Cash Call, A Stan Turner Mystery Vol 5

  Chapter 17

  Margie's Recollections

   Had Luther not been distracted by the Golden Dragon franchise and been in trouble at work, we probably wouldn't have met. Luther was frustrated and depressed. Usually when he got depressed he went to the Rendezvous Club or a strip club called the Sunset Strip. He hated to be alone, so he was always looking for companionship. I was at the Rendezvous Club after work one evening for the same reason.

   I was at a table drinking a margarita when Luther walked in and took a seat at the bar. He ordered a beer and then started looking around, studying every female in the place one by one. When he looked my way, our eyes met. We studied each other for a moment and then he got up, grabbed his drink, and came over to my table. I smiled at him, and that was enough to break the ice. He sat down and we started talking.

   "Just get off from work?" Luther asked.

   "Uh huh," I said.

   "So did I. I'm an insurance salesman--well, we like to call ourselves financial planners, you know, it sounds better, more impressive. What do you do?"

   "I work at Gateway National Bank. I'm a teller."

   "Ah, it must be fun to be around money all the time," he said.

   "It was at first, but now it's just dirty paper. You wouldn't believe the germs on a $20 bill."

   "Oh really? Well you can pass some dirty germ-infested paper my way anytime, honey!" Luther laughed.

   "What I mean is, it's the bank's money and they don't give it away, so there's no advantage to being around it."

   "Right. . . . Hey, I'm Luther Bell. What's your name?"

   "Margie Mason."

   "Nice to meet you Miss Mason. Yeah, I reckon they don't pay bank tellers too well."

   "You got that right."

   "I haven't made a lot of money selling insurance either but, you know, I am on the verge of making some serious money."

   "You are?"

   "Yeah, franchising is the way to make it big nowadays. You know if you buy a franchise you're buying a business that is tried and true. The people who sell it to you already have figured out what to do and what not to do. You just slide into the business, follow their instructions and then start counting your money."

   "What kind of business?"

   "It doesn't matter. Whatever it is, it's been test marketed and all you have to do is find a suitable place to set it up. Most franchisors will even help you find a good location."

   "So, are you going to buy a franchise?"

   "Maybe, I need some investors though, some silent partners who won't get in the way but have lots of cash and need tax write-offs."

   "I see. Do you have any candidates in mind?"

   "Not yet, but that's my next project once I get my boss off my back."

   "What's his problem?"

   "He's under a lot of pressure from his nagging wife and he's taking it out on me."

   "Wonderful."

   "You know I sold a big million-dollar policy to a guy in the oil business. This guy is loaded. The last time I was there he had a tailor in his office fitting him for custom suits. You know, his office looks like it could be in the White House, right? So I write him a big twenty-pay life, a twelve thousand dollar annual premium, the biggest policy I've written all year. This puts me way over my quota for the year, so I figure I can relax now and work on this franchise idea."

   "So . . . what happened?"

   "The jerk lets his policy lapse and now I'm twenty-five days from being on straight commission."

   "Is that bad?"

   "Yeah, it's really bad."

   "I'm sorry."

   "Can I buy you another drink?"

   "Sure, a margarita please."

   "You're a mighty fine-looking lady. You're not married are you?"

   "Divorced."

   "Ain't that a coincidence, so am I . . . or I guess I should say, almost divorced. We have a few issues yet to resolve."

   "Are you happy about the divorce?"

   Luther gave the question some thought and then replied, "Well, yeah. I reckon. It just didn't work out. It's for the best, I guess."

   "You still love her, huh?"

   "It's hard to stop loving someone just because they quit loving you."

   "I know. . . . My husband took off with another woman after I put him through dental school. I could have killed the little bastard."

  "What! You've got to be kidding. He must have been some kind of idiot to dump a beautiful thing like you."

   Margie smiled and replied, "Oh, thank you. She was a slut who became a dental hygienist just so she could get her grubby little hands on a rich dentist."

   "Well, he obviously didn't deserve you."

   "You're very kind, but you hardly know me."

   "I feel like I've known you for years."

   Margie smiled and replied, "Do you? I kind of feel that way too. Isn't it funny how you can sit down with a perfect stranger and suddenly feel so at ease."

   "You hungry? I know a good Italian place up the street. Why don't you let me buy you dinner . . . then, you know . . . we'll play it by ear after that."

