“They sound terrifying. Tell me about the Barrow case.”
I hung my head. “It’s embarrassing, Mary Ann. You’re not going to like it, but trust me, I learned from it.”
“Frank, there’s no judging here. I’m your partner and friend.”
“It was the first homicide case that I had real input on. It was sort of a high-profile case, as the victim was the niece of a county official. I worked the case with an old-timer, Bob Stone, who was a year away from retiring. I thought it’d be a real learning experience, working with a veteran, but it was almost the complete opposite. This poor girl was strangled with a rope and found in the woods of a park less than a mile from her home. Right away the focus went on the ex-boyfriend, a kid named Dominick Barrow. They’d broken up just two weeks before she was found dead. The girl had ended the year-long relationship, crushing Barrow.”
I took a sip of water and continued.
“Given the relationship, I knew the kid was a primary suspect, but Barrow had no record and we had no forensic evidence. We brought the kid in and got nothing other than an admission he was distraught over the relationship. But we did catch him in a lie. He said he’d been nowhere near the park on the day she went missing, but CCTV footage had him walking out of the park. He couldn’t explain it and never changed his story. That bothered me, but when I pushed Stone to broaden the search for other suspects it went nowhere. A search of Barrow’s house turned up a rope that the medical examiner said could be the murder weapon. The problem for me was there wasn’t any forensic evidence to tie it to the body. Stone was adamant, though, said the kid could’ve cut off the part he used or had bought two ropes.”
“Oh boy, sounds flimsy.”
“It was, but the brass was pushing for closure, claiming pressure from the Freeholders, that’s the name of the town, Freehold, and when a kid came out of nowhere to say that Barrow had recently strangled a stray cat, it was game over for Barrow.”
“What happened?”
“I knew we didn’t have enough. I felt it was less than circumstantial. Even if the kid did strangle a cat, it’s sickening and cruel, but killing another human being is a long leap. Stone wanted to arrest the kid, but I said it was too early and that we needed more. Next thing I know, Stone and the captain, this bastard named Kilihan, they corner me, asking me if I’m a team player or not. What’s to lose by arresting him? Maybe he confesses, they say. So, I go against my better judgment and agree to sign off on it.” I shook my head and said, “Well, we arrest this poor kid, and the kid hangs himself the first night in custody.”
“Oh Jesus.”
“I know, it gets worse. Of course, the parents blamed us for the death of their kid, who they said was innocent, and less than three months later someone confesses to the murder.”
“That’s a tough one, partner.”
“Tell me about it.”
“It’s completely understandable that you are overwhelmed by guilt, but you’ve got to put it into context. It wasn’t your decision alone.”
“Yeah, but I could’ve prevented it.”
“Remember you were a rookie, Frank. You didn’t have any pull.”
“I could’ve went to the press.”
Vargas shook her head. “You wouldn’t have done that. You couldn’t put your neck that far out. That would’ve been the end of your career.”
“Maybe.”
“No maybes. You had a role, a minor one, Frank, but if you didn’t go along with it, do you honestly believe they wouldn’t have brought the kid in? Cut yourself a break. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to remember the kid didn’t help himself with the misleading alibi.”
I shrugged. She had a point, but I had chewed this over and over and over. I said, “But don’t you think it was terrible to go along?”
“Let me ask you a question. If nobody confessed to the strangulation, would you feel better about it?”
“Of course.”
“But that wouldn’t mean this Barrow kid did it, right?”
“But we would’ve kept investigating.”
“Do you really believe that? If the kid was getting framed he wouldn’t have a chance.”
“Something might have come up.”
“You can continue to beat yourself up over it, but that isn’t going to change anything. Accept it, you made a mistake, but the reality is, even if you would’ve tried to buck the pressure, the kid was going to be arrested. No doubt in my mind, and if you’re honest with yourself you’d see it as well. It’s time to move on, Frank. This was over ten years ago.”
“You’re probably right.”
“You’ve been through a tremendous amount of stress, Frank. It’s completely normal to experience unsettling dreams, but you can help yourself by letting go of this unfortunate case. Promise me you’ll try.”
I nodded.
Mary Ann said, “Now the vision of your cancer coming back is typical. It’s a natural fear, and, though you have a clean bill of health, is completely normal. You had a brush with death, and you would have experienced these visions even without the lingering guilt over the Barrow case. But they wouldn’t have been so severe. Somewhere in your mind, you think you should be punished for the Barrow case and that’s why you got cancer. Do you understand that, Frank?”
I had to think that through. “It makes sense. I didn’t connect the two.”
“The cancer you can’t control, but the guilt you can. Does that help?”
Something clicked, not a mountain mover, but I understood the logic. “More than you’d think. Thanks, Mary Ann. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime, anytime. Look, I hate to run, but I got to get to court.”
