Brash Endeavor, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 3

Chapter 23

  ESCAPE TO BRAZIL

  It had been several days and I still hadn't heard from Kurt Harrison. With each passing day the situation got more critical. I wasn't sure what the bank would do about the quick default on the Panhandle Building loan but I was sure it wouldn't be pleasant. I knew that once the bank gave up on getting the first payment on the loan it could accelerate the note and demand its payment in full. This would pave the way for a foreclosure which would mean the investors would lose everything plus face a big deficiency claim if the bank lost money. To make matters worse the bank could send the investors an IRS Form 1099 for any debt that was forgiven. The net effect would be the investors could lose their entire hundred-thousand-dollar investment, be sued for several hundred thousand dollars and then get hit with a massive income tax liability. If these thoughts hadn't totally stressed me out the next call did.

  "Hello, this is Stan Turner."

  "Yes, Mr. Turner, this is Special Agent, Howard Henderson, of the FBI," he said.

  I hesitated as I struggled to breath. "FBI? Oh, yes, what can I do for you?"

  "We're looking for Kurt Harrison. You wouldn't have any idea where he might be, would you?"

  "No sir, as a matter of fact I've been looking for him myself. Why are you trying to find him?"

  "We're not at liberty to discuss an ongoing investigation but, suffice it to say, it's imperative that he contact us immediately."

  "Like I said I don't know where he is or how to contact him but if you will give me your telephone number I'll be sure to give it to him should he contact me."

  The agent gave me his phone number and I wrote it on a legal pad and then hung up. Somehow I had to find Kurt, but how could I do it? On the way home that night I drove by Kurt's house to see if anyone was at home. Much to my shock the house was lit up like a Las Vegas Casino. The gate was unlocked so I drove my car up into the circular driveway. The only car parked in front was a red Cadillac convertible. I walked to the front door and pushed the doorbell. The chimes resounded throughout the house but no one answered. I waited a few moments and tried again. This time I observed a young lady dressed in grey shorts and a white sweatshirt walking down the circular staircase. As she got closer I recognized her to be Gwen Dove. She opened the door and said, "Stan, what are you doing here?"

  "I'm looking for Kurt. May I come in?"

  "Sure, but I don't know where Kurt is right now."

  I came inside, Gwen closed the door behind me and then she walked over to a white satin sofa and sat down. "Have a seat," she said.

  "Thank you. Did Kurt return from Brazil?" I said

  "Brazil?"

  "Yeah, Brazil."

  "How do you know he's in Brazil?"

  "That's where Cynthia said he was."

  "Why that low down, two timing, son of a bitch!"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Kurt told me he was going to California to work on some deals with Dan Kelley."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Yes, I was supposed to go to St. Louis and spend a week with my sister while her husband was out of town, but his trip got canceled so I didn't go. Kurt didn't think I would be at home this week, I bet."

  "Why would he lie to you?" I said.

  "He's had his eye on this Portuguese girl from Rio, Heloisa something, I don't remember her last name. She is the daughter of one of his foreign investors. I don't know exactly what he does but he's filthy rich."

  "Huh."

  "When they were in town last week Kurt couldn't keep his eyes off her."

  I shook my head and said, "I can't believe that, you are so beautiful and such a nice person. I don't know why he would want to look at another woman?"

  "Thank you, Stan. That’s a nice thing to say, but what was that I was reading in the newspaper about your wife being arrested for killing your girlfriend?"

  "That's a lie, she wasn't my girlfriend or my lover and Rebekah didn't kill her. It's all a big mistake. I don't know who killed Sheila, but it wasn't Rebekah."

  "The story sounded pretty bizarre. How's your wife taking it?"

  "She's doing better; we're going to see her lawyer tomorrow to start working on her defense."

  "Tell her I wish her well."

  "Thank you, I will."

  "I'm surprised Cynthia told you that Kurt was in Brazil. She and Dan Kelley usually cover for him."

  "I think I scared her pretty bad."

  "Why?"

  "I found out the Panhandle Building is far less complete than it was represented and now Kurt has missed his first note payment."

  "Oh, damn!"

  "Yeah, the attorney for Worldwide Savings & Loan has contacted me and just today the FBI called looking for Kurt."

  "Oh, my God. I knew Kurt was eventually going to get into serious trouble. What are you going to do?"

  "I've got to find him. If he cooperates and we work quickly we may be able to get things back on track and avoid a total disaster," I said and then stood up, walked to the window and starred into the courtyard. "You don't think he's gone to Brazil for good, do you?"

  Gwen shook her head casually and said, "No, he'll come back when he gets tired of Heloisa."

  "It doesn't sound like this is the first time this has happened."

  "I wish I could say it was."

  "Why do you stay with him?"

  "I love him."

  "Oh. I guess that's a good reason," I said and then turned and went back and sat on the sofa next to Gwen. "You and I might still be able to save him if we can just find him and talk to him."

