Murdered in Argentina: A Jack Trout Cozy Mystery (11 page)

“Lisa as bad as your loss of Ray is, and I’m not trying to whitewash it, there are always some silver linings. I hope you’ll spend some time looking for those rather than at the dark clouds caused by his unexpected death.”

“Carola, I’ve been doing most of the talking, but I remember you saying something about Jack not being just a fishing guide, but also a coin collector and an historian. What’s that all about?”

“I met Jack when he was guiding a group of fishermen in Chile. Several of my friends and I were having a drink after work. Jack was there with his group, and he was having trouble getting the bartender to understand his Spanish. I helped him and one thing led to another, and we got married a few months later. I thought I was marrying a fishing guide. What I didn’t realize was that I was also marrying a very knowledgeable coin collector who actually helped solve a coin theft called the Saddle Ridge Coin Mystery. Look it up on the Internet. There are a lot of news articles about it.”

“I will. I’ve never heard of it. A coin collector? That’s interesting. Does he still collect?”

“Yes,” Carola said. “I don’t know much about coins, but the other day he said something about a Carson City gold $5 Liberty. I guess it’s worth a lot of money. He’s got several others that are pretty valuable as well. He spends a lot of time on Facebook with different people he’s met through coin groups there.”

“I’m having a hard time putting a fishing guide together with a coin collector. Ray mentioned Jack was also an historian, and I can understand that, because I think of nature and history as kind of going together hand in hand, but coins? How did that ever happen?”

“Jack told me his family owned a dry cleaning store across the street from the San Francisco mint. His grandfather used to wash the clothes of a lot of the employees who worked at the mint. I know he was close to his grandfather, so I guess that’s how he got started collecting coins and becoming so knowledgeable about them.”

“I’ve never looked below the surface of what people tell me. All I ever cared about was what kind of a car someone drove, what neighborhood they lived in, and how much money they made. Can’t say I’m very proud of it, but that’s the truth.”

“I’ve always heard it’s never too late to start over,” Carola said. “Just think about all you’re going to able to find out about people beyond what you used to know.” She looked at her watch and motioned the waitress over. “We need to get back to Mamusia to meet Rico. It isn’t siesta time yet, so I’m sure parking will be as bad as it was when we got here.”

They paid the waitress and quickly walked the two blocks back to Mamusia to meet Rico.

CHAPTER 21

When they got back to the lodge, Carola said, “We both have phone calls to make, and I want to do a little research on the Internet. It’s 2:00 now. Why don’t you come to my room in a couple of hours, and we can share what we’ve found out?”

“That’s fine with me. I’ll start with our lawyer and go from there. I think the business needs to be attended to before anything else, and I need to find out if Ray made some specific plans for it. See you later,” Lisa said, as she walked toward the end of the hall to the room where she was now staying.

After she closed the door, Carola walked over to Cayo’s carrier and zipped the door open. He walked out of it, lapped at the water in his dish, and jumped on the bed, purring, obviously happy she was back.

“Okay, little guy. I’ve got some work to do. Why don’t you rest on the bed for now?” She picked up her laptop computer, put it on the table, and booted it up. She typed in the name “WrapAround Graphics,” and spent the next half hour reading about the company. She discovered nothing that indicated there was turmoil in the company or that anyone from the company would have any reason to be involved in Ray’s murder. She decided the only thing to do was call the president of the company and see if he could tell her something other than what she’d seen on the Internet. She picked up her phone and called the company.

“WrapAround Graphics. If it moves, we can cover it with an advertisement. How may I direct your call?” the voice on the other end asked.

“I’d like to speak with Colin Scott. Please tell him I have some information about Moving Graphics that I think will interest him.”

“Just one moment,” the receptionist said. “I’ll see if he’s in.”

After several moments a deep male voice came on the line. “This is Colin Scott. Who am I speaking with?”

“Mr. Scott, you don’t know me. My name is Carola Trout. I’m calling from Argentina. A competitor of yours, Ray Martin, was murdered at a fishing lodge here last night.”

