Falafel Jones - Max Fried 02 - Payback's a Beach

by Falafel Jones

  Torres went berserk and broke all the rules trying to prove her innocent but he couldn’t help her. She was guilty. She confessed to get the minimum mandatory sentence, three-years in a state prison and a $50,000 fine. It ruined her life, not to mention her father’s.

  When he was broke and facing departmental charges, I represented him in a hearing. I saved his job but he changed. When he came back, he became a hard nose. Did everything by the book with no leeway for anyone. Her guilt broke his heart and I don’t think he’s trusted anybody since.”

  “And you used that heartbreak to get on the Amante?”

  “Nobody tampered with anything. Yeah, I pulled some heartstrings to get a look at the boat. I’m not proud of it, but I did what I had to and I’d do it again. Ed pulled out his cell phone and dialed. After a moment, he said, “This is Attorney Edward McCarthy. I’d like to speak with Detective Torres, please.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  I helped Brenda unload the drinks from the tray she carried and turned to watch Ed. He held his finger vertically over his lips while he made eye contact with me and then with Brenda. He pressed the speaker button on his phone and I heard Torres say, “… a lawyer. You should know that’s not enough. We can’t get a warrant based on uncorroborated hearsay.”

  I saw the desperate look on Ed’s face so I motioned for the phone. Ed handed it to me. “Torres, this is Fried.”

  “What, you got me on speaker or something? Who else is listening?”

  I said, “No, one.” I didn’t see the point of telling him, his prime suspect was sitting next to me. “Listen, what if we had additional evidence?”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, a bridge tender’s log that places Bucky on scene at the time of death. Also, if you can find evidence Fisher stiffed Bucky and owed him money, you could show a judge Bucky had motive.”

  “The bridge log is good but even if I had proof Fisher had Bucky’s money, so what? Lots of people owe money and don’t kill anybody.”

  Ed leaned into the phone, “Detective. You don’t need a closed case for a warrant. You only need probable cause.”

  Torres said, “Geez, I hate speakerphones. One of you at a time is bad enough.”

  I said, “How about a credit card receipt? If Fisher purchased a crucible for melting gold that would make Detective Snyder’s statement more credible.”

  “Yeah, it would but how do you know Fisher used a credit card?”

  “I don’t, but there’s only one way to find out. Run his cards and see what he bought this week.”

  Torres paused as if considering my proposal and then he said, “OK, Fried. This may be worth the effort, but you better not be making this up to protect your client.”

  I disconnected the call and handed Ed back his phone. He placed it gently on the table, as if it was suddenly very important and extremely delicate. Brenda leaned forward with her bent elbows pressed against her waist. “So, now what?”

  “Once again, we wait.” Ed let out a long sigh. “Who wants another round?”

  We sat with fresh, untouched drinks and made small talk but I think we were all uneasy. I noticed Ed and Brenda making furtive glances at the clock and at Ed’s cell phone. I noticed because I was doing the same thing. Even though we knew it would happen, we jumped when the phone finally rang.

  Ed picked it up and pressed the speaker button. “Hello?”

  “McCarthy? Torres. I got your warrant and a bonus.”

  “Great. What? A bonus?”

  “I ran that credit card check. It was a good idea.”

  “You mean it proved Fisher bought the crucible?”

  “Yup, he bought it all right.”

  “So, what’s the bonus?

  “Somebody used that same credit card at Coronado Gas and Go on Third Avenue, the day after Fisher died.”

  “Huh? Who?”

  “Don’t know. Someone used it to buy gas at an unattended pump. There wasn’t any sales clerk involved and there wasn’t any camera.”

  “But Fisher used the card for the crucible.”

  “Yeah, but it looks like Fisher died in a robbery and I don’t see Bucky killing someone for their Visa card.”

  I took the phone from Ed. “Torres, let’s say you’re right. The killer took the credit card. Does it make sense he’d use it to buy gas? Don’t thieves use stolen cards for big ticket items they can resell?”

  “Yeah, they do. That bothered me too.”

  “Do you think buying gas could just be a way to throw us off the trail?”

