Authors: Noah Rea
“I would love to. I can’t commit to a lot of
time without talking to Jim but I’m sure I can be available most of the time.
We are excited about doing something new so you can count me in.”
Jack seemed to be the default leader of the
committee and asked when they wanted to meet. A lot of them had to work but
they decided the next Friday night would be their organizational meeting. Then
Jack looked at Otis.
“I think that is it for this family meeting.”
“Meeting adjourned.” said Otis.
Deb and I just sat there while all the kids
cleared out. Otis and Tilly sat there too as did Barbara and Betty. It looked
like we would have an “old peoples” meeting as I said as much. Deb punched me
and told me to speak for myself.
“Otis, are you guys thrilled or what?” I
said.
Barbara was the next to speak. “I’m so
excited I can hardly stand it. Did you hear the kids talking all over each
other they were so excited. This makes Will’s day and I can’t wait to tell
him.”
Betty looked at Otis. “Is there any way to
estimate what a building back there will cost?”
“Not really but let’s just say somewhere
between $300,000 and $500,000 would probably get us everything they will think
up. There won’t be any land cost of course and if they plan to keep the pumps
and underground tanks where they are it will probably save at least $100,000.
Then we will need money to renovate or demolish this building and I would
hazard a wild guess of say $50,000. So at most I would think we could counsel
them into something under $650,000 at the very most. If we wanted to have a
tighter budget we could probably get most of it done for maybe $350,000.”
“That won’t be a problem.” Barbara said.
“No but we probably don’t want to tell them
that.” Betty said.
“You are both right.” Otis said. With a
twinkle in his eye he said I bet between the three of us we could put down
about three million without getting a loan.”
Otis looked at me. “If we let these two
strays buy in then we could probably put up another $500,000 in short order.”
Deb and I just smiled.
Betty and Barbara didn’t answer Otis. He
just looked at them. “What?” he asked. They didn’t say anything.
“Barbara you know Will and I talk all the
time. We are brothers. I know good and well that you and Will could write a
check for at least a million and if the bank didn’t already have it all then
they would cover it until you transferred it from where ever you put it.”
He just looked at her. “You don’t want to
put that much in or you don’t want me to know how much you have?”
“No it isn’t any of that. It is just amazing
that we are talking about letting the kids spend our money like it isn’t a big
deal. It is kind of shocking to think about it in those terms but you are
right. Probably just about any amount they want to spend will be fine.
You know I couldn’t keep Will from putting up
his share without killing him. He will be so excited he may crawl out here
tonight to hand you a signed check and let you fill out the amount when you
know how much that is. I’m leaving to go see him and I’ll probably spend the
night with him there but I’m considering not telling him until morning. He
will be so excited he may not be able to go to sleep.”
“Don’t tell him tonight.” Otis said. “I know he won’t sleep.”
“Betty you haven’t said anything.”
There was a long pause. “We don’t have many
secrets in this family and the three of us split the net income so we all make
the same and know what the other is getting. Jim and I have had our house paid
off for at least twenty years. We have no expenses. Our biggest challenge
financially is keeping it from being taxed into oblivion.”
“I’m just amazed like you guys are. We have
hoped and prayed for years that the kids would see value here and want to be a
part of it. It is just a little breath taking to see them actually jump in and
what we have wanted so long actually start to happen.”
“It is just amazing!’ she said and kind of
stared off into the distance.
“Well do we want to do more? I mean we can
afford to put more into it than they will likely spend. Do we want to do
something together that maybe would be a tax write off to start a new
business?”
They were quiet for a few minutes.
“Why don’t we see what the kids come up with
and then see? Maybe at that time we could tell them we would do more if they
dreamed bigger. We don’t want to overdue something so that we have diminishing
returns but maybe we would see something profitable that they don’t.” Barbara
said.
“I agree,” Said Otis. “Let see what they
come up with. Betty will be in on it and can nudge them along if she feels
like they need it.”
No one said the meeting was adjourned but
Betty hugged Barbara, then Otis then Tilly and then us and headed out the
door. Barbara followed her in about that order and left.
“What did you think of that?” Otis asked
looking at me.
“I’m so excited too. Your family is really
doing well. Why did you guys have that conversation in front of Deb and me?”
“I don’t know why
they
did it but I
wanted you to be included. I didn’t tell them I wanted them to talk in front
of you but they know how I feel. Besides they are comfortable with you and
wanted you to hear too or they wouldn’t have said anything. I couldn’t make
either of them talk if they don’t want to. I love Barbara like a sister and
she doesn’t keep much from me. Betty being married to a lawyer is a little
more private but not much. She knows I love her and would do anything for
her. She has just learned from Jim to be a little more careful what she says
and when.”
“Well it was certainly an education.”
