Carat Capers

by Dan Kelly

  Taking a second look at him, not sure if he is being serious or not, she sees the mischievous glint in his eyes which confirms her suspicion that she’s being had. Smiling she says, “Okay, I got the message. You’re not a clothes horse and prefer to spend your money on other things.”

  “You get up to speed real quick don’t you, Vicki?”

  “It’s one of the first skills you acquire living in a big city. If you can’t keep up with the traffic, you get run over.”

  The repartee is interrupted by the elevator door opening and a half dozen bundled up people hurrying out to do who knows what. New Yorkers never leisurely stroll anywhere, even in the nice weather. They rush everywhere. It must be a prerequisite to live and/or work in Manhattan.

  The rest of the morning flies by and Terri Townsend proves to be exactly what Vicki said she is. They had to do some retakes, but all in all things went smoothly. As Mickey and Vicki are getting ready to leave, Terri’s admin comes into the conference room where they did the interview, hands her a folder containing a dozen or more pieces of paper and leaves as swiftly as she entered. Terri scans and rescans the information and then breaks the news to them.

  “Every one of the major networks and the cable companies, including CNN, has agreed to bombard the airwaves with your manhunt story, Mickey. It looks like my clients came through for me big time and as word got out advertisers who aren’t my clients clamored to get on board to add their weight to convince the media to go along with us. If we accomplish what we’re setting out to do, it will make great PR for those involved. The promise of this interview is what put the icing on the cake and if the insurance companies come through with a reward that will be the proverbial cherry on top. This story is going to be the talk of the town for a long time and will lead to other stories focusing on the whereabouts of the stolen gems and the reaction of the victims who weren’t killed to what transpires.”

  “When will the blitz begin?”

  “As soon as they get their hands on this interview. Probably sometime tomorrow.”

  “Just thanking you for what you’ve done is extremely inadequate, but it’s all I have to offer. If I had my way, I’d give you the key to the city.”

  “Don’t give it a second thought, Mickey. I did this as a favor to Vicki and I wanted to do my part to keep this city safe from the likes of these characters. Besides, the publicity that this is going to generate for my clients is going to send a lot more business my way. This is a PR gold mine.”

  “Well, I hope you make a bundle.”

  Walking back to their cars Vicki says, “We’re going to get them this time, Mickey. I don’t care how smart they are, how skilled they are or how lucky they are. We’ve just created a huge tidal wave and it’s going to sweep them right into prison.”

  “Or drown the suckers. Either way, we’ll be rid of them which will definitely make my day. Thanks for joining the party this morning. I really appreciate it.”

  “Hey, I’m glad to lend a helping hand in any way I can if it will help put these guys away for the rest of their worthless lives.”

  Watching her get into her car and drive off he’s thinking, “It’s easy to see why Ferguson is infatuated with her. She’s first class all the way that’s for sure.”

  Chapter 61

  The manhunt blitz didn’t get launched until Monday morning and it was probably a good thing because there were not enough men on duty at the precinct on Sunday to handle the volume of calls that started to come in about a half hour after the story broke. At around eleven in the morning, the insurance companies start to return his calls and by noon they are all on board and have agreed to offer a $1,000,000 reward for the capture of Feldman and Kadden if their capture leads to the recovery of all the stolen gems or at least a significant portion. Families and employers of the people killed during the commission of the robberies are also getting together to put up their own rewards for the capture and conviction of the deadly duo.

  By five Monday evening, the manhunt story which now includes the rewards being offered has pushed every other major news item of the day off the air during prime time all across the country. If the FBI hadn’t offered assistance with following up on the leads that were coming in and keeping track of what has already been checked out, the precinct would have been completely overwhelmed and the purpose of the blitz might have been jeopardized. Even with the FBI’s help, Mickey is worried that the lead that would take them directly to these men will be overlooked or not gotten to in time to be of any use.

  Clancy has called every available man into the precinct to man the phones and has arranged with the phone company to temporarily provide additional phones and phone lines to handle the continuing increase in the volume of incoming calls.

  At around six-thirty, Vicki and Chuck show up to offer their help with answering phones and bring twelve boxes of extra-large pizza of various kinds to fuel the bodies of those on the phones.

  Looking around and seeing people everywhere Vicki says, “Wow, if the pressure from this media blitz doesn’t have these guys jumping out of their skin, they’re not human.”

  Mickey responds with, “I’ve heard and read about the power of the press, but I’ve never had a ring side seat before. In a way it’s kind of scary. The misuse of this kind of power could create some very serious problems not only for individuals but entire countries. Right now though, I’m ecstatic that they’re on our side on this one.”

