Figure Eight

by Jeff Nania

  Later that day, Derek’s client calls him and invites him to dinner with some of the principals involved in the new company. The client tells Derek that they just want to meet him, but the client’s recommendation would carry a lot of weight. The dinner was just a meet and greet. They have this dinner at a private home on the Namekagon River. They wine and dine Derek, and after dinner everyone is sitting around, and they get down to business. The dinner host, one David Stone, explains that it is highly unusual to bring someone in at this late date, but he often thought of having a lawyer on their team, and this may be an opportunity for all concerned. The shares are quite a bit of money, several hundred thousand bucks a piece.

  Derek buys the whole thing hook, line, and sinker.

  The problem is that our buddy here doesn’t have enough cash or credit available to get the money. So he does what every red-blooded American officer of the court does, and he makes himself temporary loans out of several trust funds, mostly for elderly people, which he is supposed to be managing. In fact, he takes the whole amount plus a little extra. Then surprise, surprise, a month later, the new company opens and within a couple of weeks it is down the tubes, being examined by the SEC. Now Derek finds himself neck deep in loon poop. He just lost all of the clients’ money he had stolen. He goes to Stone who says, “too bad.” Oftentimes investments that have the greatest possible return will also have the greatest risk. Anderson pleads with him and spills his guts about where he got the money. That is when Stone sets the hook.

  He knows Derek is handling Uncle Nick’s affairs. He can help Derek out of the spot he’s in if Derek can get Uncle Nick to sell him the property. Derek tries everything he can do to get Uncle Nick to sell, including bringing him an offer for a lot more than the market price. When that doesn’t work, he tries several different cons, but Uncle Nick is too smart for that and fires his sorry butt. Nick demands all his records and files. But before he complies Nick gets run down, so Anderson remains the attorney of record. Stone gives him a choice: get the property or he will expose Anderson’s embezzlement.

  “That, my friends, is it in a nutshell. Our friend Derek here is a thief, a con man, and a liar. He thought he was smart enough to play with the big boys. Instead, he got played by the big boys. Now they own him. Right, Derek? They own your sorry ass, don’t they?”

  Anderson looked down but didn’t answer. Often at this stage in an investigation, things will start to stall. The cooperative considers being less cooperative. Reminders are always good. I gave Derek a reminder, and after he picked himself up off the ground, he remembered our agreement and once again began to cooperate.

  “Back to my question. They own you now, don’t they?”

  “I–I–I don’t know how I got in this deep. I can’t believe this. Yes, they own me. They own me and everything I have. These guys seemed so successful, and I thought this was my big chance. I am so sick of being a lawyer in a little town when some of my law school classmates are making huge salaries. I’m stuck here.”

  I dangled both a stick and a carrot. “Well, who knows, you worthless sonuvabitch. Maybe you help us, and there might be some light at the end of the tunnel for you. But let me be clear. You double-cross us and you’re done, over. You’ll be somebody’s prison playmate, and I will make sure of it. Here is what I need to know. Who are the characters here? Who’s involved front and center, and who is off in the wings?”

  While I waited for his answer, I couldn’t help but notice how he had changed since our first meeting. There was no polish left on this apple. He was dirty and soaking wet. He had a look of hollowness. His tanning booth color had faded, gray roots had started to show in his hair, and he had bags under his eyes. He looked like hell, which pleased me to no end.

  “Now, Anderson. Start talking now.”

  He hesitated a second but gave in. “David Stone is the big guy. He is the one running the whole project. He’s got some partners somewhere, because he has to check back with them on things sometimes. He is as mean as they come, but I got a feeling one of his partners is really dangerous. Stone might not be afraid of him, but he sure treats him with kid gloves. Once I asked him who his partners were. He laughed and told me that I should hope that I never meet them.

  “All those guards he has, they shoot to kill. I think there may even be some bodies buried out there. I’m surprised they didn’t shoot you when they caught you.”

