Murdered in Argentina: A Jack Trout Cozy Mystery (13 page)

“In spite of last night, I think everyone had a wonderful time. The fish were biting, and we were hauling them in and taking pictures faster than anyone thought possible. We had to stop for a couple of breaks, because our arms were so tired from casting. I think everyone would agree it was a fabulous day of fishing. How was your day? Were you able to help Lisa?”

“Yes, although you probably won’t believe the transformation of her that I’ve been witnessing all day. I’ll fill you in on the details later. Right now I’m on a mission to find Mitch and take him up to Lisa’s room for a meeting with her. See you later,” she said as she spotted Mitch getting out of the SUV behind Jack.

“Sounds interesting,” Jack said with raised eyebrows.

*****

“Hi, Mitch,” Carola said as he took his fishing equipment out of the SUV. “I know you’re probably tired, but Lisa would like to meet with you. It’s important.”

“Of course. Where is she?” he asked looking around.

“She’s up in her room. I’ll take you there. Actually, she’d like me to sit in on the meeting.”

Mitch followed her up the stairs and said, “Let me put my gear in my room. It’ll only take a moment.” He opened the door to his room while Carola waited in the hall. A moment later he walked out of his room, closing the door behind him.

They walked down to the end of the hall and Carola knocked on Lisa’s door. “Lisa, it’s Carola. Mitch is with me.”

Lisa opened the door and looked at Mitch. “Thanks for coming on such short notice. Please, come in and have a seat. There are a few things I’d like to talk to you about.”

Mitch had a funny look on his face which Lisa picked up on. “Mitch, what’s wrong? What was that expression on your face all about?”

He looked at her, spread his hands out in front of him and said, “I just don’t know whether I’m going to be fired or promoted. I assume you’re now the owner of Moving Graphics.”

Lisa laughed. “Mitch, let me be the first one to shake the hand of the new president of Moving Graphics. Although I’m now the owner, I have decided to turn the management of the company over to you. I’m sure you’ll do a much better job than I ever could.”

Mitch visibly sighed with relief. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say that even though the fish were biting today, it was really hard for me to concentrate on them. I’m sure I’m the low man on the totem pole when it comes to the number of fish caught today. Where should we start?”

“I had a long conversation with Sid Benson, who is not only the attorney for Moving Graphics, but he’s also my attorney and was Ray’s. Ray wanted you to assume the presidency of the company in the event something happened to him. He asked that the company pay me, as the owner, a reasonable amount from the company profits, and that you and I should decide what your compensation should be as well as mine. That can wait until we get back to California.”

“Lisa, my mind has been whirling all day thinking that if this moment came, there’s a lot to be done to make the transition, although since most of the senior staff is already here, I can meet with each of them tonight.”

“Not only that, Mitch, but since they’re all here the company can probably coast for a couple of days on its own, but something has come up that I believe needs your immediate attention.”

He turned from Lisa to Carola and back again. “If you’re worried about our major accounts, I think we’ll be fine with them. I’m not aware of any of them being unhappy with our service, and I really don’t think any of them will go elsewhere just because there’s a change in the presidency. When I return, I’ll make it a priority to meet with each of them and reassure them they will continue to receive the same level of excellent service they’ve come to expect from Moving Graphics.”

“That’s not the problem, Mitch, and I’m sorry you have to start out your presidency by looking into this, but it may be a tie-in to Ray’s death.”

“Lisa, quite frankly I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

She began to tell him what she and Carola had found out about Janelle and her fiancé, Andrew. “Carola, why don’t you tell Mitch about the conversation you overheard at dinner last night?”

When Carola was finished, Lisa said, “I’ve been thinking about this and while you know the company far better than I do, I know Ray’s administrative assistant, Bea Lawrence, was, and probably still is, very loyal to him.”

“Unquestionably,” Mitch said. “It was a running joke in the company that no matter what you told Bea you needed or wanted done, unless Ray okayed it, it wasn’t going to happen.”

“She pretty much knows everything about the company and how it’s run, doesn’t she?”

“Yes, I think she knows as much as Ray did about everything concerned with the company.”

