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  Going through documents in the house, Todd discovered that Jessup owned a moving van company with offices in Europe and Asia, besides the USA. The company had been founded nine years ago, calling itself WE-PACK. A recent portfolio that Todd found among the papers in an upstairs office valued the company’s assets at two billion. If Billy Jessup had been alive, winning the Lottery would have been a drop in the bucket.

  The next day Todd set out to discover more about the mysterious Mr. Jessup by visiting his corporate offices covering the entire tenth floor of the Parker Building in downtown Philly. He thought he could find out the most by talking to the President of the company, Gregory Fontaine.

  Fontaine’s office was as large as Todd’s apartment, but with a much better view of the river. Todd’s view was the sidewalk fire hydrant.

  The man was possibly close to sixty with styled white flowing hair, a perfect tan, and a gray suit that he didn’t get off the rack at Penny’s. A firm handshake and a wide smile told anyone he came in contact with that this man would get the job done.

  “You’ve unraveled our enigma,” he said as he offered Todd a seat across the oak desk.

  “I have?”

  “Yes, about a week ago Mr. Jessup just plain disappeared. He was in his office that morning for an hour, told me he was going out for a meeting, and that was the last I saw of him. His secretary said there had been no meeting scheduled, but I didn’t think much of that because Billy was often unconventional and spontaneous. There could be a day when he would share a coffee with me in the morning and then a few hours later phone me from Hong Kong saying he had closed a deal. He globetrotted in his private jet, but I never minded his absences because when he came back he always brought more profits with him. He was an astute businessman, but sometimes I think he got bored and wanted to get away to some exotic spot. He did that often. Usually, though, after three or four days I would hear from him. This latest absence was the longest period of time he was away, but myself and Austin run the company anyway so there were no missteps these last few days. Billy closes the big deals, but he never appreciated how much attention to detail and just plain hard work it takes to keep his ship afloat. He’s taken Austin and me for granted for years.”

  “Who is Austin?”

  “Austin Hyssop, our managing director. I set up our overall strategy and direction, and Austin carries it out. He came to the company six years ago, a year after I arrived. When we got there the company was a mess, losing money by the minute. Austin and I turned it around.”

  “It sounds like Billy Jessup wasn’t really needed.”

  “When you put it that way, there is a ring of truth to your words. To Billy, this company was like a toy he could play with.”

  “And you two were his tin soldiers.”

  “Oh, yes, plenty of wars were won by Austin and me, most of which Billy never even knew about.”

  “Later maybe you can tell me about some of those wars.” For sure here was someone who didn’t like Billy Jessup.”

  “I thought Billy was killed by some random gunman or crazed person,” Fontaine said. “Do you think Billy knew his killer?”

  “Six bullet holes doesn’t sound random to me. It sounds personal. Maybe Billy didn’t know his killer well, but I think his killer knew him. Of course as you say, it could have been some nut on drugs, but why pick on Billy sleeping away in an abandoned car in a junk yard? I think Billy was targeted.”

  They were interrupted by a small bald man with shifty eyes, who burst into the room, as if a pack of wolves were chasing him. “Oh, Gregory, I didn’t know you had someone in here.”

  “No, that’s perfectly all right, Austin. Austin, Hyssop, this is Detective Henson. He’s investigating the unfortunate demise of our leader.”

  “I did hear about it. His girlfriend called me. When Billy did that jail stint, he had put her down as his contact person, so I guess someone still had her name. She said he was killed in some kind of junkyard. That was fitting.” He looked at Todd. “I guess I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.”

  Fontaine got up from behind his desk. “Austin, talk with detective for a few minutes if you wish. I have a meeting in Delaware that I’m already late for. Just stay in my office for convenience sake. Nice to have met you, Detective.”

  Immediately after Fontaine walked out and closed the door behind him, Hyssop said, “The guy is totally pleased. Now he can buy the company and have things his way.”

