“Please remove the bandanas,” the police officer said into an intercom connected to the other room. As soon as Michael saw his face, he knew the man he had seen while looking underneath his hood as he lay in the back of the truck.
“Number three,” Michael said. “He was the guard in the back of the truck as we were being driven out of the forest.”
“Are you sure?” the police officer asked.
“Yes, absolutely sure. That’s a face that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
“Are there any others?” the officer asked.
“I can’t be sure about any of the others, but number three was definitely one of the kidnappers.”
The procedure was repeated next with Chip, but he couldn’t confirm the identity of any of the kidnappers. He thought one of the suspects looked like the doctor, but he wasn’t sure. “They wore masks the entire time I saw them,” Chip said, “so I can’t be sure. I’m sorry.”
Eric was the next one to view the suspects. He immediately focused in on one of the suspects as he was quite sure he was the doctor. But there was another man in the lineup that so closely resembled him that Eric was sure they were brothers. Eric didn’t know what to do. “Number six and number eight both look a lot like the doctor, but I can’t say for sure.”
Maria was the next to be led in to see the suspects. She immediately recognized the doctor. She remembered his kind eyes from the way he had treated the injured hostages. She also remembered his face from when he saved her from being raped by the guards. “No, I don’t recognize any of them,” she said.
“Are you sure?” the police officer said. “You’re the only one who saw the doctor without his mask on. The other hostages thought he might have been number six or number eight.”
Maria focused in on number six again. She could still see kindness in his eyes. “No, the doctor isn’t there. I’ll remember his face for the rest of my life.”
Maria was led back into the main meeting room where all of the others waited. They were going to do one last video conference with all of the police forces to give an update. This update would also be appearing on newscasts around the world. As they were waiting for the video conference to start, Chip pulled the gold medal from his pocket. “I believe this belongs to you,” Chip said as he put it around Michael’s neck. This time, Michael didn’t hide it under his shirt.
As the TV screens lit up in the room, Brian recognized the FBI headquarters in Houston and could see Detective Mitchell and Detective Johnson on the screen. He also saw Elizabeth Noble and Kevin and Lisa Porter sitting in the background. The Porters were anxiously awaiting their son’s return to the United States. Elizabeth Noble now knew that Brian had been responsible for paying the ransoms for the release of the last remaining hostages and she was pleased to see that both of Brian’s kids were now safe.
“We’d like to give an update on the status of our investigation,” the Brazilian police chief said. “We’ve charged six people with kidnapping including the tour guide and several suspected gunmen. We have had a hostage confirm the identity of one of gunmen and we have a strong case against the others based on other evidence. We are also pleased to report that Eric Baxter, the hostage that was shot during a rescue attempt has now been released from hospital and will be returning home to Canada later today.” The camera panned to show Eric sitting with Brian, Chip, Michael and Maria.
Brian asked if he could say something and the Brazilian police chief slid the microphone over in front of him. “I’d like to thank Detective Mitchell for his work on this case and I’d especially like to thank Detective Johnson for the support he gave me during this difficult ordeal.”
“We’re just doing our job,” Detective Mitchell said.
“Thank you,” Detective Johnson said as he leaned into the microphone. “I’m so pleased to hear that your sons have been returned to you safely.”
As soon as they heard his voice, Eric and Chip looked at each other in amazement. They both recognized his voice.
The Brazilian police chief wrapped up the video conference and the TV screens went black. “Chief,” Eric said to the police chief. “We think we know another one of the people involved. The last detective who spoke was the one who was on the call with the kidnappers when we paid the additional six and a half million in ransom money. He was the one who gave us the account number to transfer the money to.”
“Are you sure?” the police chief said.
Eric and Chip looked at each other. “Absolutely sure,” they both said.
Brian felt utterly betrayed. “He was the one who encouraged me to pay the ransom when Detective Mitchell was advising against it,” Brian said. “I was praising him for being so sympathetic about doing whatever was necessary to get my sons back. But now I realize he was just manipulating me to pay the ransom.”
The Brazilian police chief immediately picked up the phone. “Get me Detective Mitchell at FBI headquarters in Houston.”
* * *
Brian, Eric and Chip sat in the waiting room at the Houston airport. They had completed the first leg of their journey home, flying from Rio to Houston, and were now waiting to board their flight back to Toronto. Brian was surprised to see Detective Mitchell walking toward them in the airport. “Detective Mitchell, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Brian said to him as he approached.
“I wanted to meet your two sons,” Detective Mitchell said, “and give you a status update on our investigation.” Brian introduced him to Eric and Chip. “I’d like you to know that we pressed charges against Detective Johnson about two hours ago. After our initial investigation, we confirmed that he was, in fact, the person you heard on the phone when talking with the kidnappers. We’ve also found out that he was the person who contacted the sports management company to get them to pay the ransom for Michael Porter.”
“Why would he do that?” Brian asked.