“Let’s go eat,” Otis said. “I’m buying. God
in Heaven is smiling on us today and I feel like celebrating.”
Tilly laughed at him and looking at us
pointed to him like she was showing him off. “He is really happy right now
let’s go eat a lot.”
With that we followed them to one of Otis’
favorite steak houses. They did a really good job with tilapia and catfish as
well. Deb and I liked the place. I helped get Otis into his wheel chair and I
pushed him inside.
“You better enjoy this. It may be the last
time you get to push me around.” He said.
“I know that is true. The local FBI and a
few others would like to have the opportunity.”
He laughed. “I know very well that is the
truth.”
They had a ribeye and tilapia special that
Otis and I both ordered. He got his steak medium rare and the tilapia
blackened. I got my steak medium and blackened tilapia. Tilly just pointed at
us after we ordered.
“Those two are so much alike. Sam could be
our son.”
“I think I am.” I said. “I have sure had
good treatment for not being at least.”
After we ordered I asked Otis what he thought
would happen.
“I think they will come up with some use for
the current building. They will leave the pumps where they are and maybe add a
few more farther back. I think they will want a raised building that will
function like the one we have but be a lot safer, nicer and larger. We will
see but I’m very contented with what happened today.”
“You know Deb and I haven’t had much time to
do long range planning but California is creating some interesting problems
that might be solved by a combination of things right here.”
“Really,” Otis said. “Like what. You have
really got me curious now. Californians don’t necessarily like us.”
“They have extremely strict rules for semi
trucks running in California. That creates some interesting load price wars.
For example if someone wanted to take a load from Chicago to Los Angeles they
would normally take the load with a California compliant truck. They are
expensive and less fuel efficient than many of the ones that can’t go into
California. The truck Deb and I have will go there but our fuel economy is
about a mile per gallon less than the best ones. That is a lot of extra money
from Chicago to here. What if we had another truck that got say six and a half
miles per gallon and we brought that load here. Then we swapped trailers and
we used the current tractor to take the load into California. We would save a
mile per gallon from Chicago to here. That is about 1750 miles. We get about
5.5 miles per gallon. If we could get 6.5 MPG that would save about $200
getting here. It takes less than five minutes to drop a trailer and hook a
trailer. Then we could go into California with our current truck. But we
would have a $200 advantage when we are in a bidding war on that route.”
“I don’t know if we could sell it or make it
work but if we had a trailer exchange program like JB Hub has or LandHaul has
then those companies could send loads in here to drop from all over the
country. Then we could have trucks running from here into California going
back and forth. That way they could save fuel times multiple hundreds of
trucks. They should be interested in us providing a drop where their trailers
are safe and they could get some repair work done and get a good price on
fuel. The lot could probably be some land with a gravel pack and a six foot
fence and guard gate. As long as it wasn’t too far from the truckstop we
wouldn’t need a bathroom out there.”
“Then we might be able to talk someone on
putting a distribution center here. That way they could ship stuff from here
into California with our kind of truck and to the rest of the US on cheaper
trucks. They would win on fuel. And again if they were able to get repairs
and a good price on fuel it could be really nice for them”
“Besides I would be very surprised if we
couldn’t do warehousing cost here way cheaper than they can in California.”
Otis chuckled. “You have been thinking young
man. I liked everything you said and would agree that you are probably right.”
Our food got there so we all returned our
thoughts to the immediate.
We had a pleasant meal and fun talking about
the kids and what they said and were doing with their lives. It was more fun
to watch them than remember how much energy it used to take us. Otis said he
didn’t have it any longer.
Once we were done eating I helped Otis get to
the car. I asked Tilly if she didn’t want us to follow them home and I help
there. She said they didn’t need help at home because Otis had something
rigged up so he could get into his wheel chair by himself.
I shook Otis’ hand and thanked him for the
meal. I hugged Tilly and thanked her. Deb hugged them both.
“You have given me some things to think about
Sam. Some of that is very interesting.” Otis said before waving goodbye and
rolling up his window.
Deb and I were tired when we got home. It
was an exciting time for Otis’ family but it was also draining. Our life was
draining without adding anything else.
Chapter 14
Connecting the Dots
About a week later Jim called back and said
they had found something else interesting. Seth had shown Rebecca’s picture to
people at the nursing home where Leon lived last and to former neighbors. Several
people both places recognized her, and all said she was a friend of Leon’s. When
he died, she tried to get copies of release forms from the nursing home or of
the death certificate. They would not give her either one. She went to the
lawyer who had represented Leon and got him involved. When she got a copy of
the release form, it was signed by someone she had never heard of. She and Leon
were the only ones authorized to release him, not even the lawyer.
The lawyer sent a demand letter for the original
list of those authorized to release him and they didn’t have one. It was a part
of their check-in procedure for everyone they admitted, and they always got it
filled out, but it wasn’t there. Then the lawyer asked who at the nursing home
authorized the release to someone not on the list. They pointed out the line
where the nursing home approval should have been signed. It wasn’t, so they didn’t
know.
