Scammed Page 5

  Cameron really liked the FBI agent turned author and couldn’t wait to see if Kate was attracted to him or vice versa. Besides, thinking about matchmaking kept her from agonizing about the mess that continued to escalate. She had no idea how sticky it was going to get.

  As promised, during the negotiations for the TV movie inspired by Kate’s life and cases, her friend made sure a clause was included in the contract naming Cameron and Kim as consultants. Kate filled Cameron in on the progress, unable to hide her excitement. A major network had expressed their interest and that was why she had to meet with her agent.

  “Get ready, girlfriend. I’d bet money we’ll get the deal. Once it’s in production, we’ll have your PR people working on booking the rounds of the talk shows again and more. That will be fun, won’t it?”

  “Sure will. And it will be good business for both of us. However, I have to pay my people and use company resources, so who picks up that tab?”

  “Got it all arranged. My agent has been instructed to name Harsen Advertising Associates as the official PR firm, so your billings will go directly to the studio. I made it clear we are not open to any substitute firm. Sweet deal, isn’t it?”

  “Sure sounds like it.”

  Cameron traded her stylish pumps for the flat sandals she had tucked into her handbag. She handed Kate a spare key to her house. “Love it. Here, just in case you get there before I do, make yourself at home. You know your way around. Use the keypad on my garage door and park inside. Just leave enough room for me to pull in. If you park outside behind the door, I won’t be able to get into the garage. I still have a full day of work ahead. We’ll be meeting with the guys around six and plan to order Chinese. Is that okay with you?”

  Without hesitation Kate said, “Sounds fine. I’ll see you there.”

  On the way out Cameron saw a few people she knew and stopped to chat for a quick minute. Then she set out for her office. As she walked along Constellation, she marveled at the fact that the very ground had once been part of the Twentieth Century-Fox back lot. The story as she knew it, was that on August 1, 1960, New York developer William Zeckendorf signed an agreement to purchase the Fox property and develop Century City. Seventy-five acres identified as the “studio portion” would be leased back to 20th Century-Fox. When terms had been reached, Zeckendorf had to raise $56,000,000 so he entered into a partnership with Alcoa Aluminum. By 1963 the first office building opened, followed by ongoing development. Fred Gebers, the man who negotiated the sale, was tapped to be Executive Director of the new multiuse city within a city.

  She tried to envision what it must have been like back in the days when it was all a huge movie studio property. The more she thought about it, the more she realized this was actually the first time she had taken a long walk in Century City. LA is a mobile society and sometimes people get in their cars to drive as short a distance as a half a block..

  10

  The minute she walked in the door, Cameron knew something was wrong. Even though it was only five-thirty the Colonel and Danny Garrett were already there wearing somber expressions on their faces.

  Kate filled a glass with a couple of shots of Stolichnya Vodka from the bottle on the cocktail table and handed it to her. “Sit down and join us. You’ll need this.” The men nodded and raised their own glasses to her.

  She looked around at the little group, sensing whatever they were about to tell her wouldn’t be good. Her favorite ducks that she had given names to—Maxi and little crippled Mini—had come out of the canal and were quacking for bread bits on the patio. However, judging by the mood in the room, this was one time they were going to have to wait for their treats.

  “Okay,” she said in a tense voice. “What’s going on?”

  Kate and the two men looked at each other as if to say, “Who’s going to tell her?”

  “For starters, Al Shady isn’t missing,” Danny Garrett said.

  Concern flavored with irritation crept into her reply. “Not missing? Give me all the details, Danny. You mean we’ve been—”

  He held up his hands in a stop signal. “Let me finish. A couple of tourists out for a walk spotted his body floating in Grand Canal this afternoon. As I understand it, at first they thought it was garbage or even clothing some homeless person tossed into the canal. When they got closer, they saw it was a body. Fortunately, the husband had the presence of mind to call 911 while the wife went into total meltdown. Apparently, they’re from some small town in Iowa where things like this don’t happen very often, if ever. By the time Detective Barrington got there with his people, a huge crowd had gathered.”

