CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“This is reminiscent of my ex-husband,” said Miriam, staring at the documents in front of her. “They’ve found ways to hide just about everything, making it look legitimate. It’s not just one set of fake books but three.”
“How can we be sure it’s not legitimate?” asked Rose. “I mean, I was a fraud expert for the bank, and sometimes, things that look illegal turn out to be just fine. I just want us to be sure.” Miriam nodded at her.
“They’re a construction company. Allegedly,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “No construction company I know of hires thirty-seven female carpenters from Peru, claiming the talent they need can’t be found here. We already know that it can be found here.”
“This receipt says they received eleven tons of Italian marble,” said Tinley.
“Okay. That fits with construction,” said Jean.
“No. Not if the Italian marble was imported from the Philippines. No one does that. No one.”
“The wood is inferior as well,” said Ella. “According to Grant, wood for buildings would need to be pre-treated for termites, water damage, things like that. All of this wood is listed as raw wood brought in from Canada, except the ship that brought it in didn’t come from Canada. It came from Cuba. Also, if you were bringing shipments of wood from Canada, you wouldn’t use a ship. You’d send it over land via trucks, trains, something faster and more direct.”
“Deanna’s father knew all of this. He knew it didn’t make any sense either and that’s why he took the files. He probably questioned everything and then was threatened if he didn’t find ways to make it all look legit. He refused to do business with them. He just didn’t realize that he was leaving a mess for his daughter,” said Jean.
“We need for her to remember what she saw that evening when those men killed her parents,” said Tinley. “I know it must be incredibly painful for her, but if she can identify the men responsible, we could really move forward with everything.”
“Or we could just kill Jackson and Douglass,” smirked Jean.
“As much as I love your big protective muscles,” smirked Ro, “we can’t kill everyone just because. Besides, maybe they’re not the heads of this snake.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Miriam.
“Look. The travel receipts have eighteen flights to Georgetown. Guyana.” Ro looked up at all the women and then at her husband. “Someone in Guyana is running this show, babe.”
Jean nodded at the beautiful brains staring in his direction. Sometimes, the men forgot how competent and talented their own wives were. This was one of those times. These women were figuring shit out that it might have taken them a few days or weeks.
“Guyana,” muttered Jean. “Do you know how fucked up that place is?”
“Nope,” said Miriam. “That’s where your muscles come into play. You big boys are going to need to find out who is behind all of this and stop it. We know Jackson and Douglass are in on it, but who is down in Guyana?”
“Hello, fellas,” smirked the acting police chief.
The man who was police chief had a heart attack a year ago and had been out on medical leave ever since. The men had noticed that things seemed to be running a bit looser, but they were about to find out just how loose.
“Boney,” nodded Gaspar. “How’s your daddy?” Hank Templet was from the bayou and had always been a stand-up lawman. He’d been chief of police before the current man.
“Alzheimer’s is eatin’ him up,” said Boney. “Most days doesn’t remember me or my sisters, and he damn sure don’t remember Mama.”
“I’m awful sorry to hear that,” said Gaspar. “Listen, Boney, we’re here on business, and I need you to be honest and transparent with me. You feel me?”
Boney stared at the men and nodded. Nine knew by the look on the younger man’s face that he was hiding something important from all of them.
“Tell me what you know about Douglass and Jackson Construction,” said Ghost.
Boney stood and closed the door to his office, then returned to his desk. He asked the men to take a seat, but when not one of them did, he knew he was in trouble.
“Boney? Be honest, brother,” said Gaspar.
“It costs a lot of money to help someone with Alzheimer’s. Care facilities won’t take him. Nursing homes won’t take him. Mama’s too old to help, and my sisters all live up in north Louisiana.” The men were silent, waiting for him to continue.
“I needed a loan. Just enough to pay off some bills and get a nurse in to help during the day. I asked Douglass for a loan. It was the biggest mistake of my life.”
“Let me guess, he asked for a favor in return,” said Ian. Boney nodded.
“He said he’d give me whatever I needed but that he needed a favor in return. I had no idea, Gaspar, all of you. I swear to God, I had no idea. When he told me, I said I didn’t need the money that badly. They told me it was too late. I knew too much, and it would be a shame if something happened to Mama or Daddy.” He shook his head, his hands shaking.
“What did he want you to do?” asked Gaspar.
“He wanted a CPA that was on his own. No big firm, something small. I never thought, I never thought he’d kill them.”
“You’ve been stalling the investigation,” said Nine.
“There’s been no investigation. I closed the case as a random shooting, and no one has asked anything otherwise.”
“No one except Deanna,” said Ghost. “She’s sitting out there fucking scared out of her mind because her parents were murdered in front of her. Did you know they wanted her to take up their cause? They forced her employer to make her take them on, and she was smart enough to refuse.”
“God,” he whispered. “They won’t like that. She shouldn’t have refused them. They’ll make her do it.”
“What evidence did you gather?” asked Nine.
“Hardly none,” he said, shaking his head. “She was so scared and confused from that night she couldn’t remember anything. I told Jackson and Douglass that, but they just said she was too smart for her own good. Is she okay?”
None of them said anything, just staring at him.
“What else did they want you to do?” asked Gaspar.
“Push building permits through even though the work wasn’t to code. I pulled some strings with the inspectors, and they let a few things slide.”
“Do you have any fucking idea what this guy is doing, Boney?” asked Gaspar, staring at the younger man. “We think he could be trafficking. He owns those strip joints all over the state, and we think he’s bringing girls in illegally marked as craftsmen. Fucking craftsmen!”
“I-I hear you, Gaspar. What do you want from me?”
“Call him,” said Nine. “Call him and tell him that you need to meet with him right now. Today.”
“He won’t. He doesn’t like to be told what to do, and if you try, he only gets angry and believe me, you pay if he’s angry.”
“Too fucking bad,” said Ghost. “Tell him if he doesn’t show, he’s going to have a problem on his doorstep.”
“You don’t understand. He’ll hurt Mama and Daddy,” said Boney. “I can’t risk that.”
“You already risked it. Call him.”
The four men stepped outside his office, closing the door behind them. The windows gave them a view of Boney squirming in his seat. They watched as he sent a text and then set his phone down, looking straight at them.
As they reached for the doorknob, Boney reached inside his desk drawer and pulled out a weapon. Nine pushed the door open further, shaking his head.
“Don’t do it, Boney. Don’t. Think of your mama and daddy. Don’t do this to them.”
“I am thinking of them. You don’t have any idea what you’re doing. You don’t have any idea how connected these men are. They can’t be stopped.”
“Everyone can be stopped,” said Gaspar.
“Not these men,” said Boney.
Then, he took the fast way home.
Taking one’s own life was a messy way to exit the world. It left nothing for your family to grieve over, no open casket, no hugging your loved one one last time.
Men scrambled in the police station, trying to find out why Boney would have killed himself. Nine got close enough to his cell phone to tap his own against it, downloading all the messages and get them to the tech boys.
“He sent a text to his sister to come and get their parents as fast as she could and get them to safety. Then, he sent one to Douglass and Jackson. He told them, and I quote, you’re about to meet the devil.”