“We don’t know for sure,” Ferguson said. “There was no brass at either scene, but if the shooter fired a semi-automatic and then picked up the casings, it would look the same as if the shells stayed in the revolver’s cylinder. If I had to guess based on the assumption that this was a professional hit, I’d say a semi-automatic. Burns on Sonny McKay suggest a suppressor, and that’s not going to be used with a revolver.”
“You run the ballistics through a database?” I asked.
“Yeah. No hits, either state or federal.”
Tommy Lee leaned forward across the desk. “So, we’ve confirmed the same murder weapon which suggests a common motive for the two killings. That’s no surprise. I’ve given Sid a copy of the list of stores we found in Sonny’s saddlebag.”
“I’ll share them with the FNS investigative office in Raleigh,” Ferguson said. “See what they know. It’s a faster approach than asking to run the EBT transaction records for every store. None of us likes to feel we’re on a fishing expedition for some conspiracy theory wild goose chase.”
I wondered if Tommy Lee had shared Archie’s revelations that the Sinclairs claimed to be in Witness Protection. I doubted he had, since they had no connection to Ferguson’s line of inquiry.
“Thanks for your help, Sid,” Tommy Lee said. “Whatever you can do to push this through the interdepartmental bureaucracy will be appreciated.”
Ferguson slid back his chair and stood. “Well, we’ve got to stick together against the bureaucrats.” He shook Tommy Lee’s hand and then held onto it. “There is one possibility that I want you to watch out for.”
“What’s that?”
“What if Toby McKay attacked Commissioner James because he was ordered to? If he was in debt and threatened, he might have been coerced.”
Tommy Lee smiled. “Who’s offering conspiracy theories now?”
Ferguson dropped the sheriff’s hand and shook mine. “I know it’s unlikely, but even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while.”
“Or a one-eyed sheriff,” Tommy Lee said.
We walked Special Agent Ferguson out of the department. After goodbyes, I told Tommy Lee I had some new information. I picked up my Internet research from Marge and returned to his office. I repeated my conversation with the Forest Glen representative, the coincidence of Robert Sinclair’s broken leg, and the death in prison of a New Jersey mobster named Bobby Santona. I gave him the copies of the newspaper articles of Santona’s conviction and that someone close to him had betrayed him.
He read everything twice. “Do you know when the Sinclairs moved to Gainesboro?”
“No. I guess we find out when they bought their house. If it’s more than four years ago, then we can rule them out.”
“I’ll send Marge to the courthouse to check the register of deeds. Even if it’s within the last four years, I’d like to hold off and see whether Archie learns their names through his insurance scheme. That will be extra ammunition when I confront the marshals.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Tommy Lee glanced at his watch. “It’s one-thirty now. When was Rufus’ funeral?”
“Eleven.”
“See if you can track down his son. I want to know when he’s seeing the attorney. Rufus’ new business partner is still our most significant person of interest.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Yeah?” Tommy Lee barked.
Marge stuck her head in. “Roger Taylor’s here. He’d like to see you or Barry.”
Tommy Lee looked at me. “So much for your tracking.” He turned back to Marge. “Send him in. And then I want you to look up the residence of a Robert and Janet Sinclair. Find out from public records when they purchased it.”
Tommy Lee and I stood, ready to receive our timely guest.
Roger Taylor came in wearing an ill-fitting charcoal gray suit that had to be from his father’s closet. I realized he’d had no other option to wear at the funeral.
Without a word of greeting, he blurted out, “I just came from the attorney. He said my dad came in a few months ago and updated his will. He left everything to me, including the store. It’s debt-free. There’s no partner. No partner at all.”
Chapter Fourteen
Roger Taylor was clearly happy with the news. His father had specifically named him as his heir and set up the business to cleanly transfer to him with no partner attached. Roger said the attorney, Bert Graves, was listing the restored Camino pickup and the discovered cash as part of the estate to be moved through probate as quickly as possible.
“I want to sell the store as fast as I can,” Roger said. “Mr. Graves told me I need to get someone to keep the store open so it doesn’t lose its value. I don’t know nothing about running a store, so he’s suggesting we find a possible buyer with a lease-to-purchase deal. You know, run the store for the estate until everything clears and I can sell it outright.”
While Roger was talking, I was coming to grips with the no-partner setback. My theory that Rufus had been directed by some criminal element who had bought into his business had just evaporated. But if Rufus was doing the EBT card scam on his own, why had he told his son he had a partner? Was it to explain the cash influx, or was this partner silent, so silent that he didn’t want his name appearing on any documents? If that was the case, Roger might soon find himself confronted by threats and intimidation.
Roger Taylor cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. “Mr. Graves wanted to know why you had taken my father’s cash. He called it liquidity that I’ll need for legal fees and probate taxes. He wants to know what evidence you have that it’s linked to any crime.”
