“Do you have any secret properties here in town that you can stay at? That would make the money stretch further than staying at this expensive ass hotel.”
“You know what properties I own.” I scowled at him.
“Own, yes… but that doesn’t mean you haven’t been paying rent somewhere.” He gave me a knowing look, and I sighed.
“Nah, I haven’t had that place in a long time.” Almost two years ago, I had decided that I didn’t need to keep an L.A. bachelor pad for when I’d fake going out of town.
“Alright. I’ll see if any of my clients have any empty places for cheap.” Frank sighed. “I’m going to go home. I need to call my own lawyer at this point. I didn’t like how that judge mentioned your counsel needing counsel.” He looked nervous.
“Do I need to hire a second guy?” I had pulled myself into the chair and was staring at the fibers in the rug when I remembered the judges’ comments about needing better representation.
“I think it’s a good idea.” Frank admitted. “I’ll still be your lawyer,” he said quickly, “but in case I end up needing to step back or if this does become a criminal court level thing I think you need to make sure you have a strong defense team behind you.”
“Okay…” I croaked out. “Can you leave the tax forms here, I want to get a better look at whatever Melanie was talking about.” I vaguely remembered the will mentioning that Melanie had helped Gram build her wealth, too.
“Oh.” Frank scowled. “Yeah, turns out your wife has been doing pretty good for herself and not just at making the both of us look like asses. I had the forensic guy dig a little today, since her money is marital assets too. It looks like she was helping her parents and her grandmother choose stocks to invest in and helped her father expand his business. She also is the beneficiary of two trusts. One that her investment profits were being directly deposited into and one that her Gram left for her.”
“I knew about her Gram leaving her money. I completely forgot to look into it when the lawyer mentioned that Mel had helpedbuild Gram’s wealth. What’s in the other trust?” I frowned. I had never pictured Melanie as the type to hide money from me. “Is there any proof that she used my money to fund any of these investments?”
“The other trust was set up by her father—her portion of the business and any profits from it are protected in that trust and she’s the sole beneficiary. As long as she doesn’t cash any of it out, it’s untouchable. The accountant said that it had about 1.5 million dollars in it.”
My jaw dropped. She had accrued over a million dollars just working for her father.
“Holy shit.” I breathed out the shocked words, and Frank nodded.
“They’re smart for midwestern bumpkins.”
“Hey!” I scowled, “I’m from there too, and that’s my wife you’re talking about.”
“Man, she’s the curled viper that’s just waiting for a chance to strike. Let it go.” Frank growled. “I’m going home, the papers are on the bed, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow after I’ve gotten a better idea of what the fuck we are dealing with.”
“Thanks.” I grumbled and watched him shuffle out of my room.
· · - ·?· - · ·
-Eight weeks later-
“Ben. Listen man, the Feds are here…” Frank said in a panicked whisper, “they’re raiding my office right now. I’m hiding in the goddamn bathroom to make this call. I’m going to jail and then they’re coming for you. The state board already pulled Kellie’s license, and I bet by tomorrow she will have been arrested too. Don’t speak to anybody about anything without Don by your side. He’s a good attorney—and your best shot. Fucking listen to him.”
The voicemail cut off after that, and I stared at my phone in horror.
In the length of time it took to take a shower, the final nails in my coffin had been hammered into place. I looked around the dingy motel I had been staying at for the past month to conserve my meager funds and felt my throat start to tighten. A desperate sob burst from my chest as I dropped to my knees and tried to find oxygen.
Everything was gone, and my freedom was next.
Three hours later, they were banging on my door. I had been sitting in the same spot, staring at the wall, for hours, waiting for them to arrive. By the time they finally did, I had settled into an odd state of acceptance.
There was nothing I could do to stop what was coming, and maybe this was exactly what I deserved.
I wasn’t surprised to find the FBI standing in my motel room reading me my rights. I was surprised to learn that the IRS had real field agents, not just desk guys. The lead agent, Agent Vergara, was absolutely giddy to be there to witness my downfall.
Apparently, she had been working closely with the one and only Angela Reed to facilitate my take-down. Ironic.
Don, my new lawyer, met me at the U.S Marshals office and stood by my side for the detention hearing with a silent proficiency that I found oddly comforting. I felt my knees buckle when they started reading the charges, and he steadied me with a hand on my elbow.
“Mr. Landon, you are before the Court today on a criminal complaint alleging multiple violations of federal law.
You are being charged with:
