Orchid Blues

23

Holly called the Miami bureau of the FBI and asked for Harry Crisp. He came on the line immediately.

"Hey there, Holly."

"Hey, Harry. I've got bad news."

"What?"

"The Lake Winachobee people didn't bite on Ham."

"Not even a nibble?"

"When Ham mentioned I was chief of police, the guy went cold and got out."

"Out of where?"

"He came to Ham's house."

"Why did Ham mention that you were a cop?"

"We figured they'd find out anyway-read the papers or something. Ham told him we don't get along, and that he didn't like Jackson, thought he was a Jew."

"Why the Jewish reference?"

"Rawlings brought along an autographed copy of The Turner Diaries."

"Oh."

"I'm really disappointed. I thought Ham could take this guy."

"You know, when we were involved in that Palmetto Gardens thing, I had a look at Ham's service record."

"You can do that?"

"Let's just say I did it. After what I saw in there, I would have thought that Ham could handle just about anything, anytime."

"That's pretty much the truth. Except for me."

"How's that?"

"He could never handle me, but I always let him think he could."

"Oh."

"What are we going to do now, Harry? Can you put somebody into that group?"

"It would take months, Holly, maybe longer. Did Ham get a name for the group?"

"No."

"If we had a name, if we knew who we were targeting, then that might help. I might be able to find an undercover guy who had some up-front credentials with right-wing groups who could go in there fully recommended. I mean, if they're associated with other groups. But if we don't know who they are, then we don't know which buttons to push."

"Well, so far we know they're weapons nuts, that they're anti-Semitic and antisocial, and of course, that they rob banks and kill people."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We don't know that last part."

"You're right, I'm jumping ahead."

"We've got to do this one step at a time."

"Have you heard anything on Franklin Morris and his wife?"

"Not a peep. It's like they drove off the edge of the earth."

"I'll bet you anything they're out at Lake Winachobee right this minute."

"If we had probable cause to think so, we could go in there with an arrest warrant."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be worth it. We might pick up Morris, but the current charges against him are minor, and the group would know we were onto them."

"I suppose we could take a look at them from the gun show angle, but once again, we'd tip our hand that we were interested in them."

"This is depressing."

"The only thing we can do right now is to just wait for something to happen."

"What, for them to rob another bank? Kill somebody else? They're flush with ill-gotten cash right now, and they've got no reason to do another bank."

Hurd Wallace stuck his head through her doorway. "Holly, Joy Williams from Southern Trust is on the line. She says it's important."

"Harry, can you hold on for just a minute?" Holly asked.

"Sure."

She punched the hold button, then answered the call. "Hi, Joy."

"Chief, I've got some news, and it's bad."

"What's the problem?"

"The bank has completed its audit of Franklin Morris's loan portfolio, and it looks like he's taken us for about $175,000."

"How?"

"By making loans to fictitious small businesses with bogus documentation, all of them under his $25,000 limit for loan approvals."

"Joy, I've got the FBI on the other line; I'll have them get in touch with you."

"All right, thanks, Chief."

Holly pressed another button. "Harry, you there?"

"I'm here."

"Southern Trust just called. They've audited Franklin Morris's records and he's embezzled $175,000 from the bank by making bogus loans. I told them I'd get you on it."

"That's weird," Harry said.

"What's weird about it? Isn't that sort of what we suspected?"

"Yeah, but if he's in cahoots with the Winachobee folks, who may have just stolen millions from the bank, why is he doing nickel-and-dime loan embezzlement that would have gotten him caught before he could steal very much? It doesn't make any sense."

"You have a point"

"And if the Harston woman is the group's inside person for the bank robbery, why would they need Morris in there? Certainly not for the money, and Harston could have told them all they needed to know about when the bank had a lot of cash on hand. They wouldn't have needed Morris for that."

"So?"

"So, maybe Morris is an independent, or working with another group with less ambition than the Winachobee folks. Maybe the bank was just unlucky enough to have two employees independently planning to steal them blind at the same time."

"That's a mighty big coincidence, isn't it? Didn't you once say to me that you didn't believe in coincidences?"

"I must have been drunk," Harry said. "Coincidences happen all the time. I know of one case where two pairs of guys showed up to rob the same bank at exactly the same moment. They ended up shooting it out with each other, two killed, two wounded."

"That's a pretty big coincidence, I guess."

"You bet your ass it is, but coincidences happen."

"I guess they do."

"Well, I'd better get another investigation going into the Morris embezzlement. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, Harry, take care." Holly hung up, depressed.