Baiting & Fishing Page 18

Chapter 18

  He headed for work where he attended an editorial meeting, answered a slew of email and returned a few calls. He was delighted to learn that the sports writer for whom he had been filling in was back at work. The guy came to his office with a twelve pack of beer and thank you notes from his wife and children. Ray said, “I'm just glad your wife is feeling better. I was happy to do it. I always thought it would be cool to be a sportswriter. I guess that was a case of the grass looking greener in the other pasture. Actually I thought it was kind of a drag. Although I would love to get tickets to a playoff game or something if you're ever tied up and can't go.”

  “Not a problem. Trust me, you'll get first pick of any big games for which I may score tickets.”

  He called Marcella in the afternoon to ask if she wanted to run. She begged off saying she had a hair appointment and then she intended to get a massage. She paused and said rather awkwardly, “Would you mind if we didn't see each other today? I am tired and a little overwrought.”

  He found himself nodding, “I agree. I think we should not move too fast here. I think slowing down and taking our time might be a good thing.” He paused and chuckled, “Difficult, but good.”

  She giggled. He could feel the relief in her voice through the phone. “I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

  After work, he went for a run and stopped at Dick's for dinner. Then he headed home, alone. He walked into the house, which seemed silent, cold and empty. He shook his head and told himself he needed to slow down as much as she did – for opposite reasons.

  He wasn't ready for bed, so he took his laptop out onto the porch to check his email and then to work on polishing one of the feature articles he had been storing up.

  He momentarily perked up when he saw an email from Karen Thompson. He began to read with eagerness which turned to something like horror as he scrolled through the text.

  Ray,

  I apologize for taking so long to send this information to you. I ended up finding a lot more information than I expected which actually complicated the process because it has been a lot to sort through. I'll bet this is more than you expected as well. None of this makes very much sense to me. Hopefully it will make more sense to you.

  The easiest part is the man whose identity you wanted to find. I think the person you are looking for is a man named Antonio Collonia. He was something of a tycoon who owned a chain of self-service laundries and dry-cleaners throughout the upper Midwest. He was originally from Sicily. Came to the U. S. shortly after WWII. Went to work in a laundry in Chicago that was reputed to be a front for a book run by one of the Chicago Mafia families. Eventually Antonio (Tonio to his friends) ended up owning the laundry, and adding many more stores in a whole bunch of states.

  He became very, very wealthy in a very short amount of time, such a short time as to draw the interest of the Feds. He was reputed to be involved in money laundering in addition to regular laundry service, but they never were able to get enough evidence to bring charges.

  He was married four times, each time to a wife who was younger than the last one. He had only one child, Aurelio, who moved to Miami Beach when he was in his twenties. There he worked for a temporary employment agency (which was reputed to make most of its money trafficking illegal migrant workers). Aurelio eventually purchased the agency. After his father died, he took over the laundry empire as well. Today he divides his time between Miami Beach and his father's estate in Chicago (significantly, given your initial assignment, the house is located in The Loop and was one of the first homes in its neighborhood to have central air conditioning). It seems that in addition to inheriting his father's businesses, Aurelio inherited his father's last wife as well.

  Tonio loved to fish and went fishing in the Great Lakes, Mexico, the Bahamas and in Florida every chance he got. As far as I can learn he went out with Captain Pappas at least six times over a period of five years just prior to the late summer of 1969, his last trip.

  He died in the summer of 1974. His death was ruled a homicide, unsolved. (Single small caliber gunshot wound to the back of the head.)

  Of note is the fact that Tonio seemed to have a penchant for helping young people whose lives were difficult. He told people it was because of his experiences of being left homeless and without a family at a young age during WWII. That is no doubt true, but it is interesting to note that he seemed to have mainly helped young women who had fallen on hard times. A few of him he married. A few of them he introduced to his friends or colleagues, who married them. A few of them he sort of “adopted”.