  Cameron was stunned. For the moment, all she could do was shake her head. Then the stream of questions began. “Dead? Shady’s dead? What did you find out? Did he fall into the canal and drown? What about Barbara? Tell me—“

  “Slow down. One thing at a time. By the time I got there, Barrington was trying to field questions while keeping the bystanders from wrecking any evidence. Then the Colonel showed up.”

  For the first time since she had known him, the Colonel looked his age. His face had grown pale and as he raised his drink to his lips, she saw that his hand was shaking. It wasn’t like him to be afraid, but the more she studied him, the more she saw the aura of fear.

  He placed his half-empty glass on the table and stood up with some effort. Gripping his cane, he limped across the room to Cameron, then stood before her.

  “It doesn’t look good, Cami. Just as I came up to Danny, a woman I didn’t recognize began to yell and point at me. “I’ll bet he did it!” she shouted. That man, the one with the cane. I bet he actually killed that poor man.”

  He related the rest of the story in a dejected, shaky voice. Apparently, this woman who was house-sitting for one of their neighbors had been walking along near the Shady house the night he had the confrontation about Clarence. She remembered seeing the old man raise his cane to Shady while threatening to kill him if he didn’t get out of the way. She had taken it literally and recounted what the Colonel said word-for-word.

  Danny picked up from there. “So, this woman, who looked like the type that hoped her name would be in the newspaper as an eyewitness, tells Barrington she’s heard of people like that nasty old guy wanting revenge and taking matters into their own hands.

  Danny’s voice took on a note of disgust. “There was no way to shut her up. Of course, the body of a prominent citizen floating in the canal is news and the jackals gathered. Cameras, reporters, even a Channel 5 helicopter. We just watched her accusing the Colonel of murder on News at Five.”

  They were all silent, until Danny continued. “Fortunately, I was able to take Barrington off to the side and get an insight into his thinking. He said they’ll be performing an autopsy, of course, but the good news is he said in his opinion it doesn’t look like Shady died from drowning. He didn’t elaborate on his reasoning, but said he shared the fact that there was no mystery that he died from a neat bullet hole in his head. That was all I got from Barrington because he had to go back to keeping the reporters at bay, but that information doesn’t leave this room. He shouldn’t have told me key information, but he did say he will keep me informed.” A smile lit his face. “Ah, what my fans won’t do for me. Actually, the detective is a good guy, but Mike still must go down to headquarters tomorrow to be interviewed about the incident. Lucky for us Barrington likes my writing.”

  At that point, Kate offered her take despite not knowing most of the details. She thought if they had taken the woman at her word the Colonel might have been arrested. As it stood, he was a person of interest, and hopefully would be cleared very quickly although the memory of the news clip would remain in many people’s minds a lot longer.

  Clicking into her PR mode, Cameron added, “Maybe we can get Channel 5 to issue an apology once you’re in the clear, Colonel.”

  He placed his head in his hands. “I certainly hope so, but even if they don’t, I’ll just be glad when I’m not a suspect. Y
ou know, I killed enemy soldiers in Korea, but that was war. If I wanted revenge for that stupid ass complaining about Clarence, I would probably have let Clarence take a nice dump on his precious postage stamp of a lawn. That would have been the extent of my revenge. I may have killed in wartime, but that’s not who I am.”

  11

  They all listened to the news for a short time, but with nothing further about the murder or accusations against the Colonel, Cameron turned off the TV and they returned to brainstorming.

  Garrett said, “By the way, before I came over, I ordered food from Sing Lum’s over on Washington.” The doorbell sounded with perfect timing. “That must be them now.”

  Cameron opened the door and sure enough it was the delivery guy accompanied by two uninvited guests. Apparently, not content to quack their request for bread bits from the courtyard, Maxi and the little crippled duck Mini marched into the living room and stopped right in front of Kate. Maxi quacked furiously and flapped his wings as if to say, “Look, we asked for treats politely. WE WANT TREATS.”

