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Danny leaned back in his chair with his hands clasped behind his head just as a pair of tourists stopped right beside them on the other side of the low wrought iron fence. They made no secret about gawking at Kate and Danny. He said in an engaging voice, “Excuse me. Is there something you want to ask?”
The female half of the pair lowered her huge sunglasses and squinted at him, then swung her gaze to Kate. She turned to the man who was probably her husband and said, “See, Max, I told you they were celebrities.”
He seemed annoyed with her and tried to move on, but she kept a vise grip on his arm. Like some elderly and middle-aged tourists, he wore a bright shirt covered with palm trees and toucans open almost to his belly, exposing gold chains and curls of gray chest hair. Yellow Bermuda shorts and black calf-length socks with brown wing-tip shoes completed his “beach attire.” His salt-and-pepper hair was styled in an elaborate comb-over, but the slight breeze had messed it up revealing a pretty large bald spot, and it stuck out in odd angles. Her prominent bosom looked like it was trying to burst free from a very tight, low-cut tee shirt decorated with rhinestones and gold swirls. Her gold platform sandals caused her to tower above the short, plump man. He managed to say, “Trixie, don’t bother these people. Come on, let’s go.”
Once again he tried to move on.
Danny was clearly enjoying this crude display and said, “Alright, who do you think we are?”
The woman stammered while pointing at Kate. “Um, anyone can see you’re Jennifer Garner. I loved you in—oh, darn, I’m so flustered I can’t think of the name of the movie. Right on the tip of my tongue.”
Kate kept a straight face while the woman pointed to Danny. “I don’t know your name, but I know I’ve seen your picture. Oh, this is so exciting. Wait till I tell the folks back in Peoria.”
Finally, Kate smiled with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “Well, you two have a great day. Always nice to meet fans.”
The pair took off, chattering to each other while Kate and Danny dissolved into gales of laughter. Kate shot him a look. “Fun, huh? Does this happen often?”
He nodded. “Almost all the time. Maybe they saw my photo on a book or poster in a bookstore. Or caught me on a TV interview but haven’t got a clue as to who I am when they see me. It is fun sitting next to the railing and as you might have noticed, this is sort of my table. So, Jennifer, how does it feel to be a star?”
“Hmmm. Is this what I have to look forward to once my movie is on TV? By the way, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think you were a hot action star. You do have the look, Mr. Retired FBI.”
Danny reached across the table and took both of her hands in his. “Maybe. Now let me tell you, what I found, Miss FraudBuster.”
He told her his friend had been able to access bank records of an account under the name of Briana Hanley, unquestionably one of the aliases of the shady Mrs. Shady. The account had never been closed after it was opened in 2009. It checked out that Hanley was her married name at the time.
Danny said his friend reported that according to records she kept a decent balance in it all those years as well as credit cards with very high limits, but it looked like a pattern. He intended to continue checking to see if there are still other accounts under other married names. Danny said his friend thought she might be spreading out cash in various names and locations. He said she initially deposited two hundred thousand dollars in that bank after Alton Hanley died at the age of eighty-four. There were withdrawals of thousands of dollars at a time during the years, but she always kept it open with a healthy balance. Recent large deposits to that account coincided with the dates she withdrew money from the ‘operating’ account. A few days after each deposit, she withdrew various amounts in cash. She has a safe deposit box at that bank under the name Hanley. He figured maybe she hid cash in the box or even opened boxes at each bank where she kept an account. Pretty devious.
Danny continued, “The missing HOA money is probably one of her biggest scores. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of it is in that box in cash or something easily negotiable like bearer bonds, unless she cleaned it out before she disappeared. I’m sure she feels safe that the account and box would never be tied to her even if she was actually kidnapped. He is still checking, but it would make sense to spread out the money she embezzled while waiting to be a grieving widow once more. I don’t think she is in danger at all. I think she planned this whole thing.”
“But why would she resort to violence this time? You said all the other husbands looked like they died from natural causes. You said Al was beaten, shot and thrown into the canal. Could she have been strong enough to do that by herself, or did she have help? Or was there more to it than a woman who marries wealthy old geezers for their money and then hastens their death? And, don’t forget your detective pal said Shady was being watched by the police. What’s up with that? We could be wrong. Maybe she happens to be a serial killer who was nabbed by whoever killed Al and actually is in danger.”
Danny looked at his watch and signaled for the check. “Well, Princess, time for you to go change into a businesswoman. We’ll have plenty to talk about tonight. When I volunteered to help oversee the repair work, I never thought I’d be drawn back into investigating a murder.” He winked at her. “And with such a gorgeous Sherlock.