  "I know how we can tell if he's planning to come back," Gwen said.

  "How's that?"

  "Come with me."

  Gwen got up and I followed her to the Den. She sat down at Kurt's desk, flipped up the corner of the carpet and began opening the safe. After she got the safe opened she looked up and said, "We're in trouble. He took all his money."

  "The briefcase is gone?"

  "Yes, he usually keeps two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in there as emergency money. He never takes it with him when he travels. I'm afraid he's not coming back."

  "Shit! Now what are we going to do?" I said.

  "I know where Kurt kept Heloisa's address and telephone number," Gwen said.

  "You do, that's great. Where is it?"

  Gwen got up and walked over to a file cabinet, opened it and pulled out a black book. "He keeps this address book of all his investors. Her father’s name is in here somewhere. . . . Let me see. . . . Here it is."

  Gwen handed me the book and pointed to a phone number. I took it away from her, walked to the phone and said, "Good, let's give Heloisa a call right now." I dialed the operator and asked her to place the call for me. In about five minutes she came back on the line and said she had made the connection.

  "Alo," a male voice said.

  "Hello, does anyone there speak English?"

  "Ah. One momento."

  "Hello, this is Carla. Who is this?"

  "Yes, Carla, this is Stan Turner, I'm an attorney in Dallas. I'm looking for Kurt Harrison, I'm his attorney."

  "Oh yes, Kurt, he is not here right now. Heloisa and he went to the beach."

  "Would you have him call me just as soon as he gets back. It's an emergency. If he comes back in the next thirty minutes tell him to call his house, otherwise he can call me at home or at my office."

  "Okay, I will tell him," Carla said.

  I put the phone down and looked at Gwen. "They're at the beach."

  "I can imagine what they’re doing on the beach," Gwen said.

  "Is it a public beach?"

  "No, it's quite private from what I understand. Heloisa's father gave us a detailed description of his estate and all its amenities included the private beach."

  Gwen and I commiserated about our problems for a while until we were interrupted by the telephone ringing. Gwen answered the phone and stiffened up when she found out it was Kurt. She argued with him
for a few minutes about Heloisa and then finally Gwen handed me the phone and stomped off.

  "You want a drink, Stan?" she said before she left the room.

  "Sure," I replied and then put the phone to my ear. "Hello, Kurt."

  "Stan, what's going on?"

  "That's what I wanted to ask you. The attorney for Worldwide called and said they haven't got the first note payment yet on the Panhandle Building."

  "That can't be right," Kurt replied. "The manager was supposed to send it."

  "You mean the same manager that sent us the phony rent rolls?"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I saw the Panhandle Building Kurt, it’s not 50% leased like the rent rolls say. At best it's 20% leased."

  "The manager told me it was 50% leased. I can't believe he would lie to me," Kurt said.

  "Kurt, give me break, I've been to the Panhandle Building, there's only three completed floors instead of seven."

  "I swear, he told me it was fifty percent complete."

  "Kurt, I'm not one of your naive investors. You obviously knew exactly how much of the Panhandle Building was finished out. Now, quit lying to me and let's level with one another. I've already got a call from Worldwide and they are totally pissed off. Apparently they've called the FBI because they called me looking for you."

  "The FBI?"

  "Yes, they’ve been called in into the case. They've already contacted Cynthia and all the investors. I don't think they know about the false rent rolls or other misrepresentations yet, but they will just as soon as they go to Amarillo and talk to your manager."

  There was a moment of silence and then Kurt said, "What do you suggest I do?"

  "For starters you could wire me $24,642 which would pay the first payment and also next month’s payment. That would certainly take the heat off."

  "I don't have the money right now?"

  "Give me a break! You put a million bucks in your pocket when you closed the Panhandle deal plus you've got the two hundred and fifty thousand that you kept in your safe."

  "I had commitments. The million dollars is gone. All I have is the quarter million and need it to live on down here."

  "You mean you're not coming back?"

  "I don't know. If I came up with two payments do you think the FBI will back off?"

  "I can't promise anything, but I'll do my best to convince everyone it was just a misunderstanding with you and the manager. But I will only do that if you swear you'll finish up the project like you promised. You'll need to raise the necessary funds and put them in escrow."

  "Where am I going to find the money?"

  "I don't know, you're the expert at raising money."

  "It's not going to be easy coming up with the kind of money it will take to finish the Panhandle Building."

  "You mean you never intended to do it? This whole thing was a big scam?"

  "No! Things just didn't work out like I expected."

  "Well they haven't worked out like Tom Tower expected either. I thought he was your friend?"

  "You don't know what you're asking. It'll take half a million easy to do the finish out and then there's no guarantee we can lease the space."

  "Well, you're the one who dreamed up this project for godsakes. I can't believe this? Forget it. I'll just go to the FBI and tell them the whole thing was a scam."

