“Then she came to me last week in tears. The guy told her that was just her down payment and he wanted another eight grand for the trip or she’d lose her deposit.” She shook her head. “Two thousand is a good deal, ten is highway robbery. We called the Better Business Bureau and they took a report. I guess they’d heard a lot of the same story and they suggested Mary sue the guy to get her money back.”
“Which is where you came in?” I popped the rest of the cookie into my mouth and went to the counter to pour coffee. This was going to be an extended discussion. I might need to call one of my former coworkers to get Aunt Jackie legal counsel, but first I wanted to know the entire story.
“I figured she’d have a stronger case if we could prove he was tricking people. He ran an advertisement in the Bakerstown Senior Times paper. Who knows how many people have just paid the extra money, thinking it was legit.” She pulled out the leather notebook I’d seen Mary give her yesterday. “And this proves it. Jill, he targets the elderly, makes notes about how much he ‘thinks’ they have in their accounts, then jacks the price based on their ability to pay.”
I glanced down at the notebook. “You realize that’s proof you were in his office?”
Aunt Jackie stared at the cover. “It’s also proof he’s been robbing people. Greg can charge him with that, right?”
Financial law hadn’t been one of my stronger subjects in law school. What I did know was it was darn hard to make a case against someone for fraud. My aunt had lost nearly all her retirement savings due to a pyramid scheme. I understood her need to help a friend.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think we need to call in the big guns.” I pulled out my cell and dialed Matt’s private line. He was the first associate in our group to make partner and crazy good with all the financial stuff. When I explained my aunt’s problem, he agreed to meet with us after a late lunch on Tuesday. When I got off the phone, I smiled. “At least Matt thinks he can spin a case with the DA to get you off the criminal charge.”
Aunt Jackie refilled her coffee cup and pushed the book toward me. “I want Mary to get her money back. Hold on to this for me. I’d hate to have the guy show up and strong-arm me for the evidence.”
Now I was worried. “You think he would do that? Maybe you should stay here with me until this is cleared up?”
“No need. Josh is having dinner with me and will watch me lock up tonight. No one is going to get into my apartment without him noticing. The guy is a security freak.” She shrugged. “Did you know he had the same system the bank has installed in his building? He says we need to talk to this company and get our building wired.”
She pushed a card toward me. I read the business card.
Stay Safe Security Cheryl Paine Regional Sales Representative “Kent’s ex-wife was the rep for the bank’s security system? No wonder Greg has to deal with the auditors. What was he thinking?” I tapped the card on the table. “Can I keep this? I think Greg needs to know this.”
Aunt Jackie stood. “As long as you consider the shop buying a system, too. Josh says Cheryl’s very knowledgeable. And it’s all high-tech stuff.”
Which seems to go haywire at a moment’s notice. I promised my aunt we’d talk more about buying a security package. I planned on talking to Cheryl, but I was pretty sure I’d take our business to another company, no matter what Josh said. The woman seemed to control too much of the South Cove security business as it stood.
After my aunt left, I called the number on the card and got an appointment scheduled for Cheryl to stop by tomorrow morning. I’d have the information before Jackie and I left for her lawyer visit. Glancing at the clock, I realized I needed to get the ingredients made for the kabobs we’d planned for dinner in case Greg could sneak away from the station.
I chopped up the steak and put it in a bag to marinate, then went to work on the shrimp and veggies. When I finished, I still had time for a quick shower, then applying makeup and blow-drying and curling my hair into submission.
When I returned downstairs, Greg was in the kitchen, drinking a glass of iced tea. “Hope you don’t mind, I was dying of thirst.”
“I gave you the key for just such an emergency.” I kissed him on the top of the head as I passed by on my way for my own drink. “Should I get the kabobs out? How long do you have?”
“Just grab yourself something and come sit down. I want to relax for a minute.” He reached down and petted Emma. “How was your shopping trip?”
“Interesting.” I sat down across from him. “Did you know Pampered Pet Palace sells poison tree frogs?”
Greg didn’t look up from petting Emma; she was loving the attention. “Really?”
“I ran into Anne from the bank. She owns snakes and frogs.” He couldn’t yell at me later for not telling him everything.
“Interesting. She seemed more like a cat person.” Greg sipped his iced tea, now watching me.
My head bobbled like one of those ball player statues you get for attending games. “Exactly, that’s what I told her.”