The package arrived by regular mail on Tuesday. It had been mailed Friday from Zurich. There was no return name or address, but Buzz recognized the handwriting. It was Ken’s.
Buzz hesitated for several minutes before he opened it. Ken’s death had hit Buzz hard and he was still grieving. Receiving this package was like pulling a newly formed scab off a wound. It would take longer to heal.
There was a handwritten cover letter.
Hi Buzz;
I was right. There is something fishy going on here. It looks like Sven’s money is coming from blind accounts set up in the West Indies. Ask your friends to check out the enclosed wire transfers and account numbers. My guess is that they’ll find that it’s dirty money.
Also, there is something funny about the enclosed Deed of Trust for the Mexico casino. Look who has the first option to purchase the property in case of default or bankruptcy? Surprise! That explains the cash flow problems at the casino.
Here is your chance to be a real FBI agent. Be careful who you trust. I think there is a rat in the woodpile. I’m not sure who, but I may know by Sunday.
If I don’t see you, thanks for being a great friend. Don’t forget to “make-it-up” with Dave.
Your friend, Ken
Buzz reread the letter several times to confirm his initial impression. Ken had known he was in danger and might not make it back. He had wanted to be sure that the information did. Ken knew that Buzz’ FBI contacts would know what to do with it.
Buzz briefly looked at the attachments. There were copies of 20 or so wire transfers and a list of account numbers, each from a different bank and foreign country. Buzz was shocked when he saw who held the option on the casino Deed of Trust.
Buzz dialed the private number of FBI Special Agent Hector Armas and told him what he had just received. Within 30 minutes Hector was knocking on the front door.
“What’s it mean, Hector?” as he finished reading the letter.
“This could be the break we have been waiting for, Buzz. These banks are notorious for laundering drug money, including Romano’s organization. These wire transfers might be the proof we need. We won’t know until we trace these accounts. I’m not sure about the Deed of Trust, but the account numbers provide a definite tie-in between Romano and the Swiss. Ken was right - he was on to something big.”
The 14th hole turned back to the clubhouse and into the wind. In fact, most of the remaining holes would be into the wind; advantage Buzz.
Bradford’s driver faded slightly and found the right rough making it almost impossible to reach this 465-yard par 4 in two. He still had 220 yards to the green. The rough was only two inches deep, but the ball was nestled down. He hacked out with 5-iron and was able to advance the ball 150 yards. Dave would need to get up and down to save par.
Buzz’ drive was dead center, well within the 200-yard marker. He had only 190 yards to the green and hit 5-iron to the front edge, leaving him 25-feet for birdie.
Dave’s pitching wedge got caught up in the wind and barely caught the right edge of the green. He was barely inside Buzz, it wasn’t a good shot.
The two former friends walked side by side to the green. “This might go down to the final hole, Dave. Ken would have enjoyed this. I’m sure he would have been pulling for both of us to play well and enjoy the moment.”
Bradford got the feeling that Buzz was trying to help. It was a comforting feeling under the circumstances. “I’m sure you’re right. It’s too bad he couldn’t be here.”
After Hector left with the Ken’s letter, Buzz thought back to their conversation driving back from the dive trip two months ago.
“Ken, what’s eating you? Is there something you want to ask me, like, what am I doing working for the FBI?” They were an hour into their 6-hour ride back to Tampa and it was obvious to Buzz that Ken must have stumbled across his FBI card.
“Well Buzz, now that you bring it up, just what is the FBI investigating? Is it Global Management?”
“Not directly, Ken. Let me tell you a little story. It’s about a stupid golf pro in Miami that got involved with some bad people and did some bad things. He moved to Tampa and tried to start over and forget his past, but some other bad people found out and made him do another bad thing. This time someone got killed, not by this stupid golf pro, but he was there. This guy finally decided to own up to his past and turned himself in to the FBI. They convinced him to work undercover and try to get evidence on these bad people. I’m not an FBI agent, just an informant. The ID just gets me in the door.”
“Ken, these bad people; are we talking about people I know?”
“Ken, I’m sure you could guess about the Miami people, but do you really want to know about the others? You need to work with some of them.”
“I need to know, Buzz, and I’ll tell you why. The more I work with this Swiss group that is funding our projects, the more suspicious I get. I’m not sure where their money is coming from. It could easily be drug money.”
“I don’t know anything about your Swiss group, Ken, but there could be others looking at them. I’ll ask.”
“Are you saying Mario is involved in all of this?”
“I know from personal experience, Ken, that both Mario and Romano are heavily involved in drug smuggling. Romano harvests and ships heroin and cocaine into the U.S. and Mario is his East Coast distributor. Mario’s restaurants are just a cover and a tax dodge.”
“I guess I’m not too surprised. I’ve always been a little suspicious of Mario and his friends. Are you still working for him?”
“No, I left that life behind when I moved to Tampa. But that’s not my primary focus. My problem is that my current boss and his candidate are also dipping into the drug trade to finance their political campaigns. They forced me to help.”
“Wow, Bill too? It seems that half of my friends are involved in something. Is Dave clean?”
“I’m pretty sure Dave’s okay, although the FBI is suspicious of anyone working with Mario or Romano.”
“What about Fred?”
“I think he is okay too, at least that’s what they tell me. They think that Fred initially needed a source of financing when he was starting out, and Mario came along with the cash. Now it looks like Fred is trying to break away.”
“Ask your boss if they know anything about this Swiss group. I’m going over there in a couple weeks to see what I can find out. I might be killing the golden goose, but I would rather not do any more projects with these people if it’s drug money. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Okay. Needless to say, let’s keep this conversation between ourselves. Nobody knows bout my involvement with the FBI. My health depends upon it.”
“Not to worry, friend. I wouldn’t want to lose my best caddie. Just be careful.”
“You too, Ken.”
Buzz’ thoughts came back to the present. He wished that Ken had heeded his advice.
Buzz was away and left his 25-foot birdie putt three feet short, just out of the tap in range. He had a little work to do so he marked his ball. It was conceivable that Bradford could still win the hole if he made his 15 foot par putt, and Buzz missed. Bradford got overly aggressive and hit five feet past the hole and then missed the comeback putt for double bogey. The match was even as the players headed to the 15th hole.
Chapter 15
Par 4 – 390 Yards
Swiss Cheese