  In his will he left most of his money to his widow, Brenda, and his son Aurelio. He also left money to Trust Funds for three people: Andra Corteza of San Diego, California; Rosalia Carrerea of Corpus Christi, Texas; and Marcella Pappias of Chicago, Illinois. The will is expressed in percentages of the total value of the estate, the dollar figure of which is, of course, not in the will, but it appears he left them each a lot of money.

  According to the person who looked into this for me, the Trusts themselves had been funded at different times over five or six years prior to his death. Marcella Pappias' was the last trust established. He set that up in the summer of 1970. His will added extra principal to all three trusts upon his death. Apparently, a whole lot of principal. In addition to a rich widow and son, he left behind three wealthy “wards”.

  Moving on to the girl, things are more complicated. What follows is a chronological account of events which may or may not be related.

  May 15, 1947 - Christopher Pappas registers a fishing boat in Destin, Florida. Name: F/V Mirabella

  June 1, 1950 - Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, Mirabella Pappas gives birth to a daughter, Marcia Victoria Pappas.

  June 15, 1950 - Marcia Pappas is baptized in St. Mary's Catholic Church, Ft. Walton Beach.

  September 1955 - Marcia Pappas is registered for kindergarten at Ft. Walton Beach Elementary School

  May 1, 1960 - Mirabella Pappas dies. Obituary lists survivors as “beloved husband Christopher and Marcia, the light of her life.”

  June 4, 1966 - Marcia Pappas applies for a Florida drivers license

  June 15, 1966 - Christopher Pappas adds Marcia as co-owner of his bank accounts (with check signing privileges on the checking account).

  September 1969 - Christopher Pappas sells his home in Ft. Walton Beach.

  For the purpose of registration at Choctawhatchee High School in her senior year, Marcia lists her home address as the same address where Christopher docks the Mirabella III.

  January 1970 - Christopher Pappas sells the Mirabella III. He and Marcia move into an apartment near Eglin Air Force Base.

  June 1970 - Marcia Pappas graduates from high school, with perfect grades and perfect attendance for the entire four years of high school. A newspaper article indicates she was technically eligible to be valedictorian, but she declined the honor due to a serious illness in her family, so another classmate was designated to make the valedictory address.

  June 20, 1970 - Christopher Pappas dies of lung cancer.

  July 1970 - Marcia Pappas closes Christopher's checking account and savings account.

  Here's where I start making assumptions. Bear with me.

  September 1970 - Marcella Victoria Pappias enrolls at Northwestern University, Chicago.

  She gives a birth date of June 1, 1950. Place of birth is a small town outside Cleveland, Ohio, in a part of town where many immigrants lived. Conveniently the hospital had a fire in 1953, and many birth records were destroyed. I have learned that this hospital is frequently listed as the location for the birth of a lot of people with somewhat questionable credentials.

  Since her birth certificate was a facsimile, the university asked for other proof of birth. She provided a baptismal record from a Roman Catholic Church in Cleveland; I checked it out. No such baptism was recorded in that church.

  Her address was listed as an apartment near the Northwestern campus.

  Next of kin: A
ntonio Collonia, uncle.

  October 1970 - Marcella Pappias applies for a passport.

  June 1974 - Marcella Pappias graduates from Northwestern with a B.S. in Marine Biology. She got straight A's. She declined to participate in the Commencement, even though she was eligible to serve as valedictorian.

  July 1974 - Antonio Colonnia dies. Survivors listed: Wife, Brenda (35 years his junior), address in The Loop, and a son, Aurelio, of Miami, Florida.

  September 1974 - M. V. Papillon enrolls in the graduate school at U.S.C. in Los Angeles. She presents Marcella Pappias' diploma from Northwestern, and indicates her next of kin is a husband, Aurelio Papillon. [Can't find any marriage record for this marriage in L.A., Chicago, Miami, Vegas or

  Reno. Can't find any record of an Aurelio Papillon.]

  Date of Birth: June 1, 1950

  Address: apartment near U.S.C.

  She opens a checking account at a local bank. That checking account has remained active continuously from then until now in the same name.