Somebody looked the other way, and a stranger
wheeled Leon out the door. Also it looked like Leon was moved to the nursing
home so they could take his house and clean out his stuff. They probably
improvised Leon’s final days since they could not easily take him down and out
with Rebecca watching so closely.
When Rebecca tried to pay the lawyer with
Leon’s funds, the account had been closed, and the money was gone. She had paid
the lawyer herself and was raising a stink about Leon’s whereabouts. She had
the lawyer threatening the bank about authorized signers on the account, which
were only Leon and her. The bank let someone not on the account take all the
money. They had shown an IRS badge, but no one verified who he was or got any
legal authorization to release the money. The bank had no demand letter or real
authority to give up Leon’s money.
Leon’s house and all his property were sold,
and the proceeds went to an IRS account. Leon was supposed to be un-connected
but wasn’t, and Rebecca was about to get someone in trouble.
A lot of stuff happened only God knows how,
and it was done simply by showing an IRS badge. We found out the banks are
afraid of the IRS, of course and never tell them they can’t do whatever they
want. That is why the IRS likes big banks. They can log into their server and
see the accounts and the activity of anyone banking there. They can’t always
do that so easy at smaller banks.
Jim went on to tell how they were beginning
to find similar circumstances all over the place. Sometimes people died
mysteriously or prematurely. But the common thread through all is that the
people who died were un-connected with anyone and had at least a modest net
worth. Most had lawyers who gave them little time. In short order, they and
their stuff were gone.
Even if a will was probated, there would not
be enough in it to pay the lawyers. Most of the time the lawyer would discover
there was no value, and they would just drop the case. Then it might or might
not be probated, but it would only be a judge involved, if so. A lot of things
were not normal.
I was silent.
“Are you OK?” Jim asked. “Rebecca was doing a
good job and being a good friend but crossed the wrong person or persons.”
He must have sensed I was overwhelmed because
he told me he’d call later, and I should call him anytime I had questions.
Deb brought me some ice tea and sat with me
in silence.
Finally, I said, “Whoever did this was
powerful and well connected in Washington.”
She agreed but neither of us said any more
for a while.
Then I got up and said I wanted to go for a
walk and wanted to know if she would go with me.
“Sure,” she said.
And off we went holding hands and walking in
silence.
I began to recognize something in me that I
had not recognized before. I was beginning to get angry. I was angry that
someone killed my first wife. I was angry that my new best friend and wife was
scared. I was angry that Otis and his family had been hurt. Until now, my
thoughts had been about surviving, but now I wanted to do something to bring
justice to whoever this was. I wanted to find out who they were. I wanted to
expose them and let the light of truth shine on their dark deeds.
I told Deb about my new feelings, and I told
her I was a little ashamed I had thought about myself so much up until now. She
said there was nothing wrong with being scared of people like them. She was
still too scared to be angry, but she wanted to help me do whatever I felt like
I needed to do. She just wanted me to remember she needed me and wanted me to
promise not to take any unnecessary risks.
“Done.” I said.
I told her I had not planned to do anything
yet, but I was looking for some way to expose them. I told her I would include
her in whatever happens, and I intended to be around for her to boss for a long
time.
When we got home, I decided to call Jim. I
asked him if the FBI ever hired detectives or people to run down leads. He
asked me what I had in mind. I told him I wanted to do something. I wanted to
help expose whoever had killed and hurt people I loved. He said the FBI didn’t
do too much with non-law-enforcement people. But he would see if he could get
the name of an agent in Phoenix who would be willing to work with me.
I told him I wanted to go to some nursing
homes or the last residences of some of the people on his list and see what I
could find out.
Ideas were coming to me about ways to get
information. I called Tilly to tell her that I wanted to do some poking around
and ask about getting a picture of Grandma Moses to help. After I told her what
I intended to do, she laughed and said grandma would be glad to help. Grandma
loves cops and robbers stuff. She would love to help catch a bad guy. She said
she would call and get it set up.
Tilly called back in a few minutes and said
grandma was excited about it, but I didn’t need to go over there. The guys
working around the house would take her picture and text it to me. And I had it
before Tilly could hang up. I thanked her and sat down with Deb to make a plan.
What I was proposing was going to nursing
homes that were on Jim’s list and in the Phoenix area. I planned to show the
picture of “my grandmother” and then ask all kinds of questions about their
policies, checking in, checking out, the kinds of care they offered, etc. Deb liked
it and grabbed my phone. In a few minutes she had the list I had received from
Jim and printed it out. She picked one and suggested we go. “After that, if we
have time, we could go see another one, and then you could take me out to eat.”
Sounded great to me and we were off.
