Fatal Fraud: A Fatal Series Novel Read online

“What does that even mean?”

  “Your cell phone disproves your story.”

  “What? How?”

  “Look here.” Sam pointed to the ping at Mandi’s dorm. “That’s you at one o’clock on Sunday afternoon.” She pointed to a different ping. “That’s you at two thirty at the hardware store near your parents’ home. That’s you at your parents’ home, and then that’s you back at campus at three thirty. You had a busy afternoon.”

  “I told you I went to the store and my parents’ house after my brother called me in a panic.”

  Sam put yet another report in front of Mandi. “That’s a printout of your incoming calls for Sunday between noon and five p.m. There’s no call from your brother, but interestingly, there’re two from your father.” Sam took the cap off a highlighter and colored the two numbers.

  Mandi looked down at the pages and swallowed hard.

  “What I’d like to know is why you pointed the finger at your brother for a crime you know your father committed?”

  “I… He… My father… He threatened me.”

  “Threatened you how?”

  “He said he’d tell everyone that I knew where the money was all along unless I did everything I could to protect him.”

  “Including implicating your brother?”

  “His instructions were very clear. By any means necessary. He would’ve ruined my life if he told people that I knew where the money was and never said anything.”

  “Even though it was true, right? You knew where it was and never said anything.”

  Mandi broke down. “I didn’t know that until after the charges were filed. I pleaded with her to do the right thing, to return the money, but she just kept saying that wasn’t the plan. We had to stick with the plan. Except it wasn’t my plan. It was hers, and when I deposited those cashier checks in the Cayman Islands, I didn’t know where the money came from. If I’d known…”

  “What would you have done?” Green asked.

  She swiped at the tears that slid down her cheeks. “I… I don’t know, but I wouldn’t have done that to our family and friends. She… She was my mother. She asked me to do this for her, and it was a bunch of free vacations. It never occurred to me why she was really sending me there. I didn’t know the Caymans were a tax shelter until you told me that.”

  Sam wondered if she’d ever been as stupid or naïve as this young woman. No, she’d been born smarter than Mandi McLeod would ever be. “Do you know the account numbers?”

  She hesitated before she nodded. “She made me memorize them so there wouldn’t be a paper trail.”

  Too bad Ginny hadn’t also told her to stay off social media while she was “on vacation” in the Caymans. Her Finsta posts had been her undoing—whatever Finsta was. Sam was clueless about such things. Thankfully, Cameron was hip to it all. “Write them down.”

  Sam waited, feeling breathless with victory, as Mandi wrote down the account info. Between that and the money associated with the Delaware corporation, they’d found most of what’d gone missing. After Mandi pushed the notebook back across the table, Sam said, “Stay put. We’ll be back.”

  “But…”

  Sam sent her a quelling look that had her thinking better of what she’d been about to say. With Green in tow, she left interview one and went into interview two, startling Mr. McLeod. That too was satisfying. “You’ve been apprised of your right to an attorney, Mr. McLeod?”

  “I have. I don’t need one. I haven’t done anything.”

  “Detective Green, please record this interview.”

  He shifted on the recorder and noted who was present in the room.

  “Mr. McLeod,” Sam said, “have you waived your right to an attorney?”

  “I have because I haven’t done anything that would require the services of an attorney.”

  Stupidity apparently comes naturally to Mandi McLeod, Sam thought. “Mr. McLeod, you’re being charged with the murder of your wife, Virginia, as well as numerous other obstruction charges resulting from the lies you told me and other officers during our investigation.”

  For a second, his arrogant demeanor slipped, but then he recovered himself. “I didn’t kill her.”

  “We can put you at the house at her time of death.”

  “No, you can’t. I was playing golf with three of my friends—the only friends I had left, because they didn’t have anything for my wife to steal.”

  “They’re being arrested as we speak for lying to us and obstructing a homicide investigation.”

  Another chink appeared in his armor. “They didn’t lie.”

  “Yes, they did. They lied when they failed to tell us about the nearly forty minutes you were gone from the course during your round of golf.”

  “I went to use the bathroom.”

  “At home?”

  “No, at the clubhouse.”

  Sam put the cell phone report down in front of him. “Funny, but the location of your phone tells a different story.”

  “What?”

  She pointed. “See that right there? That’s you and your cell phone at your house at the time of your wife’s death.”

  “I didn’t take my phone to the club with me that day. I always leave it at home when I’m playing golf so I won’t be disturbed.”

  “That too is a lie.” Sam pointed to three lines on the report. “That’s you at the golf course, that’s you at home, and that’s you back on the course after you killed your wife. The pings don’t lie, Mr. McLeod. You’re under arrest for the murder of Virginia McLeod. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney—”

  “I’d like to call my attorney,” he said, looking scared now, which was thrilling to Sam. The most pompous people were always the most fun to take down.

  “Write down the name and number, and I’ll reach out.”

  “I, um, I no longer have a personal attorney.”

  “Shall I call the public defender’s office?”

  He blanched at that. “Absolutely not.”