   "Well, I don't know. I was supposed to meet my girlfriend for dinner."

   "She'll understand. Go call her and tell her something's come up. I really want to talk with you some more. We have a lot in common."

   "Okay, I'll be back in a minute."

   I got up and went to the restroom where several phones were located. Luther finished off his drink and prepared to leave. After dinner he took me back to his condo just off Northwest Highway near North Park. It was an old apartment complex that had been recently converted to condominiums. I found out later Luther had picked it up for a song at a foreclosure sale. Of course, he would have never told me that then. He always liked to impress people--particularly women.

   "This is really nice. It must have cost you a fortune to decorate," I said.

   "Yeah, it wasn't cheap. . . . Have a seat."

   I sat down and Luther sat next to me. He had succeeded. I was impressed with his not-so-humble abode.

   "It doesn't appear you do that badly selling insurance?" I remarked.

   "Oh, I do okay, but I don't really like doing it. Most people don't want to think about dying, and whenever you bring up life insurance they feel uneasy and don't want to talk about it. It's much easier to sell something concrete and positive like real estate or stocks, you know what I mean?"

   "Sure, so what kind of franchise do you think you'll get into first?"

   "Oh, I'm looking at a restaurant deal right now in Greenville."

   "A restaurant? Aren't they a little risky?"

   "Not if you get a proven franchise, like the Golden Dragon."

   "Golden Dragon? I've never heard of that."

   "It's really big out in California. I've talked to the Texas sales representative and he says they're going to open up twenty-seven locations in Texas this year. All I need is about a hundred and fifty-thousand dollars. A hundred thousand for fixtures and equipment, twenty-five for finish-out and twenty-five for inventory."

   "I'm sure you won't have any trouble lining up the money, if that's what you really want to do, but why Greenville? Why not Dallas?"

   "Someone already picked up the Dallas franchises, so Greenville is the closest I could get."

   "Well, I wish you the best of luck."

   "Thank you. Can I get you a drink?"

   "Some wine, maybe."

   Luther stepped into the dining room and pulled a bottle of Chablis out the wine rack. Then he found an ice bucket under the sink, set the bottle of wine inside and then packed ice around it.

   "It will just be a few minutes. How about some music? What do you like?"

   "Something soft and relaxing."

   "A little jazz maybe?"

   "Sure."

   Luther turned on his stereo and then walked over to the sofa and sat down next to me. For just a moment he didn't
say a word but only gazed into my eyes. Then he blinked and said, "I'm sure glad I met you. I hate to be alone. Will you stay the night?"

   I stiffened, shocked a little by his abrupt manner. He was amused by my reaction.

   "Well, I don't know. My roommate will wonder what happened to me."

   "You can call her and tell her you're okay and not to worry. I've got a phone."

   Luther put his arm around me and drew my lips to his. I resisted a little, for show, but I wanted him too. I wrapped my hands around his neck and kissed him passionately. After a minute though, I felt a pang of remorse and pushed him away. I said, "Let's not do anything we'll regret."

   "There's nothing we could do I'd regret," Luther replied jovially.

   "Let's just take it a little slower, okay?"

   "Fine, I'm sorry . . . but I just feel so comfortable around you it just seemed natural to--"

   "I know, but that's just infatuation. It would be easy for me to jump in bed with you too, but then tomorrow I'd feel like a tramp."

   "I'd never consider you a tramp. It's obvious to me you are an intelligent, sophisticated woman. I bet you haven't made love to anyone since your divorce, have you?"

   "Well. . . . I did once."

   "Who was it?" Luther asked seemingly very interested. I hesitated, wondering if I should be sharing secrets with this man.

   "Come on. Tell me," he persisted.

   "Well . . . it was my trainer at the health club. I had let myself go a little while I was married so I joined President's. Roy was my trainer--good lookin', great body. We dated a few times and I thought I had fallen in love with him. One night he brought me home to his place and things got out of control. The next morning I realized he and I could never be permanent. Sure enough I was right. He had the club assign me a new trainer and would barely look at me when our paths crossed. I'd like to go back to his apartment and see if there's a notch in his bed for our night together."

  Luther laughed and said, "You can inspect my bed anytime, doll. There aren't any notches, I promise. I'm looking for a long-term relationship, someone to share my life with and I think tonight I've found her."

