5. A Storybook Start
5
A Storybook Start
I f you had told Spencer Shaw three years ago he would devote his Sunday to work, he would have assumed it was like jury duty. Mandatory and painful. And yet, here he was, actually enjoying the work.
It was a refreshing change from the background checks and cheating spouse cases. This new case had him intrigued and on edge. It was unlike anything he had encountered before.
Sitting next to him on the floor of his office was none other than his own client. William arrived moments earlier with a thick manila envelope tucked under his arm.
“These are all the documents I have from my marriage and divorce to Nicole.” William pulled out the stack of papers and spread them out on the floor between them.
Spencer picked up two, examining their marriage license and their divorce papers. “You have the standard documentation of your marriage and divorce with Nicole. The marriage license listing her as ‘Nicole Wright’, the prenuptial agreement, and the final divorce decree.”
“That’s right. But as you can see, there’s nothing that points to this being anything other than a typical divorce case. Nicole was smart. She covered her tracks well.”
Flipping through, Spencer noted the lack of financial irregularities and suspicious activity. “Hmm, yeah, I don’t see any obvious red flags in these documents. No signs of fraud or money laundering we could use as evidence.”
“You see, that’s the problem. To everyone else, it looks like I was the one who cheated and Nicole got a lucky break in the divorce settlement. But I know the truth. She orchestrated the whole thing, so I look like the bad guy. While she escapes with a shitload of money, everyone’s sympathy, and the moral high ground.”
Spencer drummed his fingers on the folder, his brow furrowed in thought. “And since Nicole changes her last name with each mark, there’s no obvious paper trail linking her to a pattern of criminal behavior.”
“Exactly. That’s why I couldn’t take this to the police. I would’ve sounded like a hateful and paranoid ex with an axe to grind. You have to dig deep, Spencer. I know what Nicole is capable of, but proving it is going to be the real challenge.”
Nodding, Spencer began organizing the documents. “Alright, well, these materials provide a good starting point. I’ll start trying to cross-reference the details, to see if I can uncover any connections to her other victims. But you’re right - establishing a pattern of her cons is going to be the key to building a solid case.”
“What else can I do to be of help?”
“Did you bring your laptop and phone?”
“Never leave home without them.” He went to retrieve the devices from his satchel.
“I know it was years ago, but go through your social media or articles and see if you can find anything where Nicole’s full name is mentioned. Before she changed her last name to yours. ”
“It’s like a light bulb went off on top of your head. What are you thinking?”
“If we can find proof of Nicole consistently changing her identity with her victims, then it becomes a lot harder for her to dispute her connection to the scam. If she was posing as someone else during the relationship, she would have a hard time denying she was a fraud. No woman changes their maiden name and legal identity with every new relationship they’re in. It’s suspicious to say the least. Especially if we can link her to the identities of other victims and confirm the same scam happened to them. We have her cornered.”
“Damn, I should have hired you years ago. Would have saved me a lot of heartache.”
“I wasn’t doing this years ago. My dad was.”
“Well, if your dad was as good at this as he taught you to be, then I would have hired him.”
Spencer didn’t think he was all that good at it. In fact, if his dad had seen the current state of the agency, he’d be ashamed of him. He raised him to be the successor to a business built from the ground up. Spencer was supposed to carry the torch forward, not extinguish it.
“Hey,” he said, snapping back into the case. “You told me you learned about her con from her latest victim’s daughter. She must’ve told her father about what Nicole was doing. Do you think he would talk to us?”
William shook his head. “Kennedy, Eric’s daughter, and Maya, Nicole’s daughter, are together. Hence why she was so quick to forgive and forget. I assume Eric feels the same way. He didn’t press charges and Maya stays in his Philadelphia home with his daughter.”
Stunned didn’t begin to capture Spencer’s reaction. Kennedy knew the truth about Maya and Nicole, knew their scam, and how they plotted to do it to her father. And she still chose to be with the woman who tried to con her ?
“That’s… wow.”
“Yep. I know. She thinks Maya is a changed person. How could anyone be so na?ve, I will never know.”
“It’s not naivety. It’s hope. She’s hopeful the new life they’ve built together will keep her from relapsing. People hold on to hope when they’re happy.”
Spencer didn’t think it was possible for someone like Maya to flip a switch and go from a thief to an upstanding citizen. All for love. He believed people could change, but almost only for the worst. He couldn’t understand Kennedy’s choice, but he understood her hope. It was the same hope he used to have for his sister. Hoping she would change and be better. As they say, it’s the hope that kills you.
“So Eric won’t help us build a case, but knowing Nicole’s daughter is in Philadelphia is good. Likely means Nicole is close by,” Spencer said, pushing the conversation forward. “We’ll need to find proof of her identity changes and her former victims’ contact information. We need to see if they would be onboard helping build a case against her.”