  November 1974 - M. V. Papillon applies for a passport

  Address: apartment near U.S.C.

  Next of kin: Aurelio Papillon, cousin

  She finishes the semester with perfect marks in all her classes.

  January 1975 - M. V. Papillon registers for second semester at U. S. C.

  Same address.

  Next of kin: Betty Bledsoe, aunt. [Betty Bledsoe was a semi-successful character actress who appeared in many movies and TV shoes from the late 1930's until she died in 1980. Her address was in the same building where M. V. Papillon lived.]

  MVP finishes the semester again with perfect marks. GPA, 4.0

  September 1975 - M. V. Papillon registers for a third (and final) semester at U.S.C. She takes all of her midterm exams and earns A's in all of them. She does not show up for any of her finals and receives Incompletes in all her classes. She never returns to complete here degree.

  October 1975 - Marcella Pappias buys a condominium on the beach in Galveston, Texas. Pays $175,000, cash.

  She opens a checking and savings account at the local bank and takes out an American Express Credit Card.

  October 1980 - Marcella Pappias renews her passport.

  Address: the condo in Galveston

  Next of kin: No living relatives

  April 1982 - M. V. Papillon applies for a replacement passport, claiming her previous passport was lost.

  Address: Miami Beach, Florida [Address is the same as a residence belonging to Aurelio Colonnia.]

  Next of kind: Aurelio Colonnia, cousin

  September 1990 - Marcella Pappias renews her passport

  Address: Condo in Galveston

  Next of kin: No living relatives

  November 1991 - M. V. Papillon renews her passport. Same Miami Beach address. Same next of kin.

  January 1992 - (From news sources) Marcella Pappias meets Roland Wilson at a charity ball in Palm Beach, Florida

  December 1992 - Marcella Pappias and Roland Wilson marry in Atlanta, Georgia.

  She changes her name on all documents, including her passport, to Marcella Wilson.

  Address: Same as Wilson's in Atlanta, GA.

  Next of kin: Roland Wilson, husband

  She sells the condo in Galveston and closes the savings account.

  The Galveston checking account and the American Express card are still active in the name of Marcella V. Pappias. Mail goes to a Post Office Box in Galveston. Someone picks up the mail every few weeks.

  May 1997 - Roland Wilson opens a mobile phone account with AT&T and gets a second phone in Marcella Wilson's name.

  May 2000 - Marcia Pappas buys a home in The Villages in Central Florida. The sale is handled remotely; she does not attend the closing. Selling price is $375,000. She pays cash.

  She still owns the home, and taxes are current. She pays a management company (one payment, annually, paid by check) for maintenance and cleaning. No one at the management company has ever met her, nor do their records indicate she has ever visited the home.

  Marcia Pappas opens an interest bearing checking account at a local bank in The Villages and takes out an American Express card. Both of those accounts are still active in the name of Marcia Pappas. She pays the management company from this checking account. Mailing address is a Post Office Box in The Villages. Someone picks up the mail every few weeks.

  June 2000 - Marcia Pappas  opens a cell phone account with AT&T. That phone is still active.

  July 2000 - Marcia Pappas applies for a passport.

  Address: the condo in The Villages

  Next of kind: No living relatives.

  May 2001 - M. V. Papillon renews her passport. Address, next of kin are the same.

  June 2001 - Techtron collapses

  July 2002 - Marcella Wilson renews her passport. Same address and next of kin.

  [Note: Roland Wilson's criminal trial had begun in June and continued through September.]

  September 2003 - Roland Wilson is convicted of fraud and securities violations and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

  October 2003 - Roland Wilson commits suicide in a hotel room in Miami.

  April 2004 - M. V. Papillon opens a cell phone account with Verizon Wireless in Miami Beach. The plan includes both a high number of domestic minutes but also international calling and wireless Internet access.

  Billing address is the same address as Aurelio Colonnia.

  I have no idea what any of that means or even if those people are actually the same person, although I believe them to be the same person based on the common birth date and other coincidental features.