  “Who is the client that hooked you up with Stone in the first place? Who brought you the investment idea?”

  “A college classmate of mine. He bought a big second home on Twin Lake and started coming around. He had it all. He worked for a securities firm in the cities—big house, fancy car, beautiful wife, and money to spend. He convinced me that the difference between being wealthy or not was dependent on opportunity. Once the opportunity presents itself, you have got to be willing to jump quick. That’s how money is made. He even let me in on a development partnership in the cities. I just gave him the money, and he doubled it in a month. It was so easy for him.

  “It was right after that that he had me draw up papers for a limited liability company to hold a piece of property. I knew something was strange, but I just figured that was how big money guys went, so I went along with it and filed the paperwork on an LLC. I agreed to be the principal agent, but I don’t have any idea who else was involved. Honest, I never met them or knew their names. They paid me to run things. I knew it was a conflict because the property was right next to your uncle’s land in part of the mine acquisition area. I shouldn’t have done it, but I did. They never told me why the secrecy, but I knew the new mine was potential big business, and if I wanted to cash in, I had to take the opportunity.”

  “You have no idea who the partners are in this LLC?”

  “Not really, except that I know they buried that LLC in a couple of others. They were making an effort to keep things as secret as possible. I also think one of the guys is local. Stone said something to that effect once. He didn’t mean to and didn’t elaborate.”

  “Any idea who that might be?”

  “No idea.”

  “Just so you understand, Derek, hold back one little piece of information from me, and I will make certain that the next many years of your already pathetic life become worse than you ever dreamed.”

  “Jesus, Cabrelli. I don’t know. I really don’t know. I thought I was a player in this, but I’m not. I am just a stupid small-town lawyer who threw his life and career down a rat hole. I do what they tell me, and they do not confide in me. They made it seem like I was on the inside at the beginning, but that was when they got me. Once they had me, they treated me like a gopher. You might as well know that I gave them copies of your uncle’s files that Jonas had put together. They knew that he was not going to be able to fight the condemnation proceeding. After that, they didn’t even take my calls. Then your uncle was run over, and died. He had sent me a formal letter firing me and telling me that he wanted me to turn over all his records and files within ten days. I just threw the letter away and held onto the files. I went to Stone and told him that I figured I had a pretty good chance of getting your uncle’s property because you’re from the city, and I didn’t expect that you would have that much interest. I was wrong.”

  “You offered me two million for a property worth one. How much is it really worth to those guys?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but I did some research on my own. The property is the key to the whole mining operation. Without your uncle’s land, no mine. The speculators think the mine will have profits in the billions, and from what I see, that would be accurate.”

  “What do you get out of this?”

  “If I can get you to sell, they pay off my debts and give me a substantial amount of stock in the mine.”

  “How do you know they wouldn’t just take advantage of you again?”

  “I don’t, but they were getting a little more anxious and trying to push things faster. I told them I would need something
down to cover my efforts. I figured at that point I had nothing to lose. They gave me some cash up front.”

  “Enough to pay back those you stole from?”

  “Not that much.”

  “They needed to keep their hooks in you.”

  “I guess so.”

  “When I was in your office the other day, you wanted me to sign some papers. When I wanted to see them, you dumped coffee all over them. What didn’t you want me to see?”

  He looked down before he answered, “Mineral rights… reassignment of mineral rights. It was an original form that your uncle had Jonas prepare. In case it became evident that he was going to lose in court, he planned to give the mineral rights away to an unspecified third party, probably one of the tribes. I figured if you signed it too then it would be difficult to dispute its legitimacy.”

  “That was your hole card. Once you had that, you could offer to fill in the mining company’s name and sell the document to Stone and company. You are truly a slimy bastard, Derek. You even give bad lawyers a bad name. When you spilled coffee, didn’t you ruin the original along with my uncle’s signature?”

  “I did. I panicked.’’

  “Well, Derek, what was your next move?”