“This may sound off the wall,” Lisa said, “but do you think she knows about the financial aspects of the company?”

“I’m certain she does. Ray had her sit in on every meeting he had, and I’m sure that included the financial meetings as well. Why?”

“Do you think she’d be able to spot the discrepancies in the company’s books Ray alluded to in his conversation with Janelle last night, the one Carola overheard?”

“I can’t say with certainty, but I really think that if anyone in the company would know about discrepancies, Bea would. Ray told me once that he felt he’d really been lucky when she agreed to work for him, because not only did she have a master’s degree in business administration, she was also a certified public accountant. I remember asking him why she was working here with those credentials. He’d laughed and said no other company was willing to pay her the type of money she received from Moving Graphics. Yes, I’m certain she could help.”

“Do you know if she has keys to all the offices?” Lisa asked.

Mitch hesitated for a moment and then said, “Ray did, and I’d imagine Bea would know where he kept them. Lisa, where are you going with this?”

“If there’s a bookkeeping discrepancy, Janelle might very well have someone in her department in on it. We can’t afford to have someone notify her that Bea’s looking at the company’s books. I’m going to call Bea and ask her if she can get into the finance office after everyone leaves tonight. By the way, Mitch, I know you’re the president now, but I think it would be a good idea if you kept Bea on as your administrative assistant. I don’t know who your secretary is now, but you’re going to have to name someone to fill your position. You can always tell your secretary you wanted her to stay in your department to help your replacement with the transition. I think if Bea feels secure that she’s going to remain as the president’s administrative assistant, she’ll have more of a reason to do what I’m going to ask of her.”

Carola laughed, breaking the tension. “Lisa, I said this earlier, but I think you learned a lot about business through osmosis. What I understand is that you want Bea to search Janelle’s office after everyone leaves for the night for any evidence she can find that might point to unauthorized funds having been taken out of the company. Does that sound about right?”

“Yes,” Lisa said. “Mitch, do you have any problem with me calling her and asking her to do that?”

“No. It’s not exactly the way I would have liked to start my presidency, and I don’t quite know what we’ll do if she finds something out, particularly since I can’t get back there immediately, but I agree, I think it’s necessary. If there’s no discrepancy in the numbers, that will be one less thing I’ll have to worry about. If there is one, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Then we agree,” Lisa said as she picked up her cell phone and called Bea. Several minutes later she ended the call and said, “Bea wasn’t thrilled about doing it, but she seemed to think she’d be able to find something out, one way or another. She’s going to wait until about an hour after the close of regular business hours and everyone has left the building. I asked her to call me and let me know what she finds out. Since it will probably be late here because of the time difference, I’ll wait until morning to tell you what, if anything, is discovered.

 “I think that’s everything. Mitch, I imagine you’d like to think about all of this. The cocktail hour is in forty-five minutes, so that will give you a little time to make some plans. Carola,” Lisa said turning towards her, “I’m going to take you up on your offer to bring me a plate of food for my dinner which I really would prefer to have here in the privacy of my room. Exhaustion and everything else is beginning to catch up with me.”

“Happy to do it, Lisa,” Carola said as she stood up. “Right now I need to talk to Pablo. He usually washes down all the fishing equipment when the guests return from the day’s fishing and gets everything ready for the next day. Mitch, I’ll see you downstairs.”

CHAPTER 25

Carola knocked on the kitchen door and heard Pilar say, “Come in.”

“Pilar, the smells coming from the kitchen are fantastic. I can’t wait for dinner. I need to talk to Pablo, and I thought it would be easier for me to go through the kitchen to the fish shed, rather than walk all the way around the lodge. I’ll be back in a few minutes, and you can tell me what the menu is for tonight. When we sit down to dinner, I’ll tell the guests. I will also need to take a plate of the dinner meal up to Senora Martin just before you serve dinner.”

