Why Not Murder

59. Lawsuits

59. Lawsuits

Tara's house was up for sale. Tara came out the front door and walked quickly down the road. A man got out of the surveillance car and followed her at a distance. Maya followed behind him unsuspected. Tara glanced back and the man was selecting items at a news stand. Tara watched the man as he went into the shop to pay for the magazines he had in hand. Tara saw that Maya was tailing behind them and entered a crowded mall waiting for Maya to catch up with her. They sat near an indoor fountain with a sculpture of dolphins and other aquatic animals in the center. Copper pennies nearly covered the floor of the pond. The copper sparkled and bits of turquoise tiling underneath glittered. The man who had been tailing Tara was nowhere to be seen.

Maya discreetly handed the USBs to Tara and asked, "These are from Winnie. Do you know what they are?"

"I do," Tara responded, "Winnie told me about them, although at the time, she couldn't find them. You know what they are, I suppose."

"Yes, I do," Maya answered, "They were misplaced and while looking for something else, also on USB, I found out by accident what these contain. I'm not sure Winnie knows that I know. How are you going to use them, or are you?"

"One reason she wants me to have them is because when she couldn't find them, she was worried that someone she wouldn't want to have them, may have taken them," Tara said, "meaning the security company or the police. There's stuff to do with XX Fuel, that cannot be discovered. She expressed the fear to me that she suspects she's being purposely targeted. She thinks the gunshot that resulted in her paralysis was meant to kill her."

"Did she say why she would be targeted or by whom?" Maya asked.

"Not exactly," Tara said, "I suspect she thinks it's XX Fuel, although I can't understand why. I haven't received answers to the questions I ask her about it because when I ask her, she becomes incoherent and panicky. The paralysis is affecting her mind, mood and reasoning. At times, she suspects the police or the security company have been secretly searching her place eluding the notice of all of them who live there. It doesn't seem to make sense, but here are the recordings. She says the night of the party is recorded here and wants to show gross negligence on the part of Reliable Security. It's interesting and suspicious that Reliable Security does not have these video records but she does. I'll have to work it all out. Winnie has told me that there are two issues here, one involving the claim for her husband's mother's jewelry and the other involving XX Fuel. I don't know why she is interested in XX Fuel. She wants me to have these USBs for safekeeping."

"There's also the law suit against the first security company, Safe & Secure Security, that was started by Hudson because his car was stolen," Tara continued, "That's continuing. Those records were lost for a time but have since been recovered by Safe & Secure. Winnie is going to win that suit. Safe & Secure should have provided better security for that night. The police finished their investigation as to whether the car was stolen, which they ascertained was stolen by Wyler Roberts, and the insurance company has paid because theft was covered by the policy. Safe & Secure will also be paying damages amounting to the cost of the vehicle so Winnie stands to gain."

"Now the suit for the mother's jewelry," Tara went on, "is complicating. It's being treated as a separate investigation from the thefts of the wallets, ID, jewelry and watches, that the guests had on them. Both crimes happened at the party but are assumed to have different perpetrators. I have yet to learn why. Police investigations on both have bogged down. I think part of the reason being because many members of the local force were there as guests, rather than as policemen. One of the police lines of inquiry regarding the robbery of guests, which is being headed by Whittaker Purcell, is that it was an inside job. I would like you to find out who he suspects. A separate insurance policy covers the mother's jewelry, separate from other household items. According to the insurance company, theft was not covered on the jewelry. It was to be kept in a safe at all times and not worn by anyone. Apparently the insurance company is trying to get out of the policy on the jewelry, claiming that it was not drawn up according to their requirements and protocol. The agent who arranged for that policy was fired for incompetence years ago. I have his name and it would be a great help if you could locate this person. Insurance on the cars and other items did cover theft. It's strange and also strangely coincidental is that there was a power out the night of the car theft and also on the night of the party."