  I was unable to get information on international travel using any of the passports referred to. According to my sources the FBI might have records if they thought there was anything suspicious. Interpol keeps records on international travel also, but I have no idea how to go about accessing it. I would think you would need some kind of warrant.

  I was able to find out that there are active bank accounts. I was unable to find out how much money is in the accounts or what transactions have taken place.

  I am working on a source who may be able to find out about cell phone activity on the Verizon account issued to M. V. Papillon. It's a total long shot, but I'll let you know if I come up with anything. I don't have any contacts at AT&T.

  In the meantime, I'm going to let you scratch your head on this. I'm going bald and I still haven't had one idea that can explain what any of this may mean.

  Let me know if there is anything else I can help you with.

  Karen Thompson

  P. S. Just because I'm nuts or something, I checked out the two other women who inherited money from Colonnia besides his wife. They each have two identities. Both women have two passports, one in each name. One of them has cell phones with Verizon in both of her names. Each woman has a different address for her “main identity” and what I think of as the “backup identity”. One alias uses as her home address Colonnia's house on the Loop; the other one uses Colonnia's Miami address. Both list Aurelio Colonnia as their 'cousin'. I thought I'd throw that in for the sake of completeness – and complexity.

  Ray scanned the email very quickly the first time. Next, he forced himself to slow down and read it a second time, carefully. The third time, he printed it out and read it, with pen in hand, making notes. He had no idea what it meant, but he was pretty sure about one thing: it wasn't good.

  After reading the message for the third time, he turned off the computer and sat in the dark. The singing of the frogs seemed to mock him. It was so quiet he could hear music in the distance -- salsa music from some tiki bar at the beach. It seemed that, while everything else in the world went on as it had been twenty minutes before, his world had just imploded. He put his head in his hands and succumbed to the combined feelings of confusion and something like despair.

  Eventually he could stand it no more. He conducted his nightly locking-up ritual and went to bed, seeking
the solace of unconsciousness. Not surprisingly, sleep was slow in coming. All he could do was lie there and watch images in his mind's eye: images of Marcella getting on and off planes in unknown locations ... doing what? .... and for whom?

  He tossed and turned for a very long time. Eventually, he curled up into a ball and cried. After his tears ran out, and the confusion threatened to overwhelm him, sleep came to the rescue.

  His sleep was not restful, and he woke feeling more tired than when he went to bed. He was cranky and irritable all day at work. By mid-afternoon he gave up and decided to leave early. He thought about calling Victoria, but felt he was not prepared to deal with her, or anyone.

  He decided to go out on the water. He didn't bother to take his poles. His purpose was to drift, to think and to try to figure out what to do next. While he was drifting, Marcella called him. He considered not answering, but he wanted to see how he would react to talking to her. He picked up the phone and said, “Hello.”

  She said, “Hi. What are you doing?”

  “I decided to take the boat out for a little while before dark.”

  “Without inviting me?”

  “There wasn't time, and besides, I sort of wanted to be alone.”

  She was quiet for a few minutes, “Okay. I was going to ask if you wanted to come over for dinner, but if you're not in the mood, we can do it another time.”

  “That would be good. I had a really bad night's sleep last night. I'm in a crappy mood, and I wouldn't be fit company for man nor beast, much less a lovely woman.”

  “Well, since you put it that way, thanks for sparing me your company.” The tone of her voice told him she did not entirely believe him, but wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. “If you feel up to it, call me later. Otherwise, I'll talk to you tomorrow. If you have no plans, please consider coming over here after work for a run and dinner.”

  “Thanks. I'll let you know. 'Bye.” He hung up without waiting for her to reply. He could imagine her standing there with the phone in her hand looking confused and hurt. He considered calling her back, but couldn't think of what he might say that could possibly make it any better. What could he say? Hey, I've been checking up on your background, since you're so private and have left so many holes in your story, and I've found out a bunch of stuff that I'll bet the feds would love to know about...... He didn't think that would help.

