Betrayal

Chapter 11

JIM KINGSTON WAS LED into Victor Carson’s private office by his secretary. She was young, wore a short skirt, and had masses of blond hair piled up on her head. And Jim couldn’t help noticing that her sweater was too tight. He was wondering if Carson was sleeping with her, when Victor walked into the room. He was wearing a white shirt, a dark gray suit, and an expensive tie. He looked like a banker or a lawyer. Jim knew the firm had many important clients, and they sometimes took a percentage of their clients’ revenues, but in Tallie’s case she paid a retainer and hourly fees. Her income was too big for her to agree to a percentage, and Victor had told him on the phone that Tallie was one of his biggest clients. He had been shocked to get a call from the FBI, and Jim had confirmed that it was about her missing cash.

“I had no idea that Ms. Jones had reported it to the FBI,” Victor commented, looking nervous. He appeared uncomfortable as Jim looked around his office, and as though he might have something to hide. But he had been quick to invite Jim and the forensic accountant to look over his books and Tallie’s. Jim wanted to see both, and to see what kind of financial shape Victor and his firm were in.

Jim spent a few minutes looking over Tallie’s spreadsheet again, the same one that had been given to their Japanese investors, and that Tallie had given him on Sunday morning at her house. Victor showed Jim her electronic general ledger then, from which most of the information on the spreadsheet had been taken, and then Jim told Victor that he wanted to look at his books too.

“What does that have to do with Ms. Jones’s accounts?” Victor asked with a protective look.

“We like to look at everything,” Jim said quietly. “How long have you known Ms. Jones’s assistant, Brigitte Parker, by the way?”

“For as long as we’ve done Ms. Jones’s accounting, for the past fifteen years.”

“Would you say she’s usually accurate in the information she reports to you?”

“I’ve always thought so,” Victor said thoughtfully. “She’s very efficient. Or at least she seemed to be, until I noticed the cash that was unaccounted for in the audit. I thought maybe they were paying some of Ms. Jones’s bills in cash, and I didn’t want to lose the deductions, so I mentioned it. And Ms. Jones informed me that they don’t pay any of the bills in cash.”

“Did you ask Ms. Parker about it?”

“Only superficially. She said they spend that amount in cash every month and Ms. Jones spends more than she thinks.”

“Or Ms. Parker spends more than Ms. Jones thinks,” Jim Kingston said cryptically. “Where do you think the cash is going, Mr. Carson?” Jim asked him with a pointed look.

“I have no idea. Restaurants, clothes, gifts. It’s hard to guess what people spend it on. Ms. Jones doesn’t spend a lot of money on frivolous things, although she lives well. And it was hard figuring out who was paying for what while Mr. Lloyd was living there. He spends quite a lot of money too.”

“And you do his books as well?” Jim noticed that Victor was perspiring increasingly, as Jim asked him the questions. He looked like a very nervous man.

“Yes, I do. And I prepare Ms. Parker’s taxes, I have for several years.”

“So you work for all three of them?” Victor nodded. “And how would you say your firm is doing? Has it been a good year?”

“Not as good as some earlier years,” he admitted. “Things are tight for everyone right now. Even in my business.”

“And would you say that you spend a lot of money, personally?” Victor hadn’t expected the question and started sweating profusely when Jim asked. He had no idea why he would want to know that, and Victor hesitated before he answered.

“Yes, I have considerable expenses…” He glanced around nervously and then back at Jim. “I have a very young wife. She expects a lot, and things aren’t quite as… as flush as they were when I married her three years ago. She wanted to be an actress, and it hasn’t worked out as well as she’d hoped.” He was babbling, and Jim said nothing as he watched. “She’s been… she’s been… she’s been negotiating a postnuptial agreement with me.”

“Really?” Jim looked fascinated as Victor burbled on. “And how much does she want?”

“Five million. I told her that’s impossible. Then she asked for three, but that’s impossible too. I gave her seven hundred thousand three years ago when we got married, but I couldn’t do that again either right now. I thought that initial gift would keep her happy, but now she wants more.” He looked panicked as he explained it to Jim.

“And if you won’t pay her what she wants now?”

