else.” He winked at me seductively.
I picked up the phone and called Anton.
“Hello?” Ty answered so meekly tentative that I felt a wave of pity for the poor kid. Easy to see how Eddie had terrorized him.
“Ty. How’re you feeling? Back on your feet?”
“I-I’m doing okay, I guess. I don’t get dizzy so much any more. I’ll be back to work…”
�
�Don’t even think about work. Just get better. I’ll take care of things until you do.”
“Mr. F-Fontana… I… I don’t…”
“Don’t worry, Ty. Is Anton around? I need to talk with him.”
“Anton?”
“Yeah, you remember, the guy who’s taking care of you while you recuperate? Tall, blond, muscular. That Anton.”
Ty was silent a moment. I heard him clear his throat. “He’s out. He went out a little while ago. With… um… you know… that other guy.”
“Okay.” I had a feeling I knew who he was talking about. “Did he say when he’d be back?”
“He said he might not be back until after his shift at Bubbles.”
I hung up and felt light headed. Maybe Matus had kicked me harder than I’d thought. Too much work, too soon, I figured. But this had to get done.
“It’s just you and me, Luke.”
“Like old times,” he said. He softly rubbed my back then gave me a dazzling smile which warmed me all over. Like old times.
***
“Lunch break.” I stood, a little wobbly, still wincing from my ribs. “I’m treating.”
“Then we go fancy,” He winked.
“How about Knock? The weather’s perfect for sitting outside.”
“You’re on.” Luke stood and stretched. His body had been steadily improving since he’d started working out.
“Keep working with your trainer and I’ll hire you to dance with StripGuyz.”
“No way! My nude-in-public days are over.” Luke said referring to his earliest days as a nude housecleaner.
“Oh well… I hadda try,” I said. “My stomach’s growling. Let’s move.”
I told Olga where we’d be and she looked at me as if my limbs would fall off, followed by my head.
“Boss should be in bed,” she said, a dour look on her chubby face. She turned to Luke, “And Luke should be getting Boss into bed.”
Luke laughed suggestively as I walked out the door without saying a word.
The sun had warmed up the day considerably. Perfect sidewalk café weather. Luke nodded to one guy after another as we strolled toward Knock.
“Popular guy,” I commented. So many men in the gayborhood used Luke’s Clean Living that he knew more people than any five other guys combined.
“What can I say? They love me.”
We took seats at the table nearest the corner and a slender, young waiter approached, gave us menus, and asked what we wanted to drink.
Once the waiter left, Luke turned to me with a serious look in his eyes.
“Tell me everything that happened last night. You made it seem as if it were nothing. But I can see what you look like. So give.”
“I—”
“Don’t try lying. I’ve picked up a lot of your Spidey-sense for catching out a liar.”
“What’s the difference what happened? It’s all over. Last night was last night.”
“They may try again. Anyway, you’re my closest friend. Since when do you keep things like this a secret?”
I opened my mouth to reply, and he interrupted.
“Don’t pull the ‘you-just-want-to-protect-me’ crap. I’m not buying. Spill it… all.”
“Didn’t you say Xinhan was too demanding? Maybe I see why that bothers you.” I smiled. I tried for smug but the cut on my lip wouldn’t let me.
“Stop evading…”
Just as I was about to speak, Detective Shim sauntered by. He looked over at our table and did a double take.
“Marco. I was just about to call you,” he said then took a closer look. “What the hell happened to you?”
“That’s my question,” Luke said and put out his hand. “Luke Guan, friend of the great Fontana.”
Shim shook Luke’s hand and eyed an empty chair by way of asking permission to sit.
“Have a seat, Dae. Got time for lunch?”
“I can’t stay but I wanted to check in with you.” Shim sat across from us. “Now I see I should have checked in earlier. Who’d you tick off?”
“Truthfully? I’m not exactly sure.”
“But you have a guess, right?” Shim said.
“Maybe you can pry it out of him,” Luke said.
I not so gently nudged him under the table.
“Umpff…” Luke reacted to the hint and glanced at me to let me know he understood.
“I probably hit a nerve investigating Brad’s death. It’s anybody’s guess who was behind what happened last night.”
“You’re holding something back, Marco.”
I tried for an innocent grin. Swollen lips don’t help.
“Sounds like you know Marco better than I’d have thought,” Luke commented.
