Clint Faraday Mysteries collection A Muddled Murders Collector's Edition (52 page)

“
But ...
the others on the corporation DID come here! She thought they were
bringing you the funds.”

Knowles looked surprised, then read over the
corporate papers. “Orison? Rasmussen? Helmut? I believe Orison and
Rasmussen ... let’s see. Yes, here it is. They have their own
corporation, MedPsychLab, S.A. They may or may not have an account
here. I think, yes, they asked if anyone named Lesley had an
account and I told them what I just told you. They may or may
not.

“
Quite
frankly I didn’t like ... I know better than to talk this much. You
are very likable, Mr. Faraday.”

“
Clint.
It’s just curiosity.”

“
Well,
you have the power of attorney in proper form and witnessed by the
police and court here. Would you prefer to change the account to
her name now?”

“
I think
that would be a very good idea. It would tend to surprise a person
or couple of people who may have been behind Donald’s murder to
find she knew anything about it. It would take the reason two
people are in Panamá City right now away, if you see what I’m
saying? Surprise! Surprise!”

“
Ah! They
will use the belief that Mrs. Lesley knew nothing about this to
seize the account?”

Clint gave him the thumb-up. He smirked.

“
Well, we
can process this and you can sign as POA. It will take about an
hour to draw up the proper papers. You can return in an
hour?”

“
Ah’ll be
bahk!” Clint aped Schwartzeneger.

“
Well!
Now Mrs. Lesley is in full control of the funds and they are in the
name of herself, soon to be a corporate name at her option,”
Knowles announced after putting the forms through the fax. “You are
the only one who can sign anything until she completes the
signature form, at which time it will revert to her,
solely.”

Clint had contacted Manny through Manolo’s
hi-freak to have a corporation registered to her as soon as
possible and to have the account changed into the corporate name as
soon as that was done. The signature comparison/confirmation form
would be completed and notarized as soon as the storm was over.
There were no roads open out of Bocas del Toro and the airport was
shut down. No one could go anywhere.

The cell phones came back on-line while Clint
was having a tasty dinner with Cari Andrews. He immediately got
calls from Judi, Dave, Serg and several others. Manny called and
said his man in California never saw Frieda meet with Landsay. She
had gone into a stall where he was working with a horse and had
spoken only a few words that couldn’t be heard.

So. Amanda had to be the link. She was often
with Lindsay and avoided Frieda. She had to know more than she was
letting on – but was Lindsay or Helmut directing the scheme? Was it
Orison and Rasmussen? Lawrence or Donald? Was Amanda being used or
the user?

Maybe that was what the murder was about.
Donald knocking off Lawrence to get him out of it or Lawrence
knocking off Donald because of the subterfuge about the
account?

There were too many with motive. Apparently
Trudy was the only one he could trust – which meant she was the
last one he actually could trust. Wanda was too stupid – or was
that an act? What about Martime? Was he the little man on the stair
or was he about ten times as smart as he seemed? Why was he staying
around in that impossible situation? Because he was about to clean
up?

What a stupid confused goddamned MESS!

He relaxed and thought about Cari Andrews.
They watched the sunset from the restaurant upper deck. She spent
the night with him. He learned some things about offshore accounts,
but nothing that would help much with the case.

In the morning Clint called Manny and asked
if he could find some things about Martime. He was always in the
background and ignored. Maybe he was a Miss Marple type who would
be the killer on the next to last page.

Manny started to say something, then
chuckled. “Dave is always harping on Agatha Christie being totally
unfair to her readers by introducing a character on the first few
pages who didn’t appear until it was discovered he or she was the
killer on the last page, so I know where you’re coming from. I fell
into it, too. I’ve as much as ignored him. The boys did check him
out. It’s here ... born, raised, met Donald who introduced him to
Trudy who introduced him to Wanda who married him. Lupewarm
marriage, but that’s as exciting as any of that family get.”

“
If you
only knew! Is there anything about contact with
Lindsay?”

“
Hmm.
Very limited. Just normal things when they were on the
estate.”

“
Helmut?”

“
Neutral.
Just busy around the house. Normal ... except one time two years
ago when he saw or heard something about Lawrence and her. Minor
stink until Wanda said she didn’t care what the old bastard did or
with whom so long as it wasn’t with her. Nothing since. She seemed
to get along with Helmut on an employee/employer sort of
basis.”

“
Crap!
Nothing leads anywhere in this MESS!” Clint complained. “Did Orison
and Rasmussen manage to get some kind of thing that would let them
get into Donald’s account in Panamá?”

“
Not yet.
Something’s in the works and they’re busy trying to see that no one
is paying attention to them – which leads to everyone paying
attention to them. Amateurs!

“
Listen,
Clint. If Donald’s part of any of their corporate crap you can make
a claim in Trudy’s name.”

Clint got a very evil look on his face. “It
could mean she can obtain a fast accounting of those corporate
holdings, huh?”

“
D’ju
godt it!” They chatted a few minutes more, then Clint rang off. He
called Judi, who had nothing more to report except that the storm
hadn’t damaged his property or hers. Dave had gone to La Fortuna to
try to salvage plants on the trees that had come down into the
David – Chiriqui Grande road. The police tried to stop him, but he
has the permits from the government. They were worried because it
was dangerous, but you know Dave!”

Clint pictured Dave and a few Indio friends
wandering around land that was still sliding around. He shook his
head.

Clint went to the internet café and accessed
the office of industry and commercial projects. He brought up the
MedPsycheLab, S.A. license and got another evil smirk on his face.
Donald Lesley had been a vice president. He probably never knew
that. Orison and Rasmussen were going to wish no one had ever
checked those records!

Information
Needed

“
Hi! I
have to get some further information. It’s to do with the
MedPsycheLab, S.A. accounts,” Clint greeted Knowles.

