A Southern Noir: Deception by Any Other Name

Chapter 10

While I waited for Mrs. Patterson, I read the paperwork the insurance lady left for me. It was a lot of legal language and used more words than necessary to spell out the terms in the contract. Legal contracts aren't my specialty, so I called my lawyer, Eric Olson.

His secretary answered the phone. "Hey, Gwen, it's Hunter. Is Eric in the office?"

"Hey, Hunter. No, he's in court today and tomorrow."

I should have guessed that. Eric and I met a year or two after I got my private investigator's license. A good lawyer in this line of work is a good idea, and he came recommended by a friend of my mother's. He's a nice guy, but he gets results in court. The good news is I haven't been sued, but he gives me good legal advice to keep me out of court. Eric was also there for me a few times I had run-ins with the police.

Police are a mixed bag when it comes to private investigators. There's a temptation to see us as want-to-be cops or guys who couldn't make it at the academy. Others show respect to private eyes as long as we stay on the right side of the law. I try to avoid running afoul of the police. You can't legally break into people's homes, tap their phones, or hack their computers as an investigator, and unlike cops, you can't get a warrant to search or do wiretaps. In short, if a cop can't legally do something, neither can you.

"Gwen, will you please tell Eric I called? I need him to look over some papers I received today."

"What kind of papers?" she asked.

"A contract from an insurance office. They want to hire me to investigate fraudulent claims."

"That sounds good, Hunter. I think that's a good move for you."

"Well, I haven't made up my mind about it yet. I want Eric to read over the papers to make sure it is a good deal."

"No problem. I'll tell him to call you. If you have time today, you can drop them off, and I'll give the papers to him."

"I'll try to run them by later today, Gwen. Thanks."

"You're welcome."

I lost track of time filling out the paperwork. One of the things that attracted me to private investigations was the self-employed aspect of the job. If the insurance company wants me to prioritize their cases, they are the boss. On the other hand, it also means a steady paycheck, assuming humanity decides not to cheat on their insurance claims anymore.

Lost in thought, I almost missed the knock at the door. "Come in," I said. Why people knocked instead of coming inside was always strange. You don't knock on the door to a doctor's office. It could be a courtesy, I guess.

Mrs. Patterson came in carrying a laptop. "Sorry to be late, Mr. Landon, but traffic was bad this afternoon."

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was forty-five minutes after one. "No worries, Mrs. Patterson, please sit down. I see you brought the laptop. Do you and Danny share the same cell phone plan?"

"Yes, we do."

"Good. Why don't you log in, and let's check his phone log? What about banking information? Do you have a joint checking account?"

"Yes, we have a joint account."

"Just the one?"

"Yes, why would we have two?"

"Some married couples have two accounts and add each other to both."

"But do you think Danny would be stupid enough to buy things for a lover with our joint account?"

"You'd be surprised. I once had a guy paying his girlfriend's utility bill from his joint account with his wife. I hate to say it, but men can do dumb things when they think with the wrong head. If you take my meaning."

"Yes, I see what you mean."

She pulled up the call log for Danny's phone. We scrolled through the listings, stopping to give her time to read over the calls made from the phone. "Do you see any that are unfamiliar?" I asked her.

"No, sorry, I don't recognize any of the numbers. Danny uses his phone for work, so that's not surprising."

"Yes, and I'm not seeing any repeat calls to any of these numbers that suggest he's talking with someone constantly." We scrolled through the call log and agreed that nothing seemed unusual.

We then looked through his banking records, but again nothing caught our attention. "What about his business account? Do you have access to that?"

"No, Danny keeps those records with him. He told me it was best if I didn't have my name on the business account. If the business went bad, the creditors couldn't come after our personal property."

"It would be a great help if we could see the business accounts. Do you think you can get access?"

"I don't know. I can try, but won't asking to see the account make him suspicious?"

"It might. Tell you what, we can hold off on the business records. Has he made any suspicious trips or visited any sick friends lately?"

"Come to think of it, he did. Danny went to Mobile for a bodybuilding tournament about a month ago."

"Has he been back since?"

"No, but many people from around here attend the tournament. Do you think he met someone there?"

"Is there a women's division?"

"Yes."

"It's possible—another reason to keep watch on him."

"Mr. Landon, do you think my husband is cheating? Be honest."

"I can't say for sure right now. I know he's been in the company of Sarah Freeman, but so far, I've only seen them together in public. Has he left home suddenly or had any mysterious errands?"

"Yes, a few nights ago, he told me he had to go to the store and pick up a few things. He didn't return for over two hours."

"Where did he go? Did he tell you?"

"He said he went to Publix and Walmart, but I didn't see him bring in any bags."

"Okay, the next time he goes out like that, call me. My wife is going out of town on a business trip tomorrow, so I will be able to check on him if he goes out. Make sure you get him to tell you where he's going. If he's not there, then we may have some evidence on him. Do you have an app that tracks where his phone is located?"

"No, that's illegal. Isn't it?"

"Not if he agrees to download it. There are a few you can choose from. Tell him you want to use it if one of you needs help if you break down or lose your phone."

"I'll try to convince him."

"Good. I think I can have something for you this weekend. Do you know if Danny has any plans?"

"He said something about hanging out with some of his old friends from school on Saturday."

"Perfect. Find out where and let me know."

"Thank you, Mr. Landon."

"No trouble. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home. My wife leaves in the morning, so I'd like to spend some time with her and the kids before she leaves."

"Of course, thank you again."