  “Us? What do you mean us?”

  “I mean you.”

  “Yeah, the credit card could be a clue or it could be a ruse. It’s going to take some time to find out. Meantime, we’ll see if your tip pays off. I’ll get warrants for the yacht club and Bucky’s boat. Who accepts service for the club?”

  Ed said, “Me. I’m the club’s attorney.”

  Torres snorted, “Of course you are.”

  When Ed pulled into his reserved spot in the Coronado Yacht Club parking lot, I saw Torres and Fitzpatrick standing at the club entrance. Ed and I approached while Brenda walked behind her dad. When we came to the door, Torres said, “Blood test came back. Blood on Brenda’s clothes matches the dead guy. I should just arrest her now.”

  Ed said, “But you won’t because you want the real killer.”

  Torres folded his arms, “And the killer’s name is?”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Like I told you on the phone, you have three good reasons to consider Bucky. Plus, now you’ve got a new suspect using Fisher’s credit card. If you were convinced Brenda killed Fisher, you wouldn’t be here now.”

  “Maybe I just came here to pick her up.”

  “No, you’re not that stupid.”

  Torres took a step towards Ed but Fitzpatrick grabbed his arm.

  Ed drew himself up to his full height, looked down and said, “You see, Detective, you’re screwed. If you decide not to investigate Bucky and to charge Brenda, then I present the evidence about Bucky and the jury thinks you’re incompetent. You investigate Bucky and charge Brenda anyway, the jury sees reasonable doubt. I mean why did you look into him if he’s not a viable suspect?”

  Fitzpatrick stepped in front of his partner and held up a warrant. “Look, let’s just do this. Don’t poke the bear.”

  Ed said, “Good enough,” took the warrant and stuck it in his pocket unread. We entered the club and walked through to the docks.

  When we came to the DeepSea Doodle, Bucky and Maddie sat in the cockpit, sipping cocktails. Maddie raised her glass at us, “Oooo, I love a parade.”

  Bucky chuckled and said, “Gentlemen, lovely lady, how are you all today?”

  Ed said, “Permission to come aboard?”

  Bucky stood and saluted, “Yes sir, Commodore,” and offered Brenda his hand to assist her.

  Torres took a step forward to board but hesitated. He must have noticed me watching him because he turned to meet my stare. I guessed he might have been remembering his queasiness on the Amante so I said, “This is a much bigger ship. It doesn’t sway as much.” I pointed to the lines on the bow and the stern of the ship. “Plus, it’s tied on both ends.”

  Torres took a deep breath and placed both hands on the transom to steady himself as he climbed over it. He looked uncomfortable standing on the deck.

  After we all boarded his yacht, Bucky pointed at each of us and asked, “So, who’s drinking what?”

  Torres displayed his badge. “We’re on the job.”

  Bucky looked hurt and turned to Ed, “Commodore?”

  “Scotch neat, please.”

  Bucky smiled and went to fetch Ed a drink.

  Torres looked unhappy. “Hey, we’re here to execute this warrant.”

  Bucky turned back to face Torres, “What?”

  Torres handed Bucky a piece of paper.

  Bucky started fanning himself with it. “What is this?”

  Fitzpatrick stepped fo
rward, “Sir, we’re here to search the premises.” Torres signaled Fitzpatrick to start the search.

  “Oh? For what?”

  “A gold bar.”

  Bucky came to attention. “Oh, that?”

  Torres stepped closer to him, “You know where it is?”

  “Of course, the commodore wears three of them on his dress shirt collar.” He pointed at Ed and collapsed in laughter.

  Torres shook his head and went below decks. Fitzpatrick circled the upper deck. They met back up in the cockpit where the rest of us waited. Torres gave me a disgusted look and then said to Fitzpatrick, “Come on. This was a waste of time.”

  Bucky held up his hands as if surrendering except he held a cigar in one and a cocktail glass in the other. He slurred his words, “Honestly, fellas, waz this allabout?”

  Fitzpatrick said, “When your boat went under the drawbridge Friday night, Drew Fisher’s boat was adrift in the water.”