  Chuck asks, “Where do you want us?”

  “Follow me.”

  Mickey leads them to a long table in the back of the room and says, “With all of these phones ringing the only way you’ll know for sure when yours is ringing is by the flashing light. There are plenty of pads and pens on the credenza behind you and if you need anything else just shout.”

  Chuck and Vicki barely sit down when their phones start to ring. Mickey says, “You’re on. Include in your notes on every conversation, the name and contact info of the caller, the time of the call and the key items the caller is passing on to you. You can ad lib, but make sure you get all of these items.”

  Mickey’s figuring that the precinct will really be hopping for the first few days of the blitz, but then things should taper off to a level that will be easier to handle as the kooks are weeded out and they can concentrate on legitimate leads.

  Mickey is wrong. On Wednesday afternoon the precinct is still a madhouse. Between answering phones, taking notes and trying to gulp down a burger and fries all at the same time Mickey has learned that he has an ambidexterity he never knew he possessed. Around three in the afternoon Mickey gets a call from a Richard Morris at the New York Federal Reserve Bank that makes the bedlam seen like a day at the ball park.

  Mr. Morris is calling to let Mickey know that he has been in contact with the central banks listed in a communique received from the CFO of one of the major banks in town and is happy to report that they have agreed to cooperate in trying to locate the bank accounts in question and if able to do so without any doubt they have tagged the correct ones will put a hold on all balances. Mr. Morris has agreed to be the channel of communication between these central banks and the NYPD.

  Thanking Mr. Morris for his participation, he breaks the connection and lets out a hoop and a holler that momentarily puts a hush over the entire squad room, but only for a moment as people began firing questions at him about his excitement. Once word gets around about the central banks offering to kick the targets of their manhunt in their financial gonads, the precinct seems to get a new shot of adrenaline, a new boost of energy that raises the enthusiasm and noise level to new heights.

  Mickey has been surfing the internet to learn what is required from people wishing to open numbered bank accounts in other countries and is finding that anti-money laundering legislation has made it a bit more involved than it used to be when it comes to required documentation. Passports and other identifying documents must have things like apostilles, seals of authenticity, usually supplied by
a notary public, explanations and means of verification must be supplied as to the source of the funds and how they will be used such as business contracts. They also require your name, date of birth and proof of residency.

  There are companies that act on your behalf to open these accounts and Mickey’s convinced that Feldman, Kadden and Kessner used one to open theirs. That’s an avenue that can be explored if the banks can’t or won’t be willing to try to come up with something. He’s also fairly convinced that when they opened their accounts they believed they would never be identified as the people behind the precious stone robberies and would have had no reservations about using their real identities to do so. Why lie if there’s no need?

  “Okay, you two, it’s party time and you’re the guests of honor.”

  Chapter 62

  Mid-morning on Tuesday Felix gets the call from Pierre on the throw away cell. “Felix, you guys have really got yourselves into a mess. You’re all over the news here in Paris. Did you really try to take out a cop?”

  “At the time it seemed like a good idea. Look, Pierre, I’d really like to chat, but I’m afraid things are getting out of hand here. Amos and I have decided to go our separate ways to give the cops more trouble in tracking us down and we’d like to unload our most recent acquisition via your connections at the French embassy. How do we go about that?”

  Pierre gives him instructions on what to do and quickly hangs up. He doesn’t like what’s going on in the States and is starting to worry that somehow he’ll be caught in the same net that has been cast to catch his associates. “After this ruby deal, I think it would be a smart move for me to pursue other goals.”

  Felix is also thinking about what his next smart move should be. “One thing’s for sure. I’ve got to get out of Plattsburg. Too many people have seen me here and will soon realize I’m one of the guys on TV using a different name. I’m going to have to rent another car. Amos took the rental we were using.

  “I’ve got about eighty thousand in my account at the credit union. That should hold me over for a while until the heats off. The cops have no way of knowing where I keep my money, so it should be safe there and I can make withdrawals using ATM machines as the need arises. This will leave a trail for the cops to follow if they manage to locate where my bank account is held, but if I keep on the move it will be difficult to catch up with me.

  “I think I’ll head for Mexico like Amos. El Paso, Texas is the closest big city bordering Mexico if I drive there from here and I can use a circuitous route to get there to keep the cops from getting too close. Driving at night will be the safest way to travel and the sooner I get off the road the less chance I have of being spotted, the less chance I have of being stopped for speeding and the less chance I have of getting involved in an accident.

