Double Trouble

by Scott Wittenburg

  “I know, and you’re absolutely right. But what else is there to go on? If we assume that Nick and Mark are innocent as well as Blaine and the sheriff, there’s nothing left.”

  “I’m afraid you’re right about that.”

  “Well, I’m still going to move forward with my theories and pray for a miracle.”

  “What’s on your mind?”

  “I’m going to contact the accounting firm that handled Jodi’s grandmother’s inheritance. See if that goes anywhere.”

  “And if it doesn’t?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”

  “Whatever happens, Mandy, I admire your resolve. And I truly believe if there’s anybody who can solve this thing, it’s you. You’re just like your mother—smart, stubborn and determined.”

  Amanda smiled. “I’ll take all of that as a compliment.”

  He warmed up her coffee. “As you should.”

  “I’ll take that with me. I’m going to do some Googling.”

  She went up to the bedroom and did a search for Davidson and Associates Accounting in Cleveland. She visited their website and learned that it was a large firm and part of a network of national firms serving the country. She wasn’t able to find a roster of employees but did find out that the company was closed on weekends. She would have to wait until Monday to go any further.

  She decided to give Alan a call, hoping he could suggest what she should do.

  “Hey, how are you?” he greeted.

  “Frustrated.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Long story short, I’m trying to find out who all knew about Jodi’s inheritance and that she was sitting on it at her home. I just met with Mrs. Brooks and found out that her mother had hired an accountant who showed her how to maximize her assets so that Jodi’s inheritance wouldn’t be death-taxed to the hilt. So I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, somebody who works at that accounting company may have used privileged information to make themselves or somebody else ninety-five thousand dollars richer at Jodi’s expense.”

  “You’re not serious, right?”

  “Yes, I’m serious! What’s wrong with that?” Amanda snapped.

  “Whoa, don’t get all bent out of shape! I realize that you’re working a tough case and that you need to explore every possible lead, but don’t you think that’s a little far-fetched? I mean, what are the odds?”

  “They’re horrible! But it’s all I have to go on, Alan. I’m down here with my best friend wanting to kill himself over all of this and there isn’t one damn thing stopping the locals from arresting him for a crime he didn’t commit. Unless you want to factor in the sheriff’s son, who sure as hell isn’t going to be turned in by his own father even if he was guilty. None of this is getting me any closer to discovering what really happened to Jodi that day. So I’m going with the only thing I got. And I don’t give a shit if it is a dead-end—at least I’m doing something other than sitting here on my fricking hands!”

  “I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right and I apologize for being so negative. And I admire your determination. I would probably do the exact same thing if it were me, in fact. I think I’m letting my own case get the best of me.”

  “Can you talk about it?”

  “You know I can’t on this phone. But I will say that I’ve already managed to mess this case up and I certainly have no right criticizing you and your case.”

  “How bad did you mess it up? I mean, is it fixable?”

  “Don’t know yet. I was just getting ready to report to my client. Not feeling too good about it, though”

  “Aren’t we something else? Neither of us seems to be on track now, do we?”

  “Nope, not at all.”

  “Maybe that means we’re at a turning point of some kind. A positive one.”

  “God, I hope so. So, go ahead with what you were saying about this accounting firm.”

  “Well, I went to their website and didn’t learn much of anything except that they’re closed on the weekends. I don’t want to wait until Monday to get any answers, so I was wondering if you have any suggestions on what to do.”

  “I’ll call Charlie. Maybe he can hack into their database. What’s the name of the company?”

  “Davidson and Associates Accounting. They’re in Cleveland.”

  “Got it. I’ll give Charlie a ring and see if he can find out anything. The problem is that he’s busy as hell, so don’t get your hopes up too much. Tell you what—I’ll give you his number and you call him instead. Maybe hearing from a beautiful chick instead of my ugly ass will get him moving quicker on this.”

  “How in the hell would he be able to tell what I look like?”

  “Oh, he already knows. Trust me.” Alan laughed.

  “So you’ve told him about us. Didn’t realize you were more than just business associates with this Charlie character.”

  “Oh, Charlie and I go way back. We’re actually old friends. And he’s always giving me advice on my love life, I might add.”

  “That’s kinda scary. Okay, so what’s his number?”

  Alan read it off to her. “Don’t hesitate to sweet talk him if need be. That will go a long way.”

  “I’ll do my best. When will I hear back from you?”

  “I’ll call you first chance I have something good to report.”

  “Let’s hope that isn’t too long.”

  “Let’s hope. Good luck with Charlie.”

  “Thanks. Bye.”

  Amanda had cooled down some but was still angry with Alan. What she didn’t need was for him to make fun of how she was handling this case. It was one thing to give her helpful advice and constructive criticism but not cool to make her feel like some sort of idiot. She needed his support right now, not negative criticism.

  She had planned on telling him about her cop impersonation theory until he squelched her other theory so she had abstained. He probably would have had a field day with that, too.

