Un-Connected (25 page)

A few policemen at the shootout had been hit
but nothing was life threatening.  The amount of damage would take some time to
estimate but they had stopped a SUV with very serious killers.

Then Jim came on while the background static
quit. 

“Okay, you got a ring side seat as far as
hearing what was going on.  Don’t we wish we had seen it?”

“Not from up close I don’t.” I said. 

“Those guys are in real trouble.” Jim said.  “They
knew that or they would not have tried so hard to escape or fight it out.  Some
probably felt they were better off dead than being captured.  They will likely
get the death penalty…after about ten years.  Well add to that about three
years in court.”

“We are not listening to the Texas police
anymore as I’m sure you can tell.  They will be busy for awhile but we will get
a full report in a few days.  I will forward a copy to you.  It should be good
reading.  I wonder if the killers got off a call to their boss before they were
taken down.  We will probably have that answer in a few days as well.”

“Thanks for everything, guys. Bye.” Jim said
and with his normal brief parting was gone.

Chapter 15

Follow the Money

Jim and Seth found out about the dead guy in
the black SUV in Manassas because the police had asked the FBI if they wanted
in on the investigation. The body had been removed from the SUV by the time
they got there, but the SUV was still there. It was on a nearly deserted road
with few houses, which led to a dead end just up the hill from a river. Jim
helped Seth get tire imprints before the wrecker hauled it off. Jim asked where
the autopsy would be done and asked that he or Seth get a copy of the DNA.

When they compared the tire prints to the one
Mike had gotten from the vehicle at Ben’s house, it was a match.

The next day they got the official DNA report,
and it confirmed the guy killed in the SUV was a match with the skin under Rebecca’s
fingernails. Jim told us someone was getting nervous and was eliminating
anything that pointed to them.  If they knew about their SUV in Texas then they
would really be scared.  They would like everyone to believe that this Manassas
SUV and killer was the only one.  But the Texas shootout would put that to
rest.  That probably meant the Manassas guy was already dead when the Texas
take down started.  SUVs like these had literally been seen all over the US.
But it was another attempt to divert us from their identity. “It also tells us
that whoever is behind all this is getting some information out of the FBI.”
Jim said.

I took a minute to respond. “You mean the bad
guys can get into your computer or something and get data that is supposed to
be secure?”

“Some but not all. We know they have gotten
some information that is only available to a limited number of people inside
the FBI. But some information they are not getting, and we don’t know why yet.”

Jim said he was nervous about Dr. Robinson
and maybe a few others with regard to the lives and well-being of their
patients.

“That clears you, Sam. In a couple of days,
we’ll have that in-house investigation in writing, and as long as there are no
missing pieces, we’ll do a press release announcing that Bentley Raines has
been cleared of killing his wife. So you should be able to relax a little.”

“It can’t happen too quickly,” I said.

“Rebecca’s parents have been asking if we
knew your whereabouts, and they’re concerned about you. They knew you didn’t do
it. Since you don’t frequent her parents’ part of the world that much, it might
be best to have them meet you somewhere. Except it will be totally up to you
whether you want to be Ben or Sam. You have essentially put yourself in witness
protection.  That is how I’m treating it in official documents.  That makes
some things easier to cover.”

“Do you think the black SUV people are monitoring
their phone?”

“They probably are but they may be shutting
down the SUVs.  We just don’t know right now.  We can tell by what is happening
as their top priority is to protect the secrecy of those at the top.”

“You know I’m talking to Rebecca’s parents as
Sam a friend of Ben’s, right.  I don’t talk to them much.  Have they lost my
phone number?”

“They may have.  They haven’t heard from you
for awhile so they may be anxious about you still being alive.” Jim said.

Could you give them a secure phone like you
gave me so I could call them?”

“Not likely, but I’ll see what I can do,” Jim
said.

“Okay,” I said. “What will you do next to try
to solve the case?”

“Following the money trail usually was the
best way to find the lead criminal. So far, that trail most often led to the
IRS. But not always, so it’s a little confusing. Getting more information over time
will probably clear it up.”

