The Summer of Me: A Novel

by Angela Benson

  “George has tapped me to be the local intermediary between the Feds and the fraud cases here in the Los Angeles area. Apparently, there are several victims of this crime in the city. Many of them have become victims of identity theft, like Destiny. They need help extricating themselves from the fraud and navigating through the demands the Feds will have for them. I’ll represent their interests.”

  “How will you get paid? I don’t imagine these victims have the money for the fees you normally command.”

  “That’s the beauty of it. I’ll be paid out of a fund the Feds establish from the money they confiscate from the crime ring. Between your IT experts at GDW Investigations and the IT experts at the Justice Department, they were able to find an account where much of the money was stashed. They hope they’ll find others, but what they’ve found already is more than enough for us to get started helping people.”

  “And that’s how you’ll be paid for helping Destiny?”

  “Exactly. Normally an attorney in the Atlanta area would do her case, but since her problems surfaced here, I’ll handle it. I know she was scheduled to return home on Monday. I suggest she stay a couple of days longer so we can get all the necessary paperwork filed. The travel costs for her and her mom will also be covered by the fund. Like I told you, she has the best outcome possible. She’ll be fine.”

  When he heard a knock at the door, Daniel said, “That must be her.” He opened the door without asking who it was and was not surprised to see Destiny standing there. Her sad countenance told him that she’d had a rough day. Instead of asking how she was, he just pulled her into the room and into his arms and held her close. She collapsed against him and began to weep.

  When her tears subsided, she said, “What have I done, Daniel? Please tell me what’s going on.”

  He wiped at her tears. “It’s nothing that we can’t fix,” he said, guiding her over to the table where Malcolm sat. “Sit here and let Malcolm tell you what’s going to happen next.”

  She nodded a greeting to the attorney. Then she turned to Daniel. “You’re going to stay, aren’t you?”

  “Of course,” he said, pulling out the chair next to hers and sitting down.

  Destiny turned to Malcolm. “I know I’ve said it before but I need to say it again. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me. I really appreciate it. You haven’t mentioned money yet, but I want you to know that I don’t expect your time to come free. I’ll pay. I probably won’t be able to use a credit card or a check, but I’ll pay. Somehow.”

  Malcolm began shaking his head. “Don’t worry about money,” he said. “You were the victim here so I’ll be paid out of the victims’ fund.”

  Destiny’s eyes widened. “A victim?” She turned to Daniel. “I don’t understand.”

  “Malcolm will explain,” he said.

  She turned back to her attorney.

  “You were a victim of identity theft,” he told her. “That’s why the police were asking about your credit cards. Several credit accounts have been opened in your name. A woman, using your credit information, purchased a car in Sioux Falls, Iowa. Somebody else bought a house in Denver. Those are just a few of the accounts. I’m pretty sure more will pop up over the next three months. By that time, your credit will be ruined and the scammers will be on to their next victims. That’s how identity theft works.”

  “So that’s why my credit cards were rejected at the restaurant?”

  Malcolm nodded. “They’re all over the limit. Somebody’s been buying high-end electronics.”

  “And it hasn’t been me. How did they get my information? Did I do something wrong?”

  Her attorney cleared his throat. “That’s where HR Solutions comes in. The company was acting as a front for an international bank fraud network. The work you were doing for them was an elaborate form of electronic money laundering.”

  “Money laundering?”

  He nodded. “Money was wired into your account. When you took your cut and wired the rest into another account, you were turning the dirty or illegally gained money into clean or legal money.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t believe I was so gullible. I knew in the beginning that job was too good to be true. I should have listened to my first instincts.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up too badly,” Malcolm said. “You’re not the first person to get caught up and, unfortunately, you won’t be the last.”

  “It was a very sophisticated scheme, Destiny,” Daniel added. “Phil did a good job of knocking down each of your concerns. That was his primary role in the fraud and he was good at it.”

  Destiny clearly remembered her first session with him. He had done a masterful job of addressing all of her questions and skepticism. “So Phil was in on this from the very beginning?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Daniel said.

  “Does Bertice know about his involvement?”

  He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “I’m sure she didn’t know what he was up to. She never would have involved me if she had. If she knew, she would have told me.”

  “She didn’t know,” Daniel said. “Phil never told her.”

  “I can’t believe Phil used us like this. I thought he was a nice guy. Poor Bertice. She was falling in love with him.”

  “It’s not all bad,” Daniel said. “Phil has been working with a security firm to shut down the network for the last year. His work is part of the reason Malcolm is going to be able to help you.”

  “That’s something,” she said. “But how is this related to the identity theft?”

  “They used information from the application you submitted to HR Solutions. It’s another angle to the fraud. They set you up as an electronic money mule and then they steal your identity and ruin your credit. It’s a one-two punch. The good news is that the fraud had been unraveled by the time your identity was stolen.”

  “I guess you could call that good news.”

  “Believe me,” Malcolm said, “it is. Now where were we?”

  “You were telling me about the victims’ fund.”