  When darkness threatened, he headed for the marina, arriving about ten minutes before sunset. He sat in the boat at the dock and watched the day's finale without his usual sense of awe; he felt drained and miserable. When it was dark, he got up, cleaned the boat and headed for home. He took his computer, a notebook and his cell phone charger out on the lanai, and dialed Karen Thompson's number.

  She laughed when she heard his voice. “I expected you to call last night.”

  “I was too overwhelmed. I had to think about it for a while.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I am as confused as you. I have some questions. Number One: does Aurelio Colonnia still run the family businesses?”

  “Yes. He has a virtual army of people working for him – probably bad choice of words there – but he is the Man in Charge of both the laundry chain in the Midwest and the employment agency in Florida. I found out a couple of things about him that are interesting. Apparently the Colonnia family has some standards. The rumors are that they are into money laundering, smuggling of illegal workers into and out of various countries (including but by no means limited to the U.S.), they are also into smuggling. Big time smuggling. Supposedly jewels and art. But, the interesting thing is that one of the first things each of the people I spoke to about both Collonias was that they draw the line at drugs. Supposedly, Aurelio personally shot one of his mules who was smuggling drugs on the side. It doesn't make them them any less criminals, but they apparently have some standards. They are the kind of old-world criminals who are about running their businesses their way without interference by the legal authorities. They do not traffic in prostitution, drugs or slaves.”

  Ray said, “I'm not sure what to make of that, or even if it matters. For one thing, it seems to me that dealing in the importation and transportation of illegal migrant workers basically amounts to slave-trading, so I'm not prepared to give them a medal for nobility. Refraining from drug smuggling is just smart. They're obviously doing well smuggling traditional goods. Why risk getting involved in the really, really dangerous stuff?”

  Ray paused, “It is interesting that you referred to one of Aurelio's 'mules'. If I had to make a guess based on the little bit we know now, my guess is that Tonio was picking up young women who were down on their luck but smart and brave. He provided them with what they needed; in Marcella's case, that would have been an education, money and a new identity. In return, they provided an in-house courier service. What did they carry? Where did they go? You obviously have a source at the state department to find out about the passports, is there any way to find out where she went?”

  She answered, “Not through the State Department. They don't keep track of where people go. Interpol has fabulous databases that would help, but only cops have access to it. The best way to find out would be to somehow get access to her credit card activity. She's used American Express with all three identities. So far I have not come up with any way to gain access to someone else's AmEx usage. On the one hand, as a Card Member myself that gives me some confidence in their security systems. On the other hand, there's always a way to find out information. You have to keep asking the question until eventually you find someone willing to answer it. I'll keep on that one.

  “The other way would be through the airlines themselves. Again, I've run up against some security issues, but I'm guessing that she would have had frequent flier accounts. The airlines track that kind of thing carefully. If I can tap into that information, we could find out a lot.”

  He nodded and made a note on this pad, “Next question. I understand the first change in identity. She leaves Florida, goes to Chicago and assumes a new identity, which sounds more Italian than Greek. That would make sense with 'Uncle Tonio' paying the freight.”

  “I agree.”

  He continued, “Then 'uncle Tonio' is killed, and she goes to L. A. I don't think a new identity is totally necessary at that point, but it's kind of understandable. Another big change in her life. A new identity. I like how she transfers her credits and establishes the new name as a married name, but then very quickly reverts to 'single'. The use of initials instead of the name makes sense. It's kind of gender neutral. She's alone in the world again, except for 'cousin' Aurelio. That all makes sense. But why does Marcia Pappas all of a sudden re-appear in 2000 after having disappeared from the planet in 1970? What was she doing?”

  “I wondered the same thing myself, so I looked at the Techtron time line. A very interesting event occurred in April 2000. Hold on a minute. I need to get my notes.” She was gone a long time. Ray could hear her rummaging around on her desk. He vaguely recalled some testimony in the Techtron case that caused his heart to pound furiously. Karen came back on the line. Ray breathed deeply and tried to concentrate.

