Scammed Read online

  Hopefully Kate and Danny were having better luck than she was in what was rapidly turning out to be a frustrating, wasted day for her.

  By noon she went downstairs to grab a sandwich in the coffee shop on the main floor of her office building. A change of scenery always helped when she reached a creative block. When she returned to her desk, Cameron was determined to figure out how to make adult diapers seem sexy. First she studied the current packaging and prayed for inspiration. Then she scrutinized the photos of the model she chose for her presentation—a very attractive older woman with flowing platinum hair wearing plain white Sexy Senior panties. The overall effect was that of an appealing woman who wished she was modeling something else.

  She willed herself to get creative. What if those same panties were screen printed with something like black lace or a 3D graphic that looked like ruffles? Perhaps an image of jockey shorts for the men’s product. Sexy? Questionable. But, would it be promotable? With that model and a virile-looking older man, definitely. Thankfully, her gears clicked into place.

  After a few hours of sketching, testing various slogans and copywriting, she had the nucleus of a campaign and allowed herself to relax a bit. As soon as her guard was down, the image of Shady’s wife Barbara entered her thoughts again. Where was that bitch, anyway?

  A certain measure of fear invaded her need for answers. As an amateur sleuth, Cameron had been involved in investigating the embezzlement scam that cost the Federal government millions. Most recently she’d helped to take down a very clever money laundering operation in Los Angeles, but both times her life and that of her friends was in danger. This was different. The knowledge that Shady’s grotesque floating corpse was no suicide was worse because it was on her home turf. Was a killer loose in their safe community?

  Weird thoughts and images ran through her mind during the drive home. Well, she rationalized, at least it takes my mind off the traffic.”

  The group was all there waiting for her when she opened her front door. Either her watch stopped, or they were early. A quick glance told her they were early and that must mean something had developed which most probably wasn’t going to be good news.

  Kate still wore jeans and a tee shirt but now sported perfect makeup and styled hair and high heels. Garrett, lounged in an easy chair wearing a confident look, black jeans and a black body-hugging tee shirt. Of course. That would account for Kate’s attention to her appearance. Perhaps he had something positive to offer besides good looks.

  The Colonel lounged on one of the sofas while Clarence spread out in his favorite spot in front of the fireplace. She noticed the old man looked far better and much more alert than he had the night before. But the one who commanded her attention was Matt Darwin. The handsome actor’s eyes seemed to have lost some of their luster. Even though shot full of Botox, somehow a frown managed to create a slight crease in his brow. In short, the man did not look happy.

  “Hey guys. Looks like something is up, but please give me a few minutes to change clothes. I’ll be down shortly.”

  Kate said, “No problem. We’ve been going over some of the latest developments. It’s been a fruitful day, and have we ever got a lot to tell you.”

  The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Matt Darwin’s dejected expression escalated. “Yeah. Lots to tell you,” he said in a flat voice, not at all like his familiar tone.

  She headed for the stairs thinking something major must have happened. Ten minutes later she came back down dressed for comfort. “Okay, no time like the present. Since it’s dinner time, though, let me just order a couple of large pizzas and we can get right into it.” She picked up the phone, dialed a number from heart and ordered a large Vegetarian Pizza, a Meat Lover’s Pizza and some chocolate chip cookies.

  Darwin said, “My news is probably the most disturbing, so I might as well go first. Simply said, I never should have trusted her. I could kick myself for not asking to see the actual bank statements. But, when she got away with only presenting the report that first month, I guess she saw paperwork is not my thing. Probably her way of testing the water to see how far she could go. I met with the bank president today and discovered Barbara has been siphoning off money ever since she took over as Treasurer.”

  “That long? I didn’t like her, but never looked at her as a thief.” Cameron walked over to her wet bar. “Anyone else want a drink? After that bit of news, I need one. Matt, I’ve got some nice Perrier if you want it.”