  “You should know Detective Green here has also managed to track Mandi to the Cayman Islands, where she helped your wife stash money, and he also uncovered the VMcL Corporation in Delaware. We’ll be turning that info over to the Feds, along with the account numbers in the Caymans that Mandi gave us.”

  Cameron smiled and waved at Mr. McLeod.

  She loved to see him enjoying this victory.

  McLeod’s mouth fell open in disbelief. “Mandi wouldn’t dare.”

  “See, that’s where you’re wrong, Mr. McLeod. When faced with a long prison sentence or doing the right thing, your daughter chose the right thing. It’s a lesson she somehow managed to learn while growing up with you and your wife as her role models. Congratulations on raising a daughter with a conscience. Too bad you don’t have one of your own.”

  “Ginny ruined my life! She got what was coming to her!”

  “I’ll remind you this interview is still being recorded, Mr. McLeod.”

  “I don’t care. You tell me what you would’ve done if your wife stole from most of your friends and family members and then refused to tell you where the money was hidden or to leave town because her shrew of a mother had fallen ill. When forced to live among the very people she stole from, what would you have done, Lieutenant?”

  “I think we’re finished here, Detective Green.” Sam made a big production out of shaking Green’s hand. “Congratulations on the great work you did on this case. You were the one to tie Mandi to the deposits in the Cayman Islands. Without that, we might never have gotten her to flip on her father. We might’ve let her blame her brother, who’s completely innocent of any crimes. That would’ve been truly tragic.”

  Though that wouldn’t have happened, because they could prove he never called his sister that fateful afternoon. But Ken McLeod Sr. didn’t need to know that. Not to mention, restitution would be made to Ginny’s victims, which made for a s
atisfying end to a revolting case. “Our work here is finished.”

  Epilogue

  It took until ten p.m. to book, charge and write up the reports on the McLeod case, but when Sam left HQ that night, she was on vacation for a week. They were hosting Thanksgiving at their house, and the only way she could pull that off without foisting everything onto pregnant Shelby’s shoulders was to take time off. And she planned to fully wallow in this staycation by not taking any work calls during her break.

  However, murder never took a break, and with Freddie and Jeannie also taking time off for the holiday, she’d left Cameron Green in charge for the week. He’d more than earned the right to step up a bit with his superior work. The young, earnest detective had a bright future ahead of him, and Sam could easily picture him in a command role at some point.

  Vernon and Jimmy were waiting for her outside the morgue door when she emerged into inky darkness.

  “Oh damn,” she said. “I forgot all about you guys.”

  “It’s a good thing we aren’t allowed to get our feelings hurt,” Vernon said.

  Sam flashed him a grin. “I’ve got to be the worst person you’ve ever been assigned to.”

  “Not the absolute worst, but damned close.”

  Sam laughed as he walked her to her car. “Touché. Sorry to be a pain in the ass. I’ll be sticking close to home for the next few days, so you can stand down.”

  “Heard you closed the McLeod case,” Jimmy said. “Is it always the husband, or does it just seem that way?”

  “Not always. But this is one I’m glad to be done with. The whole lot of them made me sick.”

  “Greedy bastards,” Vernon said.

  “You said it. I’m going home. I’ll try not to lose you on the back streets.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  At the car, Sam stopped and turned to Vernon. “Has the recent uptick in threats against my husband died down at all?”

  “Not really, but we’re monitoring them. Nothing to worry about.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  “We find in most cases, people are all talk and no action.”

  While Sam took some comfort in that information, she was well aware it took only one nutjob to change everything. The thought made her shudder and left her feeling queasy.

  Vernon held the car door for her until she was settled.

  “Thanks for what you do, Vernon. Even when it doesn’t seem like it, I do appreciate you all.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. It’s an honor to protect you and your family.”

  As Sam drove home, she tried to decompress from the action-packed day and deal with the extra adrenaline that always kicked in when they wrapped up a case and arrested a murderer. While stopped at a light, Sam put through a call to Ken McLeod Jr.

  “This is Lieutenant Holland,” she said when he answered, sounding wary. Who could blame the poor guy? “I wanted to let you know your father has been arrested for the murder of your mother.”

  “I heard he was taken in. My uncle called.” His dull, flat tone conveyed a world of hurt and bewilderment. “Did he say why he did it?”

  “Apparently, she wouldn’t tell him where the money was and wouldn’t leave town because of your grandmother, and he was frustrated at having to live among the people she stole from while being shunned by most of them.”

  “I certainly know how that feels. It’s the worst.”

  “I have some good news for you on that front. One of my people was able to determine that your mother used your sister to make deposits to accounts in the Cayman Islands. She made your sister memorize the account numbers so there wouldn’t be any paper trail. Mandi gave us those numbers, and we’ve turned them over to the Feds. With that and the cash in the Delaware company, your mother’s victims should get most of their money back.”

  “Really? That’s amazing! Oh my God.” Now he sounded tearful. “That’s the best news I’ve had in months.”

  “Did you have any suspicion that your mother was using your sister to run money out of the country?”

