Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Marty was afraid of what was to come. The thought of going back to work frightened him, but that might be the best course of action.
“I don’t know what to do,” he said again.
“I know,” Eddie said. “I don’t either.”
This really sucked. If he was being followed, then his boss was behind it.
It seemed to him that going in to work was exactly where he would be in the most danger.
And yet, if he went in and pretended that all of this wasn’t happening, maybe Bryce would think that he wasn’t a threat.
After all, Marty didn’t really know anything, and other than feeling like he was being followed, and the guy at McDonald’s, he didn’t have much to go on. “It could be a coincidence.”
“I don’t believe in them,” Eddie said right away. “If you saw the same person following you as you did at your office, then there’s a reason for it. Did he say anything to you?”
“No. He just looked at me and then left just before you and Brian arrived. He didn’t order anything. He just watched me, and it felt creepy.”
“I’m going to call Brian and let him know that we’re up.
Then we can sit down and figure out what we’re going to do next.
We need to have a plan. If this is a money-laundering scheme, then we need to get to the bottom of it.
I don’t want anything to happen to you, and I will do what I can to protect you. ”
Marty nodded. “But if I’m at the office, what can you do? It’s not like you can go into the office with me. So I’ll be on my own.”
“Yes and no. Let’s wait until Brian gets here.
” He made a call while Marty kept himself busy by cleaning up the breakfast dishes.
By the time Marty finished, he found Eddie in the living room, still on the phone.
“Okay. Well, that tells us something. Once you get here, we’ll discuss next steps. ” He hung up.
“What’s going on?”
“Someone tried to get into your apartment last night. A neighbor heard them in the hall and called the police. They were in the neighborhood because Brian had added your area to regular patrols. We’re still gathering evidence, but they didn’t get in.”
“But it does tell us that someone is after me. That I’m not imagining things.”
That in itself was a relief and frightening at the same time.
“Yes, and it also changes our course of action.”
Marty nodded. “And Brian…?”
“He was at home, but he said he’s on his way and should be here pretty soon. Though….” Eddie stood and went into the living room, then came back. “I suggest you prepare for the onslaught.”
“Of what?” Marty asked as the front door opened. Brian came in, followed by another man, and a pair of boys ran in, surrounding Eddie to get hugs. They were maybe five and eight or so.
“You remember Brian,” Eddie said as he straightened up, still holding the youngest boy.
“This is his partner, Kerry, and these are Henry and Phillip.” He grinned as he said the latter name, and the youngest buried his head against Eddie’s shoulder.
“There’s no need to be shy. This is a friend of mine, Mr. Marty. ”
“Hello,” the oldest said. “Uncle Daddy said that you needed our help.”
Marty glanced back and forth between the boys until Kerry took pity on him.
“I’ve been raising them since their mother passed away.
Brian helped us back then, and he’s been in our lives ever since,” Kerry explained, and took Henry’s hand.
“You two stay here with Uncle Brian and Uncle Eddie while I bring in the things we brought.” He left, and once again Marty was more than a little confused.
“We know that Eddie has nothing in the house. He never does. All he eats is takeout, so when he said we needed to talk, Kerry came along and brought reinforcements.”
“And sustenance,” Kerry added as he came back inside with two cloth grocery bags. “Who wants to help me?” Henry went along with him as Phillip raised his head, whispering to Eddie.
“You know where they are,” Eddie said, and set Phillip down. He ran off and returned with a small tub that he took the lid off of and dumped the contents on the floor. Legos—lots of them. Phillip sat down and began building something with a great deal of intensity.
“Bring me up to date,” Brian said, and Marty let Eddie do the talking.
“How do we proceed?” Eddie asked once he was finished. “I’m assuming we will need to request all the bank records.”
“That’s been done. Based on what Marty gave us, I submitted and received a warrant for all that information.
I know it’s Saturday, but I’m hoping to have the details today.
We also requested any information of funds transferred to and from all of their accounts.
I’ve also contacted a few people in the know who have their pulse on this sort of thing. None of them know anything at all.”
“That sucks,” Marty said.
“Maybe not,” Eddie added, and Brian nodded.
