Scammed

by Morgan St. James

  He went on to tell her that Maggie was so thrilled when she read his first manuscript that she introduced him to her agent, and the rest was history.

  “She brags that she discovered me. You’ll like Maggie if you meet her. Great gal with the same kind of inquisitive mind all of our team has. In fact, maybe I’ll ask her to check on some things about the dead doctor. She is like the Beverly Hills information bureau. She can ask around and might uncover some things we wouldn’t find through normal channels.”

  Based upon the admiration in his voice when he discussed Margaret Stanton, Kate had to know. “Um, is she someone you’re involved with? I mean on a personal level, uh, dating?”

  “Maggie? A romantic interest? No, she’s just a great friend. Not my type that way, but a real asset with an inquiring mind. Just like you and your friends, we have solved a few things together.”

  Kate released her breath and had to admit to herself that she would have been disappointed if they were a couple. She was very attracted to Garrett and sensed the attraction was returned.

  When they reached Cameron’s gate, he said, “Well, I’ll see you tonight. Next time we’re alone it’s your turn to tell me how you decided to go into business as a fraud buster. I know you and Cami and your friend Kim put your heads together, cracked open a huge scam and came out with a big reward, but I want to know more. Actually, I want to know a lot more about you.”

  She had the gate half open when he surprised her by planting a kiss on her cheek. Before she could say anything, he turned to leave with a wave and a “see ya.”

  BY SEVEN-THIRTY EVERYONE was seated in Cameron’s living room ready to share what they had discovered during the day. As was his habit, Clarence turned around a few times before he stretched out in his favorite place in front of the fireplace. The Colonel eased himself into a seat in one of the comfortable chairs and rested his cane alongside it. His grimace was enough to telegraph that he was dealing with pain. He rubbed his knee, but the staunch old military man didn’t utter a word about it hurting. Last to arrive was Matt. The normally virile movie star looked exhausted and plopped into the other easy chair.

  He said, “Have we heard anything more from the cops? I’ve spent the day getting a grip on this whole situation, trying to find out what I can. It’s a Hell of a lot different when it’s real and you’re part of it than it is when everything is scripted and all you have to do is read the lines and do the scenes. Who knows? When this whole thing wraps up, maybe you’ll write a book about it, Danny. Hey. If it’s book to movie, I can play myself. Think about it.”

  “Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. To answer your question, Matt, I couldn’t find out anything else about their investigation from our detective friend, but I did get the feeling that they’re onto something and he’s been given orders to keep it within the department. He absolutely would not tell me why they were keeping an eye on the good doctor. I’m going to contact a friend of mine at the Bureau tomorrow if you guys don’t mind and fill her in on the situation. She might be able to get us some inside information. I don’t know why, but for some reason I have the feeling this is bigger than we think. I suspect the cops might be working with them. Nothing really concrete, but sort of a sixth sense, you know.”

  No one had an objection to Garrett’s suggestion. They agreed it was important to find information wherever they could. They also agreed if Garrett’s friend Margaret could provide some additional information or insight, that would be great, too. Maybe they would welcome her into the fold as part of the team if she was interested, but that remained to be seen.

  Garrett looked at the Colonel. “Oh, Mike, I almost forgot the most important thing. Barrington did tell me you’re off the hook.”

  Relief radiated the old man’s face. “I’m not a suspect anymore?”

  “Nope. Like I said, I got the feeling they’re going in another direction, but no matter how hard I tried, Barrington wouldn’t tell me anything more than saying you’re no longer under suspicion. And the woman who accused you? They cut her loose, too. He finally figured out that all she wanted was to get on the news and would say anything to do it. I hate people like that.”

  Kate filled the others in on everything she’d learned about the missing Barbara Shady, which opened up the possibility for some other scenarios.

