Page 43 of Backwater Justice

“Truth be told, I’m a bit knackered, but we’ve got to carry on, eh?”

“Indeed. Let’s get to it,” Myra said.

Annie repeated the highlights of Vanessa’s reunion with her family, her condition, and whereabouts.

Charles began to give them information about Dickie Morton. “Dickie, Richard Morton. Age fifty. Divorced. Two adult children live in Idaho. High school graduate. VOTEC education in automobile engines. Now he is transportation supervisor for S.E.I. Directly reports to Oliver. We’ve been working on his financials. Seems Mr. Morton has a very nice cabin near Silver Falls State Park. He paid over a hundred grand for it at the beginning of this year. Cash.”

“And you said Oliver bought his apartment, car, and several watches with cash, as well,” Myra confirmed.

“Yes.” Charles was informing everyone of what he and Fergus had discovered during the day. “All cash transactions.”

“What about insurance on his acquisitions?” Izzie asked.

“Just the condo and the car.”

“Why wouldn’t someone want to insure watches worth nearly twenty grand each?” Kathryn asked.

“Paper and electronic transaction trails.”

“Do you think the stuff was hot?”

“Oliver is a player. He wants people to know how much he paid. We phoned the high-end jewelry store in the area. Lovely woman. Said Mr. Oliver Spangler was one of their best customers. Always paid cash.”

“Well, there’s a trail,” Maggie said.

“True, but they are local businesspeople. Insurance companies are a different breed. Everything is logged, catalogued, and logged again. We were lucky the nice woman on the phone was so generous with information.”

“Oh, Charles, I am willing to bet that you schmoozed her with your accent. You probably laid it on as thick as a slab of bacon,” Myra teased.

“I do my best to accommodate your wishes, love.” Charles grinned. “I simply mentioned that I had drinks with Oliver and was admiring his watch. He told me where he bought it, and Bob’s your uncle.”

“What about this Bart person?” Annie asked. She was still fuming at the thought that he’d punched that girl in the face, never mind the entire abduction thing.

“Ah. Bart Nichols. Age forty. Got a bit of a blot on his record. Hot-wired a car, but because of his age, he wasn’t charged with a felony. Was in youth detention for a year. Entered a program for rehabilitating teens, then got a job at Geiser Lumbermill. Not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Seems he’s mostly Dickie Morton’s gopher. He’s also Dickie’s cousin.”

“So, can we assume they are working together?” Myra asked.

“Well, love, you know I never like to assume anything; however, Bart reports directly to Dickie, so there is a fine chance they are involved in a rum do.”

“Something unscrupulous.” Myra nodded.

“We’ll do more digging, but we should consider the three men are involved in something untoward,” Fergus added.

Annie ran down the list she and Myra had compiled:

1.Sasha will tail Bart.

2.Eileen will tail Dickie.

3.Myra will spend time with Benjamin’s wife, Danielle, see if she can get the daughter-in-law’s point of view. Watch how Benjamin behaves at home.

4.Annie enlists Oliver’s fast-car expertise to keep an eye on his movements and get a handle on his routines.

5.Kathryn clocks in at the main office, stealthily checks dispatch records. She stays in the apartment on the top floor of the office building so she can be on-call.

6.Izzie visits the five Cascade Inns as facilities manager.

7.Maggie interviews families, starting with the George family.

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