  “Ship not boat and so what if he was adrift?”

  “Somebody killed him just after you went under the bridge.”

  “So?”

  “I understand he took you for a half a million.”

  Bucky made a face and waved his hand, “What? You think I’d kill him for half a mill? Maybe for a half a billion but for $500,000? I would have paid him that much just to leave town.”

  “When you passed under the bridge that night, did you see any other vessels?”

  Maddie shot Bucky a glance he didn’t seem to notice when he told Fitzpatrick. “No, I didn’t even see Fisher.”

  I said to Bucky, “Did you press charges against Drew or seek a judgment to recover your money?”

  “I got a judgment. Fat lotta good that’ll do me when the crook’s hidden all his money. No criminal charges. It wasn’t like that.”

  “What was it like?”

  “Let’s say I gave you one hundred dollars and told you to place a bet on the New York Mets to win. Let’s also say, that for some reason, you fail to place the bet. Now, if the Mets won, you’re screwed, but if they lost as they usually do, you’re ahead a hundred bucks.”

  “So, the money involves a gambling debt?”

  “No, no, no.” Bucky shook his head. “Drew was a stockbroker I used from time to time. I gave him $500,000 to invest for me and he never invested it. I can’t prove it but I suspect the outfit was just a shell company Drew secretly owned and created just to bilk investors. I told him I wanted to withdraw my money and he said he couldn’t get it.”

  “What about seizing his boat, the Amante?”

  “No equity there. He owes more on it than it’s worth.” Bucky started laughing. “He’s even underwater on his boat.”

  Torres wasn’t amused. He said, “Come on, we’re wasting our time here,” and climbed onto the dock. We all followed and when we got to the parking lot, Torres turned to Ed and Brenda. “I’m an idiot for letting you go. Don’t go anywhere I can’t find you. Don’t leave town and make sure I can reach both of you by phone. You understand?”

  Ed and Brenda both shook their heads like bobble dolls.

  Torres gestured to Fitzpatrick, “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  We watched Torres and Fitzpatrick leave and then I asked Ed, “Is Bucky so wealthy he wouldn’t care about half a million dollars?”

  Ed said, “It’s been my experience that the richer a man is, the more he cares about money, but let’s see how much $500,000 means to him.”

  “How are we going to do that? I can’t pull his financials.”

  “No, but I can. He signed a credit check release when he rented his slip for the season.”

  Brenda said, “I’ve had enough. I need a break from this.” She pulled off her T-shirt to reveal a bathing suit top. “I’m going to the pool. I’ll do some laps, clear my head.”

  Ed kissed her forehead. “Try to relax. I’ll collect you when we’re ready to leave.”

  Brenda nodded and left for the pool. I followed Ed back into the yacht club. We came to an office with a sign on the door that read, “Commodore.” Ed grinned. “One of the perks of office.”

  He sat at a desk much neater than the one he kept in his law office and opened a drawer. After he fingered a few files, he pulled one out, placed it on his desk and then said,

  “Ah, Buckminster Vanderbilt.”

  Ed paged through the file and made periodic grunts as he processed the information. After a while, it got to me and I said, “Well? Find anything?”

  Ed leaned back in his chair. “Yes, the man has substantial assets but no foresight when it comes to investing. He’s been losing money for at least two years. A half a million wouldn’t break him but it could put a dent in his portfolio.” Ed’s face brightened, “So, we’ve got motive, opportunity, and means.”

  “We’ve got opportunity and means but unless Bucky found the gold, I don’t think he’d intentionally kill Fisher. A dead man can’t pay his debts.”

  “They could have had an argument that went out of control.”

  “Yeah, but the problem is we still don’t have the elusive murder weapon.”

  Ed added, “… or the missing loot.”

  I thought about it for a minute and said, “So, let me call Detective Snyder back at the East End PD, see what else he can tell us. Nuts, I wrote his number down at home and don’t have it with me.”

  Ed typed something on his computer and then a moment later, read me the phone number for the East End Police Department. I turned on the speakerphone so Ed could hear and I dialed.