  The anger in Matt’s voice wasn’t acting when he said, “Here’s a thought. Maybe when she couldn’t figure out a way for the Doc to die of natural causes, she reverted to violence. Obviously, she couldn’t resist the temptation to help herself to some of the millions sitting in our account. I’m still beating myself up for not asking to see the statements and letting her have full control. Maybe she had to get rid of Al Shady, and killing him and making it look like a hit was her only option. I remember in one of my flicks—”.

  Cameron cut him off in mid-sentence. “Listen. This whole thing feels like we’re in a movie, but in real life she skipped with millions of dollars of our money, and we’re going to keep at this until we either find her or find out what happened. If she did stage his murder, she would have needed help. I don’t think she could have pulled it off by herself. So, now the question is who she could have been working with. And, on the other hand, if she didn’t do it what was her darling husband up to that could have gotten him killed?”

  Clarence let out a little doggie snore, stretched his legs and rolled onto his back with all four legs up in the air, still asleep.

  The Colonel looked over at the old hound and smiled. He mused, “You know there are countries that don’t share an extradition treaty with the U.S. I’ll bet she took our money, plus heaven knows how much more money she had stashed in other accounts and is hiding out in one of those countries. One thing is for sure. She will never feel she has to marry another rich old guy again because I’m sure she has much more money than she’ll ever need now. I can almost picture her lounging by a pool, sipping a Martini, living in luxury and relishing the fact that we were such fools.”

  He looked over at Matt whose expression looked as though something evil lurked in the room.

  21

  Garrett took his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in a few numbers. A moment later he said, “Hey, Maggie, looking for some excitement? Yeah, I know, things have been pretty dull since Maria Mancuso left the country, but you’ve gotta admit it was fun. No, not another book—at least not yet, but I need to dig up some background information on a retired doctor named Al Shady. He had a Beverly Hills practice until a few years ago, and from what I understand, he and his wife lived on Canon just south of Sunset until they sold that house and moved to Grand Canal. I figured if anyone could get the info, it would be you.”

  There was a pause while he listened to his friend’s comments on the other end, nodding his head. Then he said, “Really? Okay. Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned dead retired doctor. Uh huh. That’s the one. The doctor found floating in Grand Canal just across from his house. Anyway, there’s a lot going on. Kind of an unofficial investigation. Do you think you can help me out?”

  Garrett gave a thumbs up signal to the team, then said, “I should have known you would either know him or recognize the name. Okay. Call me as soon as you have something. What I want is dirt of any kind because the cops aren’t sharing what they know. Not that I’m surprised. After all, I am a civilian now, but even if I was still active FBI, I get the feeling they would stonewall me. Say, while you’re at it, see what any of your friends might know about his wife Barbara.”

  After ending the conversation, Garrett said, “Margaret, or Maggie as she likes to be called, is really a sharp woman. She co-authored the Maria Mancuso memoir with me and I discovered that she isn’t just one of the most successful realtors in Beverly Hills and an award-winning author but has some definite investigative skills. I have no doubt she will come up with some valuable insight into the Shadys.”

  They talked for a while longer, but it was getting late. The Colonel’s chin rested on his
chest and a small snore escaped. At the sound, Clarence got up and went to his master’s side and laid his head on the Colonel’s lap. His eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times. Flashing a sheepish smile, he said, “I guess old Clarence is telling me he’s ready to go. What time should we get together tomorrow night?”

  “Probably around seven. That will give me time to get home, hopefully without fighting traffic. It will also give you time to get back here, Kate, in case you get tied up in your appointment. Is that okay with everyone?”

  They all voiced agreement and Matt offered to have food delivered.

  Garrett said, “You know, I have a thought—"

  “Only one?” Kate teased.

  “Okay, okay. Seriously, if I know Maggie, she’ll have a whole dossier on the Shadys by tomorrow night. Would it be okay if I invite her to join us? That way, if she has helpful information and agrees to come, I won’t have to relay what she tells me. She can lay it out for all of us at the same time.”