  Kate remembered the pair from the last time she visited and it appeared they remembered her, too. Mini rubbed against Kate’s leg as if to make amends for her rude mate, and Kate and the others had all they could do to keep from laughing. The two ducks were so tame, they were like pets. “Okay, okay, I get it. Treats.”

  While Garrett paid the delivery boy and Cameron carried the bags of food into the dining room, Kate went out to the front courtyard. The two ducks followed her and hovered at her heels as she opened the container where her friend kept the bread bits. She reached in and pulled out a handful of dried bread, then offered it to them with an open palm. They gently ate from her hand, wagged their tail feathers in a gesture of thank you, and made their way back into the canal.

  In the meantime, Cameron set the table with plates, cutlery, napkins and glasses, then emptied the food into serving bowls from the assortment of square cardboard cartons that all Chinese restaurants seem to use. Enticing aromas of ginger, five spice powder and chili powder filled the air around the glass table.

  “Okay, everyone. Take a seat and help yourself. We’ll need fuel while we try to figure out what’s actually happening. Danny and Kate have lots of expertise, so let’s try to get a handle on this.” Cameron reached for the closest bowl, as each of the other three spooned food onto their plates. Little packets of soy sauce and Chinese hot mustard along with fortune cookies rested on small plates.

  For the next few minutes the four of them were busy piling Buddha’s Delight Vegetables, Shrimp in Oyster Sauce, Pork Fried Rice, Three Ingredients and Sweet and Sour Chicken onto their plates. Playing the part of a good hostess, Cameron got up and made her way around the table filling their glasses from a large pitcher filled with crystal clear water and lemon slices.

  This was not simply a gathering of four friends enjoying Chinese takeout and each other’s company. It had grown into far more than that—three people with backgrounds of solving crimes were trying to protect a retired war hero who now appeared to be unfairly suspected of murdering a neighbor for revenge.

  After dinner they spread out around Cameron’s living room to deal with the problem at hand. Kate began by addressing her comments to Garrett.

  “I know I’m not part of the community, Danny, but when Cami asked me to help, I was more than ready. You probably know we have a history of crime solving that goes back a few years, and I did meet the Colonel on one of my visits. You’re the only one here who really doesn’t know me or what my capabilities are. I think with your FBI background, my history of identifying and exposing frauds and cons, and Cami’s public relations abilities and hunches we have a good team here. Colonel, rest assured we three will do everything in our power to use our talents and connections to get you out of this situation as quickly as possible.”

  The old man went over to Kate and gave her a sincere hug. His body language seemed more relaxed although you could still sense the tension and fear. He said, “Thank you, my dear. At my age I don’t have to put up a front. Am I scared? You’re damn right I am, but I have full confidence in the three of you. My hope is that those detectives will realize there is no way I could have done anything to those awful Shadys, and you can apply your talent and knowledge to giving them any assistance those cops will accept for getting at the truth.”

  “Okay, let’s go over what we know now, which isn’t that much but it will give us a starting point,” Danny said. “Let’s assume for the moment that by tomorrow you will be out of the spotlight, Mike. By us recapping it now, we can help Kate get a handle on things. In the process, maybe the rest of us will remember a small detail or something we missed. Oh, by the way, Kate, it’s hard for someone like you to keep a low profile, particularly since I understand Cami handles PR for your firm. I know quite a bit about you and your company. I welcome your help and the fact that you might see things that we don’t. First item to discuss, the night the Shadys disappeared.”

  They proceeded to go over Barbara’s actions at the HOA meeting. In retrospect, at first Barbara didn’t seem very worried that Al hadn’t shown up. In fact, it had to be suggested that she try to call him on his cell. A truly concerned wife probably wouldn’t have been as cool and calm as she had appeared, but then Barbara was Barbara—a pretty woman but a cold fish when it came to showing emotion or affection. At least that’s how she always appeared to them. Maybe there was nothing to that or maybe there was.

