Chapter 16
Private notes: Detective Callum Baxter (LAPD)
Finally got a copy of Virna’s will. No unexpected bequests in there—and no mention of Tavish Advani. Bulk of the estate will pass on to her son, Jason, but he’s insistent that Advani must’ve siphoned money from his mother in other ways.
I have to agree on one point: Advani is a financial genius. I did a bit of digging around and there’s a reason he held such a high position at his age. Man delivers when he isn’t getting into bed with his clients. If anyone knows how to play hide-and-seek with money, it’s Advani.
That uptight firm he worked for wouldn’t give me the names of his clients, but I managed to track one down after trawling through social media photos where Advani was tagged at various shindigs, and making some cold calls.
Vincent White was more than happy to talk about Advani—he’s pissed the man “jumped firms”—I guess that’s the cover story for Advani’s firing.
“I’m waiting to see where he pops up,” White said. “The rest of them are good, but Tavish? Pure genius. Got me returns like no one else—so good that I actually had a forensic accountant go over the books, figured maybe it was some pyramid deal.
“Nope, all straight. Tavish kept precise records of every transaction—which is why I learned he was doing deals for me at like four a.m. to take advantage of various time zones. Man is smart and focused and more than earns his paycheck. Whichever firm he joins, I’ll be shifting all my money over there. ”
Have to say it wasn’t what I was expecting to hear, not with Jason’s accusations of financial malfeasance. But then, lots of folks are clean at work and messy in private, so maybe Tavish kept his financial messiness to his love life.
Still haven’t found anyone he dated between or before Jocelyn Wai and Virna Musgrave, but I have managed to track down a college friend of his. Maybe Emilio Vasquez can shed some light on our enigma of a person of interest.