  “I didn’t have one. I just needed to get you to sell.”

  Bud and Julie sat quietly, listening to the exchange between Derek and me. To them, I am sure this was unlike anything they had ever experienced. A real-life crime drama unfolding before their eyes.

  Julie was the first to speak. “John, we need to take this to Chief Timmy. He will know what to do and how to handle this. We’re getting ourselves in a real situation, and I am afraid this is going to get more out of control than it already is.”

  “Can’t do it,” I replied. “Derek and I have a deal, and we’re going to work things out my way. You and Bud need to step away from this. When I have the information I need to put Uncle Nick’s killer away, then and only then will I go to the chief. Until then, I’ve got work to do, and unless I miss my guess, this thing is about to start to unravel itself. I am just going to help the process along.”

  I turned to Derek. “All right, Counselor. You remember what we talked about on the dock and what I want you to do, right?’’

  “I understand. If this works out, you promised to help me,” he whined.

  “I stick to my deal, you stick to yours. Now get your ass out of here.”

  As he started to get in his car to leave, I remembered one last question. “Hey, Derek, one thing more. What’s the deal with Lawler? Is he one of Stone’s guys?’’

  “He is a thug. He comes around to make sure I’m doing what they want me to do. He works for the chief, but he’s got to be one of Stone’s. He knows too much not to be. Anything else?”

  “Nope. Have a nice rest of the day, Counselor. We’ll be in touch. Get yourself a Leinies and an order of cheese curds. It’ll make you feel better.”

  With that, Anderson left.

  The silence was palpable as Julie, Bud, and I looked at each other. We were at the edge of the cliff. I was ready to jump. They were deciding whether to pull me back, hold my hand and jump with me, or just let me go. I told them that from here on out this was a one-man operation. I had to move fast, and too many people involved could put all of us in danger. I told them that in the unlikely event that something happened to me they should go to Lieutenant J.J. Malone in Madison and tell him all they knew; he would know what to do.

  When Anderson got back to town, he was going to bait the hook for me. I was just going to watch the bobber. When it went under, I’d set the hook and see what I had on the other end. Julie and Bud protested, and I put that down. They needed to go about their business. Julie had plans with a bunch of students to visit an island and do some water quality monitoring and wildlife observations as part of a DNR study. Bud had promised to help a guy down the lake repair his dock. They needed to go on like normal for things to work.

  A minute later, any potential for further discussion was interrupted when the beat-up old school van driven by Julie’s aide pulled in and a dozen kids spilled out with exuberance that demanded immediate attention. Julie went quickly into teacher mode, gathering the kids around and getting them all facing her. She told the kids to say hello to Bud and me and then proceeded to outline the day’s work.

  Bud checked his tools, and when he was satisfied he had all that he needed, he got in his truck and headed out for the day.

  I grabbed a cup of coffee for the road, got in the car, and drove to town. I would narrow the field of suspects immediately if they were as motivated as I thought they were. Too much at stake not to move, especially if they saw a chance to get what they wanted. No more muss, no more fuss. Cash deal and I go away, a lot of cash, but looking at the stakes, a fair price. I figured a businessman like Stone couldn’t resist.

  Musky Falls was hustling and bustling. Families were strolling on Main Street. Good thing I was still full from breakfast, because they were lined up out the door at the Musky Falls Bakery. I had to visit one person on my list of suspects and see if I could push him to make a move. I drove up and parked as close as I could to the jewelry store. I went in and saw that the place was packed. Ron was busy waiting on two large women who were considering buying a huge gaudy necklace, which I am sure was expensive as hell. He had them eating out of the palm of his hand. He excused himself and told me to go into the back room and wait for him. I did.

  One of his staff was watching the monitors. I asked him if he had caught any bad guys today and he told me, “No.”

  A few minutes passed, and Ron came in telling his worker to take his place in the showroom.

  “Hey, John. What have you been up to?” he asked.