  “Hey,” Matt said. “As far as I’m concerned, the more, the merrier. I don’t want to date myself, but do you remember that huckster Cal Worthington’s sleazy TV car commercial—Come on down. Well, why don’t you just tell her something like that? I must admit, everything since the Shadys disappeared has been pretty eye-opening. Makes me wonder if a screenwriter would have made the characters so analytical. After all, we only have so much time allotted, so maybe not. Now that I see how complex it can be, I’m impressed. No convenient clues just popping up without reason. And, what a cast of characters we have. One more would be great.”

  Garrett said he was happy everyone was open to bringing Maggie in and was pretty sure she would grab at the chance to join the investigation.

  They decided to wrap it up for the evening with the hope that she would live up to Garrett’s trust and bring valuable information to the table.

  After the others left, Kate and Cameron were too wound up to go to bed. Neither of them had ever been the early-to-bed, early-to-rise types.

  It was one of those lovely balmy California evenings, almost too nice to waste by staying inside.

  “Are you up for sitting in the courtyard for a bit and sharing a nice bottle of wine with me?” Without waiting for an answer, Cameron got up and crossed to her liquor cabinet. She threw open the door, took a bottle of Merlot from the rack and held it up for Kate to see.

  “If I open it now, it should be perfect to drink within half an hour or less. What do you say?”

  In answer, Kate got up from the sofa, smoothed her slacks and headed for the front door. “I say, that’s just right. I have a few thoughts that I wasn’t ready to discuss in front of the others, so maybe we can brainstorm a little. What do you think about Garrett bringing in his friend Margaret?” There was almost a bit of a snide tone when she added, “Or Maggie as she prefers to be called.”

  Cameron grabbed her corkscrew and joined her friend in the courtyard. They settled into two of the black wrought iron chairs surrounding the patio table. Using the corkscrew like a pro, Cameron opened the bottle, held out the cork for Kate to sniff, and then set the bottle on the table. “We could do the gurgling bit, and the swirling and sniffing routine, but we both know we’re going to drink this baby, so why try. Milt does that all the time, but truthfully, I think it’s a bit pretentious.”

  “That’s the Cami I know so well.” Kate settled back in her chair. “No acting like a wine connoisseur for her. Besides, I know you always rely on Milt’s suggestions or your pal at the Wine Locker.”

  “You’re absolutely right, of course. Okay. ‘Fess up. Why did my Kate sound a bit jealous at the mention of Margaret’s name? As a proven sleuth, do I detect the attraction I’d hoped for? I did notice you seemed to be cozying up to Garrett tonight.”

  Kate gave a Cheshire Cat grin. “You bet that was jealousy. I’m not sure what to make of his friend Margaret or what will happen if she becomes part of our investigation. I really like him. I mean really like him. He’s everything that I look for in a man, and we even have common interests. I don’t want some Margaret person throwing a wrench in it while this possible romance is still in its baby stages, you know. I didn’t have a chance to tell you, but he called and invited me to lunch today. We walked down to that Sidewalk Cafe restaurant, and I had the best time.”

  Her expression grew dreamy. “I didn’t want it to end. Is that silly? I mean I barely know him, but on the way back from my meeting, I couldn’t stop thinking about him, looking forward to seeing him when we all got together tonight. This really isn’t like me.”

  Cameron leaned forward, rested her elbows on the table and cupped her chin in her hands. “My advice to you is let it happen. Don’t worry about Margaret. He did say they had just been friends for a long time. There are platonic man and woman friendships, you know.” She reached for the bottle and poured a glass of the ruby red liquid for Kate and herself.

  “Here. Relax. Tomorrow is another day. We’ll meet Margaret and then you can decide whether to worry or not.”

  22

  That night, with the exception of Garrett, all of the group showed up right at seven as scheduled. The phone rang just as they were wondering what happened to him. Cameron rushed over to answer it, then said breathlessly, “Hello—.” She gave a quick nod to let the others know it was him.

  “Oh, I see. Okay, well we’re all here waiting for you—and, um, Margaret. Yeah. Matt will order our food now so it should be here by the time you arrive. Thanks for letting us know.”

