Act Normal, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 9

the lobby I was intercepted by Vincent Hunnicutt. I stopped to listen to what he had to say.

  "Stan. I'm sorry about what happened. I had no idea what was coming down."

  "I hope not. There's nothing like kicking a man when he's down. It's great sport. At least some people think so."

  "It must have been Ralph Herman. He must have called the U.S. Attorney in addition to the bank."

  "You're probably right. The son of a bitch!"

  I started walking toward the elevator. "I'm going up to the Marshall's office right now to find out what the charges are and see about bond."

  "I'll go with you. The bank is involved because the money was allegedly wire transferred from the company account at the bank to the Cayman Island account."

  "Ben thinks it's the money Herman embezzled. That's why there's no money in the account now. Herman waited until he'd drained the account before he revealed its existence. How could he set up an account like that without Ben or Alice knowing about it?"

  "He probably signed whatever Ralph put in front of them. They trusted him."

  "Right," I said. "Because he was family. What a mistake. This guy is pure evil."

  We went in the Marshall's office and asked about Ben. They said he'd been charged with concealing assets under 18 U.S.C. Section 152. They said I could visit him but he'd have to stay in jail until he was arraigned before the U.S. Magistrate the following morning. There wasn't much to talk about so I just assured him I'd do everything I could to get him out on bond and left. Hunnicutt promised to fax me a copy of everything he had when he got back to his office. I thanked him and went back to Ben's house to see how Rebekah and Alice were doing.

  Rebekah opened the door when I got there and said Alice was lying down. She said her daughter was on her way over. While we were waiting, I got on the telephone to Roger Rand to see if he knew anybody in Waco who could handle the bond for us. Fortunately, he did know someone here and said he'd call them. He promised to call us back later that afternoon.

  The fax from Hunnicutt came in about fifteen minutes later and I eagerly flipped through it. There was a signature card and account agreement both with Ben's signature on them. I gave them to Alice and asked her to look at them carefully. I wanted to know if there was any possibility that they were forged. She said they looked like Ben's signature but she couldn't be 100 percent sure. I told her we'd need to hire a handwriting expert because we had to prove these signatures were forgeries or Ben would surely be convicted.

  Before we left Ben's place Roger Rand called back and said he'd arranged bond. All we needed to do was have Alice call Lucky Bonding in Waco in the morning and arrange to go by and fill out some paperwork. When Alice's daughter arrived, we left to have dinner and find somewhere to stay that night. It had been a horrible day and Rebekah and I were exhausted. As I lay awake in bed that night, I wondered what could go wrong at the arraignment. Would Ralph Herman have someone there to cause more trouble? I prayed to God that wouldn't be the case.

  The next day I called Larry Wakefield, the McClennan County assistant DA who was prosecuting Herman. I asked him if he would agree to testify at the bond hearing. If Ralph Herman was the informant who provided information to the U.S. Attorney that led to the indictment, I'd want someone there to impeach him. I also arranged for some of Ben and Alice's friends and business associates to testify as to their character, ties to the community, and lack of flight risk.

  When we arrived at the U.S. Magistrate's courtroom we were introduced to Thomas Stokely, the assistant U.S. Attorney assigned to prosecute the case. He was a tall stout man in his early forties. I told him we were quite surprised by the arrest and wondered what prompted it, but he had little to say about it. I asked him what kind of bond he would be asking for and he replied $500,000.

  "That's a lot of money," I suggested.

  He shrugged. "He's a major flight risk. The guy has at least one offshore bank account. How do we know he doesn't have other offshore accounts as well?"

  "His business hasn't been that profitable to be sending money offshore. In fact, he barely survived this last year. Ralph Herman set up that account over a year ago and his embezzlement nearly put Ben and Alice Stover out of business. In fact, as of yesterday it's not nearly anymore. They are officially out of business."

  "I'm not going to try the case today, Mr. Turner. Today I'm just going to do my best to keep your client in jail so he can stand trial for his crimes."

  It was no use arguing. I'd done all I could, so I took a seat and waited for the magistrate to take the bench. A few minutes later he appeared and everyone came to their feet.

  There were about a dozen matters on the docket and after eight of them had been finalized the clerk called Ben Stover's name.