Jim signed off with his usual, “I’ll let you
know,” and was gone.

We’d thanked Jim and were both quiet for a
while. Deb asked me if I was OK, and I said I was relieved but not sure the killers
weren’t still looking for me. She asked if it changed anything between us.

I almost laughed.

Then I took her hands and looking into her
eyes, I told her the only difference I could think of was whether she wanted to
be Mrs. Adams or Mrs. Raines or both. I asked her why she was insecure about it.

She said I had a lot of money before and
lived very well, and she wasn’t sure if I would want that lifestyle back. I
told her I would be able to do accounting officially, and I had made good
money, but my clients had moved on. I would have to get new clients, and I didn’t
think I wanted to do much accounting work again at least for a while. Besides,
I would have to use the Raines name or sit for the CPA exam as Sam. I didn’t
really want to do either one.

And, I reminded her that she had told me no
name change or anything could be used as an excuse to get rid of her. And I was
keeping her forever, so it was only what we wanted our lives to look like going
forward. I said my life as an accountant was long hours in an office with much
less time at home than I wanted. If I did want to be an accountant, I certainly
didn’t want to do business the way I had. I might do some from home, but I
wouldn’t trade any amount of money for time with her.

The next morning I woke up early and was
watching a beautiful sunrise when Deb came and found me with a cup of coffee. She
asked what I was doing up so early.

I told her that God and I had made a
beautiful sunrise.

She laughed and asked exactly what my part
was in that big endeavor. I told her God made the sunrise, and I was grateful,
repentant, and merciful. It was all I was able to do, but it was my part, and
God said we were even. She was sure that was enough.

We went to an RV campground, and I used a
phone there to call Rebecca’s parents. I told them someone was still trying to
kill me. I said that I had been cleared by the FBI of Rebecca’s death. I told
them that I loved them and still wanted them to be my family. They nearly cried
on the phone. I told them I would call again but couldn’t talk long when I
called. I asked if they needed any money or anything, and they said no.

I told them it would be a while, but I would
eventually be able to get Rebecca’s stuff, and there might be something in
there they would want. We would work all that out later.

They told me one of Rebecca’s nieces was
driving her car and hoped I didn’t mind, but they were tight on money, and it
was just sitting there. They were sure Rebecca would have wanted her to have
it. I assured them it was a great idea.

Then we got out of there real quick.

Otis called and wanted us to stop by the
truck stop for a minute because he had something for us. When we got there,
everyone was excited. Otis explained that they had just received the last
payment for the one helicopter engine I hadn’t shot up. He said it was the last
major part sold. They got some money from the damaged engine, but the real
money came from the other good engine, the gearbox, the frame and body, the
electronics and the black box. They had used Deb’s truck to store the
helicopter frame out of the way so no one could find it. Then when it sold,
they delivered it in the truck with some other stuff piled on top in case they
got stopped. And they had charged extra for the delivery. There was more stuff
to sell but most of it didn’t have near the value of what was now sold.  So
there would be a little more later but not much more.  Otis appeared to be a
good businessman.

He gave me a briefcase. “That’s your cut.”

“Was it about half of what my other briefcase
was holding?” I asked him without opening it.

He laughed. “Multiply what you got last time
by two and half times, and you’re close.”

“Not really two hundred fifty,” I said, not
believing my ears.

“Not exactly, but really close. And unless
someone files a 1099 on you, it’s garage-sale money. Do you want to see the
other briefcase, or do you want us to store this one for you? Any combination
is your call.”

Deb answered. “Store it.”

“Just hold it for us,” I said, “until we get
a safe place of our own to keep them.”

“Otis, thank you so much.  This really is
unbelievable.  Is everyone getting as good of a cut?”

“Everyone is getting a fair cut.  It isn’t
the same for everyone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tilly isn’t getting a cut.  She has to share
with me.  Some of the kids are young and living at home and didn’t do much. 
They might get a new car or whatever they need but it is a fair split.”

