CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“I feel so helpless,” said Lennon seated behind AJ, Tanner, and Hiro. “I’m used to being the one doing all the research. You guys are levels above me.”
“You’re doing your part,” smiled Hiro. “We always need extra help down here. Besides, your computer skills are excellent. Sometimes we have to resort to showing people how to use the systems. You’re doing fairly well.”
“You’re being nice,” she smiled. “I’m barely getting by over here. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled so much finding a trail for someone’s existence. Margarita Ruvienne literally feels not real. Maybe Margarita is a made-up name.”
“That’s possible,” said AJ. “It does seem too much like something someone would clasp onto in an emergency. Do we know how she and Carlos met?”
“All of my research told me that they met at a state dinner at the capitol. At the time he wasn’t president yet. But I can’t find anything that tells me whether or not they immediately connected or if they somehow knew one another from somewhere else,” said Lennon.
“Who else was at the dinner?” asked Hiro.
“The usual. Dignitaries, local authorities and politicians, the Bolivian Miss Universe contestant, a couple of Olympic athletes returning from the games, oh, and an American businessman.”
“What American businessman?” frowned Hiro.
“I’m not sure. It just says, ‘American businessman’. There’s a grainy photo but I can’t make it out,” said Lennon.
“Get the photo to Ivy. She’ll find a copy that she’ll be able to manipulate and get clarity for us. We’ll work on some of these others,” said AJ. Lennon nodded, glancing once more at the information on the computer.
“Hey. Something is strange here,” she frowned. “Almost all of these people died after the event.”
“What do you mean, they died?” asked Hiro.
“I mean, they died. It says it was suspected that the food was poisoned but no one could prove it since Ruvienne and a few others survived. No one was under suspicion and it doesn’t look as though there was a complete investigation.” The men nodded at her, frowning.
“We need to know why Margarita was there and who else survived that event. How long after that did he become president?” asked Tanner.
“I’m guessing from the date on the article, maybe two years,” said Lennon.
“Okay, follow that trail. If you need something or if you need help with any of this, just reach out to us. We’ll be here, Lennon,” smiled Hiro.
“I can’t thank you all enough for letting me be a part of this. I want to help Brooks but I’m not sure how to do that.”
“You’re doing it, hun,” said AJ. “Just keep digging and you’re going to find what you need.” She smiled at them, grabbing the laptop and heading back to the cottage to work. AJ stared at Tanner and Hiro, all of them waiting to hear the door to the office close.
“How long can we keep her occupied before she wants to know more about what’s happening?” asked Hiro.
“I’m not sure, but we promised Brooks we would keep her safe. She did find something we didn’t though. Whatever happened at that dinner positioned Ruvienne to become president and Margarita to become the first lady,” said AJ.
“Let’s give her a chance to figure that out and then we’ll revisit the timing and sequence of everything. I want her to feel useful,” said Tanner.
A few hours later as the men were ready to pack it in for the night, Deanna walked into the room.
As the wife of Pax, she’d been helping with all of the legal issues revolving taxes with the businesses.
Her brilliant mind was saving them millions every year and able to point out tax deductions they hadn’t seen before.
“Hi, Deanna. What’s up?” asked AJ pushing in the chair.
“You guys asked me to take a look at the finances for that Marine, Bora.”
“That’s right,” said Tanner. “Did you find something?”
“More than something. For the last fourteen years he’s been funneling millions into offshore accounts.”
“Millions?” they all repeated.
“Millions. By my account, he now has somewhere in the neighborhood of Four-hundred and ninety-nine- million between five accounts.
It was difficult to find at first but then I started using anagrams of his name.
There are two accounts under the name Roba, instead of Bora.
One under the name Orba, one under Bora, and one under Abro.
“Once I had the accounts, I started digging into the accounts affiliated with his duty stations and those that he was in charge of. There’s nothing missing.
He wasn’t taking money from the Marines or from any branch of the government that I could see.
I don’t see any checks, I don’t see any common account numbers. ”
“Wait. You’re telling me that this money comes from different accounts every single time?” asked AJ.
“That’s what it looks like. I know that it’s common for the cartels to funnel money offshore but I’ve never seen a cartel do something so sophisticated, and this is sophisticated. You would really need to understand tax laws, banking transfers, all of it to do this seamlessly for so long.
“The other thing is no money is ever taken out. It’s deposited but never withdrawn. Why? Most people putting away that kind of money have a plan. So what is he doing with it?” she asked.
“I think he’s getting ready to rule a country,” said Hiro. “He could use those funds for his own military, for weapons, anything and everything. Do we know if the Bolivian government is flush with cash?”
“I wouldn’t say flush but their national debt is reasonable for their country. I can’t see a reason he would need to add his own funds to this unless something terrible were to happen.”
“Like?” asked Tanner.
“Like,” she said stretching the word out. “Like a terrible natural disaster. Flood, fire, earthquake, or something similar. It could be a pandemic.”
“Or,” said AJ, “it could be war.”