***
Mary Ann was something. What she said made complete sense; she nailed it. There was no doubt I was going try my hardest to let the Barrow case go. At a minimum, I owed it to myself and to her. She deserved it. I wonder why she never got married. Maybe being a cop pushed away a lot of suitors. It was a shame. Vargas was a sweet, understanding woman, and she was a pretty good looker as well. She deserved someone who could appreciate her, but there were a lot of whackos out there.
Speaking of whack jobs got me back to Stewart. What an enigma. I thought about my visit with him, which kept bothering me. Even though the car thing panned out, there was no doubt Stewart didn’t like seeing me at his door. To be fair, all people, even the most honest Abes, are nervous around cops. But Stewart? I thought I could smell fear coming off him.
He wasn’t as neatly dressed as usual, and his place was messy. But I’d come unannounced. Maybe he was like everybody and straightened up only when people were coming around. But the way he had held back information smelled like he was protecting somebody. The likeliest prospect was Robin, but I wasn’t seeing her as a killer any longer.
I felt kinda pissed at myself that I’d pushed the theory that she and Phil planned this to collect the insurance money. That theory imploded when Gabelli’s swollen body was pulled out of Clam Pass. The conspiracy part went up in smoke, but that didn’t mean she had nothing to do with the death of her husband. Her bank account was sitting on three million dollars of motivation. Plus, she had a sack full of marital problems.
Chapter 44
Luca
Sometimes you gotta go after things like crazy, and sometimes they just fall in your lap. I finished the call and hung up the phone.
“You’re not gonna believe this, Vargas, but that was Goren.”
“Who?”
“The guy who owned that construction firm, Simmons Construction, that Gabelli worked for.”
“Oh yeah, he was a creep. He’d nearly drooled when I went to see him.”
“Oh, so I’ve got something in common with him then?”
Vargas smiled, and I thought there was a hint of a blush in her cheeks.
“Anyway, he said they uncovered what he said looked like fraud on a contract that Gabelli was responsible for.”
Vargas leaned forward. “They
think he was stealing?”
“Looks like that. Goren said Gabelli signed off on a wire for a project they were building in Barbados to a recipient whose name was close enough to pass. They followed the money, and as soon as the wire hit, it was bounced to another bank in Saint Martin before going to a bank in the Caymans, where it disappeared.”
“How much we talking?”
“Six hundred K.”
“Six hundred thousand is a lot of money. How did it take so long to surface?”
“He said it was a long-term, multi-building project that’d been going on for a couple of years, and when it was over a contractor said there was a balance due.”
“Now what?”
“They’re doing an audit, but this could be the crack in the egg.”
“No doubt.”
“Gabelli had good reason to hightail it, especially if they uncover anything else.”
Vargas nodded. “Or he was stealing to cover his gambling debts.”
“I don’t know, could be he covered his losses knowing this would surface and took off before it did.”
“Plausible.”
I had to agree. “Yeah, definitely in the mix, but I need more info before moving off him taking the dough and splitting, maybe even with another one of his playmates.”
“You think he was working the fraud with someone else, and when it came time for them to split the money Gabelli said no?”
I nodded. “Or he gambled the money away. Didn’t have it, and he finally got whacked.”
My cell buzzed. It was Kayla. I headed outside and answered, “Hello.”
“Frank, hi, it’s Kayla.”
“Hey, how you doing?”
“I’m doing good, but how are you feeling?”
“A hundred and fifty percent. Everything’s back to normal.”
“That’s great. What happened?”
“I had to have some surgery, had a couple of small tumors in my bladder, of all places.”
“Oh my God. That must have been scary for you.”
“Let’s say I didn’t need the drama, especially in the middle of my first date with you-know-who.”
“I called to check on you, you know.”
“Thanks, my partner told me. I wanted to call you, but I didn’t have your number, and things were crazy, to say the least.”
“But everything’s good now?”
“Absolutely. I was out of commission for a couple of months. I was going out of my mind with nothing to do.”
“Me, I would’ve been at the beach every day.”
“I went often enough, but, anyway, I had a bit of a time hunting down your number. You’d make a good spy.”
It sounded like music when she laughed. “Not really.”
“It’d be great to get together again. Besides, I still owe you a dinner. You happen to have any plans to come back down?”
“I’d love to, but at the moment I’ve been helping out my parents. My dad had one of his lungs removed.”
“Sorry to hear. How’s he doing?”
“Pretty good now. He had the surgery about four months ago and was doing well but developed a bad infection and had to be hospitalized again. Then he was in rehab for a while, but now he’s starting to bounce back.”
“Must be tough on your mother.”
“It is. My dad did everything, and now Mom is scurrying around trying to cover the bases while working full time.”
“Well, you’re doing the right thing being there for them.”
“I’m really happy to help them. But it’s not like I don’t want to scream at times.” She laughed.
“I’ll bet.”
We chatted about the weather, her job, and then what cases I was working before we starting winding down the call.
“I used all of my time off and more with the surgery and all, but maybe I’ll sneak up and see you for a weekend.”