The first place Deb picked looked pretty new.
The lady we talked to was not the normal lady that talked to new potential
clients, but she said she had worked there since they opened and had worked at
another nursing home for several years before that. She told us that in her
opinion there was a difference between assisted living and a nursing home. We
got that and talked about all their policies.
I told her a friend of mine had a dad with
Alzheimer disease and had walked out of the nursing home he was in. It took
them about two hours to find him after they’d discovered he’d gone. They had no
idea when he’d left. I asked her how that could happen. She guessed that their
floor plan had something to do with it, but everyone in the industry had to pay
attention and really care about their patients.
I asked her what she meant about the floor
plan making a difference.
She said when someone comes in the front door,
in her opinion he should run right into the front desk. That way people coming
in and going out are identified and visitors don’t easily get into the building
without permission. Nor do visitors have a hard time finding the one in charge
of letting them see the person they came to see.
She said it really came down to the workers
at the home being responsible and really taking care of the patients. I asked
her how often she believed someone got out the door at their place who wasn’t
supposed to. She said that depended on whether we were asking about the ones
who were deceased or the ones who were still alive. “The live ones should never
get out.”
But she thought it did happen maybe once
every couple of months some places. She felt their place had a better record
and that only happened to them about once or twice a year.
“Now the deceased ones are a different story.
We don’t have a doctor here all the time, and no other nursing home that I know
of does either. So when a person passes, we either have to wait for a doctor to
get here to pronounce them gone. Or we send the body in an ambulance to a
hospital where they’re pronounced dead. Then the doctor fills out the papers
and estimates time of death. The bodies of those deceased don’t always go where
they’re supposed to. If the doctor pronounces time of death here, then
depending on the instructions, we have an ambulance take the body to a
mortician, or the mortician may come here to get the body.”
She said she guessed that part was pretty
much the same at the hospital.
“How often does the death of someone here
surprise you?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Sometimes a person is in poor health, taking
all kinds of medication, and they just appear to be close to death. Then there
are others who are elderly and in poor health but seem to be alert and not in
too much pain and not as close to death. In these cases we would expect the
first one I described to pass away first. But how common was it for the one
that looked healthier to pass away before the other one?”
“It doesn’t happen often but we do get
surprises.”
“Do doctors ever come here to see patients or
do the patients have to go to the doctor.”
“There was a doctor here nearly every day.”
“Do they see all the patients that the home
wanted them to see or were they there for their own patients only?”
She said that depended. “Some of the
wealthier patients had doctors who just came to see them and then left. Some
doctors had several patients, and usually they would see other patients we
wanted them to see. Most doctors would see additional patients if the home
asked them to or if they needed a doctor to sign a death certification. There
was only one who consistently refused.”
“Was he the doctor of wealthier patients?” I
asked.
“He had only one patient and I would say that
patient was one of the wealthier ones.”
“What was his name?”
“I don’t normally give out names but he is
Dr. Robinson. I won’t say anything bad about a doctor but I think I’m safe
saying he wouldn’t see any patients but his own.”
“Did patients who appeared to have more money
ever surprise you by passing more quickly than you expected?” Deb asked.
She said they did. “They were the patients of
this one doctor, and they talked about him frequently. He wasn’t like the other
doctors. He only dealt with patients who had money.”
“Normally I wouldn’t say anything, but I
wouldn’t want people I knew to have him as their doctor. I might get fired for
talking this way, but its how I feel. And I don’t want you to place your
grandmother with him.”
Also she told us he wouldn’t help them with
any patients who weren’t his. And he wouldn’t discuss his patients’ needs with
their nurses so they could help take care of them better when he wasn’t there.
He didn’t listen to their input about what they thought the patient needed. His
patients had a higher mortality rate than most of the other doctors.
They decided not to say anything to anyone
because it would look as if they were trying to get even with him for not
helping them out. She said that was all she would tell us, but she would be
sure he wasn’t my grandmother’s doctor. Her name was Margaret, and she gave us
her phone number in case we thought of additional questions once we left.
We left there and went to see Otis and Will
who were at the truck stop talking. They were getting better. I told them what
was happening with the elderly disappearing. He said every now and then Tilly
and Barbara heard about somebody passing unexpectedly or disappearing, but they
never gave it much thought before. He said they’d talk about it later and see
if they could remember some things that would help.
I told him about the conversation I had with
the guys that brought the furniture. He looked at Tilly with a “who was it?”
look and she told him.
“Okay, he said looks like another family
meeting is coming up. Thank you for telling me, Sam. That is exciting and no
one has said anything to me. I guess they think because I’m hurt my brain
doesn’t work.”
“I think it is your mouth they are concerned
about.”
Otis laughed. “I will have to get you for
that one but you are probably right. It is either that or they think my brain
is in my legs.”