  I looked Luther in the eye and smiled at him wondering if I could believe him. He inched over toward me and finally pressed his lips to mine one more time. I felt the warmth of his breath and the caress of his soft lips. Luther slipped his arm around my waist and pulled my body next to his. I knew I should resist him but my body wouldn't obey. Our love making went on for over an hour until Luther collapsed in complete exhaustion. Feeling a little uncomfortable, I put my blouse back on without a bra and sat silently on the sofa. Luther went into the bedroom and got a robe.

  "How about that wine now?" Luther said. "It should be cold."

   I forced a smiled and replied, "Yes, that would be good."

   Luther went into the kitchen, poured two glasses and returned.

  "God, you were fantastic," Luther said. "I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did."

   "It was good. . . . It's been a long time for me. I'd forgotten how good it can be."

   "Well, I won't ever let that happen again," Luther assured me.

   After we had killed the bottle of wine we went to bed. The next morning I got up before Luther, left the condo, and went home. The next night we were to meet again at the Rendezvous Club at five thirty. I was late. When I walked in he got up immediately and went over to me. He was visibly upset.

   "Margie, what happened? I was worried sick about you."

   "I'm sorry, I couldn't leave until I figured out why I was $74 million out of balance."

   "Whoa! Seventy-four million?"

   "Yes, some old lady distracted me while I was making a deposit and I put in her account number instead of the deposit amount."

   "Holy, Jesus!"

   "I wondered why she gave me such a strange look when I handed her the deposit slip. You'd think she'd of said something. . . . Anyway, It took thirty minutes to reverse the transaction. My supervisor was pissed. I may not have a job tomorrow."

   "Huh, well, I'm glad you're here. Sorry you had to go through all that. I bet you could use a drink."

   "Yes. A margarita, please."

   "Bartender! We need a margarita over here," Luther yelled.

   "I had a hectic day myself," Luther said.

   "Really, what did you do?"

   "The franchise papers came in from California. I had to go over them with a fine-tooth comb and work up some financial projections."

   "How'd they look?"

   "Not very good until I made a few adjustments."

   "What kind of adjustments?"

   "Well, since I'm going to manage the restaurants, I made sure I will be well compensated for my trouble."

   "That makes sense, but --"

   "Damn straight it makes sense. I'm the one bustin' my ass to put this deal together so I'm damn sure gonna make it worthwhile."

   I wondered what kind of adjustments Luther had made, but it wasn't any of my business so I kept my mouth shut.

  "How many investors do you have?"

   "Two or three. . . . Maybe more."

   "That's good. When will you start?"

   "Just as quick as I can put everything together. I went and picked out a couple potential locations today, one downtown and another near the freeway. Tomorrow I've got to go see my banker to see what kind of financing we can get."

   "It sounds so exciting. Are there any Golden Dragon restaurants opened yet in Dallas? I'd like to go see one."

   "The closest one is in San Antonio. It opened last month and is doing fantastic."

   "Have you been down there to see it?"

   "Not in person. I heard about it from someone at the Golden Dragon home office."

   "Hmm. What about the Dallas franchises? When will they start up?"

   "I don't know, pretty soon I would imagine."

   "What does your lawyer think?"

   "What lawyer? I never use a lawyer. I wouldn't trust one of those sleazy bastards. That's why I took business law at Penn State so I wouldn't have to depend on a lawyer. There's really nothing to a franchise, that's the beauty of it. Anyone who can read and follow instructions will do just fine. Besides most lawyers are deal-killers. They'd just scare away the investors with a lot of negative talk."

   I didn't necessarily agree with Luther on that point, but I didn't feel like arguing--particularly an argument I couldn't win.

   "I suppose you're right."

   "Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I've been through it with lawyers before. You wouldn't believe how many of my insurance deals lawyers have shot down."

   "Really? I wonder why?"

   "They are control freaks. Unless something is their idea it's no good, you know what I mean?"

   "Uh huh. So what do you want to do tonight?" she asked.

   "Why don't we go back to my place and watch some TV?" Luther replied.

   "I was thinking about last night. Maybe we started off a little too fast. Why don't we go to a movie?"

   "A movie?"

   "Yeah, my roommate saw My Bodyguard and said it was hysterical."