  In his defense though, he had apologized and explained why he had been so negative. It sounded as though he was having his own problems and wasn’t feeling particularly optimistic at the moment.

  With a sigh she punched in Charlie Ling’s number.

  CHAPTER 24

  Alan anxiously waited for the burner to buzz. After ending Amanda’s call he had texted Ron Fleming informing him that Doug had been found out and Fleming had in turn texted him to stand by and await his call.

  As disappointed as he was at how poorly he had handled things, Alan seriously doubted that Fleming was the type of person to just throw up his hands and call him off the case. The man seemed too determined to catch this gang and wouldn’t let a slip like this deter him from continuing the investigation.

  The phone suddenly buzzed. Alan connected.

  “Swansea,” he said.

  “So tell me what happened, from the beginning,” Fleming said.

  Alan recounted everything, growing increasingly nervous since Fleming didn’t say a thing until after he was finished.

  “That’s unfortunate,” he said. “But not surprising. This outfit is very shrewd, with a lot of experience at what they do. Even if you had thought to check if somebody was tailing your accomplice, it couldn’t have been avoided.”

  “But still, I screwed up. And I apologize for that—it won’t happen again.”

  “No need for an apology. In fact, I have some good news. I’ve been able to dig up some very interesting info on two of the characters in the photo you sent. We are not out of business on this case. Quite the contrary.”

  Alan’s relief was palpable. “What did you find out?”

  “For starters, the man referring to himself as ‘Bobbie’ is actually a man the FBI has been hunting for quite some time. He’s changed his appearance radically, but there’s no doubt in my mind who ‘Bobbie’ really is. His name is Isaac Mansky, a Russian ex-pat who has been trafficking in the U.S. for years. What’s especially interest
ing is his mention of being a subordinate—implying that somebody higher up the food chain is running the show there. This is big, Alan. We may have an opportunity to snuff out one of the biggest trafficking operations in the country.”

  “Any idea who Mansky’s boss might be?”

  “No, but I intend to find out. One of the other men in the photo—the one referring to himself as ‘Marco’—is actually Brock Matthews. He lives in New Albany and is worth several million dollars.”

  “New Albany has become quite an upscale suburb in the last few years so that would make sense. What’s he do?”

  “Brock comes from a wealthy family in New York and probably hasn’t worked a day in his life. He has a wife and two children who are no doubt clueless that he’s a practicing pedophile. My thoughts are that if we can catch Mr. Matthews in the act of procuring one of the victims, we might have some serious leverage in bringing down the house. That’s where you come in.”

  “You want me to tail him.”

  “Precisely. If we can find out where Matthews gets the children, we might be in business. But it’s not going to be easy. Isaac Mansky’s very cautious, as you have already witnessed first hand. It’s safe to assume that his boss is even more so. So it would not be implausible for one of their men to keep close tabs on their clients while partaking their services, just to be on the safe side. That way they’ll know if that client is being investigated by the authorities or involving any third parties in their festivities.”

  “I see what you mean. So I’ll have to find some way to tail Matthews without either him or the bad guys knowing is what you’re saying.”

  “Correct.”

  “There are ways of doing that—like planting a GPS tracking device of some kind in his car. Then I could tell where he’s heading without being right on his ass.”

  “If you could find a way to do that, yes. But if you have to react quickly for some reason, remote tracking isn’t going to cut it. You could lose him at the very last moment. Any ideas how you might get around that?”

  “I’ll have to give it some thought. But tell me this: how will I know exactly when Matthews is going to use Mansky’s services? I can’t be tailing this guy 24/7 until he finally decides to rent one of the victims.”

  “Yes, that’s another problem. Got any ideas?”

  “Not off hand—but I’ll think of something. What’s Matthews’ address and phone number?”

  “I’ll text all of that to you after we get off. We’re going to have to move quickly on this, Alan. I suggest you tell your stand-in to lay low for a few days, just in case Mansky decides to call on him and pump him for info. It sounds like they don’t really suspect any foul play yet, but that could change. We don’t want to give them a chance to think about it. Hopefully Matthews will make a move sooner than later.”

  “I’d better get going, then. I’ll let you know when I have something,” Alan said.

  “Good enough. Stand by for the text. Good day.”

  Alan disconnected, his head spinning like a top. What Fleming had just told him left him exhilarated and stressed-out in equal measure. To think that there were big players in town and that he had a chance to bring them down was exciting. But actually succeeding in doing it was another thing altogether. How in the hell was he going to pull this off? He had no clue.

  No time for brooding—time to move forward.

  The burner vibrated, breaking his train of thought. He opened his messages and read the text. There was Brock Matthews’ address, phone number and a couple of other details.

  Alan sat down at his iMac and opened Google Earth.

  CHAPTER 25

  “Hello, is this Charlie?”

  “Yeah, who’s this?”

  “My name is Amanda Linville—I’m working with Alan Swansea. Alan suggested that I give you a call. Do you have a moment?”