  Everyone nodded and she went into the kitchen to get ice. When she came back, she poured drinks for everyone but Darwin, for whom she filled a glass with Perrier.

  Garrett said, “She’s clever, that one. From what Matt told me earlier, she set up a separate account under her signature only and told the bank it was to be an operating account for easy access and accounting when we began the repairs. Gunderson, he’s the branch president, said he told her Matt’s signature was needed so she took a card and brought it back with what appeared to be his signature.”

  “When I looked at it, at first,” Darwin said, “I wondered if I’d actually signed it and forgotten. On second look it was clear that she forged it. But she was good. I don’t think anyone else would have picked up on it.”

  “After you told him it was unauthorized, couldn’t you ask him to transfer the funds back into our reserve account?”

  It took a while for an uncharacteristically nervous Matt Darwin to convey the rest of the story. The reserve account would still be considered very healthy for any HOA in the months before the settlement was received. But after the money was received from the lawsuit it became a huge temptation for anyone with ability and larceny in their heart.

  She must have planned very carefully, because what she called the operating account was set up before the settlement was received, making it all seem perfectly legitimate. As soon as it was in place, she transferred amounts like $9,000, $15,000 and once only $2,000. Clearly she didn’t want to draw attention to huge transfers, so she siphoned off the money slowly. Of course, she never listed those transfers on the reports. As far as the bank was concerned, transfers were not made according to a regular schedule and seemed to fit the story she had given of transferring as needed for construction studies or preliminary costs. Therefore, it didn’t raise any red flags.

  Fast forward to when the case was settled. The second day after millions were deposited by wire transfer, she went into the bank in person knowing large transfers had to be cleared with Gunderson.

  Darwin continued with what he had learned. “As Gunderson said, the woman is a pro. She said all the right things, joked around with him about contractors wanting deposits before they would raise a finger. That day she had $1,400,000 transferred and told him a few more large transfers would be made. Five days before the Shadys disappeared she transferred another $2,000,000. Again, there was no mention of it on the most recent report—the one she submitted right before disappearing.

  “Cami, you asked about transferring the money back to the reserve account. Not possible. Three days before the HOA Board meeting she had several large cashier’s checks issued to four construction companies. Kate checked out those companies today and discovered that each of the companies turned out to be nothing more than a P.O. Box with bank accounts at different banks.”

  The Colonel added, “Guess who was the signatory on all of them.”

  A cold sweat washed over Cameron. She looked at the others and saw by the expressions on their faces that her conclusion was right. “Let me guess. It all led back to her and the money, like Barbara Shady, has disappeared.”

  The Colonel said, “You guessed right. All together the checks totaled $3,200,000 and change. Before she flew the coop all the money but $30,000 had been withdrawn from the ‘special operating account’ via those checks. Although we still have several million in the reserve account it might have to be stretched in order to cover all the repairs. I’m afraid we won’t have the surplus we thought we would. Now we really need th
e best construction manager we can hire.”

  Cameron took a sip from her drink. “Wow. I knew Shady was a fitting last name, but I didn’t expect that.”

  16

  Cameron went back to the wet bar and filled her glass. “Care for a refill anyone? I sure need one after that news.” The Colonel declined, saying he was afraid if he had any more he would doze off again. Kate and Garrett lifted their glasses while poor Matt Darwin’s hungry eyes left no doubt he wished he wasn’t on the wagon.

  When Garrett was questioned about whether he knew if the cops were checking out the fact that she embezzled so much money and presumably taken off, he said he was sure they were following it down. Then added he would contact Detective Barrington in the morning just to make sure. The case had clearly taken on another dimension. Was it possible that the good doctor’s death could be tied to the embezzlement? Worse yet, was Barbara Shady his murderer or were more things afoot?