“Money, of course,” Detective Mitchell said. “As you know, he was secretly encouraging people to pay the ransoms for their family members. We found out he has been working with the kidnappers for quite some time, even before this latest incident. He was on the FBI team that was involved in the negotiations for the release of several oil and gas executives who have been kidnapped over the last few years. We’ve only now realized that he has been working with the kidnappers the whole time.”
“Any chance our father will get back any of the ransom money he paid?” Eric asked the detective.
“Not any time soon, if ever,” the detective said. “We’ve been trying to trace the money but most of it has already disappeared. We think the kidnappers have quite a network of corrupt bankers and lawyers who know how to launder the money. There may also be other police detectives involved. The Brazilian police chief said they already know there’s a lot of corruption within their police force.”
The detective thanked them for their assistance in the investigation and wished them well in their journey back to Canada.
“Sorry Dad,” Eric said as they heard the boarding call for their flight.
“Sorry for what?” Brian asked.
“I guess we blew your entire legacy,” Eric said.
Brian just smiled and gave both his sons a hug. “You’ve done nothing of the sort.”
*** Chapter 33 ***
One month later…
Tom Beamish tried to hide how nervous he felt as he listened to his lawyer give his summary to the team of investigators who were reviewing his recent suspicious financial transactions, but the continual shifting in his chair and wringing of his hands was apparent to everyone in the room. At this stage, this was just an inquiry but Tom knew that he could be facing some hefty fines and possibly criminal charges as a result of their findings. He had asked John Bancroft, a highly respected lawyer and a personal friend, to help him through this ordeal.
“As you are aware,” Mr. Bancroft said, “the guidelines identify several different categories of deceptive activities that could lead to sanctions
against my client. Clearly there is no criminal element of fraud, forgery or theft as my client did not use the funds for personal use and exploitation. Mr. Baxter has provided you with his statement that he instructed my client to cash out his holdings to pay the ransom for the safe release of his two sons and several other people.” Mr. Bancroft showed a picture of all of the people that had been rescued. “All of these people are alive today due to the actions of my client.” He paused to make sure the panel members could see the faces of the people rescued.
Next, Mr. Bancroft held up two statements that he had obtained from Mr. McKenzie and Mr. Ronson. It was their money that had been sitting in the trust account that Tom had used as part of the funds to pay the ransom. “Both Mr. Johnson and Mr. Ronson have indicated they suffered no financial loss due to my client’s actions. Both have been fully compensated for any interest lost while their funds were used to pay the ransom before their money was replaced when the markets opened the next morning. Furthermore, both have agreed that the circumstances justified the activities of my client.”
“Yes, but your client did not obtain their permission to perform those activities ahead of time,” one of the panel members interrupted, “only after the fact.”
“Agreed,” Mr. Bancroft said, “but I would argue that a defence of necessity should be applied in this situation.”
“Defence of necessity?” the panel member asked.
“Yes, that’s where an act that would normally be considered a criminal activity is justified based on a life or lives being in imminent peril. For example, if I broke into a hardware store to get a ladder to rescue someone on the second floor of a burning building, that would be considered a defence of necessity. I would argue that my client meets the criteria for that defence. The lives of the hostages were clearly in danger and my client could not wait to obtain the necessary permissions to use those funds, or else the lives of the hostages would have been lost.” Mr. Bancroft could tell from the expressions on the faces of those on the panel that they agreed that the ends justified the means in this situation.
“In addition to this,” continued Mr. Bancroft, “there is clearly no misappropriation of funds because there was no benefit to my client whatsoever.”
“Yes, but what about the misapplication of funds?” the same panel member interrupted again. It was clear he was the panel member that they were going to have the hardest time convincing. “That’s where funds were improperly used for the benefit of a third party. I believe that element applies in this situation.”
“Agreed,” Mr. Bancroft said, “but your own guidelines identify six specific factors that must be considered. We’ve already satisfied the first four factors. There was no financial benefit to my client by these actions, so that satisfies the fifth element. And lastly, my client did not attempt to conceal his activities from the authorities.”
“Not completely,” the panel member said. “We’ve never received a full explanation as to where the other three and a half million dollars was obtained.”
Mr. Bancroft had hoped that the investigative panel would have missed the one element in their defence where they were most vulnerable. Tom had never revealed where he had obtained the last three and half million dollars required to pay the ransom, not even to his lawyer. He was not going to reveal that Randy, the person who had helped him start his career as a financial planner, was the person he had called in his time of need. There was no point taking Randy down with him at this point.
“All I can say to that,” Mr. Bancroft said, “is that my client promised not to reveal who provided him those funds and he is standing by that promise. I believe my client’s actions has saved multiple lives, he has not gained any personal benefit from these actions and no one has been harmed by these actions. My client has had a long and distinguished career in the financial services industry and I believe he should be viewed as a hero in this situation. We believe your decision in this matter should reflect that.”