   Luther was obviously disappointed, but he didn't argue too much. Later that evening he picked me up and we went to the movies. After the movie we went to Chili's and got something to eat. When we were done he wanted to take me back to his condo but I made him take me home instead. As soon as he had driven away, however, I regretted it. We didn't see each other the next day. I called him to apologize but just got his answering machine. The following morning I decided to pay him a surprise visit. I was in an amorous mood and was planning to give him some morning delight. I rang the doorbell. After a minute, he answered.

   "Margie. Ah. . . . Hi. How are you?"

   "I'm fine. I thought I'd come over and maybe we could talk."

   "Ah. . . . Well. . . . It's not a real good time."

   I knew something was wro
ng from the tone of his voice. Men are rarely good liars. "What's that I smell, fresh coffee? I could sure use a cup," I said, and then stepped inside.

   "Uh. . . . Margie can we take a rain check on this. I'll call you later and we can make plans to do something together."

   Anger welled inside me. "Am I interrupting something?"

   "No, I'm just tired. I got drunk last night and I've got a terrible hangover."

   "Yeah, right," I said as I pushed my way past Luther and headed for the kitchen. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a woman standing there, naked from the waist up, holding a spatula. She put her hand up to her mouth and said, "Oh my God!" I shook my head in disgust, turned, and made a hasty retreat glaring at Luther as I left the condo. He followed me out the door.

   "Margie, let me explain!" Luther pleaded.

   "Explain what?! Obviously our relationship doesn't mean much to you!"

   "It's not like that," Luther shouted as I jumped into my car and slammed the door.

   It was several weeks before I saw Luther again. He called one afternoon and pleaded with me to meet him to talk things out. I resisted at first, but finally gave in. He said to meet him at the bar at Anthony's, a restaurant in North Dallas. The partners were having a party to celebrate their new venture and he wanted me to meet him after it was over, around nine. I was still mad and had no intention of making up that night, so I was less than excited when he walked in at ten after nine.

   "Hi, Margie," he said like nothing had happened.

  I glanced over at him but said nothing.

   "I'm so glad you came. I was worried I wouldn't ever be able to explain what happened the other day. I know what it must have looked like, but it really wasn't."

   "Luther Bell, you are so full of shit!" I said. "If you're going to expect me to believe that the naked girl in your room was your sister, forget it."

   "No, she wasn't my sister. She was a dancer."

   "A dancer? A topless dancer?"

   "Right."

   "Oh, Jesus, I'm out of here," I said as I grabbed my purse and prepared to leave.

   "Wait! I didn't invite her to my place, she drove me home because I was too drunk to drive. When I woke up I was shocked to see her, believe me."

   I shook my head. "I'd like to believe you, but somehow I can't imagine her coming to your place without an invitation."

   "It was the night I quit."

   "You quit?"

   "Yes, and I was so depressed I stopped at the Sunset Strip to try to forget what had happened. I drank a little too much and when I went to drive home--well it was obvious to her that I shouldn't be driving. She may have saved my life. At the very least she kept me from going to jail for DWI. I couldn't very well be--you know--abrupt with her."

   I laughed and said, "Luther, you are one hell of a bullshit artist. It must have been so painful for you to look at her naked breasts while she cooked breakfast for you."

   "Okay, laugh at me, but it's the truth. I didn't invite her home. The only person I'm interested in right now is you. That's why I wanted to try to explain what happened. Give me another chance, I've really missed you."

   "Have you really?"

   "Yes, I really enjoyed the time we spent together and I want to spend more time with you, a lot of time."

   I looked deep into Luther's eyes. He gave me a hopeful smile. "I don't know. I'm just not sure I can trust you."

   He took my hand and gave me a wounded-puppy-dog look. "You can, I promise I won't even look at another woman as long as we are seeing each other."

   "Are you sure that's a promise you can keep?"

   "Yes," he said as he pulled me close to him.

   I sighed. "Okay, I'll give you another chance, but this isn't a baseball game. You don't get three strikes. Two strikes and you're out."

   "Fine," Luther said as he wrapped his arms around me and gave me a passionate kiss.

   The other patrons at the bar watched us with interest as we made out in front of them. Finally the bartender came over and suggested we might want to take our passion elsewhere. Luther paid the tab, and we left Anthony's and headed to Luther's condo. On the way home I asked Luther about the big party.

   "So what was the occasion tonight? It looked like that was some shindig you were having."

   "Do you remember that franchise deal I told you about?"

   "Sure."

   "Well, it finally came to pass. We closed the deal today."