“
Er?”

“
Donald
was vice president. His widow has to have an accounting of all
assets he was involved with. You don’t know what kind of mess this
is turning into! She didn’t know much about any of this crap until
he’s dead, now she finds corporate papers and stocks from all kinds
of things.”

“
Er.”

“
All I
need is the overall amount. She can figure what her part is and
offer to sell it to Orison and Rasmussen at a greatly reduced rate.
She does NOT want to be on any corporations except her
own.”

“
Er, I
can see ... a moment?”

He called Cari to bring him the complete file
on the MedPsycheLab, S.A. account. They endured a somewhat
uncomfortable silence for about five minutes until Cari brought the
thick folder to him. Knowles searched through it a moment and found
the corporate registration certificate. He read it.

“
Well, it
does seem that Donald held a small percentage ... seven percent ...
as third vice president. Helmut, twenty five percent, hmm. I
suppose this will ... but you have the power of attorney and this
isn’t a rights of survivor type corporation ... murder ... I can
see why NOT!”

“
You can
see why I take a personal interest. I AM investigating those
murders! I want to know if, just maybe, those two....”

“
Who are
in Panamá City right now requesting a new accounting of Donald’s
holdings! He was listed on their corporation as they are on his,
but not as percentages. No, they each have two and a half percent
and no access to legal procedures or management decisions –
something that was NOT included on their corporation where he’s
concerned. I can see they are very strong suspects in Donald’s
murder!

“
They
were here ... but one can hire a, what you call ‘hit,’ very easily
and cheaply here.

“
Orison
called me and instructed that no one be given information as to
whether or not they have an account offshore. They did not instruct
to withhold information from anyone who would logically know about
it.

“
What are
you going to do?”

“
Why,
nothing much. Maybe I’ll let them know we know about the account
and the terms of the corporate structure.”

“
Which
proves they had a reason, a strong one, to have Donald
killed!”

“
It goes
to motive, your honor! Problem here is that several other people
had as strong a motive. The only ones cleared definitely are Trudy,
his wife, and Wanda, his sister – and there is a very small doubt
where Wanda is concerned.”

“
Too many
possibilities under suspicion. Miss Andrews, bring up the present
status of this account, please.”

“
You and
I are suspects until we’ve been cleared. I can say I had nothing to
do with it, but I did have an experience with Lawrence earlier that
could give me a motive. Everywhere I look I come up with someone
else with motive.”

The comp was showing the account. This time
Clint wasn’t able to get the access information. Knowles had
obviously given Cari some definite instructions about that!

“
Six
million plus dollars,” Knowles announced. “Mrs. Lesley’s claim can
be instituted for seven percent of that. Four hundred thousand
plus.

“
So! They
kept this small account – to them – so they could claim the Lesley
account and show legitimate status to seize it. You have thwarted
that.

“
Clint,
if they come here with some claim, what do you want me to
do?”

“
Call the
pol ... no! Tell them the widow has taken control ... no ... that
the widow’s lawyers have frozen the account until they can get
direct orders from her. They’ll have to discuss that with her,
personally.

“
Bummer!
She’s as much as isolated on Isla Colón! The police won’t allow her
to leave until the two murders are resolved!

“
By the
way, the lawyers have also frozen the accounts of others where he
was listed in the corporate papers as part owner.”

Cari and Knowles laughed.

“
That
will put a burr under their saddle, as we used to say in Texas!”
Knowles said smugly. “I do NOT care to have any of the banking
interests where I am involved ever face these kinds of
investigations. It leads to a breach of privacy scare.

“
That is
not the case, of course, as the widow naturally is privy to said
information. It is a misconception that will cause fears. That is
bad for business.”

He exchanged high-fives with Clint and Cari,
somewhat surprising Clint. He seemed more staid than that. Lots of
people were surprising him here.

Well, as soon as friends Orison and Rasmussen
got the information that they were screwed they would have to go to
Bocas. It would be clear that Trudy wouldn’t be coming to San Blas.
It could be fun to turn a crooked scheme back on the ones who were
scheming.

Clint called Manny and requested that he have
Trudy make out a will leaving all the assets she held go to the
Smithsonian Institute and to try to protect her there if she needed
it. If Orison and Rasmussen had hired Donald killed they might try
the same with Trudy. If it was known she had willed everything to
others, that wouldn’t do anything other than to make them direct
suspects in Lawrence’s and Donald’s deaths.

He had Manny’s small plane come to pick him
up to take him to Bocas. He’d charge all of that to Trudy. She
should be damned glad to get away with umpty million for a couple
thousand!

“
This
silly mess is getting messier by the day,” Clint announced to his
little select group sitting around the table on his deck in Bocas.
“It’s also getting to be some fun. I love outcrooking a
crook!

“
We have
to be careful for awhile. It can be dangerous. Ask Lawrence and
Donald. I’ve got it set up now to where Orison and Rasmussen have
to come here to try to get something from Trudy. She’s coming over
in a few minutes. We have to convince her of the danger and of the
fact this is probably our best – if not only – shot at getting her
husband’s killer.”

“
I’ve
gotten to know her a little,” Judi said. “She’s not so bad. Wanda’s
actually as stupid as we all thought or she’s one hell of an
actress. Martime is insipid and only hanging on for the easy life.
He’s a gigolo. I don’t like the type. Amanda’s one I just can’t
figure. She has some confusing points about her and some likeable
ones. She seems to be alright, but she knows a lot more than she’s
letting on. They’re all mental cases of one sort or
another.”

“
I have a
little more information about the fixed races. It seems to have
stopped when Buster bought it, but has started up again in a way I
haven’t been able to trace. Yet,” Manny said. “Lindsay has it set
up again would be my guess.