  Karen said, “Okay, here it is. Jason Sanderson was a staff accountant at Techtron, reporting to the Comptroller, who you will recall seems to have been the key person in the accounting scams they were running. Sanderson testified in several of the trials. His testimony was absolutely consistent in every case. He said that in February of 2000 he figured out that something was not right with the books. Recall that Sanderson was in charge of things like amortization of corporate assets, so he was not involved in the investment side of the accounting department. He did, however, have access to the entire accounting system. He said he noticed something that didn't look right when they were running the annual numbers for the year 1999. He said he looked further, and the more he looked the less sense it made. He did not ask anyone about it because, as virtually everybody testified, the Comptroller and CFO ran the depart
ment in such a way that each employee had his/her area of responsibility and nobody was supposed to nose around in anyone else's 'area'. The only people who saw the 'big picture' were the people at the top.

  Sanderson, therefore, dug around in the accounting system on his own, without authorization, and developed some ideas about what was going on that alarmed him. He did not mention it to Susan Steinholtz, the Comptroller, or the CFO. When asked why, he said it was because he believed they were the ones responsible for the questionable entries. The government investigation came to the same conclusion which is why those two are now doing time in Club Fed in North Florida.

  “Sanderson testified that by early March he had developed a general picture of the accounting manipulation they were doing in order to make Techtron's revenue look better. He said he called Roland Wilson at home and told Wilson what he thought was going on. His testimony was that Wilson's response was something to the effect that Sanderson must be mistaken. Wilson apparently blew him off and ignored the warning. Sanderson continued to dig into the accounting system, and found more and more data that worried him.

  “Evidently while Sanderson was digging through the system, someone – probably Susan Steinholtz – was monitoring his computer activity. In the second week of March 2000 Techtron fired Sanderson for violations of the company policy regarding computer access. He had apparently gone into areas of the accounting system where he did not have the authority to go. Note: he was not blocked from accessing the information; he simply had no reason to be nosing around in that data. Anyway, Techtron sacked him.

  He did two things the very same day. First, he cashed out his retirement plan, sold all his Techtron stock and opened a mutual fund account with Charles Schwab and diversified his investments. It should be noted that Sanderson is a multi-millionaire today thanks to his timely departure from Techtron at the point its stock was at its all time high, while the folks who stayed with the company not knowing about the impending catastrophe ended up broke. To his credit, it wasn't because he didn't try to issue a warning. He just chose to warn the wrong people.

  “The second thing he did was call Marcella Wilson at home. He testified that he did that because Roland Wilson had ignored his initial warnings. Techtron employees had the general opinion that Marcella Wilson had her husband's ear. He thought she might be able to persuade Roland to look into the situation.

  “Recall that by the end of the second quarter of 2000, the true data showed that Techtron was basically a sham company. It had virtually no income. It's financial statements were, even at that early date, essentially fiction. The company itself didn't collapse for another year; the accounting department managed to keep all the fictional balls in the air that long, but the real figures showed that the revenue had dried up a long time before that. Sanderson was right to fear the company was headed for the big rocks.

  “He told Marcella Wilson about his concerns in March 2000.”

  Ray closed his eyes and swallowed hard to keep from throwing up. “Whereupon she resurrected her original identity to resume a life she had abandoned thirty years before.”

  Karen interjected, “Yes, but consider the timing. Sanderson gave her the information in March. She didn't buy the house until May. What did she do in the meantime? Did she try to stop it? Did she look into it first?”

  Ray cleared his throat , “Maybe it took her that long to find a place to buy and make the arrangements, or,” he paused for a long time, swallowed hard, and spoke the unspeakable, “...Or was she in on it and finally realized the jig was about to be up, so she dug a bolt hole for herself. I would love to know where else she owns homes in one or the other of her aliases.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I'm betting she owns a little house somewhere in a country with no extradition treaty with the United States. Does Aurelio Colonnia have a private plane?”