  “With Billy, Mr. Fontaine couldn’t do that? I got the impression that Jessup let you both run things.”

  “Well, that’s the wrong impression. Yes, sometimes Billy treated the business casually, seeming to hardly pay attention to it, but then like lightning striking he would demand that certain things be done his way or the highway. The problem was we never knew when those demands would be thrown in front of our faces. Billy had the charisma to close certain deals, but a lot of the time he was out of it as far as the day-to-day running of the place. Gregory for the last couple of years has been trying to buy out Jessup and make him a minority stockholder. Lately he was telling me that soon the company would be ours, but I didn’t know why he was saying that. I didn’t think Billy would ever give up final control.”

  “Well, he has given it up now, hasn’t he?”

  “Yes, a dead Jessup loses a lot of dictatorial control.”

  “Did you want a piece of the action along with Gregory?”

  “No, not at all. I’m much more content to do what I’m told. Fontaine and I work pretty closely together, and I trust his judgment. I might be some of the oil that keeps the wheel from squeaking, but I have no desire to be the wheel. I’ll leave that to Gregory.”

  “You said Billy’s girlfriend called you about his death?”

  “Billy never married. As far as I know he never even came close. Merry is a great gal. She deserved better than someone like Billy. He treated her like crap. The things she told me made me ill. It’s good she’s free of him now.”

  “How would I contact her?”

  “She’s an artist, does mainly portraits. She has a little gallery just a few blocks from here. I’ll give you the address. She called me from work, so she should be there today.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Already Todd had a couple of suspects. Gregory Fontaine’s desire for autonomy in the company was made much easier with Billy Jessup’s death. Sometimes the only way to get rid of a dictator is to kill him.

  However, what also peeked through Hyssop’s words was his special interest in Jessup’s girlfriend. If Austin’s interest was even more personal than he was letting on, to eventually protect Merry from possible abuse on Billy’s part, the manager might have decided on a permanent way to split them apart. With Billy gone, the path was also clear for Austin to stroll toward her and see what would develop.

  Todd was able to walk toward the girlfriend’s gallery. It was so squeezed in between a sandwich shop and a music store that he strolled right by it a block further before he realized his mistake. The sign on the outside of the gallery said, Krismas Paintings. Austin Hyssop said that the woman did portraits. Were they portraits only connected to a holiday setting? That seemed pretty specialized. At least it was a different way of spelling Christmas.

  Once inside, there was a plain looking skinny girl waiting on one customer. He could hear her talking about the paintings that were the ones she had done. Todd assumed she was the owner. Todd did not see one painting that had anything to do with holiday trees or sleighs as background for the portraits. The sign outside now puzzled him more than ever.

  The young girl with the buzz haircut and angular nose finished waiting on the customer and walked over to him. “May I help you?”

  “I’m Detective Henson investigating the murder of Billy Jessup. My information tells me you were his girlfriend.”

  “I was devastated when the word came about his death. Billy was always out there on the fringe, but I never thought it would have gotten him murdered.”


  “What I’ve not been able to understand was how somehow who owns seemingly a most profitable business eventually ended up sleeping in an abandoned car without a cent in his pocket?”

  “That’s part of the fringe thing I mentioned. Money for Billy was simply not important. Possibly that’s why he was so successful at making it. The more he made, the more disenchanted he became with having it. So, just a month ago--. Oh, wait there’s another customer.”

  While she was showing the elderly lady her catalogue of available prints, Todd kept walking around the store looking for that Holiday picture. There was not even one with a wreath or snowman. When she returned, Todd asked her, “Your sign outside says that this is a Christmas store, but there’s nothing in here that’s even a hint of old Santa and his elves.”