  She returned to her seat on the sofa. “You heard. Matt go ahead and order for six of us. Margaret will be coming with Garrett and he said they’ll be here in about half-an-hour. He said he’d been worried because she was late and that wasn’t like her. Anyway, she just called him from her car and apologized for holding things up but indicated it would be worth it. She had been waiting for some last-minute information, and according to Garrett she doesn’t say something will be worth it unless it definitely will be.”

  Expectation was high while they waited. What could this newcomer bring to their little group that would be worth it? Damaging information about Shady? Some dirt on Beverly? Theories flew back and forth, but actually just helped to pass the time. Finally, there was a knock at the door. Cameron jumped up to answer.

  Garrett stood framed in the doorway with a very attractive woman at his side who had to be Margaret. They both entered, and Cameron took stock of the woman who preferred to be called Maggie. She noticed that Kate was also giving her the once-over.

  Margaret Stanton extended her manicured hand to each of them as Garrett saw to the introductions. She held Matt’s hand for a moment longer than the others.

  Her voice had a sexy, husky quality that wasn’t exactly in keeping with her sophisticated appearance. “So pleased to meet you. I really enjoy your movies and I believe we have some mutual friends.” She reeled off a few names. Matt replied that they were, indeed, mutual friends and remarked that it was a small world.

  When Cameron shot Kate a glance, she was happy to see that her friend looked relieved. While Margaret was a very striking woman with an overdose of Beverly Hills chic, it was obvious to everyone that there was no sexual attraction between her and Garrett. Kate was an expert at reading body language and had quickly determined that they were, as stated, longtime close friends.

  “Danny tells me that for some reason sometimes you call him by his last name. Should I do that, too? He’s been Danny to me for years, but I wouldn’t want you to think I was talking about someone else.”

  “No problem. We usually do call him Danny but every once in a while we refer to him as Garrett. No rhyme or reason to it. We just do.”

  Margaret cracked a smile revealing sparkling white teeth, all lined up perfectly like a row of Chiclets gum pieces. Her medium-length straight blonde hair framed a face blessed with high cheekbones, a tiny cleft in her chin and generous lips sporting perfectly applied pale pink gloss. She surveyed the group with long-las
hed, china blue eyes that were almost too blue to be natural.

  Cameron did a quick assessment. Unlike her friend Kate’s natural beauty, Margaret looked like perfection created by skillful makeup and a nip or tuck by a Rembrandt of plastic surgeons, with hair by a stylist who could easily be Monique or Mr. Karl of Beverly Hills. Of course, she couldn’t be certain, but when a person pays as much as Five Hundred Dollars for a styling, it should look as flawless as Margaret’s. She patted her own hair and thought I should know. Monique’s price had just climbed from Four Hundred to Five Hundred and was worth every cent.

  She snapped back to attention, just having missed something Margaret said.

  Garrett added, “Wait till you hear what she has. I told you Maggie’s contribution would be valuable. If there’s anyone of note she doesn’t know in Beverly Hills, it’s a sure bet one of her friends knows all the dirt on that person.” Garrett indicated one of the chairs to his friend, then plopped into the one next to her.

  Cameron could kick herself for missing what Margaret said while she was daydreaming about plastic surgeons and celebrity hair stylists. Not wanting to seem obvious, she ventured,

  “Maggie, Danny said you would be a good addition to our little team if you were up for it, so welcome. That was some work you did in writing the Mancuso book. I followed all that Tony the Nose stuff in the papers. I never realized one of the authors was my neighbor. I guess some of his Mafia associates weren’t too happy his widow was writing a ‘tell-all.’ With your connections and skills, I can’t wait to hear this info that you say will be worth it. I’m so excited, let me hear again what you just said. Sounds like you might be our answer to a breakthrough.

  Margaret had confusion written all over her face as she eyed Cameron, then looked at Garrett and back to Cameron. “Well, if saying I’m as hungry as a bear and looking forward to the food delivery gets you excited, I guess you’re hungry, too.”