  “Oh yes,” he said. Then he went on to explain the fund to her in much the same way he’d done earlier with Daniel.

  “Well, that’s nice to know,” she said. “Exactly what do I have to do?”

  Malcolm laid out the terms she had to agree to in order to get consideration from the Feds. The consideration included immunity from prosecution for any crimes related to the HR Solutions fraud and access to monies from the victims’ fund. In return, she had to supply the Feds with a signed statement of her involvement with the fraud. The Feds specifically wanted to know what she knew and when, who else she knew was involved, and what damage had been done to her as a result of her involvement.

  Malcolm handed her a sheet of paper. “This outlines the terms as they relate to the statement. We won’t start working on that tonight. Over the next couple of days, I want you to try to think through answers to the questions on that sheet. Write them down. When we next meet, we’ll take your answers and turn them into a formal statement. Any questions about that?”

  Destiny shook her head as she scanned the sheet.

  “Okay, next we have to deal with the identity theft. I have several standard documents for you to sign that I will have sent to all your financial institutions and the credit bureaus. We can’t stop the fraud that has already happened but we can prevent anything else from happening.”

  Destiny nodded. “Will all my credit cards be suspended?”

  “Yes, it’s best to start with a clean slate. We’ll have a couple of the companies send replacement cards with new numbers so you’ll have them for the remainder of your trip.”

  “So that’s all I have to do to clear up the identity theft and any resulting fraud?”

  Malcolm shook his head. “Those are only the first steps. Once we pull your credit report from the three bureaus, we’ll have to identify the fraudulent accounts, close them, and notify the creditors that you
were a victim of identity theft. Fortunately for you, the creditors will believe you because of the backing of the Feds and the short window of time during which you were subject to identity theft. Normally, people have a much more difficult time proving they were victims. The Feds have named you a victim so they have taken care of that for you. And since you’ve been involved with HR Solutions for less than six months, we have a short window of possible fraud actions. I’m not teasing when I say you have friends in high places. Your case will probably be the simplest one that comes across my desk.”

  She gave a dry laugh. “I don’t know how simple it is. I did end up handcuffed and taken to the police station.”

  “And I told you, and the police chief, that was a gross overreach by those officers. There is no way they should have gone to those lengths. We may have a good case for a civil suit, but the Feds are going to want to include indemnifying the police in the terms of their deal with you.”

  “What does that mean?” Destiny asked.

  “It return for consideration, you can’t file suit against any governmental entities for actions related to the frauds.”

  Daniel cleared his throat. He had kept quiet until now. “Isn’t that asking a lot of her? Personally, I’d like to see her sue the LAPD. Like you said, they were way out of line.”

  Malcolm tapped his pencil against his chin. “At this point, I’m not sure it’s worth it.” He turned to Destiny. “Depending on how you look at it, the police actually helped you by letting you know you had been a victim of identity theft. We could counter that you would have found that out anyway, but the timing does matter. If you want me to pursue this further I can, but I’d have to charge my fee for doing that work directly to you because the fund won’t cover it. You don’t have to decide now. Think it over and you can let me know when we meet in a couple of days.” He looked at Daniel. “Any more questions?”

  He shook his head. “Not right now.”

  Malcolm then turned to Destiny. “Are you all clear on what you need to work on over the next couple of days?”

  She nodded.

  “Good,” he said. He slid one of his business cards toward her. “If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call my office.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “I can’t seem to say it enough.”

  Malcolm chuckled as he began picking up the scattered papers from the table and putting them in his briefcase. When he finished, he said, “I’m going to head home. I just may get there in time to kiss my kids good night before they go to bed.”

  Destiny stood. “I hope you make it. I want to see my kids tonight as well.”

  Daniel extended his hand to Malcolm. “Thanks, man. You’ve been a great help and we appreciate it.”

  After Daniel walked Malcolm to the door, he returned to where Destiny was still seated at the conference table.

  “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

  She looked up at him. “I need to see my kids. I really need to see my kids.”

  He nodded. “Then we’ll go see your kids. I’ll drive.”

  “You don’t have to do that,” she said. “I can drive myself.”

  “You’re emotionally exhausted, Destiny, so you don’t need to get behind the wheel. I’ll drive you and wait in the car while you say good night.”

  “Wait in the car?”

  He nodded. “I don’t want to meet your kids or your ex under these circumstances. We can plan for me to meet them if, and when, the time is right for both of us.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m positive,” he said. “Do you have everything you need or do you have to go back to your room for something?”

  “I really should check on my mom,” she said. “What happened with the police today upset her badly. I think it would ease her mind to know that everything has worked out.”

  He nodded. “Makes sense to me. I’m sorry she was worried.”

  Destiny sighed. “You have no need to be sorry. This has been nothing but another case of me letting her down by not living up to her expectations.”

  “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

  She shook her head. “I have to be. Even though things have worked out well for me, I made a reckless decision that landed me in this situation. I need to own that. My mom saw as clearly as I did what I almost lost.”

  “Your kids?”