Tommy Lee nodded thoughtfully. “Well, Roger, we’re in the middle of a murder investigation. The cash could have been the motive. Maybe somebody knew about it and tried to force your father to hand it over. Until I’ve had a reasonable amount of time to pursue our leads, that cash is staying locked in a safe in our evidence room. And if the store was as profitable as it appears, you might want to rethink your rush to sell it. Tell your employer you need a leave of absence. Show this community the Taylors don’t turn tail and run.”
Roger reddened. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“Well, you did say you didn’t want to get shot. But I was thinking about all those friends and neighbors who shop at the store. What will they say? Someone murders your father and you don’t stay around to push us to find the killer? You put some stranger in the business, assuming you can find someone, while you disappear?”
Roger ran his fingers through his hair. “But I’ve got a job. My boss man will fire me.”
“Maybe. Or maybe he’ll think differently if I tell him you’re helping me with the investigation.”
Roger’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Your father told you he had a partner, right?”
“Yeah, but the partnership must not have worked out. My dad owned the store free and clear.”
We were still standing. Roger’s announcement about his meeting with the lawyer had catapulted us into the conversation without any of us sitting down.
Tommy Lee gestured to one of the guest chairs. “Have a seat, Roger. We need to talk.”
We sat, Tommy Lee behind his desk and Roger and me side-by-side across from him.
The sheriff pointed a finger at the nervous young man. “Just because there’s not a legal document doesn’t mean someone else wasn’t involved in your father’s business.”
“You mean like a silent partner?”
“More like an invisible partner,” Tommy Lee said. “We don’t know how silent he was when it came to dealing with your father. We don’t know what kind of leverage might have been applied that doesn’t show up in legal paperwork. Do you get my point?”
Roger shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “You’re saying he might have cross
ed the wrong people.”
“I’m saying he was gunned down by what looks like a professional hit. You don’t know anything about that, do you?”
Roger threw up his hands. “Good God, no. I keep telling you my dad told me nothing about his business, other than he claimed he had a partner. And he only mentioned it once last year.”
“Then your ignorance is your best protection. You run the store as the inheriting son and you might get contacted.”
“By who?”
“That’s the damn point. We want to know who. I’m sure any inquiry you get will be very low-key. You let us know. We take it from there. You’re helping us find your father’s killer, Roger. Isn’t that important to you?”
His eyes teared. He nodded his head.
“Then I’ll talk to your boss in Winston-Salem, and I’ll speak to Bert Graves. But I don’t want you to tell either of them what we’re doing. I don’t care that Bert is your lawyer, it’s strictly between the three of us. I’ll release the money and any claim on the Camino. And if there’s anything I can do to waive estate restrictions, I will. You should start going through your father’s records of accounts payable to find his suppliers. They’ll be helpful because they want you to be successful so that you’ll be a continuing client. Are we good?”
“What if whoever killed my father is watching me? What if they saw me come in here?”
“Anybody asks you, you came in because your lawyer told you to talk to us about the cash we found in your father’s house. That’s been resolved. From now on, you talk to Barry. You can do it through the funeral home. People will just think you’re settling up your father’s affairs.” Tommy Lee looked at me. “Can you have Roger pay on some kind of installment plan so there’s a record of an ongoing relationship?”
“Yes. That’s no problem.”
“And if I feel threatened?” Roger asked.
“We pull you out,” Tommy Lee promised.
Roger was shaken, but he agreed to do it. Tommy Lee had him sign a receipt for the cash and then we ushered him out the back door.
“You think he’s up to it?” I asked when we returned to Tommy Lee’s office.
“Not if he gets severely threatened. Then I’ll yank him immediately. But I think it will be a light approach, if anything. The smart move would be to leave him alone. That’s why I don’t think he’s in any danger.”
“Then why do it?”
“Because we’re fishing. The more lines we have in the water, the better chance of a strike.”
“What other lines have we got?”
Tommy Lee grinned. “I’m glad you asked that question. How would you feel about going on food stamps?”
I waited until Susan and I had finished supper and we were sitting on the back deck, enjoying the fresh air of a clear, mild evening. I was drinking Chardonnay. Susan, opting for Italian sparkling water, had poured herself a glass of Pellegrino.
I’d planned to talk to her about Mom’s newly found resolve to move to a retirement community with Uncle Wayne, but that conversation could wait. Tommy Lee had created a new priority.
When I’d asked Susan the night before to tell me all she ethically could about Robert Sinclair, I’d shared our suspicions about her patient and how he could have broken his leg in Paterson, New Jersey. She confirmed that the injury might have happened as many as twelve hours earlier, but that it had set nicely and she’d released him from her care just last week.
“We’ve had no new information on the Sinclairs,” I said, steering us into the topic I wanted.
“Nothing from Archie?”
“No. And it’s not the kind of thing he can push. They’ll either go for his idea or not. Or they might go for it but find some other insurance agent to handle it.”
“I still don’t understand how great an idea it is if one of them has to die to collect the money. I mean I understand why they have to get everything in their new names or else the policies are useless.”