  “East End Police, Officer MacAllister. How can I direct your call?”

  “Detective Snyder, please.”

  “Just a moment, please.”

  I waited and MacAllister came back on, “Did you say Snyder?”

  “Yes, he phoned me about a case. I’m calling him back.”

  MacAllister said, “I’m sorry. We have no Detective Snyder here,” and hung up.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  I put my phone back in my pocket. “That’s odd. What do you make of that?”

  Ed sat back and crossed his legs. “Couple of things. First, Bucky said there weren’t any criminal charges made so I don’t get why the police would be involved in a civil matter. Second, I wonder who this Snyder really is.”

  I said, “Maybe Bucky can explain some of this.”

  Ed stood. “Let’s see if he can.”

  Ed and I walked back out to the docks. When we arrived at Bucky’s ship, we found him alone, sitting on a deck chair, and smoking his cigar. He waved us over. “Gentlemen, come on aboard. Keep an old sailor company for a bit.”

  Ed said, “Thank you, Bucky. Be glad to.” We climbed aboard and I sat on the bench seat where I could watch Bucky’s face. Ed pulled his cigarettes from his shirt pocket, lit up and leaned against the cabin door. Bucky looked at me. “Max, you look like you have something on your mind.”

  Ed chuckled, “That’s why I love to play poker with him. You can always tell what’s going on with Max just by looking at him.”

  Bucky smiled in apparent appreciation of Ed’s comment. It was bad enough folks could tell what I had for lunch by looking at my clothes. I didn’t need to be so transparent in my thoughts but it wasn’t a matter of choice. I’m not cut out for guile. “Yes. I do.”

  “Well, shoot, boy.”

  It’s been a long time since anyone called me boy but at Bucky’s age, he could get away with it. “OK. Did I hear you correctly earlier? You never filed any criminal charges against Drew Fisher?” It would be too easy for me to verify his answer so I expected Bucky to tell me the truth.

  “Yes, that’s correct. No criminal charges, just that civil judgment to recover the money I gave him to invest. The money he never invested as instructed. Why do you ask?”

  “I got a phone call from a man claiming to be Detective Snyder of the East End Police Department. I called him back and learned there’s no such person in the East End police.”

  “Oh, that…”

/>   “What do you mean?”

  “Well, Snyder is a detective. He’s located in East End, but he’s not with the police department. He’s a private investigator I hired to locate the money I want to recover.”

  “Snyder mentioned a gold bar.”

  “Well, Snyder saw some equipment he thinks Fisher used to reshape some gold for transport.”

  “Why wouldn’t he just deposit your money?”

  Bucky looked at Ed and they both shook their heads in sympathy. Bucky said to me, “You don’t get it, do you? You see, you can’t win with IRS. You don’t declare income, they get upset. You declare earnings from theft and someone tries to arrest you.”

  Ed added, “Plus, gold appreciates in value and doesn’t have serial numbers. It’s a great way to sock away some funds. It also travels well. You can use it in any country without worrying about exchange rates.”

  Bucky said, “And Fisher had a boat. He could dock in Panama, Costa Rica, any number of places and start a new life.”

  I said, “So that’s why you had to stop him. Florida was your last chance to recover your money. Is that why you told Snyder to call me?”

  Bucky shrugged. “I haven’t spoken to him since I left New York.”

  “Then how did he know about me?”

  “I don’t know. Did you speak with anyone back in East End?”

  “Yeah, Douglas at the yacht club.”

  Bucky laughed and slapped his hand on the arm of his chair. “That boy couldn’t keep his mouth shut if you wired it closed.”

  I left Ed at the yacht club and as I drove home, I thought that Bucky was worth a closer look. Mariel said that on Bucky’s first night in town, he dined at the Grille in the Riverview Hotel so Mariel and I drove up for a visit. We entered the riverfront bar there just as Gunther, the bartender, carried in a bucket of ice from a back room. He emptied the ice into a cooler full of beer and then reached across the bar to shake our hands. “Max, Mariel, welcome to my office.” He made a sweeping gesture indicating the view of the docked boats and the drawbridge.