California Fire And Life

108

Jack walks back into the office, they're all looking at him like they're seeing a ghost.

Jack hears the whispers as he walks down the narrow aisle through the cubicles. Fired… perjury… kickbacks… crooked cop…

"I'm baa-aack!" Jack sings out.

Some of the dogs turn around in their cubicles, bury their faces in their monitors. Except one who picks up her phone, cups her hand around the receiver and starts whispering.

So Hansen has released a Be on the Lookout For and this babe can't wait to drop the dime. But it'll take them some time to work out how to handle it. There'll be calls up and down, calls to Billy, calls to Mahogany Row…

So you have time but not a lot of time.

He sits down and starts banging the computer.

Gets into the California Secretary of State's database and types in "Westview."

Which is not the happiest name to be researching if you happen to be located on the West Coast.

The screen brings up a couple of hundred of them.

Westview Travel, Westview Realty, Westview Retirement, Westview Recreational Vehicles, Westview Condominium Association…

Westview Ltd.

Jack goes with Westview Ltd.

A limited partnership will only show the general partners, not the shareholders. They're anonymous until you can get your hands on the actual limited partnership agreement, which would have to be subpoenaed.

So it's a good vehicle to play the ownership shell game.

Jack double-clicks on Westview Ltd. and requests an LP1 statement, which lists the general partners.

A James Johnson, a Benjamin Khafti and an Orange Coast Ltd.

Another limited partnership.

Jack requests an LP1 statement for Orange Coast Ltd.

A Howard Krasner, a Grant Lederer, another limited partnership.

CrossCo Ltd.

Jack requests an LP1 for CrossCo.

And on and on and on.

Every hit gets him a couple of hypothetical people and another limited partnership.

The ownership shell game.

Find the moving owners under the shell.

Jack keeps playing.

He's twelve layers deep when he hits on Jerisoco Ltd.

Bingo.

General partners: a Michael Allen, Kazimir Azmekian and something called Gold Coast Ltd.

Gold Coast Ltd.

Back to the shell game. He pops it for an LP1 and gets another meaningless name and two more limited partnerships. Those two get him three more.

And so on and so on and so on and then he hits it.

Great Sunsets Ltd.

Jack's head whirls.

Great Sunsets Ltd. – the company that's trying to develop Dana Strands.

And it's hooked into Kazzy Azmekian and Nicky Vale.

Holy God.

Jack sees two security guys and Cooper, the ex-cop from SIU, coming down the aisle.

Jack requests an LP1 for Great Sunsets Ltd.

The computer hums.

Come on, come on, Jack thinks.

They're fifty feet away.

Come on, Jack thinks.

Because he can feel the paranoia crawl up his back like a hot wave.

Jack looks around and feels like the walls are closing in on him.

They are.