“She says she’ll divorce me.” He looked as though he was near tears. “She’s a beautiful girl. And she’s twenty-nine years old. It’s hard for a man my age to satisfy someone with ambitions like that. I’ve been divorced twice before, and paid alimony and settlements. I have children… she doesn’t understand. And she’s had quite a lot of plastic surgery, for her movie career, and that’s expensive too. She doesn’t realize what it takes to amass a fortune in today’s world. I have a sizable income, but not enough to be giving away several million dollars in a lump sum. I’m not sure I could afford a divorce either right now, or the kind of alimony she wants.” He sounded like a desperate man, but it was all out front, he was waving his problems at Jim like a red flag at a bull. There was nothing hidden about him, and Jim had already figured that he was married to a young gold digger who was taking him for a ride, and twenty-five thousand in cash was probably nothing to her. A girl like that wanted more, and he didn’t think Victor Carson was dumb enough to be stealing small amounts from his clients to satisfy a greedy young wife. He may have been foolish and gullible, but Jim sensed that he was ethical too. They would take a serious look at his books, and he was sure that he would find in Victor’s own balance sheet a man mortgaged to the hilt, trying to squeeze out every penny he could of his own money, so his wife didn’t divorce him. He was willing to ruin himself for her, but probably not steal from his clients and go to prison. He might end up in the poorhouse, thanks to her, but not behind bars. Carson struck Jim as the kind of man who was scrupulously honest, paid all his taxes, and did everything by the book, for both himself and his clients. He was too nervous not to, and his obvious desperation made him an unlikely suspect.

The person who was stealing from Tallie was more likely to be far more hidden, more clandestine, and much smoother. Victor looked so guilty, he probably wasn’t, and Jim felt sorry for him as he listened to another hour of his woes. He wanted to tell him to divorce his wife before she destroyed him, but he didn’t say anything, he just listened. If he had to guess, Jim would have said that he wasn’t the culprit. He was just a sad old man being used by a young woman who had seen him as an easy mark and was going to get everything out of it she could before she dumped him. And it sounded like it was going to be soon.

“Why don’t we have a look at your books, then?” Jim suggested, and they went into the conference room where the forensic accountant was working, and Jim’s partner Jack sat quietly by. The accountant had several ledgers spread out in front of him, and a computer with Tallie’s general ledger on the screen, and everything seemed to be in order, to the extent that it was on the spreadsheet Jim had already seen. There was twenty-five thousand taken out in cash every month, but other than that, it was all accounted for.

And that afternoon they looked at the ledgers of the firm itself, and Victor’s own spreadsheet. By five o’clock Jim said they were through for now, would let him know if they had further questions and thanked Victor for his cooperation. Victor was mopping his brow with a white handkerchief when they left, and he looked exhausted. For a moment, he had thought they were going to arrest him and accuse him of stealing Tallie’s cash. Jim wished it could have been that simple, but there was no question in his mind, Victor Carson wasn’t it. Far from it. And he felt genuinely sorry for him.

“That poor old guy is going broke for some bimbo,” Jack Sprague said, after talking to the forensic accountant. “She spent two hundred thousand on plastic surgery last year alone, not to mention four hundred thousand on clothes. She must be something.”

“Probably not,” Jim said, grinning. “But he thinks she is. That’s the problem. It’s sad when women sucker in guys like that. What do you think of his books?”

“They look clean to me and the forensic guys,” Jack confirmed.

“They did to me too. I think we’re wasting our time if we go after him. He’s not cooking his books. He’s too busy trying to keep his head above water to keep his beauty queen happy.”

“She must be a real bitch,” Jack commented as they got back to their car in the garage underneath Victor’s building.

“She’s trying to hit him up for five million dollars,” Jim told him.

“He doesn’t have it,” Jack said emphatically.

“I know. He told me. Twenty-five thousand a month wouldn’t keep her happy for ten minutes. He knows it too, and it wouldn’t be worth the risk to him. He needs millions.”

“She spends more than twenty-five thousand on shoes,” Jack said, shaking his head as Jim started the car. They paid for the parking and drove away.

“Next,” Jim said with a smile. It had been an interesting day, but had gotten them nowhere, and they were going to have to go back to Victor Carson’s office to see his books another day. But he hadn’t really expected Victor Carson to be their embezzler. It would have been too simple and too sweet. And it never worked that way.

Their next meeting was with Hunter Lloyd the following week. Jim wanted to interview him. Hunt hadn’t been able to see them till then, he was too busy. His secretary said he was meeting with investors. Hunt looked concerned when Jim and Jack walked in. He thought they looked the way FBI men did in movies. They were perfect for the part, and just what he would have expected. He said so to them, and Jim laughed.

“Maybe we should audition for a movie,” Jim said with a broad smile, but he was taking the measure of the man as he observed Hunt. He already didn’t like him from what he knew about him. “Looking for new investors?” he asked Hunt casually, and he nodded.

“Yes, we’ve just had a problem with a deal that fell apart for our next picture,” Hunt said, looking distressed.