  “You know, when she suddenly seemed worried, I actually had the feeling she was acting,” Cameron offered. “I guess what I’m trying to get across is it seemed more like she was looking for an excuse to beat it out of there quickly than concern for Al. Did either of you feel that way?”

  Cameron saw Garrett and the Colonel considering the possibility. The Colonel was the first to speak.

  “You know, now that you mention it, the whole time she was talking about the financial report she didn’t seem upset at all. Then, suddenly, it was as though someone flipped on a switch and she was this terribly concerned wife.”

  Kate asked if they truly knew if she tried to call her husband to find out what was taking him so long. All three agreed they only had her word because she had gone into another room to presumably make the call. For all they knew, it was possible she hadn’t called at all. Maybe she knew something she wasn’t sharing. Was it possible he was being held hostage while she was supposed to show up as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on?

  “If that’s so, what did they want and was he killed right here in Venice that night, then thrown in the canal later? That line of thinking raises the question, why did his body only show up now? Notwithstanding the blood, was he possibly kidnapped and kept alive, then murdered?” Kate looked around the group as though expecting answers to her questions, but no one said anything.

  She continued. “Going in another direction, what if she knew he was dead before she came to the meeting and for some reason this woman Barbara tried to cover it up? If that was the case,” Kate continued trying to build a possible alternate scenario, “where is she? There are so many loose ends. I guess the detectives will be considering all of this and checking it out.”

  Cameron excused herself and headed to the kitchen. “I think we need some food for thought. You know what they say about Chinese food—it doesn’t stay with you. I’ll be back in a few.”

  She returned with a platter laden with four dessert plates decorated with caricatures of chefs in tall hats, forks and napkins, big chocolate brownies, some chocolate chip cookies, and blueberry scones that had been slightly warmed in the micro.

  She set the platter down and passed a plate, fork and napkin to each of her friends. “Dig in. I always think better with chocolate.”

  12

  Ideas flew back and forth while the foursome tried to get a handle on what could have happened. Hours passed. With a big question mark around Barbara Shady, they decided to wait until Kate and Danny were able to dig up more in
formation on her. Danny said the woman’s entire demeanor and her reactions from the time he entered the HOA Board meeting still niggled at him.

  “That was the first time I met her, so maybe that’s just the way she is. But I tell you, she set off something in my internal radar. To me, all of her actions seemed choreographed. Trust me, I’ve been through enough cases to know when something feels off balance.”

  Kate said, “I know what you mean. Working to uncover all these frauds, I get that too. It’s like a sixth sense. Of course, in this case, I can’t really give any concrete conclusions until I know more.”

  He and Kate were deep in discussion about it while Cameron observed their body language with an educated eye to see if there might be more than a professional discussion afoot. She really hoped they would connect. But, first things first.

  Garrett said, “There is one thing that we’re not paying enough attention to. It seems we all have suspicions about the missing Mrs. Shady, so let’s follow that path for a while. She could be hiding because of fear, she could have been kidnapped, or in the worst-case scenario, she could be part of the problem. How many Board members have authority to sign on the bank account besides her? According to the report she read, pending the payments for the repairs to the canals, our HOA has several million dollars in the reserve account. Is there a limit on what she can withdraw? Just sayin’. Does she provide copies of the bank statements in addition to her reports—I’m assuming as Treasurer she is the one who gets the bank statements. Is that correct?”

  Strangely enough, Cameron realized no one on the Board had ever asked to see the statements after Barbara took over. Not even her. She was so glad that Danny and Kate were involved, and she could see by the Colonel’s expression that he was probably thinking the same thing. Those two looked at things as though they were under a microscope. She wondered if and when any of the Board members would have considered the money being a possible motive if left on their own. Finally, she decided certain things might be as obvious as the proverbial nose on your face, but still you don’t see them.