“When no one knows anything at all about this kind of thing, it means it’s been kept very quiet, or that its way too hot to handle and none of them want to touch it or talk about it because they’re too damned scared.”
“Yup,” Marty said softly. “Leave it to me to get involved with a firm that’s dirty.
I had a bad feeling about this place, and I should have gone with it.
They have six stores and do a decent business, but you should see the office.
You’d expect a place that’s utilitarian, but it’s palatial, with new furniture and fancy tables and chairs.
My boss’s office is paneled and has nicer furniture than anything I have.
Even my desk costs thousands of dollars.
” He sighed and wondered how he got himself into this kind of mess.
“You weren’t to know, and you weren’t the one involved.”
“No. All I did was keep the books and log the sales and stuff. I bet if things were to heat up, they’d find a way to dump everything on me and then they’d be gone.
” The worst thing was that he was going to need to find another job…
again. His boss was a bit of a jerk, but the place was nice, and they treated their people well.
He was paid well, and he’d thought he was valued.
But all that was to keep him in the dark and away from what was really going on. “What do we do?” He turned to Brian.
“Nothing at this point. Once we get the bank information, then we’ll need your help reviewing all of it and putting it all in context. Then when we have that, we can figure out a way to determine exactly who was involved.”
“Yeah. Or since banks have cameras, we should be able to get exact dates and times and use the camera to see the person making the deposits. If they are being made in cash, then there has to be someone doing it in person. That will tell us a whole lot, I would think.”
Brian and Eddie both nodded. “I included that in the warrant. The bank should be providing that information.”
“Guys,” Kerry said as he came in to get Phillip.
“I know you had breakfast earlier, but the kids were hungry, so I made them some toast and fruit. If you want some, then come on in.” He got Phillip at the table with a bowl of apple slices.
Brian tried to steal one, and Phillip whined.
“They each have the same number of slices, so if you want one, you need to come get your own.” Brian put the piece of apple back in Phillip’s bowl, probably to avoid a war.
“Thanks,” Kerry said.
“If you all are done talking strategy, we can have our snack and stuff.” He put a plate of orange and grapes on the table, adding a few pieces of each of the boys’ bowls. “Eat that before you try for anything more.”
“Are we going to play in the park?” Henry asked. “It’s been raining for weeks and weeks.”
“Yes,” Kerry told him. “I promised you I’d take you this afternoon, and I will. Uncle Daddy has some things to do, so it will be just you two and me, and you can play.”
“Do you like the swings?” Marty asked.
“I do,” Henry said happily. “Phillip pukes.”
“I do not!” Phillip retorted.
“You did last time, and it was yucky.”
“Oh lord,” Kerry said. “No talking about that while everyone is eating. And Phillip was getting the flu.” He shook his head as the boys stuck their tongues out at each other. “Sometimes I think I’m going to go crazy.”
“They’re boys. I bet we were just as bad,” Eddie said, and Marty knew that was right. Eddie had been a bit of a terror, but he also had this gravity about him that always pulled Marty in.
“I’ve been thinking,” Brian said. “Do you work from home?”
“I can,” Marty said. “I’ve done it before when I had a quiet day and just needed to get things done on the systems.”
“Then I suggest that you do that on Monday. Make up an excuse that’s plausible so things sound normal. At least that way we can buy a little time for your job,” Brian explained. “Do you think that will work?”
“Yeah. It’s never been a problem before. I can send a message about it first thing Monday morning. What else can we do?”
“Wait for the records that we requested. There isn’t much more we can do right now. The only thing we have to go on are these deposits, so we have to trace them back, and we can’t do that without additional information from the bank.”
“So, I just sit here and wait to see what’s going to happen?” Marty asked.
“Sometimes these things take a little time. We can push the bank, but they have work to do as well, and it’s a weekend.”
“Okay. And once you get what you requested…?” He wasn’t sure what to feel. On TV it always seemed like things happened so fast, but he supposed they didn’t in the real world.
“We have people experienced in money-tracking that will get on it. They have confirmed where they money went from here, and they’re watching the accounts, but so far it’s just sitting there.
Once we have the statements and the video, hopefully it will lead us to who is making the deposits.
Until then, do your best to relax as much as you can,” Brian told him.