  AS MATT DARWIN WALKED north along the canal, he stopped to take a long look at the Shady house, still draped with yellow police tape. There were no lights inside now. The former perfectly kept little lawn was overgrown and needed mowing. The half-moon cast grotesque shadows across the façade as though it was trying to reveal what happened. The brilliant yellow of the tape against the dark background was a chilling reminder of the brutal crime that had occurred practically on his doorstep. In fact, the dark structure seemed like a bad omen draped in yellow finery.

  The night was mild. A soft breeze rippled the water in the canal, filling the air with soft whooshing sounds. Someone’s little boat tied to their dock made squeaking sounds as the breeze moved it back and forth. Darwin shook his head. Their quiet, affluent enclave would eventually return to normal, but now it was a grisly reminder that you could not take anyone at face value.

  He shuddered, gave the house a last glance and continued walking. Although he’d had his share of checking out the bad guys on-screen, had to figure out how a crime went down according to the script, had gotten into tons of staged fist fights and pretended to leap over walls or chase a criminal forever without even breaking a sweat, the screenwriters and stunt men did the real work. He just parroted the lines, aped for the camera and collected huge amounts of money. It was all in a day’s work for an action star like him until now, in real life, and the danger was real.

  After Garrett and the Colonel left with Clarence trailing next to the Colonel, Kate and Cameron were too wound up to go right to bed. Cameron brought out what was left of the chocolate chip cookies.

  Kate took a bite of a cookie, savored it for a moment, then said, “This is really good considering it came from a pizza joint. My bet is we’ll discover there is even more to this than we know right now. Some of the pieces just don’t fit together. I’ll have my office run a full check on this Barbara character and see what we can uncover about Dr. Shady. None of you seemed to know them very well, so let’s find out who their friends are. If we can talk to some of them in a friendly, non-threatening way we might be able to find out a lot more. Agreed?”

  “Great idea, but I won’t be able to do anything for the next day or so. I have this big presentation and haven’t been able to really concentrate on it with everything going on. If I blow it, I’ll lose a great client. You may uncover frauds, but I alone seem to be charged with making senior underwear sexy. Can you even picture these seniors trotting around in the equivalent of disposable diaper undies and exuding sex?”

  Kate chuckled. “Ummm. Not that appealing of a picture. What in the world did you come up with?”

  “Screen printing that may save my butt, no pun intended. I had samples and ad mats made. For the female version I had a sample made that’s printed with black lace, one that looks like rows of ruffles, and one more with a great pattern. The model is gorgeous with long platinum hair and a good figure. I’m guessing her age around seventy from remarks she has made, but she’s a very sexy woman. If I met her cold, I’d think she was much younger. Plastic does wonders these days.

  “As for the guys, I had them printed like Jockey shorts with a couple of variations and got the guy to be the model who always appears in the nutrition ads. You’ve probably seen him. He claims to be in his sixties. His face does look it, but as for the bod, he could compete with lots of guys much younger than him. I think I nailed it.”

  Kate gave a mock bow. “If anyone could tackle something like that, it’s you. The guru of image.”

  “Thanks a load. Anyway, can you work with Danny and see what comes up? You both have experience that I don’t and, be honest, I think you like him. I don’t want to put more pressure on the Colonel, and I know Matt is shooting a movie, so he’ll be tied up, too.”

  While waiting for Kate’s answer she added, “They thought the Colonel was seeking revenge—truth of the matter, if I’d known what we just learned, they wouldn’t be wrong if they thought I was, too.”

  She dropped into a karate stance. “Man, I’d love to get my hands on that two-timing trophy wife. And, I mean mano-a-mano. I’m so pissed about her fooling all of us and stealing the money, I can picture myself really decking her. With my black belt, she wouldn’t know what hit her. But, I’ve gotta hand it to her. How many people could really pull off what she did in such a short time? We are all smart, successful people here, and yet she buffaloed all of us.”

  Kate nodded. “Hey, if you’re not too tired, we could spend a little time going over some “what-ifs” relative to her. But if we do that, do you have anything else with a toxic sugar content. Don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I’m craving chocolate. Maybe I’ve hung out with you too long.”