“What about this?” William handed over his laptop. It wasn’t a social media post or an article, but a photo of a wedding invitation. Join Us for The Wedding Celebration of Nicole Alyssa Wright and William Allen Harrison. June 15, 2019.
“This is good, but we’ll still need to track down the other names. We can’t use this without any concrete proof it was her. Do you have photos of her from when you were together?”
“She claimed she hated having her pictures taken. And she hated social media, so she didn’t want photos of her posted online. I’m sure that’s what she told all her marks to get out of having her likeness plastered online.”
“But you must have something. A bride doesn’t go that long without being photographed.”
“You don’t think I checked already? Nicole deleted everything that could lead to her being traced to her wrongdoings.”
“Well, the good news is, she can’t erase the internet. So even if she erased pictures of herself, there’s still a chance we can find something on her.”
Both men gathered their laptops and perched them open as they delved into researching any clues about Nicole.
“So I take it you’ve done this before?” Spencer asked, his fingers typing at lightning speed on his keyboard. “Did anything pop up on her?”
“No. Not a damn thing.”
“You said you attended her last wedding shower. Do you remember the last name she was using then?”
William racked his brain. “Thomas… Thompson… T—”
“Taylor?”
“That sounds right. How did you know?”
Spencer turned his laptop around. A webpage entitled Taylor For You Party Planning Services filled the screen. The page listed the owner of the company, Nicole Taylor. Though of course, there was no photo. But there was a location. Headquarters based in Philadelphia, PA.
“That’s got to be her. She threw charity galas and parties in my name while we were together to keep herself busy.” William slammed his laptop shut, his eyes full of anger and hurt. “That bitch. I can’t believe her. After everything she put me through, she has the nerve to use her victims’ money to fund her own company. All this time I’ve been paying my bills, saving for retirement, and she’s been living it up without a care in the world.”
Spencer frowned, watching his client. “Hey, take a deep breath, okay? Finding this means we are on track to get her.”
“We still don’t have an image of her or a way of contacting her other exes.”
“We don’t need her image. It would help, yes, but it’s not a requirement. And if we can’t get to her other victims, we have to get them to come to us. Would you be willing to pay for ad space in some major cities’ newspapers?”
“Yes, anything. Anything to get the justice I deserve.”
“Great. We’ll take the information you gave me and create an ad. We’ll list her aliases, her physical description, the details of her con. Then we’ll publish it in as many cities as you want. Family, friends, coworkers of her victims, will see it. They’ll recognize the details and want to contact us to find out if it’s true their loved one was scammed by her. If we’re lucky, we’ll be contacted by her victims themselves.”
“That’s genius. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of it before.”
“It’s only the first step, and there’s always a chance no one reaches out.” It wasn’t the normal response a private investigator would give to his client. But Spencer didn’t want to get William’s hopes up if his idea didn’t pan out.
To his credit, William wasn’t deterred by Spencer’s realism. “I have faith. You should too. You’re better at this than you give yourself credit for.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
William glanced at the clock, his brows shooting up as it approached noon. He stood, stretching. “I didn’t realize how long we’ve been here. I scheduled a meeting earlier I can’t miss. We can regroup tomorrow. In the meantime, I’ll start making the arrangements to buy the ad space.”
Spencer put his laptop on his desk and rose to meet William. “Good, but William, I need to know you won’t go to Nicole’s office. We can’t make contact with her right now. If she sees you, she might suspect you’re looking into her.”
Normally, Spencer would never forbid a client from doing anything, but this was a special case. William wasn’t the normal client. By his own admission, he wasn’t innocent in what happened to him. Until Spencer got to know and trust him better, he had to keep his guard up.
William didn’t seem offended. More amused. “Don’t worry. I’ll leave the sleuthing to you. If you don’t mind me asking, this is a big case for you, right? I mean, I’ve been here twice and there aren’t other clients you’re working with.”
Spencer nodded, because he wasn’t a liar. William didn’t look concerned like Spencer expected, rather accepting of the admission. “Then I guess we both have something on the line with this case. Good to know it’s not only me.”
Spencer’s eyes fell on the wallpaper of his computer screen. A photo of him and Nessa at the amusement park last year, sitting on a bench. The photo taken in between them stuffing their faces with corn-dogs and funnel cake. It served as a reminder of why he was doing this.
“We both have something we value on the line. I hope that means we can be honest with each other throughout this. Can you promise me you’ll do your part?”
William returned his smile. “Only if you promise to do yours.”
“I wouldn’t have taken the case if I wasn’t going to. So I’m holding you to your promise.”
“And I’ll hold you to yours.”
With a handshake, their deal was sealed.