Chapter 34
MORE MEDIA
The probate code only gave me ninety days to file an inventory of Lottie West's estate. Obviously, I was nowhere near knowing the extent of her assets, so I filed a motion for an extension of time to file it. The probate judge granted the motion extending the deadline sixty more days. That still wasn't much time, but I was grateful for a little breathing room. The question now was how I would discover the rest of Lottie's assets?
After drafting letters to all the major banks in the city asking them to search their records for accounts or safety deposit boxes in Lottie's name, I decided to contact the SPCA and advise them of their interest in the estate. I hadn't contacted them earlier because, if the bulk of Lottie's estate turned out to be stolen property or the proceeds of stolen property, it might all be forfeited. The local director was ecstatic over the news that they might be receiving upwards of a half million dollars. When I told her not to start counting the money yet, her mood changed.
"Well, I'm going to contact the Attorney General. That's our money and we need it. Do you know how many dogs and cats we get in here every week?"
She was right. I had forgotten about the fact that the Attorney General of Texas was charged with the responsibility of representing charitable organizations. That's all I needed—more complications.
"Hey, I hope I can turn it over to you. I just wanted to warn you that until we know where the money came from, we can't distribute any of it. Besides, the police are holding a lot of it as evidence for now."
"How long until they release it?"
I gave her Detective Besch's telephone number and suggested she might want to talk to him about that since he was handling the investigation into Lottie's murder. She said she would. After I hung up, Jodie came in and advised me she had completed her research on the Ludinburg collection. I told her to sit down and tell me about it.
"Ludinburg is a small city of about 15,000 people in Saxony-Anhalt which is in central Germany. One of the oldest German cities, Ludinburg was fortified in 923 by Henry I. The castle, church, and convent were built from the 10th to the 14th century."
"What about the art treasures?" I asked.
"They belonged to the Lutheran Church and included a ninth-century illuminated Latin manuscript with jeweled encrusted cover; a printed manuscript with jeweled cover dating back to 1513; five crystal reliquary flasks with gilded and jeweled mounts; a small silver reliquary box; a carved ivory comb; and a reliquary casket decorated with jewels, gilt copper repousse plaques, and carved ivory inlays that belonged to Henry I, the First Saxon king who unified the German states in the early tenth century."
"So, did you talk to someone at the Ludinburg church?"
"No, they referred me to an investigator who had been looking for the treasure."
"What did he have to say?"
"He said that the search for the art treasures had ended years ago, but that if any of the treasures turned up to let him know. They are still offering a big reward for the return of the collection."
"Okay. Very interesting. Thanks."
Jodie nodded and left. Ten minutes later Jodie buzzed me on the intercom and said a reporter from the New York Times was on the phone. That surprised me because I didn't often get calls from out of state news organizations. Normally it was the Dallas Morning News or one of the local TV stations who called for information on cases we were handling. I took the call.
"Mr. Turner. This is Frank Beecham. I'm a free-lance reporter on assignment for the New York Times."
"Oh. Hi. What can I do for you?"
"We just got a tip that you have found the Ludinburg Collection. Can you confirm that?"
"Not exactly," I said.
I told him about Lottie West and the possibility that her late husband might have acquired the collection while in Germany. I cautioned him that we hadn't found it yet and that it might have been stolen again by the person who killed Lottie West. He said he was getting on the next plane to Dallas.
"I should be there by this evening. I'd like to meet with you first thing in the morning. Please don't talk to any other reporters. This could be the biggest story of my career."
"How did you find out about it?" I asked.
"Your secretary called the Ludinburg Church and asked about the collection. I've got friends there who passed on the information to me. I have been working this story for years and this is the first lead we've had in a long time."
"Well. Like I said, we haven't found the collection yet. I just hope it's not a waste of your time coming all the way to Dallas."
"From what you've told me, this may be the closest we've ever come to finding the Ludinburg Collection. Believe me. This is an important development with potentially great historical significance."
"Okay. I'll be seeing you soon then."
"You bet, and thank you so much for giving me this story."
"No problem."
The next morning Frank Beecham was in my office bright and early along with Detective Besch. He was a stout man of medium height and spoke with a strong German accent. I figured he must have been born in Germany and immigrated to the United States. I told him everything I knew about Lottie and William West and the sale of two pieces from the Ludinburg Collection to Zimmerman.
"We knew the collection was here somewhere in Texas. When the two pieces showed up in New York, we were able to trace the purchase money to Dallas. I spent two months here trying to identify the recipient of the funds, but the money went through a couple dummy corporations."
"Who owned the corporations?" Besch asked
"They were formed by an attorney who refused to identify his clients."
"Couldn't the police or the FBI force him to identify who they were?"
He shook his head. "They tried but when they finally got a court order compelling him to disclose their identity, he disappeared."
"What about his records, his staff—"
"He was a sole practitioner and every piece of paper in his office had been shredded by the time the police got there with a search warrant."
"Jesus," I said. "How frustrating that must have been."
"That's why I was so excited when I heard about your secretary's call."
We talked for another hour and both Besch and I promised him that we would do everything possible to find the Ludinburg Treasures. He thanked us and asked us to inform him immediately if there were any new developments. The next day Beecham's story came out in the New York Times. By noon Jodie was swamped with calls from reporters from all over the world.
Although all the media attention was exciting, it was a major distraction. Now suddenly, I was under great pressure to find the missing art treasures. Had this been the only case I had to worry about it wouldn't have been so bad. Unfortunately, I had fifty other cases to juggle and I needed to help Paula on the Jimmy Bennett case. I was getting a headache just thinking about it.
Black Monday, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 7 Page 34