“The way Archie explains it, the ownership is the key, not the beneficiary. The owner can cancel the policy and take the cash value, which would create a tax event for anything earned above the initial premium, but then those taxes are settled and the money is clean and paid to the new name. But, the more likely scenario is the owner will borrow cash from the policy. That’s not a taxable event. When the insured person dies, the death benefit simply pays off the loan and all taxes are avoided.”
“Can Archie monitor the policies?”
“He might be able to if the Sinclairs make him the agent of record. But all this could be happening and still not tie into our investigation of the deaths of Rufus and Sonny. Right now we’ve got Janet and Robert Sinclair as persons of interest because Archie told them about his pending conversation with Sonny. We’ve got Roger Taylor running his father’s store in the hopes that he might be approached by whomever is behind the EBT card scam. Tommy Lee now wants a third angle explored.”
“What?”
“The list of convenience stores we found in the saddlebag of Sonny’s motorcycle.”
“Sounds like you’ll need to go through a federal or state agency.”
“That’s one avenue, but do you think Tommy Lee is the kind of sheriff who outsources his investigation?”
Susan laughed. “Hardly.”
“So, he’s asked me to go undercover.”
Her laughter abruptly ceased. “What?”
“He wants me to get an EBT card and use it at some of the stores in counties where I won’t be recognized.”
She set her glass on the deck beside her chair and turned to me. “I don’t think that’s a good idea at all. Two men were murdered.”
“Which is why we’ve got to get to the bottom of this. Honey, that’s my job.”
Even in the evening shadows, I could see her jaw clench. I realized how both “Honey” and “that’s my job” sounded so condescending. I changed tack. “I’ll just be buying stuff. I won’t be arresting or confronting anyone on my own. We’re just looking for a way in. Tommy Lee hopes Archie, Roger Taylor, or I will catch a break and then he’ll move with a full team. That could include the SBI, U.S. Marshals, and whoever else might have a jurisdictional claim. But first we’ve got to proceed with caution and discretion. At this point, Tommy Lee’s fishing and we don’t want to scare off the fish.”
“At this point?” Susan repeated sarcastically. “Barry, that is the point. You’re bait, and you don’t know whether you’re being dropped into a pool of guppies or sharks.”
She picked up her glass of water and went into the house. Democrat padded after her. I guess even my dog was mad at me.
I took a healthy gulp of wine. Susan will cool off, I thought. It was my fault for not using the most tactful tone in sharing my new assignment. I would tiptoe around the eggshells our conversation had created and apologize for dismissing her concern.
I’d talk to Tommy Lee about any safeguards we might employ. The EBT card should be in my real name so I didn’t have to remember an alias or worry someone might yell “Barry” in a store. I’d limit myself to counties the farthest away. And I’d have to improvise a subtle approach that didn’t raise any suspicion I was an undercover cop.
I drained the wineglass and got up. I didn’t want Susan and me going to bed with any anger smoldering between us. I’d bounce these ideas off her and ask for any additional suggestions. In fact, the argument actually made me feel good. It’s hard to be angry when you know the other person’s action was motivated by only one thing—love for you.
Chapter Fifteen
I met Tommy Lee in his office the next morning at seven. The Mr. Coffee pot was already half gone, letting me know he’d been working for at least an hour. He greeted me with a hot mug and a single photocopy of a list in his handwriting.
“We’re accumulating moving parts,” he said. “This isn’t the bi
g whiteboard like they have on the TV cop shows, but it’s good enough for you and me.”
I studied the page. At the top he’d written:
The whole list read…
I read the list a second time. “Why the question mark beside Archie and Roger?”
“Because there isn’t much we can do about them. We can only react.”
“What about setting up a check-in schedule? Not make it their decision when to report.”
He nodded. “All right. Work out what’s best for you. I guess the funeral home is still the logical choice.”
“You’ve got me down for surveillance on the Sinclairs. Is that a solo gig?”
“I thought we’d get double mileage out of your undercover role. Archie says Robert Sinclair’s a manufacturer’s rep. If he travels, you can pick a couple of days at random to see if that’s what he really does. And you can make EBT purchases if those travels take you near any of the suspected stores.”
I set the list on his desk. “I want to talk about that. There are certain conditions I’d like to discuss.”
Tommy Lee pursed his lips and gave me a penetrating one-eyed stare. “Conditions? What? You want combat pay?”
I wasn’t going to throw Susan under the bus for worrying about me or even mention the discussion she and I had the night before. “No. Call them safeguards. I want to approach stores that aren’t in adjacent counties. It reduces the risk of running into someone I know. And we should get the card in my name, just in case I do cross paths with someone who knows me. With our luck, it will be as I’m checking out.”
“All right. We still have to work out the best way to get a card. You can’t go applying through our local social services.”
“I might have a way around that.” I told him about Commissioner James’ offer to help.
“Get on it right away,” Tommy Lee ordered. “Stress that the fewer people who know about it, the better. What else?”
“Money. We need some way to fund the account.”
Secret Undertaking Page 13