Death at Lampier

  Chapter 27

  At the office, Fred and Oriole mapped out the case and the still unknowns:

  Where did the cord come from?

  Why was Lisa at the Lampier residence and how did she get there?

  Was Bobby meeting with Phil and if so, why?

  What did Schumann’s disappearance have to do with the case, if anything?

  Where was the missing money?

  Did Bobby meet with Lisa the day she died?

  As the detectives compiled the list of knowns and unknowns, they attacked the issues with brainstorming, throwing out ideas and possibilities for further investigation. Fred took the issue of Bobby and Phil, while Oriole took on the Schumann development.

  Fred called the diner to find out more about the meeting with Phil and Bobby and to see if either of the waitresses could remember anything significant. Both Mary and Jill remembered the meeting, but neither could remember any conversation that might have occurred.

  Oriole met with Margie at the office of the accountant. Margie admitted to not knowing a lot about the business.

  "Where would your husband keep important papers?"

  "Probably in the safe. He always forgot the combination, so he switched to my birthday as the code. We can open it and see if there is anything in there."

  "What would you expect there to be?"

  "Why, I guess bank accounts, stocks, stuff like that. What are you looking for specifically?"

  "That's the problem. Right now we aren't sure. We're looking for things that are missing that we expect to find. For instance, would there be any cash?"

  "He would have kept maybe $50.00 in the office for supplies, but nothing big. He used to have a coin collection that was worth about $10,000.00 he kept here in the safe. I think the reason he had it here was so I couldn't get my hands on it."

  "Go ahead and open the safe, Ma'am."

  "Who would have thought it?" Margie exclaimed as she dragged documents, coins, and videos out of the safe.

  "We probably need to stop right here. I'll call in for a search warrant specifically for the contents of the safe before we get into an area we shouldn't get into."

  Oriole got the local magistrate on the phone and got a telephonic search warrant for anything and everything in the accountant's safe. In the process of a thorough search, Oriole discovered the videos were foreign kiddie porn, the coin collection was reported stolen from a Sedona couple, that come to find out, Tom Schumann had gone to their house to do their taxes. Oriole bagged and tagged everything in the safe, as well as documents relating to Lisa or Phil.

  "Margie, it looks like there is an aspect of your husband that you may not have been aware of. Did you ever suspect that he may have engaged in illegal activities?"

  "I'm dumb struck. I figured all the late hours he was really working, not loping his mule. How do you think I feel?" Everything always seemed to come back to it being all about her.

  Oriole called Fred with an update and a suggestion of a call to the county attorney's office for permission to get an arrest warrant on Tom for the porn.

  "I think we found the embezzler. There were all sorts of records on the transfers he made from Lisa's accounts. Looks close to $150,000.00 in fraudulent actions. Phil might be off the hook on stealing."

  "Look, I've got some stuff I have to do before I get home. You go ahead and process the warrant and I'll be home in time for dinner."

  "It's okay. I can wait for you." Oriole was a little surprised at his directive because they rarely, if ever, had secrets from each other.

  "Its stuff I gotta do by myself. I won't be too long." Fred did not want to go into details of his errands.

  Oriole finished up her paperwork and drove to Bear Ranch.

  "Summer, did you notice anything odd about Fred today? He brushed me off for the first time ever."

  "Now, honey, sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. I'm sure he has a good reason and he'll tell us if and when he's ready. Supper'll be a little late, Marlowe's tied up with a late client and Chalcey is over next door." Summer washed the fresh vegetables and cleaned the fish in preparation for supper while Oriole locked up her duty weapon and changed clothes.