  “I had no idea. Honestly, I haven’t stayed close to my family since I left for college. When my sister asked me to go away for Thanksgiving, that was the first time I’d heard from her in a while. Their goals in life were very different from mine. I just want to work and live my life. I don’t need the flash and the cash they were all so obsessed with.”

  “I’m sorry for what you’ve been through.”

  “Thank you. Can I ask… Is my sister being charged too?”

  “She’s being charged with two felony counts of being an accessory after the fact pertaining to your mother’s murder. We believe she was unaware of the true nature of her ‘errands’ on your mother’s behalf, and she was instrumental in helping us to recover the money, so she’s getting a pass on that.”

  “Will she go to jail?”

  “I believe she’ll do some time, but it shouldn’t be a long stretch. Cleaning up after a murder and then lying about it, not to mention trying to frame an innocent man, are serious crimes.”

  “Did she say why she tried to pin it on me?”

  “Your dad threatened to cut her out of everything if she didn’t protect him.”

  “So they both put money ahead of me. That’s good to know, especially after I was nearly an accessory myself by going along with her plan to leave the country.”

  “I’m sorry, Ken. I know this is a bitter pill to swallow.”

  “It is what it is. I’m glad to know the truth about them. It helps me to move forward on my own.”

  “I wanted to let you know we’ve started a grief group for people who’ve lost family members to violent crime. I know that your grief is a little different from most of our participants’ experiences, but grief is grief. If you think you might benefit from the interaction with others, we’d be happy to have you.”

  “I’ll think about that.”

  “It’s an open invite. Now, a year from now, whatever works. I’ll text you the info, and you can decide.”

  “Thank you for everything. I can’t tell you what it means to me that my mother’s victims will receive restitution. When will they get that news?”

  “We’ll be issuing a press release in the morning that’ll make it public.”

  “I can’t wait for that. It’s time for this nightmare to end. I’ll always be thankful to you and your team for that.”

  “I’m glad we were able to find the money. I’ll ask the prosecutors keep you informed of your father’s and sister’s legal proceedings if you’d like to know.”

  After a long pause, he said, “That’s okay. I’m not really interested in what becomes of them. They made their beds, so to speak. I’m moving on.”

  “Fair enough. I’ll send you the grief group info. I’m here if I can do anything for you going forward.”

  “You’ve given me the best possible gift by finding that money. That’s all I need. Take care, Lieutenant.”

  “You do the same.”

  Sam ended the call with a feeling of satisfaction and optimism that Ken Jr. would land on his feet after the hell his family had put him through. He seemed like a decent young man with a bright future ahead of him. She pulled onto Ninth Street a short time later and was waved through the security checkpoint. As she went up the ramp, feeling exhausted, exhilarated and excited to be on vacation, the front door opened, and there he was. Her love, her life, her reason for being.

  Her heart gave a happy leap at the sight of him in a long-sleeved T-shirt and sweats, his hair rumpled and his jaw covered in late-day whiskers. He was, without a doubt, the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on, and he was all hers.

  Forever.

  She sped up her pace and jumped into his outstretched arms, letting out a whoop of excitement.

  “Mom’s on vacation,” Nick said to Nate, who laughed as she dropped her purse and coat inside the door while Nick continued to hold her.

  “We nailed a murderer and found the missing money. Best da
y ever.”

  “Better than March twenty-sixth?” he asked of their wedding date.

  “Second only to that.” In his ear, she whispered, “Straight to bed.”

  “I love vacation Sam.”

  “She’s not that different from workweek Sam.”

  “True, but I love all my Sams, no matter what.” Nick carried her up the stairs, past the Secret Service agent positioned in the hallway outside the kids’ rooms and straight up another flight of stairs to their loft.

  “And now the whole Secret Service knows it’s booty-call time for the second couple.”

  “Eh, whatever. Let them think whatever they want.” He put her down and went to light the beach-scented candles that reminded them of their trips to Bora Bora.

  Sam pulled off her clothes and crawled onto the double lounge, holding out her arms to him.

  He stretched out next to her and pulled her in tight against him.

  “You’re overdressed for this party,” she said, tugging on his T-shirt.

  His hand on her face anchored her for a deep, passionate kiss. “I want you to know something,” he said, kissing her neck and down to her breasts.

  “What?” Sam asked, breathless.

  “I’m always so bloody thankful when you walk through that door at the end of a workday. So very, very thankful.”

  “I hate that you worry about me the way you do.”

  “Can’t help it.”

  “I’m worried about you too.”

  He raised his head to meet her gaze, his gorgeous hazel eyes conveying confusion. “Why?”

  “I hear the threats against you haven’t dropped off.”

  “That’s nothing to worry about. People love to hear themselves talk. You know that.”

  “Still… I worry.”

  He smoothed the hair back from her face. “Don’t worry. I’m very well protected. And guess what else?”

  “What?”

  “I cleared my schedule so I can be off with you.”

  “Best day ever!”

  “I can’t let you handle cooking the turkey all on your own.”

  “That’s what it’s really about, right? Protecting Thanksgiving dinner.”

  “Scotty did suggest it might be a good idea for you to have some ‘qualified help,’ was the term I believe he used.”