Chapter 5 - RAYMOND’S NINE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND
Raymond did not run.
He did something worse.
He laughed.
One hard, disbelieving sound.
“That company has been closed for six years.”
Samuel looked at the registration.
“RMC Advisory was reactivated eleven months ago.”
“Not by me.”
“Your name is on it.”
“My name is Raymond Michael Mercer.”
He pointed toward Julian.
“So is half the family’s ability to copy a filing.”
Julian stood.
“I did not send that transfer.”
Raymond turned.
“You expect me to believe you now?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“You lied about Blue Meridian.”
“Yes.”
The admission silenced us.
Julian continued.
“I lied about the marina. I moved Dad’s money. I moved Northstar money. I did not send nine hundred fifty thousand dollars to Raymond.”
That was the first time he stopped defending everything.
Maybe because one lie was more dangerous than admitting several others.
Samuel asked:
“Why would somebody send money from Northstar to a company in Raymond’s name?”
Julian looked toward the flash drive.
“That’s what Dad was trying to find.”
Dad’s FINAL video continued.
Arthur:
“Raymond denies receiving the money.”
Raymond stared at screen.
“He asked me?”
Apparently Dad confronted him privately.
Raymond had shown bank records proving no nine hundred fifty thousand dollar deposit reached his personal accounts.
Then corporate account.
The reactivated RMC account had been opened online.
Identity documents:
Raymond’s driver license.
Social Security information.
Old business tax number.
Mailing address:
A commercial mailbox in Baltimore.
Phone:
Prepaid.
Email:
RMCadvisory1970.
Who had Raymond’s identity documents?
Family office.
Dad.
Julian.
Raymond’s accountant.
Maybe Serena through Blue Meridian files.
The transfer left Northstar under an invoice.
“Strategic property recovery services.”
No contract.
No board approval.
Who approved payment?
Northstar’s online banking required Julian plus one secondary administrator.
Secondary administrator:
Serena.
Her face went white.
“I never approved that.”
Julian looked at her.
“You did.”
“No.”
“The bank shows your token.”
“I didn’t have a token.”
Everyone stopped.
Julian:
“What?”
“You told me you handled banking.”
“I gave you the security device.”
“No. You said I didn’t need one.”
Samuel opened Northstar bank records.
A physical security token had been issued to Serena.
Delivery address:
Mercer residence.
Signed for by:
J. Mercer.
Julian.
He had received her token.
He could approve as both administrators.
“That explains it,” Raymond said.
Julian’s face hardened.
“No.”
“What?”
“I had her token, yes.”
Serena stared.
“You used my approval?”
“For ordinary transfers.”
Her face became colorless.
“You signed as me.”
“I had authority.”
“No, you didn’t.”
Julian ignored her.
“But I did not approve RMC.”
Michael Torres asked:
“Where were both tokens eleven months ago?”
Julian thought.
Then stopped.
“What?”
The date mattered.
He checked his phone calendar.
He had been deployed overseas for a NATO exercise.
Three weeks.
His banking tokens remained in his home office.
Serena stayed in Virginia.
Could she have done it?
She stared at us.
“No.”
“Who had access to your house?” Samuel asked.
Serena hesitated.
“Cleaning staff.”
“Family?”
“Raymond checked the generator once.”
Raymond exploded.
“You think I broke into your office?”
“No.”
“Who else?”
Serena’s eyes shifted.
“Christopher.”
Julian’s college roommate.
Christopher Lane.
Owner of the fake construction company Northstar paid.
He stayed at their house for four days while Julian was overseas.
Why?
He and Serena were overseeing a Northstar property search.
Did he know about the tokens?
Maybe.
Christopher suddenly became relevant.
Samuel asked:
“Where is he?”
Julian said:
“Florida.”
“Doing what?”
“Real estate.”
The investigator made one call.
Christopher Lane had entered bankruptcy five months earlier.
His company collapsed.
But eleven months ago, two days after the nine hundred fifty thousand dollar RMC payment, another transfer occurred.
RMC Advisory to:
Lane Coastal Development.
Eight hundred seventy five thousand dollars.
Julian sat down.
Serena whispered:
“Oh God.”
Christopher may have created RMC using Raymond’s identity.
Then used it to siphon Northstar money.
Why leave seventy five thousand behind?
Fees?
Cash withdrawal?
Unknown.
Dad had discovered Julian’s theft.
While tracing it, he found somebody else stealing from Julian’s charity.
The victim had also been an offender.
That was the first twist none of us had expected.
Julian looked at me.
“I told Dad.”
“You knew?”
“Two weeks before he died.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me to call Samuel.”
Samuel frowned.
“You never called.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t explain Northstar without exposing myself.”
There.
Julian let another theft remain hidden because reporting it would reveal his own.
Dad’s final month became clearer.
He was trying to separate crimes.
His son’s misuse.
Christopher’s possible theft.
Raymond’s stolen identity.
Serena’s nominal approvals.
Blue Meridian.
The marina.
Then Samuel received a call.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“Christopher Lane is not in Florida.”
“Where?”
“He checked into a hotel in Annapolis yesterday.”
Julian stood.
“Why?”
The investigator answered.
“He was seen this morning outside the funeral chapel.”
My split lip throbbed.
Somebody connected to nearly a million dollars of missing charity money had attended Dad’s funeral without coming inside.
Why?
Samuel looked toward the brass key still lying beside the safe.
Then toward Julian.
“Did Christopher know about this safe?”
Julian said nothing.
Serena answered.
“Yes.”
Everyone turned.
“How?”
She swallowed.
May you like
“Julian told him the cash was inside.”
Continue to the next part: Christopher Lane, the man connected to the missing charity money, came to Arthur’s funeral knowing Julian believed millions were hidden inside the safe.