  She smiled. I’ve just opened this gallery six months ago, and right away people had that confusion. I should change the sign. Krismas is our family surname. It’s shortened from Kristoanimas. As if that isn’t enough, my eclectic dad with his goofy sense of humor had to name me, Merry, with an ‘e’ so the Merry Christmas part would be complete. The name is Greek, and we’re Orthodox, but the irony is that growing up my family never celebrated Christmas. That’s why my dad thought it would even be a bigger joke to give me that first name. I guess I’ve kept the sign that way because the holiday thing draws some people in, even during the spring and summer. That lady for instance, asked me what kind of holiday portraits I do, but I was abler to divert her to my regular collection, which it seemed she became interested in. Maybe deep down I’m just as quirky as my dad and Billy.”

  “You were telling me about Billy and his detachment from money.”

  “Yes, So I was. Just a few weeks ago, right after his company’s quarterly earnings were posted showing a twelve per cent growth from the previous quarter, Billy really began bemoaning his success. He kept telling me that money was just so we could eat and get out of the rain, and it didn’t make him happy. He told me he was going to prove that fact to me. I told him he didn’t have to because I already believed the same thing, but Billy always has to have some goal so he went ahead with it.”

  “Now, you are telling me how he ended up sleeping in an abandoned car, aren’t you?”

  “I’m getting to that. Billy said he could live on what poor people get for social security and be just as happy. He said he would go an entire month living on just $200. So about a week ago he left his mansion and job and began living out there with the homeless people. He told me he would sleep in the park and eat maybe one meal a day which could be the all-you-can-eat salad bar. He proclaimed that after a month he would happier than when he had all the luxuries that money could buy. He half tore up some of his old clothes to he could fit in.”

  “So a week ago was the last time you saw him?”

  “No, he returned two days later saying things were going well. He had enjoyed sleeping out in nature, and had hardly spent any money for food. Billy never had a weight problem, but it looked like he had already lost five pounds. He’d had only one salad bar meal in the two days. He said he felt great. However, a day later he also checked in with me about some bad news in his quest. In the park the previous night he had been mugged with the thief getting away with most of his remaining money. Billy had kept a twenty dollar bill in his shoe for security sake, and that’s all he had left. I told him he should quit this venture, but he said he still was going to go through with it for the next three weeks. I guess that was four days before they found him dead in that car. We have had a lot of rain these last few days, and he probably went into that car just so he didn’t get soaked. I thought Billy would make it because besides the fact he’s so resourceful and practical, he’s probably the luckiest man I ever met. He told me about a couple business deals he’d made that I thought were stupid but they turned out fine because of changes in the market. I kept telling him he should play the Lottery because no matter what the odds he would win at that also. He told me maybe he would do that.”

  “So you were the only person who knew Billy was doing this survival thing?”

  “No, one thing about Billy that wasn’t too enticing is that he liked to brag about everything he did. It wasn’t to make himself feel better because he already felt great about himself. He simply thought he was wonderful and wanted everyone to know about it.”

  “I talked to Fontaine and Hyssop at WE-PACK, and they seemed to know nothing about why Billy had disappeared.”

  “Both of those people are the biggest liars you’ll ever meet. If they told me water was wet I wouldn’t believe them. Neither one got along with Billy, but they ran the company well. That’s all he cared about. It left him free to do his other pursuits.”

  “One of those pursuits was you.”

  “Of course. He was always available when I wanted to do anything. And with his corporate jet we could be anyplace in the world in a matter of hours. Speaking of that, who also was pursuing me was Austin.”

  “I thought he had a special interest in you.”

  “The looks he’d give me were not subtle. He wanted inside my pants. A couple of times when I was at the Billy’s office waiting for him, Austin tried a little handsy-feely, but I pushed him away.”

  “Did you ever tell Billy?”

  “After the second time, I did, but Billy laughed it off, saying the guy was just horny.”

  “How about Gregory Fontaine? Any advances toward you?”

  “No the guy is too in love with himself, but I always told Billy that the guy wants to be running the whole show. Billy said he knew that, but it kept Fontaine hungry, and that was a good thing.”

