Chapter Eleven
Piaget welcomed Bethany and Drew. “We’re set up in the dining room.”
“Why are they here?” Noah glared at Drew and Beth as they came into the house.
“Michael asked for them to come,” Ann said as she approached the large dining table. She waved at Michael to sit down and took the chair next to his. “We agreed I would be your voice for this evening.”
Michael frowned in concern, looping an arm around his wife’s shoulders, holding her close. It was obvious that Ann was very pregnant and very tired.
“Everyone take a seat,” Max pulled out a chair for Piaget then sat himself. “The kids are all downstairs or in bed. Caiden and Cece are watching the older ones.”
They all gathered at the table.
“First, Michael and I want to thank all of you for coming,” Ann took a deep breath, starting the meeting. “As everyone here knows, David has been arrested.”
“He shouldn’t be here,” Noah growled. “His investigation is the reason Dad’s in jail.”
“Dad broke the law,” Max said dryly. “That’s the reason he’s in jail.”
“What happened to innocent until proven guilty?” Noah demanded. He ignored Elle’s restraining hand on his arm. “He’s our dad.”
“He’s also the guy who has a bad habit of manipulating, blackmailing, and bending the FDA rules when it suits him,” Max responded.
“They took me off the case,” Drew cut in. “As one of David’s sons, my superiors felt it was a conflict of interest.”
“Why is Bethany here?” Elle questioned. It was obvious that she didn’t particularly like Bethany.
“Ted Searson and Robert Ramesly have been arrested as well,” Ann said, trying to direct the discussion. “We also need Drew’s expertise as a police officer to answer questions. It’s only fair that Bethany know what is going on since it’s her father. The Searson’s and Ramesly’s have been family friends for a long time.”
“Uncle Robert has been arrested?” Max asked, surprised.
Dillon nodded as he held his wife Kelly’s hand. “Yes. I’m hoping there has been some mistake. Jake and Everett are flying in tomorrow to help me deal with this. Hopefully we can bail Dad out soon.”
“For those of you who don’t know, the envelope in the middle of the table contains all of the information about the other children that David had outside of his marriage that we know of,” Ann continued. “We know he blackmailed Noah and tried to blackmail Michael. We know, but cannot prove that David has bribed judges, and possibly members of the FDA.”
She pushed a small stack of files further onto the table. “When Michael was investigating David, he found discrepancies in the accounting of Ramesly Pharmaceuticals, going back three decades. He handed the files to a team of accountants. They determined there was cash going in and out of the company that cannot be accounted for.”
“He was laundering money,” Drew said grimly. It fit with what he knew from Lawe’s FBI investigation. It was true then. David was finally going to prison and Bethany would be safe.
Ann nodded. “We think so. No one knew it at the time, but now that the possibility of drug smuggling has come to light, it’s probable.”
“What does this mean?” Piaget asked.
“It means we’re left with a lot of questions,” Ann rubbed her swollen stomach. “Drew is there any statute of limitations for this case?”
Drew sighed. “When do the company accounts start to mirror business again?”
“They don’t,” Ann responded. “They still have discrepancies.”
“Then he’s still laundering money which means the crime is current,” Drew leaned forward earnestly. “Look, the FBI is involved. That means they’ll have access to the company’s finances and will know all about the financial discrepancies. If they match them to when the drug operation they’ve been investigating did drops, it’s a done case.”
Michael nodded wearily. He made a motion with his hand.
“Which leads us to other questions,” Ann took his hand in hers. “We know they’re going to see the finances. We know they will likely want to fully investigate Ramesly Pharma and maybe, with Robert’s arrest, will investigate Ramesly Insurance Corporation. Company accounts, David and Robert’s accounts are likely to be frozen during the investigation.”
“That means our shares in the company are frozen,” Noah stated flatly.
Michael nodded.
