Deadly Distractions, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 6

CHAPTER 52

  FILLING IN THE BLANKS

  Stan had filed a motion for a new trial in my criminal case immediately after I was found guilty. The judge hadn't ruled on it when the Dusty Thomas case came to trial. Based on Lewis Lance's confession, Don Harris' connection to Ernesto Garcia, and a decidedly different attitude at the DA's office, I was granted a new trial and my conviction was set aside. I figured it was just a matter of time before the case would be dismissed all together. With the new trial came an end to my temporary suspension from practicing law. I was glad to get back on the job and anxious to get working again. Fortunately, after successfully defending Dusty Thomas, our services were in great demand, so it wasn't long before I had more work to do than I could possibly handle.

  In the meantime the DA's office was working on an indictment against Ernesto Garcia, Brian Armstrong, Maria Cabrillo, and Don Harris for the murder of Monty Dozier. They had managed to arrest a member of the 18th Street Gang who they suspected was involved in the murder. In exchange for immunity, he fingered Ernesto Garcia as the person who hired him, along with a couple of other gang members, to kill Monty.

  Right after Dusty Thomas' acquittal, his congressman began a campaign to have any remaining tax liability forgiven. He said it was the least the government could do after they had put Dusty and Martha though hell for six months. With the trial over and a clean slate with the government, it appeared Dusty's fortune's were improving.

  Even though the trial was over and it didn't really matter anymore, I was curious about the silver Mercedes. Was it a coincidence that it came along just after the murder? I asked Bart to get someone in the DA's office to ask Lewis Lance about it. Lance confirmed that Charlotte's silver Mercedes had indeed been out at the Double T Ranch on the day of Bobby Tuttle's murder. Don Harris had instructed Riley Davidson to take it and follow Lewis Lance and make sure he got the job done.

  Several weeks after the trial, I got a call from Jill. She had come out of hiding following Don Harris' arrest and incarceration. I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask her, so I suggested lunch. I brought along Charlotte and Regina Harris, as I thought that between the three of them, I could get some answers about Don Harris. We met at Vincent's in Addison.

  "I was so glad to hear your voice, Jill," I said. "I was worried Don had killed you."

  "He would have had he found me," Jill replied. "That's why I had to disappear. I'm sorry."

  "It's okay. I probably would have done the same thing. Luckily Charlotte agreed to testify, so we didn't absolutely need you."

  Jill turned to Charlotte and said, "I'm sorry—"

  Charlotte raised her finger to her mouth. "Shhh! Don't worry about it. I never figured Don would be faithful."

  "When we first met, he told me he was single," Jill said.

  Charlotte shook her head. "That figures."

  I said. "Listen. There's still one loose end that's troubling us."

  "What's that?" Charlotte asked.

  "General Moya. We're still worried that he might send an assassin to kill Stan and Tex. I'm sure you read about his threats in the newspaper."

  They all nodded.

  "Stan got a report from a friend in the CIA that Don Harris sold arms to General Moya. This is quite a coincidence, given Stan's kidnapping by General Moya. Did Don ever talk about General Moya?" I asked.

  "They met in college," Regina said. "They were a trio—Don, Ray, and Raul. I was dating Don at the time. That's how I know."

  "Really?"

  "Yes, General Moya's parents were rich and sent him to the U.S. to be educated. They stayed in the same dorm. While Raul was at UT, his parents were brutally murdered by agents of the current dictator there. Raul vowed to get revenge. Don and Ray had some kind of beef with the U.S. Army themselves, so the three of them had one big thing in common—a hatred for their governments."

  "Did Moya stay in school after his parents were killed?"

  "Yes, and they all graduated together in 1970. After graduation, they all went off in different directions—Don to North Texas, Ray to Washington, D.C., and Raul back to Ecuador, but they stayed in touch. Later on they started doing business together. When Raul joined the guerrillas to fight the government, Don started selling them arms. Then they got the idea of kidnapping American businessmen who were traveling in South America and collecting big ransoms. Don would locate and screen prospective victims to be sure they could pay the ransoms, and Raul would handle the kidnapping, imprisonment, and collection of the ransom. If they couldn't find Americans there to kidnap, they'd lure them there with shady business propositions that promised big rewards."

  "Like standing in for lost beneficiaries?" I asked.

  "Yes, this was one of their most lucrative schemes," Regina replied. "If a rich person died without heirs they would contact an American and propose that he come to Ecuador as a 'stand-in' beneficiary. They would provide all the documentation to prove the American was the actual beneficiary, and when the money was paid, they supposedly would split it. However, instead of splitting it they’d keep it all for themselves, kidnap the American, and demanded a ransom."

  "Jesus, I can't believe this kind of stuff goes on. It's so unreal," I said.

  "Oh, it's real, all right," Charlotte said. "Don went to Ecuador just after Bobby Tuttle's murder. I bet the purpose of the visit was to set up this scam."

  "You think? But how did they know Tex was one of Stan's clients? And how did they know he would go to Ecuador looking for him?" I asked.

  "I don't think they expected Stan to go to Ecuador. That probably was a big surprise and complicated matters a lot for them," Charlotte said.

  "But not as much as when Tex had the money wired into Stan's trust account," I said.

  "He did?" Charlotte said.

  "Yes, he instructed his banker in the Cayman Islands to immediately wire the money he received from Ecuador to Dallas into Stan's trust account," I said. "That probably saved his life because had the money still been in the Cayman account, Raul's men would have probably taken the money, kidnapped him, and then locked him away somewhere and demanded a ransom."

  "Boy, Raul is one greedy son of a bitch," Jill said.

  "Well, that's how he finances their guerrilla war against the government," Regina said.

  I shook my head. "Well, thank you, ladies. You filled in a lot of blanks for me. I really appreciate you meeting with me."

  "Well, thank you for getting rid of Don for us. He's an evil man who hopefully will spend the rest of his life behind bars," Charlotte said.

  "I hope they execute him, myself," Jill said.

  They all laughed.

  After lunch I went back to the office and relayed to Stan what I had learned. I felt badly because if I had probed Regina more during my initial interview with her, we might have discovered the connection between Don Harris and General Moya a lot earlier. Stan dismissed that notion as nonsense.

  "No one had even dreamed of that connection back then," Stan said.

  "I guess that's true. . . . I wonder how Don Harris picked Tex to lure to Ecuador?"

  "Hmm. I'm not sure."

  "How did they even know he was a client?" I asked.

  Stan thought about it some more and then replied, "Actually that wouldn't have been difficult at all. Clients often ask for references, so I have a list of them. Guess who's at the top of the list?"

  I shook my head and said, "Son of a bitch. He just called up here like he was a prospective client and asked for a reference before he retained you."

  "Yes, and now that you mention it, Jodie told me someone had called and asked for references while I was on vacation. Apparently they stopped by and picked up a firm brochure. Our top ten clients are listed there too."

  "Wonderful," I said. "Perhaps we should rethink giving out a reference sheet."

  "Perhaps, but we've got a bigger problem to worry about," Stan said.

  "What's that?"

  "Now that we've put Don and Ray behind bars, General Moya
is sure to be angry and has even more reason to make good on his assassination threats against me and Tex."

  "I know," I said. "So, what are you going to do?"

  "That's a good question," Stan said with a grim look on his face.