   "Oh, that's wonderful. So how long will it take you to get your restaurant opened?"

   "Hopefully just a couple of months. It's going to be really important to get it finished out quickly, so we can get the cash flow started. We're kind of thinly capitalized."

   "Really?"

   "Yeah, we only have $50,000 available and I've already spent nearly thirty thousand. Next week I've got to pay the first and last months on our lease which will be about $7,500. That only leaves me $15,000 for inventory, supplies, advertising, and operating capital."

   "What happens if you run out of money?"

   Luther thought a moment. "Well, if I run out of money, then I'll have to make a cash call."

   "A cash call? What's that?"

   "That's a request to all of the partners for additional capital contributions. Once I make the call they have to come up with the cash or they can forfeit their interests."

   "Do they know that?"

   "It's right there in black and white in the partnership agreement. Jim asked about it, so I know they are aware that it's there."

   "Hmm. I don't think I would invest in your deal."

   Luther laughed. "Thanks a lot. I'm not planning to make any cash calls. If we can just get the place opened with the cash we have, then the cash flow should take care of itself."

   I gave Luther a skeptical look. "I hope you're right."

   "I know I'm right. I've done all the projections. Everything is going to be fine."

   "But you said you altered the projections."

   Luther took a deep breath. "Yeah, but even so there should still should be a good profit."

   "What if you should have to make a cash call? Will they be okay with it?"

   "No, they will be pissed as hell, but they will just have to cough up the dough. They won't have a choice in the matter. Life's a bitch."

   I liked Luther, but I felt sorry for the Golden Dragon Partners. He was obviously taking advantage of them, but what could I do about it? It wasn't any of my business, so I decided to stay out of it. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be a good strategy. Luther ran out of money right away and had to make several cash calls over the next few months. The partners got angrier and angrier and eventually fired him. The firing really knocked the wind out of him. I had never seen him so mad as he was the day after the partner's meeting when he was terminated.

   "What's wrong?" I asked. "You look like someone who just got mugged."

   "That's what I feel like. You ready? Let's get out of here."

   "Sure, let's go."

   We left and headed for the Rendezvous Club. Luther said he needed a few drinks before dinner. We went inside and found a table off in a corner. The barmaid brought me a margarita and a scotch and water for Luther.

  "Okay, when are you going to tell me what you're so steamed about?" I asked.

   Luther looked at me and said, "Those bastards fired me. Can you believe that?"

   "Fired you? Why?"

   "They're blaming the embezzlement on me."

   "Can they do that? I mean, fire you."

   "No! I've got a contract. They'd have to prove I participated in the embezzlement or was negligent in letting it happen."

   "Can they prove that?"

   "Of course not! How was I to know that Carl would embezzle from us? If anybody was grossly negligent, it was Abe Dumas."

   "Who's he?"

   "Our peg-legged accountant."

   "Excuse me?"
br />    "Yeah, he lost a leg in a car wreck. He wears a patch over his eye and looks kind of like a pirate.

   "And he was your accountant?" I said, trying not to laugh.

   "Yeah, I met him in a bar near the restaurant. He was handy. He should have seen the duplicate payments and questioned all those voided receipts."

   "So what are you going to do?"

   "I'm going to make them wish they were never born. If they think they have troubles now, just wait until I tear them a new asshole."

   "Why do you hate them so much?"

   "Because they think they know so much about business, but they don't know shit. They're going to let Don's little bitch, Pam, run the restaurant. She's in for a rude awakening. I just wish I were there to see her fall flat on her face."

   "What makes you think she'll fall flat on her face?"

   "Because she knows nothing about running a business, let alone a restaurant."

   "You didn't know anything about running a restaurant when you started."

   "That's different, I went to franchise school and I've been operating my insurance business for years."

   "Why don't you just leave them alone? They've already lost a lot of money."

   Luther glared at me and said, "Whose side are you on anyway?"

   "I'm on your side, I just don't want any trouble. We don't need any trouble."

   "Oh, baby. There's going to be lots of trouble, but it won't be our trouble. They can't touch me. This is Texas--debtor's heaven. Did you know that?"

   "No, I didn't."

   "Yep, only the rich and the insured are accountable. The rest of us citizens can do whatever we please, because we've got nothin' to lose."

   "That doesn't seem right."

   "Yeah, Abe told me that Texas was first settled by a bunch of deadbeats who had been thrown out of Tennessee and Kentucky. When Texas became a republic they made sure the laws protected their kind."

