A siren in the distance told them they wouldnt have to wait long.
W
hen Tim Filmore disembarked from his transatlantic flight, the authorities were waiting for him. He remained silent until he was taken to the downtown Richmond police station, where he was informed that his wife was dead as well as the circumstances leading to her death. He collapsed, then spilled everything they needed to know. He and Liz had created a fairly sophisticated Ponzi scheme, which ran like a top for four years. Liz took special pride in fooling Flo Langston. Then again, when the profits roll in, folks tend not to be suspicious or ask too many questions.
As with so many things in life, a small event had begun the fall of the carefully constructed house of cards. Mariah DAngelo became nervous when a steady customer told her she had been contacted by a representative of Patek Philippe doing a survey. Mariah, in the business for years, had never heard of an elite chronography company doing satisfaction research. It was a grand watch, not a Frigidaire, was Mariahs response. Of course, in a sense, it was a Frigidaire.
Mariah sensed that Flo was behind this, but she didnt panic yet. Given that she had followed Flos investments as best she could through gossip with Liz, she then checked her own investment portfolio against each stocks buy-and-sell amount with
The Wall Street Journal.
Every day, the stocks highs and lows were recorded. She could see the exact time one of her stocks was traded.
She was the first to recognize that her portfolio had been falsified by Liz using accurate information. But when Mariah contacted the company, the trade had never been made. She found out that her bank, SunTrust, had no record of the purchase. Painstakingly, Mariah checked each of her trades without tipping off Liz. This took two weeks. Still, she couldnt quite accept the horror of it.
Her first mistake was withdrawing money from the alumnae account. Her second was in loudly accusing Flo of setting her up for losses. The third and fatal mistake was confronting Liz after the classroom meeting. Flo had left. Mariah dogged Liz, who denied everything but recognized she had to silence Mariah.
Tim, whod sold cocaine in college to pay his way, still had some of his old contacts left. Theyd succeeded in their profession, as had he. When the market crashed, he started selling again, but with much higher volume, to cover some of the payouts to clients. They shipped in cocaine through small boats that landed in the many coves of the Chesapeake Bay. He and Liz figured they could stay afloat for perhaps seven or eight months while they shifted their money to Costa Rica. Business was goodTim repented of not sticking with it when hed graduated from college.
Terri was paid five thousand dollars a month to allow the pots to be delivered to her store. Although she was frightened of having drugs come through her place, she was wildly happy with the money. She didnt pay much attention to Mariahs death, but when Flo died, Terri began to get nervous. Ultimately, she became unreliable, too scared, plus she was taking too much toot herself. What begins as a good thingincreased concentration, feeling greatwinds up as a bad thing. This seems to be the progress of any addiction.
As to Terri being laid out where Ralston Peavey was killed, Liz thought it would shunt people to the wrong track. Shed heard stories about the old murder. Unsolved murders stay in peoples memories, providing curiosity. The Black Dahlia murder certainly proved how potent a strange unsolved crime can be. It was quite cunning of her to
place Terri on that road. She never figured on Inez being so angry about her investments, which she would have put into Inezs account as soon as she and Tim sold a little of the cocaine. Selling cocaine in a wealthy community is easy. Charlottesville was no exception. Tims old contacts had given him a few numbers. They in turn gave him more business through their friends, since the stuff was high quality.
Cooper relayed all this at the supper table at Harrys on Saturday night. Inez, released from the hospital, sat in the living room along with Aunt Tally, who was only too happy to get out of her house. Shed spent last night at Little Mims. Lizs blood all over the living-room rug upset her, and she didnt want to stay there until the rug was carried out. She sent it to Rudys Dry Cleaners with the instruction that, once cleaned, it was to be given to Goodwill. She couldnt bear to look at it, but it was too expensive to toss.
I would have never figured it out, Harry admitted.
Were not finance people. I guess you dont know somethings wrong until you cant pay your bills, Fair replied quietly. He was horrified that Inez had been shot.
You all know I dont know beans about money. Aunt Tally stroked Doodless glossy head.
We knew something was off with Liz. That nasty smell,
Tucker said.
It was sharp,
Erno agreed.
Is there any money left? Inez asked Cooper.
Tim had managed to get a lot of their money out of the country. It will take some time to get it back, the officer answered. Of course, they blew a lot, too.
How much? Aunt Tally inquired.
Tim says they took out twelve million. Whether one can believe him or not is another matter. He saysif you can stomach thisthat Liz stole such a small amount compared to Madoff that he should receive a light sentence.
Fair drummed his fingers on the table. If the Richmond police and whoever Tim hires for his lawyer think theres still a lot of money, some of them might be bought off. One doesnt like to consider such things, but Mafia dons can run their empires from prison. The corruption
is within. Few people can resist a huge sum dangled under their noses. Why do you think drugs come into this country, and why do you think they dont get legalized? The nontaxable milk train will dry up for a lot of people in law enforcement and government if drugs are legalized. The louder a congressman shouts about the evils of drugs, the more you can bet hes on the take.
Makes me sick. Cooper was an honest person, an honest cop.
Harry put her feet up on the old coffee table. So theres probably more money somewhere else.
I expect so. Hell serve his time. After all, he didnt kill anyoneLiz did that. When hes out, hell go to the money and live like a king. Cooper put her drink down on the table.
Thats disgusting. Inez pursed her lips.
Doc, Im afraid thats the world we live in. Money sanctifies just about anything. Cooper sighed.
So why do you remain a cop? Aunt Tally, forthright as always, asked.
I dont rightly know. I keep hoping I can do some good against the avalanche of evil out there.
Poor people.
Erno came and rested his head on Inezs knee.
Their own fault, Erno. Dont waste a minute feeling sorry for them.
Pewter nonchalantly cleaned her tail, holding it in one paw.
Cooper asked Aunt Tally, Were you scared?
No. In fact, I felt wonderful, energized. When Liz shot Inez, I suddenly felt forty again and I wanted to fight. She beamed.
You werent afraid to die? Cooper put her own feet up on the coffee table. As a dear friend she could do that, but then, Harry didnt care much about the old furniture.
Cooper, if youre afraid to die, youre afraid to live. You cant have one without the other. Aunt Tally smiled.
Inez giggled, then, as though Harry and Fair were her parents, asked, Can Tally spend the night?
Fair laughed and said, Certainly, but I dont want you girls staying up all night talking.
They all laughed at this.
No reading under the covers with flashlights, Harry added.