“Miss Trout…”

“Please, call me Carola.”

“All right, Carola,” he said in a deep voice, clearly startled. “You’ve caught me completely by surprise. That’s terrible news! I know Ray was getting ready to take a group from his company fishing in Argentina. What happened?”

Carola filled him in on the details and said, “If you can spare me a few minutes of your time, I’d like to ask you some questions.”

“Of course, but let me start by saying I didn’t do it, and none of my people did it. Ray and I were worthy opponents. Actually, we often had drinks at industry conferences we attended. Sure, we went after the same customers, and sometimes I got them, and sometimes he got them, but we were friends, actually pretty close friends. I can’t think of anyone who would want Ray dead. What’s going to happen to the company?”

“I don’t know. His wife is getting in touch with their lawyer right now. Other than that, I can’t tell you anything. I spent some time researching your company, and I didn’t see anything that raises a red flag with me. What I would ask of you, particularly since you and Ray were friends, is what you can tell me about some of the people who worked for Ray.”

“Sure, I’m happy to help if I can. You realize this is going to be really big news in our industry. Ray was kind of like an idol to most of us. He was a hard-nosed businessman, but he’s mentored a lot of people in our industry. As a matter of fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say anything bad about him, and he may be the only one in this industry I can say that about. He’s really going to be missed. How’s his wife doing?”

“Better than I would have thought,” Carola said.

“Gotta be hard for her. Ray always talked about how much money she spent. Often said he’d have to work until he was a hundred, just to keep her in the style to which she’d become accustomed. Funny thing was, he always smiled when he said it. I always got the feeling he really cared for her. Please convey my condolences.”

“I will. What can you tell me about Mitch Graham?”

“I heard Ray say on a number of occasions he was the heir apparent to Moving Graphics, but that the king wasn’t dead yet. In other words, it seemed like Mitch was pushing Ray a bit to retire. Never heard anything negative about him other than Ray would have preferred for him to be a little less vocal in his desire to take Ray’s place.”

“Do you think he was capable of murdering Ray, so he could become president? He seems to have a lot to gain from Ray’s death,” Carola said.

“I’ve known Mitch for a long time, and I can’t see him as a murderer. He’s a family man, pretty much devoted to his wife and kids. He may have wanted to be president, and I know stranger things have happened, but I just don’t see him as a murderer.”

“All right. What about Brad Dixon?”

“Interesting you should mention him. I talked to Ray a couple of days before he left for Argentina. He’d had lunch with Brad earlier that day and was really frustrated, because all Brad wanted to talk about was Ray’s antique fishing equipment. Although I never saw it and I don’t fish, I know Ray was pretty proud of it. He did tell me he thought Brad was a little overly interested in it. I guess Brad told him that not many people knew that he, Brad, collected fishing gear, but he’d never seen anything like the items Ray had in his collection. I don’t know what that has to do with the company or Ray’s death, just thought I’d mention it.”

Glad you did
, Carola thought.
Might have everything to do with his murder.

“I really appreciate your time, Colin. Can you tell me anything about a woman named Janelle Byers?”

He was quiet for several moments and then in a guarded voice he said, “Why do you ask?”

“Well, evidently she was Ray’s Chief Financial Officer, and she’s here on the trip.”

“That’s interesting. I’ve not met her but I’ve heard some things about her husband-to-be,” Colin said.

“Would you mind sharing them with me?”

“A friend of mine is an attorney who put a large sum of money in her fiancé’s firm. Her husband-to-be, Andrew White, is involved in the wealth management business. His clients are all high wealth individuals. They turn their liquid assets over to him and, for a fee, he invests for them. Recently my friend became semi-retired and decided he wanted to manage the funds himself. He told Andrew he wanted to take his money out of Andrew’s investment company. That was several weeks ago and so far, my friend hasn’t received his requested funds from Andrew. He’s become very suspicious and is about ready to report him to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Plus, there was a little scandal regarding Janelle several years ago. There were rumors she’d embezzled some funds from a company she was working for, but by the time the authorities were called in, no funds were missing. She quit the company a short time later. Ray and I talked about it when he was considering hiring her. Even though Ray’s wife is beautiful, he was still a sucker for a good-looking woman. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never known Ray to be a player, but I think the reason Ms. Byers got the job was partly because of her looks. Think Ray turned a blind eye to the rumors. I always thought he’d made a mistake when he did that. I certainly wouldn’t have hired her.”