  “Just been busy trying to figure things out.”

  “Got any ideas on who killed Nick?’’

  “I’ve got some ideas. Nothing concrete yet.”

  “Well, how can I help you, John?”

  “I just got one question that maybe you can answer.”

  “Go for it,” Ron replied.

  “When did Uncle Nick first see the bird? I don’t need an exact time and date, just a general time frame.”

  “Huh?” Ron responded. “Bird?”

  “The Kirtland’s warbler, the endangered species Uncle Nick found.”

  “Nick found an endangered species? Good for him! He was always on the lookout. I bet that made his day. A little funny he didn’t say anything, but who knows? I used to tell him that the real endangered species were men like him and me. Rose said just like the dinosaurs, maybe it was time for us to go extinct. What does this have to do with anything? Why do you care about a bird?”

  I decided to push it. “Whomever he told about the bird had something to do with killing him.”

  At that Ron gave me a stone-cold look. He didn’t move; he just stared into my eyes.

  “You think I might have had something to do with Nick’s death? Now, I’ll tell you what. Get out of my store before you find out what it’s like to get a real ass-kickin’. Don’t you ever show up here again. Your uncle was the best friend I ever had. He and Rose were my family. You waltz in here with some dumb shit notion about a bird, a bird… Get the hell out of here.”

  Ron got up and went back to the showroom. He sent one of his crew back in.

  Ron told the kid he sent to watch me and make sure I didn’t steal anything on the way out.

  Innocent? Or he who doth protest too much? I left. I didn’t make it to my car before Ron came charging after me.

  “John, hold up a minute. Just hold up.”

  I stopped and turned to face him head on, ready for whatever he was going to dish out.

  He stomped up and got nose to nose. “I get it, Cabrelli. You’re trying to poke the bear to get a reaction. Dangerous business doing that. You might be the second Cabrelli they find dead in Namekagon County if you keep it up.”

  “Is that a threat, Carver?”

  “No, it’s a warning.
Getting yourself killed won’t bring Nick back. I had nothing to do with Nick’s death, but I don’t expect you to trust anyone right now. That’s probably good. But I got a bad feeling about this, real bad. Watch your backside, boy.”

  Ron Carver turned on his heel and walked away.

  When I got back to my car, my cell phone message light was flashing. Unknown number. I checked messages and got one from Malone.

  “I got some info back from the feds. You are up to your ass in alligators right now. Call me ASAP. Don’t do anything until you talk to me. I mean it.”

  I called Bear. He answered on the first ring.

  “John, what did you step into? You were right. Something up there is not kosher, but Jesus. These guys you asked me about, David Stone and Brian Lawler, are major bad actors.”

  “What have you got, Bear?”

  “Let’s start with Lawler. You say he’s working as a cop?”

  “Yeah, Musky Falls PD. “

  “Well, Training and Standards has no record of him. He is not now, and has never been, a certified law enforcement officer in Wisconsin. Upon hiring, the department is supposed to file a set of prints with DOJ. Lawler’s prints are not on file. I was, however, able to pull up two photos of him: one a newspaper picture and another from the Musky Falls PD roster. I gave those to the feds, who once they found out it involved David Stone, jumped to run them through the facial recognition database and bam, they got a hit.

  “Lawler is actually a guy named Mark Lewis. Mark Lewis was a cop and was charged with three counts of misconduct in public office and one felony battery. He was never convicted. It seems that the key witness disappeared before the trial. Charges were dropped, and he agreed to leave the department. The gist of it was he was running an extortion racket in a part of his beat that had numerous businesses of questionable repute, as well as a thriving prostitution business. The prosecution claimed that Lawler, or Lewis, was shaking everyone down. They even suspected he was blackmailing some of those who had availed themselves of the local services. It looks like everything was based on the statements of one witness and some income and expenditures that didn’t jibe with stated income. Anyway, the witness disappeared and so did the case.