  “That’s right. They’re more important to me than anything and I made a decision that could have separated us for a very long time. It’s going to be a while before I forgive myself for that, and it’s going to take a while for my mom to forgive me. I thank God that I won’t have to explain anything to my kids.”

  “Cut yourself some slack,” he said. “We all make mistakes.”

  She gave a weak smile. “And I made a whopper of one. I knew something wasn’t right with HR Solutions from the very beginning. I heard the still, small voice but I ignored it. That’s all on me.”

  Daniel’s esteem for Destiny grew as he listened to her assessment of her actions. She’d needed to accept full responsibility for what she’d done, and now she needed to forgive herself and move on. He was committed to helping her do just that. “I’m proud of you, Destiny,” he said. “And your mom will be, too, once she gets past her fear of what could have happened and begins to focus on what actually happened.”

  “I hope so,” she said.

  “I know so.” He tapped her on the nose with his finger. “Now how long do you think you’ll be with your mother? Should I meet you downstairs in the lobby in about thirty minutes or so?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “You’ve done so much already that I hate to ask this, but can you come up with me to talk to my mom? The details will be more credible coming from you.”

  “Of course I’ll go and explain things to her. Should we head out now?”

  Destiny nodded. When he reached to open the door, she placed her hand on his. “Thank you,” she said, “for everything. Your support has been more than I could have imagined. I want you to know that I appreciate the kind of friend you’ve been to me. You’re a special man, Daniel Thomas.”

  Daniel could only smile down at her, hoping his guilt did not show on his face. She still didn’t know of his full involvement in the investigation. He’d planned to tell her as soon as Malcolm left, but if he were honest with himself, he was glad her need to talk to her mother and visit her kids forced him to delay his confession. He’d tell her tomorrow, he told himself. She needed a good night’s sleep tonight. He ignored the small voice that told him he was only delaying the inevitable.

  Chapter 36

  DESTINY HAD BEEN RIGHT ABOUT HER MOTHER. THE older woman had brightened considerably after hearing Daniel’s explanation of the day’s events and what was going to happen as a result. She’d visibly relaxed when she heard that Destiny had been a victim of identity theft. That was a much better outcome than having her daughter arrested for fraud. Of course, she was still disappointed in Destiny for getting involved with HR Solutions in the first place, but she no longer worried about Kenae and KJ being taken away. Destiny watched her now in lively conversation with Mary Margaret’s mother and Daniel, looking like her old self and not the haggard and aged woman she’d been earlier this evening.

  Destiny smiled at Daniel. Patricia had quickly nixed the idea of him waiting for them in the car. Given what he had done for Destiny today, he was the man of the hour in her eyes. “It’s been some day,” Patricia said. “Destiny finds out she’s a victim of identity theft and then Charlotte and Daniel reconnect.”

  “This woman was a godsend when my wife was sick,” Daniel said, looking at Charlotte. “I can’t thank you enough for what you did for Gloria.”

  “I wish I could have done more,” Charlotte said softly. “Gloria was a special woman.”

  Daniel nodded.

  “More special than you know,” Destiny added. “I never met her and I’ve been touched by her.”

  Daniel glanced over at her, his eyes
thanking her for not going into detail about the programs they were starting at church. “You and Gloria would have been fast friends, Destiny,” he said. “You—”

  Before he could finish, KJ bounded into the room and said, “It’s time for our walk on the beach. Who’s going?”

  Under other circumstance Destiny would have chastised her son for interrupting adult conversation, but they’d needed his interruption tonight. The conversation had been about to turn somber.

  “I think I’d like to go,” her mother said. “After all that’s happened today, I want to get out and feel the night air.”

  “Yay, Grandma’s going!” KJ chimed in.

  Patricia turned to Charlotte. “Come with us. It’ll be nice.”

  Charlotte smiled. “Well, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”

  “Kenae,” KJ called out. “We’re heading for the beach.”

  Destiny shook her head, wondering why KJ felt the need to yell for his sister. She shouldn’t have been surprised though since he did it often. She’d scold him tomorrow; tonight all she could do was take joy in being with them.

  As Destiny was getting up to join the group, Kenneth said, “You guys go on. Mary Margaret and I need to talk to your mother. We’ll catch up.”

  The look on Mary Margaret’s face told Destiny this need to talk was news to her. The questioning looks on the faces of Patricia and Charlotte suggested they had the same reaction. Destiny had a feeling she knew what Kenneth wanted, so she asked Daniel to wait with her.

  After the oldest and the youngest among them had left, Kenneth said, “Now tell us what really happened. There’s more to it than you’re saying. What are you hiding?”

  “Kenneth—” Mary Margaret warned.

  “It’s all right, Mary Margaret.” She turned to Kenneth. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You should be happy it was only identity theft. That’s bad, but not anything that can’t be resolved.”

  “My concern is my children. Seeing you carted off to jail could have damaged their psyches.”

  The thought of it made her shiver. “But that didn’t happen. My attorney has cleared up everything with the police and he’s working on the identity theft. It’s taken care of, Kenneth. Let it go.”