The investigative panel looked at each other to see if they had any other questions. “Thank you for your attendance today,” the lead panelist said. “We will be issuing the results of our review within the next ten days.”
* * *
Chip opened his mailbox at Ohio State University and saw the envelope that identified that it was from the Awards and Scholarships department. He had a feeling that he would be receiving this letter and he wasn’t looking forward to it. He stuffed the letter into his backpack and headed off to his dorm room. When he got there, he stared at the letter for several minutes before he opened it. He took a big breath as he quickly skipped over the preamble and jumped down to the important parts.
“As a result of your recently discovered medical condition and the medications required to treat this condition, it has been determined that you will not be permitted to compete in Big Ten Conference athletic events while undergoing treatment.”
Chip knew this was coming because the medications used to treat his Crohn’s disease involved the use of steroids. However, the next sentence almost knocked the wind out of him.
“Since the ability to compete in athletic events is a condition of the scholarship award, we regret to inform you that we can no longer offer you a full scholarship at Ohio State.”
Chip had no idea how he was going to be able to afford to complete his last year at Ohio State. He knew his father had used all of his money to pay the ransoms, so there was no money left in the “Bank of Dad”. Chip threw himself back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He thought about approaching his brother to see if he could help, but decided against it because he knew Eric had just started his new job and wouldn’t have any extra money sitting around.
Chip sat up and turned to the next page of the letter. It showed the tuition fees for the coming year would be about $25,000. In addition, there was another $10,000 for room and board, plus money for books, living expenses and health insurance. In total, the estimated costs were about $44,000.
Chip flipped forward a few pages to try to see when they would require their first payment. As he did so, a brochure fell from the package and landed on the floor. Chip noticed that it had a hand-written note from his coach attached to it.
“We’d all really like you to complete your last year here at Ohio State. This brochure contains information about a new scholarship that has just been announced to be given to those athletes who sacrifice their own personal goals for the benefit of their teammates. I think you have a very good chance of winning!!!”
Chip looked at the brochure and could see the familiar logo of a major sports company. The brochure indicated it was an annual award of $25,000. It wouldn’t cover everything, but it would certainly help.
When he turned to the last page of the brochure, it became apparent why his coach thought Chip had a good chance of winning. On it was a picture of Chip and Michael Porter as they walked off the track arm in arm at the Olympics.
*** Chapter 34 ***
Brian was in his kitchen cleaning up after lunch when he heard a knock on his front door. “Coming,” he shouted as he wiped his hands on one of the dish towels. “Elizabeth, this is a surprise,” he said when he saw Elizabeth Noble standing there when he opened the door.
“I don’t mean to intrude,” Elizabeth said, “but I wanted to deliver this to you in person.”
“Come in, come in, you’re not intruding,” Brian said as he led her into his living room. “What exactly are you delivering?”
Elizabeth sat on the edge of the couch. “This,” she said handing Brian an envelope. Brian opened the envelope to see a cheque made out to him for a million dollars. “I wanted to pay you back for the ransom you paid to have my Sylvia released by the kidnappers. We should have paid it ourselves.”
Brian stared at the cheque not knowing what to say.
“Peter and I are getting a divorce,” Elizabeth confessed. “I just couldn’t stay with a man who wouldn’t pay the ransom to have his own daughter released. There are things
more important than money. I’m not sure she’ll ever forgive me, but I’m trying to reconnect with my daughter. Next week, she’s agreed to let me meet my grandchildren.” Elizabeth pulled a tissue out of her purse to wipe away a tear that was trickling down her cheek.
“I’m sure she’ll forgive you,” Brian said. “Just give her some time.”
“Well, I’ve taken up enough of your time,” Elizabeth said as she rose from the couch. “I’m so glad to hear that both of your sons are okay.”
“Would you like to meet them?” Brian asked. “We’re getting together for dinner tonight.”
“No, I wouldn’t want to impose,” Elizabeth said. She gave Brian a hug. “You’re so lucky to have your family.”
Brian watched her as she headed back to the taxi she had waiting for her. He wondered if there was anything else he could have said to convince her to join them all at their dinner that evening.
* * *
Eric was sitting at his desk going through the mountain of emails that were sitting in his inbox. There were a lot of emails from friends saying how happy they were to hear that he and Chip had been saved from the kidnappers. Many of the emails had questions asking what it was like to be kidnapped and Eric felt obligated to respond to them all. He had already been working on responding to the emails for a couple of weeks.
When he opened the next email, he realized it had been sent before the whole kidnapping ordeal had started. The email was from one of the Banff Babes, the friends of his mother. She had responded to Eric’s request for information as to what his parents’ legacy could be.
“I know exactly what your parents’ legacy is,” the email said. “Please call me when you get this email and I’ll explain it to you,” the email continued and it gave the telephone number to call.
The Legacy Page 16