The Oaths We Keep

Chapter 34

Late the following day, Agent Martinez arrived with the financial records he told Taylor about last night. To aid them in their investigation, Erin was brought in to go through the documents to give what insights she could. She went through the information before her line by line, trying to make sense of the information provided to her.

"Several names and businesses match with clients we've done business with over the years. We could sit here for weeks going through all of this and find nothing unusual. That being said, several of your names are some I have worked with over the last several months."

"We are going to need you to be more specific than that," Taylor said as he focused on the records before him. "We need to know exactly which ones you've interacted with."

"It doesn't work like that," she told him. "The funds move in and out of the accounts electronically, and there are no real cash interactions. Usually, the money gets deposited in a different account, then dispersed to any number of investments or business accounts." By the looks on the faces of the investigators, she could tell they were not following what she was trying to communicate. "Okay, it's like this. I would get a notice a deposit was made in one of four accounts. For example, Quality Furniture and Fixtures is one I dealt with often." She continued to scan through the files. "Antiques Emporium is another one. It's right here," she said, pointing at the list. "These two as well, Van Divers Surplus Outlet and Comfort Zone Shoes."

"Comfort Zone?" Taylor said, "I just bought a pair of shoes from them last week. You're telling me these are all fronts for drug money?"

"I don't know. The only thing I was told was to move the money. The idea was to move the money around and make it hard to trace back to any person or organization. Think of it like a maze, lots of twists and turns and even some dead ends."

"How did you know when to move the money?" Martinez asked her.

"I would get a call from an unknown number, telling me which account and how much to move."

"Does that mean they told you where to put the money eventually?" Taylor asked.

"Yes, but it was always a different account. Once it got there, then it was out of my hands. Where it ended up after the last one, I never knew."

"So what you're saying is whoever was waiting for the money would move it themselves into another account?" asked Martinez.

"Something like that, yes. They probably moved the money through several accounts of their own. The idea is to take large sums of money and break them into smaller amounts to look like legitimate income from a business. Once the funds have bounced through several accounts, especially from foreign banks, it becomes harder to trace and link back to any source. Once the funds are 'cleaned,' it's safe to take possession as a normal business profit."

"Mrs. Harper, do you think it's possible that you were getting your instructions from someone inside the company?"

"I guess it's possible, but why?"

"Think about it. Who better to ensure you do what you are told than someone with you daily? Who do you work with that closely? Is anyone with the skill level to pull something like this off?"

"I work with three people regularly. David Stewart, Marsha Holmes, and Geoff Watson, but I can't imagine any of them trying to blackmail me, much less work for a drug dealer."

"We have to consider all possibilities, Mrs. Harper. Do any of those three have any reason to dislike you or hold any grudges or maybe hard feelings?"

"Detective Taylor, it's a small office. I mean, anytime one of us gets a promotion, it's because someone got passed over, but I've never heard of it causing a grudge. Sure, there have been people who left and resigned because they missed out on a position, but we all know each other so well and work so closely together, I couldn't imagine any of those people doing that."