Hmmm, a husband-to-be with money troubles coupled with the conversation I overheard last night at dinner between Ray and Janelle is certainly worth exploring.

“Carola, is there anything else you need from me? I’m late for a meeting that I really need to get to, since I’m in charge of it.”

“No, you’ve been more than helpful. If you think of anything else, would you call me? Here’s my number,” she said giving it to him.

“Has Ray’s death been made public?” Colin asked. “I’ve heard nothing about it, but there are a couple of people who I think should be told before it becomes hot fodder for the rumor mill.”

“I’m sure people are finding out by now. I think I can safely say that it would be fine to tell whoever you think needs to know.”

“Thank you. One more thing, why are you involved in trying to find out who murdered Ray?”

“There are two reasons. My husband is one of the best known fly fishing guides in the United States. He also oversees a number of fly fishing trips throughout the world. This situation could damage his reputation, and he’s worked too hard to get to where he is for that to happen. Secondly, Ray’s wife asked me to help her find the murderer. Again, thanks for your time.”

CHAPTER 22

When Carola ended her phone call to Colin Scott, she stood up and stretched, willing the fatigue from the previous sleepless night to leave. She walked down to the kitchen, hoping to find some tea.

“Ahh, Pilar, I’m sorry to trouble you, but as you can imagine, I didn’t sleep well last night, and I was hoping I could get a cup of tea.”

“Not a problem. You know I always keep the kettle on. There’s a bowl next to it with several different kinds of tea in it. Help yourself. I was wondering if I should prepare a plate of food for dinner and take it up to Senora Martin. I doubt she’ll want to come down for dinner tonight.”

“How thoughtful of you, Pilar. I’ll take it up to her, and I’m sure you’re right. She’s doing well, but I think she’s still somewhat in shock. Even though Jack gave her a sedative last night, I don’t think she slept very well. Thanks for the tea. I’d love to stay and talk, but I have a few things I need to do in my room.”

Carola walked back upstairs and sat for a few moments looking out at the lake while she sipped her tea. She was curious about Andrew White and decided to see what she could find out about him on the Internet. She typed in his name.

Forty-five minutes later she finished her search, glad that Colin had given her his name. She sat for several moments, absorbing what she’d found out. While she was thinking about what she should do with the information she’d found, she heard a light knock on the door. Carola walked over to it and asked, “Who is it?” thinking that she’d never done that before when she’d stayed at the lodge. She’d always opened the door immediately. She knew she was probably spooked because of Ray’s murder.

“It’s me, Lisa.”

Carola opened the door, “Come in. By the way, I talked to Pilar a little while ago, and she suggested you take dinner in your room this evening. She didn’t think you’d want to mingle with everyone at dinner tonight.”

“That’s a relief. I was wondering how I could get out of that. I’m doing okay, but I’m not ready to sit at a dinner table and make a lot of small talk. I’d probably put a damper on everyone’s enjoyment of the meal. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Carola said. “I’ll bring it up just before she serves dinner to the guests.”

“I found out a lot of things that I’d like to tell you. How did you do?” Lisa asked as she sat down in one of the chairs by the window that overlooked the lake.

“I learned a lot of interesting information, but let’s start with what you found out,” Carola said, picking up a pen and a pad of paper from the table next to her.

“Well,” Lisa began, “The first person I talked to was our lawyer, Sid Benson. I wanted to find out exactly what was in Ray’s trust and what he had planned on doing with Moving Graphics if something ever happened to him. Naturally, Sid was shocked to hear that Ray had been murdered. He’d been Ray’s attorney ever since Ray started Moving Graphics, and he’d seen the company grow from an idea Ray had to becoming the most successful company of its type in the United States.”