Chapter 8

 

 

“I’d be surprised if this is the pair ripping off little keepsakes from the homeless shelter. They took in at least five hundred bucks from the row where I sat, just what I glimpsed. Some people were writing checks.”

The Heist Ladies had gathered at Gracie’s home.

Sandy punched numbers into the calculator on her phone. “So, if they get the labor donated to build these houses, as implied by the smiling faces of all those happy volunteers, and they get materials at cost, as hinted by the corporate sponsor names you said you saw on the screens, they’re bringing in enough to build a house every few days.”

Gracie plucked two tortilla chips from a bowl and passed it along. “So where are the houses?”

“Good question. What they show in the presentation could be located anywhere. They claim to have built and given away homes in ten states.”

“Do you believe it?” Pen asked. She skipped the chips and went for a chocolate cookie to go with her cup of tea.

Amber looked around at their faces. “I don’t really buy the pious act. His story of the near death experience is a little too pat, like it came out of a book. I’ve read some research on the phenomenon, and it’s quite rare. Less than ten percent of people who die under those circumstances actually get resuscitated, only one percent of those report anything like this. Plus, the whole thing reeks of showbiz—perfect costumes, perfect choreography … But, about the housing and donations, I don’t know. They might be using their glitz and style to actually help people. It shouldn’t be up to me to make that call. Maybe the rest of you should attend one of these events and see what you think. Pen, you especially would fit in with the high-donor image. I suspect those are the ones who got the front row seats.”

Pen held up her hands. “I prefer to do my charitable giving quietly and anonymously. But, all right, I could attend just to watch the show.”

“You might get into conversation with some of the other donors and learn something,” Gracie suggested.

Mary chimed in. “We’re kind of getting away from our mission of finding out what’s going on at the shelter. We still want to pursue and catch the thief, right?”

“Absolutely.” Sandy looked at the others and received nods all around.

“I’m arranging my schedule with Billy so he’ll take my evening shifts at the gym. That way I can be at the shelter to help Trini and keep my eyes open,” Mary said.

Amber handed over the spiral notebook. “I’ve got the data entered, and now I can run some scenarios. I’ll let you know what I come up with.”

Gracie offered to visit the Temple of the Rising Moon’s website and see what she might learn. “Although I suspect it’s only going to tell me what they want the public to know.”

“I can go deeper than that,” Amber offered.

“Then how about if I go to the county records and see how many building permits have been issued to this organization of theirs?” Grace suggested. “If they’re even partway into the home-building process, they will have applied for permits.”

“Great idea, and I’ll give a quick look to see if, by any chance, they have accounts at Desert Trust,” Sandy said. “For informational purposes only, of course.”

“Of course,” Pen agreed. “Sandy, you cannot risk your job by prying too deeply.”

“I won’t. I’m at least ten years away from retirement and I’ve put a lot of time into getting where I am. But, I can possibly verify some things about this couple and, frankly, I’m curious to know exactly how much money they are bringing in.”

Amber gave a secretive little smile. As they had learned with their previous cases, people could be creative and devious with money, even when the majority of it wasn’t obtained in cash.