  "No! No. Don't do that. I'll wire you the twenty-four grand but I need time to raise the other money."

  "Well, don't take too long. Once the FBI discovers what you’ve done, you might as well stay down there and have kids with Heloisa."

  "Okay, I'll arrange to wire you the money in a couple of days. I'll call you next week about the rest."

  "Good, if you move fast I think we can salvage the situation. Good luck."

  "All right, thanks."

  I put down the phone and looked up. Gwen had returned, kicked off her shoes and was relaxing in an overstuffed chair sipping a margarita. I couldn't help but admire her long silky legs; they were exquisite.

  "Your drink's on the table, Stan," Gwen said.

  I reached over and picked it up and smiled at her. "Well, I think he got the message. He's wiring me the twenty-four thousand we need immediately and supposedly working on getting the rest."

  "How much money will it take to finish the Panhandle Building anyway?"

  "I don't really know, he says half a million, but I'm not sure we can rely on his estimate at this point. I'll have to get a couple of contractors out there to give us some bids."

  "He didn't say when he was coming back did he?" Gwen said.

  "No, he didn't . . . I'm sorry. Didn't he tell you when you talked to him?"

  "No, he said he'd come back when he got good and ready and that we weren't married so he could screw other women if he wanted to."

  "Do you think he loves you?"

  "I don't know; I'm beginning to wonder about it. I kept thinking he would settle down as he got older and eventually we'd get married. Now I don't know. I may have wasted five years of my life."

  "Hopefully he'll come to his senses and return home to you."

  "I don't know. . . . He may be afraid to come home now."

  "I'm sorry Gwen, I really am," I said. "Listen, I better be running."

  I got up and started to leave. Gwen got up and grabbed onto my arm. "Don't leave me now, Stan. I don't want to be alone."

  I walked over to Gwen, sat down and put my arms around her. She embraced me and put her head on my shoulder and began to sob. After a moment she looked up and gazed at me sadly. I wanted to kiss her, to pick her up and carry her up the spiral staircase to her magnificent bed and then to make her forget that Kurt ever existed. Our lips were drawn closer and closer, so close I could smell her sweet breath . . . but then somehow I stopped myself.

  "No! . . . We can't do this. . . . I better go. . . . This isn't right."

  "Please stay with me Stan. We'll just talk."

  "No, it's too dangerous. I don't trust myself around such a beautiful woman, particularly with you being pissed off at Kurt. I'll call you tomorrow."

  Gwen took a deep breath, sighed and replied, "Okay then, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

  I left Gwen and went home feeling a little better about the Panhandle Building situation. For the sake of the investors and myself I sincerely hoped Kurt would come through. I hated to think of what might happen if he didn't.

  Rebekah seemed in pretty good spirits when I got home. I thanked her mother again for staying with her and she left.

  "How are you feeling, Babe?" I said.

  "Okay, I guess," Rebekah replied.

  "I know tomorrow we're going to make a lot of progress on your defense. I can just feel it."

  "I hope so. I've been so worried about it."

  "Your attorney's really good. He'll get you off."

  "So, how was your day?" Rebekah asked.

  "I finally found Kurt Harrison and he's sending us a couple payments on the Panhandle Building."

  "Oh that's wonderful." Rebekah said. "I am so relieved."

  "Well, until I actually see the cash I won't feel a whole lot better."

  "Do you think he might not send it?"

  "No, I think he will. It's the rest of the money I'm worried about. The twenty-four thousand he's sending will just buy us a little time, thirty days at the most."

  "I'm so worried," Rebekah said. "What would we do if we both ended up in prison? Who would take care of the children?"

  "That's not going to happen. Neither of us are going to jail."

  "I hope not."

  "Oh, guess what?" I said.

  "What?"

  "The sheriff up in Colorado has finally figured out that Melba Thorn was murdered. He's got a warrant out for Taylor Brown's arrest."

  "Is that right?"

  "Yeah." I told Rebekah about my conversation with the sheriff.

  "Why did they call you, I wonder?"

  "I don't know; they must have gotten my na
me from one of my clients or one of our friends. Who knows?"

  That night when we went to bed Rebekah seemed in almost back to normal, so I cuddled up behind her and began to massage her shoulders gently. She didn't respond at all, so I slid my hands down her back and into her pants. She immediately wiggled away from me and said, "Cut it out, I'm not in the mood."

  Not to be easily dissuaded, I crawled up behind her and began stroking her breasts. She grabbed my hands, tossed them aside and said irritably, "I told you, I didn't feel like it."

  "Yeah, but I know how to get you in the mood."

  "Oh . . . how's that?"

  "Your neck . . . one bite and your mine," I said as I bit down gently.

  "Ahhhh! . . . Oh!" she moaned.

  "See, what did I tell you?"