“And why is that?” Jim asked innocently. There were days when he loved being FBI and could ask any question he wanted, no matter how uncomfortable it made the subject. He could see Hunt didn’t like the question.

“Some of the elements fell out of bed on our next movie. We lost our director.”

“And who was that?”

“Tallie Jones,” Hunt said through pursed lips and then relaxed. “Maybe you knew that already?” Jim shook his head.

“You’re making a film with her right now, aren’t you?” Jim asked with interest.

“Yes, I am. But there have been some changes in our circumstances,” he said, and Jim raised an eyebrow. He was all ears and curious about how Hunt would explain it. “We were living together. I just moved out. You know how women are about those things. They get vengeful.” He tried to brush it off, and Jim nodded as though he understood completely. Jack had said nothing so far. He was watching the exchange and Hunt’s expression. He didn’t know the history as well as Jim did, but he knew enough to let Jim take the lead. Interrogation had always been Jim’s strong suit.

“How long were you together?” Jim asked him, pretending not to know. He was convincing.

“Four years.”

“That’s a long time. Sorry it didn’t work out.”

“So am I,” Hunt said, looking uncomfortable. “It’s complicated. We’re both busy, travel a lot. Sometimes it’s hard to keep things on track and heading in the right direction.” Jim nodded sympathetically and wanted to add “especially if you cheat and sleep with her best friend,” but didn’t.

“Understandable,” Jim said vaguely. “During the time you lived with her, did you ever get the feeling that anyone was taking advantage of her and stealing from her?”

“Not really,” Hunt said with a thoughtful look.

“Is she careless with money? Lose track of what she spends?”

“No, she’s not careless. But she’s busy, and she trusts other people to handle those things for her, and maybe she shouldn’t.”

“Like whom?”

“Her accountant, her assistant. Tallie gets so busy with her work that she forgets everything else. She likes having other people handle the details in her life, and she assumes they’re honest and will do it correctly.” Jim suspected that was an accurate description.

“Do you think her accountant is honest?” Jim asked then.

“Of course. He does my financial work too. I think he’s completely trustworthy. A little too conservative but good.”

“And her assistant?”

There was a long pause before Hunt answered. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “She and Tallie work very closely. They seem to have their own systems. I never interfered or asked much about what they did.”

“After four years?” Jim looked surprised.

“We weren’t married, and I didn’t think her finances were any of my business. She never asked for my advice.”

“Did you get the feeling, though, that her assistant was honest? Does she strike you as an honorable person?” It was a trick question, and Hunt couldn’t answer it, because he hadn’t been honest or honorable either, and he wondered if Jim knew it.

“I think Tallie thought so. They’ve worked together for seventeen years, and Tallie trusted her implicitly for that entire time.”

“And now?”

“There was some question about cash when I left. I think her assistant said something about my taking it. I never did. I don’t need Tallie’s money and never used it, for anything. And I do all my business by credit card. I assume that’s why you’re here, about the missing cash.”

“In part. And whatever else turns up along the way.” Jim smiled expansively at him. “Anything else about the assistant that you noticed or concerned you?” Hunt thought about it for a long minute, and Jim wondered what he was thinking.

“I think she wants to be Tallie. I always thought that,” Hunt said quietly. “That happens a lot in our business, with celebrities or stars. The people who work for them are starstruck, and then slowly they get sucked into wanting to be them. You hear about it all the time. They get a sense of entitlement by association, and confused about who they are and what their role is. Some of them are far grander than the stars themselves. Like in Tallie’s case, she’s a very modest person and very unpretentious and down to earth. Brigitte is a lot more glamorous than she is. I’ve always thought that she’s confused. She’s a classic Hollywood wannabe. She drives around in a fancy car, wears expensive clothes and a lot of jewelry. Tallie looks like she dresses at Goodwill, and will drive anything on wheels no matter how battered. Brigitte is a lot more conscious of her own image. And that’s expensive to maintain, although I’m sure Tallie pays her well and she gets a lot of perks with her job.”

“Like what?” Jim looked interested by what he was saying.

“Free clothes, free jewelry, free trips, a good deal on fancy cars.”

“And did you see a lot of those free gifts come in while you lived with Ms. Jones?”

“No, I didn’t,” he admitted, “but I heard a lot about them, and I know it’s common practice.”

“Did you hear about them from Tallie?”

“No, from Brigitte. I don’t think Tallie cared or even thought about them. It’s not her thing.”

“Do you think the gifts went to her assistant’s house?”

“I have no idea.” He looked uncomfortable to be asked.