We both thanked Otis and everyone who we
could find and the meeting was over.

Deb and I went out and drove by more houses.

Otis called and said the land Deb and I picked
out would soon be ours. Barbara’s husband, Jim was finishing up the paperwork,
and someone would get it to us to sign. He then asked how we wanted it titled.

Deb and I had learned that with Otis, it was
a good idea to ask his opinion. There were a lot of good reasons to do so. They
were being extremely generous, and it was important for us to be as kind and
grateful as we could be. It wasn’t hard because they had no reason to be so
nice to us and we were very grateful. Another reason to ask Otis is that he
rarely pried into private matters or made decisions for us. But his advice was
usually very good.

His advice was that we form an LLC and put
the property in that. It would give us a little privacy and would give us a
little protection from a lawsuit. After talking it over Deb and I agreed and
asked what we needed to do.

“Not much. I’ll call Jim and ask him to take
care of it. In the meantime, you need to come up with a name.”

We were in the middle of kicking names around
when Jim called. There had been a rush of complaints in the Phoenix area of
elderly estates being settled too quickly and at discounted rates. Bank
accounts had been cleaned out and closed. Stocks had been dumped and the money
taken. Houses sold at liquidation cash prices. Cars sent to auction and the
money taken. Jewelry and expensive personal items were missing. Then the rest
of the personal belongings sold to antique auction houses or personal property
auction houses and liquidated. Someone was cleaning up fast, getting ready to
run it appeared to Jim, Seth, and Tex.

Jim was on his way to Phoenix. He had asked
the police to put a tail on Dr. Robinson. He had also talked to a detective he
had met and told him of his concerns about elderly people dying prematurely. Jim
didn’t want to cause too much drama around Dr. Robinson, but he also didn’t
want to leave him to his devices if he was cleaning up his patient list. The
detective had called back to tell Jim about his sergeant sharing his fears.     

The sergeant made a few phone calls and got
some extra manpower to run a program he called Arizona Medical Student Month. They
put medical students at all the nursing homes where they knew Dr. Robinson had
patients. During daylight hours the medical students were to follow Dr.
Robinson around for educational purposes. The nursing homes were asked to
restrict doctor-visiting time to daylight only. Jim found out later that this irritated
Dr. Robinson more than a little by his admission, and several said they thought
it irritated him enormously.

Jim didn’t get there overnight as he had in
the past, and his excuse was his wife told him it would be worth his time not
to leave until the next morning. I told him I didn’t know what to do about assertive
women. For that comment, I got an elbow in the ribs but it didn’t hurt.

Jim called the next morning real early. In
fact, it must have been early East Coast time. Dr. Robinson had been shot at
home and robbed. The police were outside the front of his home when they saw a
suspicious shadow in a window just after Dr. Robinson returned to his home. When
they went to the door, no one answered. They called in for instructions and
were told to go in.

They sent the backup in the back alley to
meet them at the back door, and they broke through the front door. Inside the
place was torn apart. Much of it must have happened before the doctor got home.
A safe in the office was open and empty. There were no expensive things left in
the house including probably what had been nice paintings. There was no
jewelry, no guns, and no keepsakes. Nothing that had much value except a really
large TV mounted on the wall.        

The police believed someone or several were
waiting for the doctor to close the garage while they were in the house but out
of sight. Possibly, they were in the laundry room just inside the garage door. They
probably cleaned out the house before the doctor got home.

As soon as the overhead garage door was shut,
they probably showed themselves and took control. They probably didn’t take
long to get what they wanted out of him because there was no sign of struggle,
no sign of forced entry, and no sign of torture. They probably convinced him to
open the safe and then killed him.  They must have gone out the back door just
after they pulled up in the front and before anyone got to the back.

Jim was sure when the banks opened they would
find his accounts cleaned out. He would be in Phoenix just after lunch. Jim had
asked the detective to phone the nursing homes where the doctor had patients
and see if all of them were OK.