“With a little help from the ever-sweet Gina Giuliani, the detective has managed to learn a lot about me in a short time.”
“Come on, come on. Whaddayou know that I don’t know?” Shim asked.
“Now that’s a loaded question…” I glanced at him and saw his normally placid expression slowly freezing into angry rigidity. I didn’t want to push too far, I still needed the guy. “I’ll level with you, Dae. I don’t know a hell of a lot more than when we talked earlier.
“This case could get you killed, Marco. You’ve got to let us handle it,” Shim said.
“I gave you what I found on Wheeler, right? He had connections in everything you can think of in the city.”
“That’s not news. And you already told me about the trial.”
“You said the trial might open new leads for you. Don’t I get credit for that?” I asked.
“Yeah, I thought the Branko information could help, but I’m not so sure anymore. My instincts tell me Wheeler was a poor slob in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“What makes you say that?”
“My guess? He was there for a massage,” Shim said. “You know what I mean. He was friendly with Brad Lopes. He even invested in the business, like you said. Seems to me he went to the spa to collect on one of the perks of being an investor.”
“That’s nuts!” I said.
“To you, maybe. Not to me. I don’t think the old guy was a target. More like collateral damage.”
“It can look that way. If you want it to,” I said. Perception is everything. If you wanted to see something a certain way, you would. Fitting the facts to your preconceived idea never leads in the right direction.
“Wheeler’s a dead end, Fontana. Even Giuliani thinks so. Got anything I don’t already know?” There wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in his voice, just the frustration of a cop who couldn’t make headway on a case.
“Like?”
“Like who mauled you last night and why?”
“I can tell you one thing about last night.” I leaned in. Luke and Shim followed suit. “Whoever these guys were, they all had Eastern European accents.”
Chapter 26
Luke presented me with a tidy pile of folders, each sporting a list tacked to the front cover.
“This is everything,” Luke plopped them on the desk. “Beat you to it.”
“Not by much.” I stapled a list to the last folder in the pile.
“Now what?” he asked.
“Now we try and make connections.
“Like…?”
I pulled a large sheet of paper in front of us on the conference table. At the top I listed names: Terrabito, Kelley, Nussbaum, Clarke, McClintock, and others.
“Politicians.” Luke said. “What’ve they got to do with anything?”
“I’ve got Nina and Olga working on that. Gimmie time.”
I took out another sheet of paper and listed the names of five recent development projects. On another, I listed developers.
“I’m still not getting it.” Luke frowned.
“Then let’s put some things on these lists. Let’s take a look at the first folder.”
Luke pulled Remy Berwick’s folder off the top of the pile.
“Now what?”
“Which politici
ans did Berwick make contributions to?”
“Nussbaum, Kelley, Terrabito, Clarke, and Murphy who isn’t on your list.”
“I’ll put him there. You write Berwick and the amount he donated under each politician.”
We went through every file that way and had a good, if incomplete, picture of all the politicians running in the primary and what donations they’d gotten from developers.
“Cool list,” Luke said. “What’s it got to do with anything?”
“Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. We’re not looking hard enough yet. Let’s see what the next list gets us.”
We went through the folders agan, this time listing all the projects each developer was involved with in some way. Each project had two or three developers.
“Another pretty list but…” Luke started.
“One more piece of the puzzle. We have to keep pulling out pieces and eventually we’ll see how they fit together.”
“Sure we will,” Luke said. “So far you’ve got developers and you’ve got politicians and you’ve got development projects. I don’t see a connection yet.”
“It’s there, I know it.”
“Anything else we can get from these folders?” Luke asked.
“We could see what other money changed hands. Other than political contributions. Investments in different projects. Preferably large sums,” I said.
“What’re you thinking?”
“Not sure. When I see it, I’ll know.” I picked up a folder and looked through.
Luke did the same. After a while we’d added lines to several of the developers. Nothing appeared significant.
“That’s all the folders in my group. Looks like we narrowed the list again. Not everyone got new notations,” Luke said.
“I’ll study the lists, talk to a few people, and see what happens.”
“You mean, like someone else coming around to smash your brains all over the sidewalk? Don’t you think you should bring that detective in on this?”
“On what? What’ve I got here? Names, projects, and donations. What does it all amount to right now? I’ve gotta study it first. I show him now, he’ll think I’m nuts. Maybe I am.”
“When you put it that way…,” Luke said. “Maybe the detective can help you figure it out.”
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