  "The United States of America vs. Benjamin T. Stover," the clerk announced.

  Ben Stover was escorted to the defense table where I joined him. Stokely went to the lectern and addressed the court. "Your Honor, the defendant is charged with concealing assets in a chapter 11 case recently filed in this district. We have evidence that suggests he systematically extracted money from his business and deposited it to an offshore bank account for his own personal use and enjoyment. It appears his plan was to deceive his creditors by filing this bankruptcy. By failing to disclose material assets of the company's estate he committed bankruptcy fraud under 18 U.S.C. Section 152."

  "What amount of bond are you requesting?" the magistrate asked.

  "$500,000, Your Honor. We believe there is substantial flight risk as there may be other offshore bank accounts out there that haven't been discovered."

  "Very well," the magistrate said. "Mr. Turner. What do you have to say about this?"

  I stood up and replaced Stokely at the lectern. "Your Honor," my client has been a well-respected businessman in Waco for over twenty-five years. He and his wife Alice have raised a family here, they own real estate, and, of course, they employ over twenty-five people in their two plants.

  "What is particularly disturbing about this case is that the accusations that have prompted this arrest and indictment came from the very man who is responsible for Ben and Alice's Stover's financial problems—a man under indictment for embezzlement. In fact, the very offshore bank account allegedly set up by my client, we are pretty sure was set up by the accuser himself, Ralph Herman. We believe the money that was initially deposited into the offshore account was the money he embezzled from Ben and Alice Stover.

  "Therefore, we would request that the defendant be released on his own recognizance."

  "Thank you, Mr. Turner. "Mr. Stokely, you may call your first witness."

  Stokely went to the lectern and said, "The prosecution calls Ike Eiseman."

  A tall, slender man who looked to be in his early 30s stood up and approached the bench. He had a mustache and a smug look on his face. He took a seat and was administered the oath.

  "Mr. Stokely, "Do you know the defendant, Ben Stover?"

  He nodded. "Yes, I do."

  "How do you know him?"

  "I've been over at his office a few times on account of the fact that my best friend used to work for him."

  "And who is your best friend?"

  "Ralph Herman."

  "Now; is Mr. Herman in jail right now?"

  "Yes, because of that son of a—"

  I stood up. "Objection!"

  "Sustained. Watch your tongue, Mr. Eiseman. This is a court of law!" the Judge admonished.

  "Thank you," I said and sat down.

  Stokely continued, "Just answer the question, Mr. Eiseman. Your personal opinions are not needed here today. We just want to establish some factual issues."

  Eiseman sat back and nodded.

  "Now. Did I understand you to say your best friend, Ralph Herman, is in jail?"

  "Yes. That's about the size of it. The Stover’s had him arrested claiming he embezzled from them, but it's a lie."

  "What happened to all of his personal property when he went to jail?"
br />   "He left everything with me for safe keeping. I put it in my garage."

  "Before Mr. Herman went to jail, would he confide in you?"

  "Yes, he told me everything. You don't keep secrets from your best friend."

  "Did something happen recently that prompted you to start digging through Mr. Herman's records?"

  "Yes, I read about Ben Stover filing bankruptcy. I couldn't believe he was doing that since I knew he had a bank account in the Cayman Islands with lots of money in it."

  "How did you know that?"

  "Ralph made copies of everything in Ben Stover's office before he was arrested. I'd seen the bank statements. I just wanted to make sure my memory was correct before I called the FBI."

  "So, were the bank statements there?"

  "Yes, they were."

  "Did Ralph Herman have anything to do with you bringing this information to the FBI?"

  Eiseman shook his head vigorously. "Absolutely not, it was my idea. I was just trying to be a good citizen."

  Stokely smiled and looked at me. "Pass the witness."

  I knew Ben was screwed. Eiseman was lying through his teeth, but he was a good liar, and well-rehearsed There was no way I was going to be able to trip him up on cross exam, so I made it brief.

  "Mr. Eiseman. You testified you were Ralph Herman's best friend, right?"

  "Yes."

  "And you were close friends, so close you confided in each other, is that right?"

  "Yes, absolutely."

  "How did you feel when your friend was taken to jail?"

  "I felt like shit. What do you think?"

  "You were angry, right?"

  He nodded. "Of course, I