  “Do you know if Billy developed any business enemies?”

  “As you can well imagine, Billy didn’t talk a lot about his work with me, but a couple weeks earlier he said he was having trouble with some of his international clients.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “Billy was beginning to suspect that some of those clients were using his moving service to transport drugs to various spots in the world. Rather than sending the drugs through UPS or Fed-Ex, no one would check local moving trucks. It would always be under the disguise of moving some kind of item or product, but some of Billy’s people had dropped a couple boxes while loading and found packets of white powder cocaine hidden underneath the regular stuff.”

  “Which clients were those?”

  “Billy didn’t say, but he did tell me he was going to put a stop to it. Billy did not drink or smoke. In fact he was against the new movement toward legalizing marijuana in certain states like Colorado. He said no matter that it would be government connected, still the criminal element would profit by it. He always said his parents brought him up with strict moral values, and he was not going to disappoint them by getting mixed up with crooks. I see a couple more people coming into the store. I’d better get back to work.”

  Outside in his car, Todd paused for a moment. He had plenty to digest from the two people running Jessup’s company to the possible drug problem with some of the shipments.

  Merry thought both Fontaine and Hyssop were not trustworthy, with Fontaine’s desire to have total control of the business and Hyssop’s desire to have total control of Merry’s personal business. That drug situation could be huge, especially if it had been occurring for quite a while. From what Merry told him, the cocaine was discovered by accident. Todd also wondered whether Fontaine or Hyssop knew about the illegal shipments.

  Todd was getting excited. The case was taking shape. His own pursuit—of a killer—was beginning. It was the chase itself that made this job worthwhile.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Five days later in Todd’s home mail was an overnight letter he had to sign for. The return address was some law firm he had never heard of. Inside was a check for $718,000.

  He put the check on his kitchenette table and for five minutes sat and looked at it. He was rich, but he still remembered his vow to give it to someone connected to Billy Jessup
who deserved it.

  What to do with the money? He decided not to open the three accounts because if cashing in the ticket would ever be known, then it would look like he was evading the authorities, which is exactly what he would be doing. Instead he gave his regular bank the story about a rich Aunt giving him the money in her will. The Lottery Commission had issued merely a state government check without reference to its origin. Then he had the bank write him a cashier’s check for the total amount. The bank needed to make sure that those funds were real, so Todd deposited the entire amount in a momentary new account while the bank got its assurance. Two days later Todd was able to get his cashier’s check, and that new account was closed. Then a day later he came back and placed the check in his safety deposit box. Thus, in a way he was depositing the check in the bank for safekeeping, but the huge amount would not send out any money laundering warning signals. Todd felt then the money would merely rest there for a time until he could find a worthy recipient for the funds. So far that person would be Merry Krismas who seemed to be very loyal to her boyfriend.

  In the meanwhile Todd had gone back to the Billy’s mansion to again look over the copies of his business records that he kept in his second-floor office. It took a full day of checking because what Billy had there was basically his own notes on transactions. The regular company records were kept back at the WE-PACK corporate office. Todd would probably need a subpoena to look at those records, and at the moment he had no information to persuade a judge that such a thing was necessary.

  However, he might even have unlimited access to those records because of a phone call he received two days after he saw Merry at her gallery.

  It was Merry again. “I received a call today, Detective Henson that I thought you would want to know about. It threw me for a loop, and I guess I don’t have anyone else I can tell this to. The call was from a guy named Briggs, who I guess is Billy’s lawyer. He called me to come down to his office for the reading of his will. He said that no one else would be there because the details of the will concerned only me. When I went down there I found out that Billy had left his entire estate to me, business and all. Briggs told me that in effect I now am the owner of Billy’s company, WE-PACK. I still haven’t gotten over the shock of it. I guess what you should know about it is that Billy so mistrusted both Fontaine and Hyssop that he left them zero. And even though I can’t believe it, at this moment I’m their boss.”