  “Oh, of course! Alan told me about taking on a partner the other day. How is it going?”

  “Fine, except I’ve sort of run into a snag and I was wondering if you could help me.”

  “No problem. What do you need?”

  “I need a complete list of names of all of the employees at an accounting firm in Cleveland.”

  “I see. What’s the name of the firm?”

  “Davidson and Associates Accounting.”

  “Let me see—hold on a second,” he said.

  Amanda heard the rapid clacking of keystrokes over the line. A moment later he said, “Looks like a pretty good sized company, judging from their web page. How soon would you need it?”

  “The sooner, the better.”

  “Somehow I knew you were going to say that—you sound like your partner already! Tell you what, I’ve got some free time at the moment so I’ll see what I can come up with. Probably take a couple of hours or so.”

  “Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you so much!”

  “No problem. Should I call you back at this number?”

  “Yes, that would be fine.”

  “OK, will do. Bye.”

  “Bye, and thanks again!”

  Amanda was glowing. Alan had made it sound like this guy was swamped in work yet here he was with time on his hands! I can’t believe—

  Then she recalled what he’d said about her being a beautiful girl and that Charlie just might make a few exceptions on that count. He had been absolutely right!

  She decided to kill some time by making a few calls, starting with the dog boarder that was taking care of Henry. Then she called her mother and filled her in with all that was happening in Milldale. After a lengthy chat she decided to check her voicemails and answer a few of her emails at UrbanGroup.

  An hour later she got a return call from Charlie Ling.

  “Okay, I have a list of forty-seven names here,” he said. “Everybody from the head accountant down to the janitor.”

  “That’s wonderful! How can I get it?”

  “Just give me your email address and I’ll send you the file.”

  “Great,” Amanda replied and recited her address. A moment later she heard the ding of incoming mail on her Macbook and saw that it was Charlie’s message.

  “Got it!”

  “Anything else you need?” Charlie asked.

  “No, that’s it. I assume you’ll send the bill to Alan, right?”

  “Yeah. And tell him I’m done with the laptop he sent and to let me know if he wants me to ship it back or hold onto it, okay?”

  “I’ll do that. Thank you so much, Charlie. You’ve been a godsend!”

  “Anything for Alan and his new partner. Nice working with you.”

  Amanda had a smile on her face as she disconnected. What a break! Charlie’s hacking had just saved her having to wait two days and who knows how many hours trying to compile a list that she probably could never have done herself.

  She opened the attached Excel document and took a look at it. Charlie had not only given her the names of everyone at Davidson and Associates but their respective job titles and job descriptions as well. How in the hell does he do this? she wondered. Alan had referred to Charlie Ling as a hacker extraordinaire and he hadn’t been kidding.

  Amanda studied the list and recognized the name of the accountant who had been hired by Jodi’s grandmother: George Golden. She seriously doubted that he or any of the other accountants would have plotted to steal Jodi’s inheritance. What she was looking for was somebody further down the food chain that had access to the company’s cases. Somebody who knew just where to look to find a client who was both wealthy and an easy target.

  She scrolled down the list past the accountants and their secretaries to the other office workers. When she reached the data management department she read down the list of database administrators and managers. There were a total of seven. This would be a good place to start.

  Three of the names listed were women, so she promptly ruled them out. Yes, there was a slim chance Jodi’s murderer had been a woman but it wasn’t in the odds. That left fo
ur names.

  She read the job descriptions for each of the men and thought it likely that all of them had access to the company’s databases. After jotting down their names, she opened the web browser and began her search.

  The first name she typed into the search field was Lawrence Alkers. Several pages of hits appeared, so she refined her search by typing in the company’s name as well. There were no conclusive results, so she simply typed in Alkers’ full name plus Cleveland. Two different Lawrence Alkers appeared, both of them with Facebook accounts. She went to the first one and it only took a couple of seconds to determine that this Larry Akers was in middle school.

  She clicked on the other Lawrence Alkers’ Facebook profile, and discovered that this was the same man who worked at Davidson. In fact he had just been hired a few weeks ago. No wonder his name hadn’t showed up in the other search.

  This was a red flag so she put a check by his name and moved on to the next one. She spent the next hour finding everything she could on Google, Bing and Yahoo for all four names on the list and finally came to the conclusion that any one of them could be her suspect.

  The next thing she did was search for free criminal background checks and chose the first site she came to. Beginning with Lawrence Alkers, she typed in each of the four names followed by the state of Ohio then patiently waited for the site to complete the search. Because there were more often than not several different persons with the same name, she had to study each one individually until she was satisfied she had exhausted every last one of them.

  It took her another hour to come to the conclusion that not a single one of the men listed had a criminal record in the state of Ohio.

  They could however have criminal records in any of the other forty-nine states, but she wasn’t about to go that route. At least not yet. She decided instead to go back and do a search of each name again, but instead of just scanning the first page of hits as she had been doing, examine at least the first five pages. After all, there could be some older listings for these men that could be relevant.