“Did you ever go to her house?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Did you meet her anywhere else outside of work?” Hunt glared at him when Jim asked the question, and he didn’t want to lie to the FBI. He didn’t know what they’d heard.

“It’s not important, but yes, I did meet her outside of work occasionally.”

“Did Ms. Jones know?”

“No, not at the time. She does now.”

“Did you tell her?”

“No.”

“Did Brigitte?”

“I’m not sure. I think a private detective did. Maybe Brigitte told her too by now. I don’t know.” Hunt looked excruciatingly uncomfortable as he answered, and then he gave up more than he had originally intended. “I had an affair with her, which was extremely stupid of me. It went on for almost three years. She blackmailed me into it. And it’s part of why Ms. Jones and I separated recently.”

“Do you still see Brigitte now?” Jim asked him quietly.

“Hell, no. She’s a troublemaker of the worst kind. I was seeing someone else, and I believe Brigitte told her, as revenge because I finally ended our affair. So she told Tallie about the other woman. I guess you could say that I was a fool twice. I’m not proud of it, and Ms. Jones is very upset about it. It all came to light very recently. I’m living with the other woman now. We’re having a baby.” He figured they’d find out anyway, so he wanted to put it all on the table.

“Congratulations,” Jim said about the baby, and Hunt literally squirmed in his seat.

“Well… yes… thank you. It’s all a little complicated and difficult.”

“Did you ever take money from Tallie-Ms. Jones while you lived with her?”

“No. I don’t need to. We kept everything separate, and I paid some of the expenses to make up for living at her house.” Jim nodded. “It all worked very well for a long time.” He sounded almost sad as he said it.

“Except that you had affairs with two other women and fathered a baby, while living with her. That does sound complicated,” Jim said with a rueful smile, and Hunt looked away. It sounded terrible when someone else said it, even to him. Jim wondered if he was a decent guy who had behaved like an asshole, or if he was just an asshole. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference. It made him think of Victor Carson, who was ruining himself over a young girl and making a fool of himself. Hunt wasn’t much better, although he had more style. But Victor was probably faithful to his gold digger. And Hunt had cheated for four years on a decent woman who loved him. It made you wonder sometimes what people had in their heads, or if it was all in their pants.

“Anything else you’d like to tell me about Brigitte?”

“No, except that maybe I think she’s conniving. And she’s no friend to Tallie if she was sleeping with me. She tricked me into it, and I think she planned it, while Tallie was away, right in the beginning when we were dating. She wanted what Tallie had, that wannabe thing again. She threatened to tell Tallie if I didn’t keep seeing her. It was a miserable situation.”

“Did Brigitte ever ask you for money?” Hunt shook his head. “Or blackmail you for money?”

“Just with exposure. But she obviously doesn’t have Tallie’s best interests at heart, although she pretends to. She wants to be Tallie, not work for her or be her friend. And Tallie has no concept of how big a star she is. Envy is a terrible thing, and very dangerous. Tallie just goes along, with her immense talent, doing her work and leading her quiet life, oblivious to all of it,” he said wistfully, and Jim thought he was still in love with her and regretted what he had done. But it was too late now. And he was living with another woman and having a baby, so loving Tallie would do him no good.

“I think we’ve covered it for now, Mr. Lloyd,” Jim said as he stood up. “We’ll let you know if we have any other questions, as things develop.”

“Do you know who took the money?” Hunt asked with interest.

“We’re getting there.” Jim smiled at him. “Thank you for your time.” The three men shook hands, and Hunt looked troubled as they left his office. He hoped the prime suspect wasn’t him.

Jim and Jack didn’t speak as they left Hunt’s office, and not until they were in the car.

“He seems like a pretty honest guy,” Jack commented. “He acted like a jerk to her, but other than that he seems like a decent guy.” Jim didn’t agree with him, but he didn’t get into it. A man who had cheated on the woman he lived with, for four years, was not a decent guy in his book, nor an honest one. Although Jim believed that he had told the truth to them. And to Jim, honesty was not something you took on and off, like a hat.

“He’s not our suspect,” Jim said firmly.

“I agree with you, but what makes you say that?” He always liked comparing notes with Jim. He was a smart guy.

“He was honest with us. He’s not afraid to look bad. He’s not covering up. I knew the answers to some of those questions, and he told the truth. And he doesn’t need the money.”

“I agree on all points. And I think he’s still in love with her.”

“Probably,” Jim said coolly. He didn’t think much of him, but he didn’t believe he’d been stealing money from Tallie. He was certain of that. That left Brigitte, but he wasn’t ready to see her yet. He wanted to line up all his ducks before he did.