“That’d be nice.”
“Great. Maybe in a couple weeks, would that work for you?”
“I’d love it, but let’s wait till things settle down with my dad. I hate for you to come up here and I’m tied up with them.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 45
Luca
Robin didn’t seem surprised to see us, which left me wondering as we took seats in swivel chairs. She wasn’t flirty this time. Was it because Vargas was around, or had she been toying with me?
She said, “Is there something you have to tell me about Phil?”
Vargas said, “We have some questions to ask you about your husband and the work he was doing.”
“His job? What’s that got to do with his murder?”
I said, “Did you know that your husband was involved in a scheme, defrauding his employer?”
Her shoulders slumped. “Phil was stealing?”
Vargas said, “You had no knowledge of it?”
“Of course not! I don’t understand. What was going on?”
I said, “Phil was managing the Sweet Bay project for Simmons. A large payment he personally requested was made and wired to an account unrelated to the contractor.”
“I’m not sure I understand. Why would Simmons wire money to a different party?”
Vargas said, “The money was sent to a Sweet Bay account, but it had nothing to do with a project he was managing. It seems he, and we believe a coconspirator, set up an account under a name very similar, in this case Sweet Bay LLC versus Sweet Bay Resort.”
“How much money are we talking about?”
“Six hundred large,” I said.
She gasped, “Six hundred million?”
I said, “No, six hundred thousand.”
“Oh, when you said large I thought—”
I countered, “From where I come from, a hundred K is large.”
Vargas said, “Not much compared to three million, is it?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, just bringing up the insurance money.”
“That has nothing to do with—”
“Ladies, let’s get back to the money, it seems, was stolen by Robin’s husband.”
“Are you sure Phil was involved?”
I said, “I’m afraid there’s no doubt. He ordered the wire. The money didn’t stay at the first bank for longer than an eyeblink. Then it bounced to at least three other institutions before disappearing in the Cayman Islands.”
“Someone could have made it look like he requested the wire.”
I said, “True, but his name was on an account, at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Barbados, I think it was. There aren’t any Philip Gabellis in Barbados. And the account was opened remotely from a branch in Fort Myers. That’s not a coincidence, ma’am, we call it evidence.”
Robin slumped further in her chair but remained silent.
Vargas said, “Do you know about any accounts your husband may have had at a bank or credit union?”
“None that I know of.”
I said, “Is there anyone you can think of that may have been involved with your husband on this?”
“I still can’t believe he did this, no less anyone helping him.”
“We know Phil liked to gamble, and he got himself in a couple of jams, owing the wrong people money.”
“All’s he had to do was come to me, like he did in the past.”
I said, “But didn’t you tell Dom Stewart that you were sick of bailing Phil out of his gambling holes?”
“You think I liked throwing my hard-earned money to a bookie to cover his losses? Of course, I was pissed, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t help him.”
I said, “Maybe he had the sense you wouldn’t. Maybe the bookies were putting pressure on him. Maybe he had nowhere to turn to and the pressure made him steal.”
“So, it’s my fault?”
Vargas said, “That’s not what he’s saying.”
I asked, “What do you think is more likely, that he stole the money to pay off a gambling debt, or he st
ole the money and was going to use it to start a new life somewhere else?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore. This is crazy: he disappears, is found murdered, and now this? You really think it was him?”
I said, “It sure looks that way.”
“Well, I can assure you I had no idea about it and find it hard to believe. There has to be an explanation.”
I said, “We’re going to keep investigating this.”
***
We got back into our car.
“This is some neighborhood, Vargas. You see the white one on the left? That’s my favorite.”
“The houses are nice, but I don’t like it back here.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know, no sidewalks, and it kinda has an old feel to it.”
“You’d make a good agent, maybe when you retire.”
“No, thanks.”
When we pulled onto Pine Ridge, I said, “I don’t know, Vargas. It’s not adding up. He steals the money, or so we think.”
“How can you say that? His hands are all over this.”
“True, so let’s say he organizes the scheme. Steals the six hundred K to cover a gambling debt or to run away to some Caribbean island.”
“Exactly.”
“So how does he end up at the bottom of Clam Pass?”
“He gets the money, pays off his debt, and he pisses off the mob and they crush him.”
“Nah. Gabelli’s an ATM for them. With numbers like six hundred K they’d get him limos.”
“Okay, he gets the money, and someone unrelated to the bookmakers knows about it and that leads to his murder.”
“I don’t buy the gambling angle. We would’ve heard something if he was into Fingers for six hundred K. And don’t forget, they’d be stalking the missus if the debt was still out there.”
“So why did he steal the money?”
“Does the money mean anything?”
“Of course, it does.”
“If anything, he was planning to disappear. That kinda fits, as you’d think the theft would surface sooner or later. Unless he had some way of keeping it hidden.”
“These things always surface. That’s why a lot of firms force people to take two weeks in a row off.”
Luca Mystery Series Box Set Page 36