  “A bunch.”

  “Where does he keep them?”

  “One is in Miami, one in Chicago, one is in Orlando and a few other places.”

  He interrupted, “Orlando is not far from The Villages where her condo is located.”

  “That is interesting. He also keeps one in Southern California and another one in Brownsville, Texas.”

  “What?”

  “Remember the other two women who inherited money from Antonio Colonnia. One lived in San Diego. The other was in south Texas.”

  “I have to tell you this is freaking me out. What I can't get my head around is whether or not there is any relationship between what I would guess is or was some kind of smuggling operation run by the Colonnia family and the Techtron business.”

  Karen said softly, “At this point, I think we have to leave all options open, but my gut tells me there is no connection. I think she did whatever she did for Colonnia from the time she was in college, but she had her own life apart from that. Roland Wilson and his society folks were a great cover if nothing else. The whole Techtron thing came later; I don't think she was involved. But she did see the end coming and opened an escape hatch for herself. That's what I think.”

  Ray said, “It doesn't matter what we think. What matters is what we can prove.”

  “This isn't a grand jury investigation. Why don't you just ask her?”

  “How can I believe anything she says?”

  Karen paused for a very long time, “I think you know the answer to that. I think she has told you the truth. She just left out some things.”

  He grumbled, “Some really significant things, if you're right. And if you're wrong and her entire relationship with me is an act, then what can I believe?”

  “I think you're getting carried away here. Why would she carry on a bogus relationship with you? What would she have to gain?”

  “I don't know. But, you've asked the right question. What does she have to gain? Who else benefits? This is about money and security.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “It's about the only thing I am sure about. Her father left her alone in the world with only a little money. Colonnia left her alone in the world with plenty of money. One thing about people who grow up in situations where they are deprived is that when they grow up they never seem to get enough. Poor children need money and security. Unloved and abused children need love and approval. ....”

  She interjected, “The orphan needs to belong to someone or something.”

  “Exactly. Marcella didn't grow up poor exactly but she had little in the way of material comforts. She was loved, but her dad was not a demonstrative person. She missed her mother. When she was left alone, she was determined to do anything to survive. And she has done so, admirably, but there is a deep need in her that was never fulfilled. A need for belonging and security. Money can buy a lot of both.”

  “Are you suggesting she was involved in the Techtron business?”

  “I don't know. On the one hand, I don't think she was at the outset. She indicated to me that she had concerns about shady dealings with the foreign clients. I can't help but wonder if she didn't see a way to make some money, or maybe even a way to tie Techtron's operations with Collonia's. If she was a mule in an international smuggling ring and she suddenly found herself with access to lots of new markets and/or new smugglers, would that not give her a leg up in the Collonia operation?”

  He could almost hear Karen's head shaking, “I think we're getting way ahead of the facts we know. We need to be careful. All we have are a bunch of facts which may or may not be related.”

  He answered somewhat impatiently, “Yeah, you're right, but I think we need to be open to a lot of different possibilities.”

  “And, we need to also be careful not to jump to conclusions. It's very likely that not everything is connected. I'll continue to try to see what I can come up with her the travel. Do you think I should contact the other two women.”

  “I would prefer to know first if they all know about each other. I don't want to tip her off.”

  “I think you should tell h
er what you know. If you don't tell her and she finds out, your relationship is over. She'll never trust you again.”

  “You're right. The question is: can I trust her?”

  “I think you have to until you have some credible evidence that she has lied to you. Yes, she has left out a lot, but she's in the habit of playing things close to the chest. Quite honestly, I think her life has depended on doing that; it's become a habit. She might open up if you ask her to. You'll never know unless you try.”

  “I'll think about it. You keep digging and keep me posted. Do you need any more money?”

  “Nope. So far I haven't spent a dime.”

  “Lord, Girl, you are good.”

  She laughed, “Oh, you have no idea.”

  He hung up the phone and stretched out on the couch feeling as though he had been punched in the stomach.