  They searched the refrigerator and freezer for anything remotely resembling chocolate. Cameron let out a little squeal when she found some frozen brownies, then popped them into the micro for a few seconds. Fueled by three brownies each, they spent the next half-hour exploring everything Cameron knew about the missing woman.

  She pulled out some photos of HOA events so her friend could get a feeling for what Barbara Shady looked like. In one she was standing next to the now-dead doctor who bore no resemblance to the bloated corpse. However, he was a guy who definitely showed his age. His face was thin with a wrinkled forehead and little sagging jowls on either side of his thin lips. His gray hair was sparse, styled into some elaborate comb-over to hide a bald spot that appeared to cover as much as half of his head. He was of average height, slightly stooped shoulders and possessed a little potbelly that looked like it had just begun to form. The cut of his clothes was clearly expensive. Shady looked exactly like the stereotype of an old rich guy who had snagged a beautiful woman because of his wealth.

  Barbara, who was thought to be fortyish looked stunningly glamorous. Long jet-black hair broke in luxurious soft waves over her shoulders. Large almond-shaped dark brown, almost black, eyes were accented by perfectly arched eyebrows. Her full lips were parted in a half-smile, exposing just slice of her white teeth. She was slim and tight with a good figure, accentuated by a form-fitting white jumpsuit and stiletto heels that made her tower over the elderly doctor. At first glance, the contrast between the two of them, suggested exactly what Cameron had called her. A trophy wife out for the money.

  17

  Cameron squinted at the photo trying to see more facial details. Finally, she sighed and walked over to an antique washed pine chest, pulled out a drawer and held up a magnifying glass.

  “Guess my eyes aren’t as sharp as they used to be. You know, I never really took a close look at Barbara. I just hung a number on her for her age based upon her looks but come over here. It is just possible she is older than I thought.”

  Kate leaned over Cami’s shoulder looking at the photo through the magnifying glass. “Yeah, I see what you mean. I didn’t see it just looking at the photo, but under that glass I see that lady has had lots of plastic surgery, and if anyone would recognize the signs you would. Whoever she used, the surgeon was a real artist. Thanks. I was going to use forty as the ag
e range, but now I won’t limit it on my search. Maybe she is a lot closer to the Doc’s age than we think.”

  “This may sound silly, but I’d love the name of that plastic surgeon.”

  Kate gave her a questioning glance.

  “Of course, you know I’m no stranger to the knife. But, wow. The work on Barbara is a masterpiece. So, you know—I’d like it for future reference. Anyway, Garrett is trying to get an old friend at the Bureau to track all the bank transfers, but apparently it is questionable whether we’ll ever find our money. How could we have been so trusting? I keep asking myself that but can’t come up with answers. I guess we all figured that being a CPA she was an expert and we were lucky to have her on the Board. Besides, I think none of us wanted to get involved in the drudgery of keeping financial records and making reports, so we were easy marks. But, Kate, we are talking very big money here. We trusted her to have access to millions.”

  Kate went over to Cameron and gave her a reassuring hug. “Don’t keep beating yourself up. It wasn’t only you. It was a whole group of financially secure, intelligent people. I think sometimes that’s the worst position to be in because you always feel you will have no concerns about money. The thing now is to find out more about this mysterious Barbara Shady—where she came from, where she is now and what she did with the money. I suspect she is going to have a whopper of a background.”

  The two of them sat on the sofa facing the tall windows, neither speaking. There were so many possibilities ranging from Barbara Shady being a victim to her being behind the murder of her husband. The next few days would be very interesting and stressful, but at this very moment they both were exhausted.

  Cameron gathered the dishes from the coffee table and headed for the kitchen. “Guess I’d better get some sleep.” She glanced at the big clock over the fireplace. “My word, where has the time gone. It’s one in the morning and I’m going to look like a damp washrag tomorrow.” As though to punctuate it, she gave a wide yawn.