“Certainly. Pablo’s at the shed now, but I’m sure he’s anxious to get home to Catalina. I don’t think you’ve met her before. She’s one of the three women who clean the guest rooms here at the lodge. It works well for her because her mother can take care of her children in the morning, and Catalina can be home with them in the afternoon. She started working here after her last child was born, and her mother told me the extra money she earns has really helped. I feel so sorry for them. I wish there was something I could do,” Pilar said, her voice choking with emotion. A tear slid down her smooth brown cheek. She wiped it away with the back of her hand.

Carola patted her shoulder and said, “I, too, am sorry for the family. Pablo has been one of our guides here in Argentina for many years, and although I haven’t met his family, Jack and I have always been very pleased with his work. See you in a few minutes.” With that she opened the screen door and walked down the path to the fish shed.

When she approached the fish shed Pablo’s back was to her, and he was hosing down the fishing rods and reels. “Pablo, I’d like to talk to you when you finish, but please, take your time. I’m in no hurry,” Carola said.

A few minutes later he placed the rods on wooden pegs that jutted out from the side of the shed, letting the late afternoon sun dry them out. He turned to her and said, “Senora Trout, it is good to see you. What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering where you were last night. A number of the staff from the ranch came to the lodge when they heard about Senor Martin, but I didn’t see you. I’m trying to figure out who was there and who wasn’t.”

“My wife, my mother-in-law, and I were up most of the night at our home trying to think of a way we could get the medical help my wife needs. You see, the doctor she saw in San Martin thinks she has breast cancer, and she needs to see a specialist. We don’t have the money to go to Buenos Aires, and even if we could get there, we couldn’t afford to see a specialist.”

“Pablo, I wish I could do something for you. I heard about Catalina from Pilar this morning, and I want you to know how sorry I am. I’m sure there will be some way you can get the medical help she needs.”

“I wish I could believe you, Senora, but all day today while I was out on the river I tried to think of some way I could get her to Buenos Aires and be seen by a specialist, but I couldn’t think of anything,” he said. He spoke in a defeated tone of voice, turning his hands up as if to surrender to things which were taking place in his life and over which he had no control.

Carola walked over to him and lightly touched his arm. “Pablo, I believe in miracles, and I will be praying for a miracle for you and Catalina. Don’t give up hope.”

“Senora, I can’t even afford a car to drive to San Martin. How can I ever afford to get Catalina to Buenos Aires? What kind of a man is it who can’t even take care of his wife?” he asked in a ragged voice that was about to break up with emotion.

“You’re a very good man. Don’t ever doubt yourself. Pablo, Jack has several wealthy clients in Chile. One of them has a plane. Maybe I can help. Certainly I’ll see what I can do when we return to Chile. If we can get Catalina to one of the big cities in Chile, I’ll make sure you both have a place to stay, one way or another. I have relatives all over the country, and I know they would help. I’ll also keep hoping for a miracle.

“Just don’t give up, and don’t let Catalina give up either. She needs you now more than ever and so do your children. Children are smart. Yours need to be reassured that everything will be all right. Even though adults try to keep things like this from children, their senses are heightened when something different is happening, and they’re usually aware of what’s going on. Please, Pablo, you and I have talked before about our strong belief in the church. This is no time to give up your faith.”

“I know you’re right, Senora, but saying it and doing it are two different things. Thank you for coming here. Now, I really must get home. I need to make sure that Catalina rests as much as possible. She will need all of her strength to fight this.”

Carola lightly kissed him on both cheeks. “Vaya con Dios, go with God,” she whispered as she turned away from him, tears filling her eyes. “Please,” she whispered to the gods, “send them a miracle.” With a heavy heart, she slowly walked back to the kitchen.

*****

“Ah, you’re back,” Pilar said. “How is Pablo this afternoon?”

“He’s hurting, wondering what he can do for Catalina, and I think feeling like a bit of a failure for not being able to afford to get her to Buenos Aires for the medical treatment she needs.”

“El pobre hombre,” she said. “Is there anything you or Senor Trout or one of your guests can do?”

“I agree, Pilar, the poor man. Believe me, I’m trying to think of some way we can help him. I have a couple of ideas. I’ll keep working on it. I don’t want to take up any more of your time, but I would like to have the menu for tonight’s dinner.”