  “I can call Ramon from there and put a rush on the docs I’ll need for entering Chili. I can rent a mail box and have him mail the docs to me there. I can stay in El Paso until I receive the docs from Ramon. If things get too hot for me there, I can always use the passport I used to cross into and out of Canada to beat it to Mexico. Yeah, this should work.”

  Amos is going through a similar exercise. He’s back at the Econo Lodge they stayed at when they first arrived in Plattsburgh and he’s returned the Avis rental he and Felix were using and walked over to National and rented another using a different phony ID. He’s thinking that this will throw a curve to the cops trying to track him down. He’s now glad he kept a few of the fake IDs he has used before on his person and didn’t lose all of his in Paris like Felix did.

  Amos has already decided to head for Mexico, but via San Diego. He wants to get as far away from Plattsburg as quickly as he can. He has no concerns about driving during the day as he figures sunglasses and a hat will be sufficient to prevent anyone from recognizing him driving along in a car. His first priority is to get as far away from Plattsburg as soon as he can as fast as he can.

  He too will call Ramon and arrange for the documents for entry into Chili to be mailed to a Mail Box Etc. in San Diego. If things don’t go the way he wants them to in San Diego, he too will use the passport he used to cross the border into and out of Canada to get into Mexico.

  As for expense money, he too has a hefty balance at the credit union and will use ATMs to access it.

  Having determined their plans of action, they both hit the road around ten in the evening, Amos to the thruway and the first leg of his journey southward, Felix to the nearest post office in Plattsburg to mail a package to a Frenchman at his home address in Yonkers, followed by a stop at a supermarket for some snacks and water to help satisfy his hunger and thirst during the drive, and then on to the thruway entrance and a long tedious drive of 600 miles. He’s planning on driving that distance each night until he reaches his destination. During the day, he’ll stay at some cheap motel to catch some shut eye, pick up some food and drink at the local supermarket for the next leg of his trip and do his best not to be noticed by anybody.

  Amos is more of a fast food eater and plans to stop at the McDonalds, Carl’s Jrs. Burger Kings and the like along the way when he gets hungry or thirsty. When he gets tired, he’ll pull off to the side of the road or into a truck stop or fast food parking lot and take a nap. He doesn’t want to waste any traveling time in a motel. He wants out of Plattsburg, out of New York, ASAP.

  Chapter 63

  Early Thursday morning Mickey gets a call from Richard Morris. He’s got more good news. “Lieutenant, the Swiss National Bank, the central bank of Switzerland, just called and informed me that Credit Suisse has located the accounts you are looking to freeze. The accounts are held in their main office in Zurich. It was rather simple for them to locate them as the account holders made no attempt to hide their true identities. Even though they have numbered accounts the documentation required to open one is quite revealing. At our request, an indefinite freeze has been issued and the account holders will have no access to the any of the funds held in the accounts. By the way, the balances in these accounts are in the tens of millions of dollars.”

  “You’ve made my day, Mr. Morris. They must have access to some funds here in the States, but I’ve been unable to zero in on them through inquiries I’ve made of the major banks in the city. They must have at least a business account for the Paragon, their jewelry store business here in Manhattan, somewhere close by the store, but I haven’t been able to even find that. I don’t think they keep more than operating capital in such an account, but I could be wrong. They might have personal accounts as well, but again I think the balances in those accounts would be anemic compared to those kept in the Swiss accounts.”

  “Well, not all financial institutions are members of the Federal Reserve System and if these people have accounts at one of these institutions it’s going to be difficult to bring them to light.”

  “Well, thanks for your help, Mr. Morris. Even without the knowledge of the whereabouts of their money in the U. S., we’ve just made it extremely difficult for them to continue to avoid capture on a long term basis by running off to different places to hide. It takes a lot of money to do that and a major part of their financial resources has just dried up.”

  “You’re welcome, Lieutenant. Good luck with your manhunt.”

  Mickey immediately calls Chuck and tells him the news and concludes with, “I’m thinking of asking the media to include this latest development in their stories. It might take all of the fight our of them and be the shove they need to turn themselves in. What do you think?”

  “I think that would be a very dangerous gamble to take, Mickey. These people are killers. Killing seems to be the preferred method to employ to avoid capture. I don’t think surrendering would even enter their minds. You’ve already got them pissed with your birddogging and determination to put them in jail. They’ve already tried to kill you because of that. This manhunt has got to be pissing them off even more. If you dump more frustration on them, I’m afraid they’ll be so pissed they’ll do just
about anything to make you pay for their torment, including killing innocent people wherever they find them.”