   "That's not true, is it?" Margie asked.

   "I don't know, Abe's pretty knowledgeable."

   "I don't think I would believe anything a one-legged pirate told me."

   "He's not a pirate, he just looks like one." "Most accountants are just collection agents for the IRS, that makes them pirates in my book," I said.

   "Hmm, you may be right. I hadn't thought of that."

   After a few more drinks Luther started feeling better so we went to dinner. By the time we were finished it was nearly ten, so we went straight home. I wanted sex but Luther had drank too much and fell asleep on the sofa. I threw a blanket over him and went to bed.

   The following morning before anyone arrived at the Golden Dragon, Luther was there cleaning out his desk and making copies of papers and documents that he thought might be useful to him in the future. He went through the unopened mail and noticed some certified items from the Internal Revenue Service, the landlord and the State Comptroller. He grabbed them up and threw them in his briefcase. Then he wrote one last check. That night he couldn't wait to tell me what he had done.

   "But you're not the manager anymore," I protested.

   "That's what they think. As far as I'm concerned I'm still the manager. In fact, I went to the post office and had all the mail forwarded here to the house."

   "But how are they going to run the business without getting any mail?"

   "It should be interesting," Luther said.

   "Luther, I don't think you should be interfering with them. Sue them if you want, but don't try to undermine their business."

   "Suing them would be a waste of time. Besides I don't want to make any damn attorney rich. No, my way is better. Much better."

   The following Friday Luther had picked up his mail and brought it home. He sat down at the kitchen table and started going through it. I was busy cooking lunch. Suddenly he began to laugh.

   "Oh, this is fabulous," Luther said. "The IRS is about to levy the Golden Dragon's bank account."

   "How do you know?" I asked.

   "I've got the Notice of Intent to Levy right here."

   "Luther, you're not going to keep all the Golden Dragon's mail are you?"

   "Of course I am. The IRS is going to seize their bank account and they won't even know about it until it's too late."

   "They're going to be very mad at you, Luther."

   "Do I give a shit? I've got more good news."

   "What?"

   "Pam Blaylock bounced three checks."

   Luther let out a hideous laugh that sent chills down my spine. I just stared at him wondering why I had ever got involved with him.

   "Oh, no," I whispered.

   "She must not have realized I paid myself my October management fee."

   Luther contorted his face feigning great shock and distress. "Oh, no! Did I forget to record that check in the register? Oops!"

  I shook my head. "Luther, you're terrible."

   "Hey, I warned them not to fire me. I told them they would regret it. I just didn't realize how quickly I'd get such sweet revenge."

   That night Jim Cochran came by the condo. Luther was there but he didn't want to talk to him. He told me to get rid of him, so I told him Luther wasn't home yet. Cochran was angry and told me to tell Luther to release the post office box or he'd hunt him down and kill him. The next day Luther did release the post office box. His excuse for backing down was that he'd accomplished what he'd wanted, but I could tell the threat to his life had scared him--and for good reason.

   On the night of the murder I went out with Lucy Patterson to dinner, a movie, and then a night cap at the Rendezvous Club. I'd been parking my Accord next to Luther's Cadillac in the two car garage that comes with the condo. When I got close to the house, I pushed the garage door opener and was shocked to see the door closing. It apparently had been opened when I got there. I pushed it twice to get it going back up. As I started to drive into the garage I noticed Luther lying on the ground. I slammed on my brakes, got out immediately, and ran up to him--but he was obviously dead. His eyes were wide open, he wasn't breathing, and his body was stiff.

   I just stood there a minute in shock and then I ran into the condo and called the police. After hanging up with them I went back to the garage to get a better look at the crime scene. A bloody tire iron was on the ground about three or four feet away from Luther's body. There was a pool of blood under his head and several burnt match stubs on the ground like he'd had trouble lighting a cigarette or was burning matches for light.

   When the police finally came they searched Luther's body and discovered his diamond Rolex, a school ring, and all his cash was missing. The Rolex was worth at least $5,000. I don't know how much cash he had, but he usually had a least a grand on him. After an hour or so Luther's body was taken away in an ambulance. I gave a statement to the police, they searched his condo, sealed up the garage and everyone finally left about 1:00 a.m. And that's about all I know about Luther Bell and the Golden Dragon Partnership.