Chapter Nine
Ryan glanced over at Leah as she pulled into the lot next to the apartment complex and parked in the first vacant spot. “What, exactly, are you afraid your grandmother did?”
“Based on past behavior, the possibilities are endless.” She released her seat belt and opened the door. “Let’s see, there was the time Gram serenaded an elderly gentleman from out on the lawn and woke up all the other residents. She also spearheaded what she called a skivvy raid. For the uninformed, skivvies is a term my grandpa picked up in the navy for his underwear.”
“That’s hilarious.” Ryan climbed out and pushed the car door shut, then followed her toward the large complex surrounded by a brick wall.
“Not so much since one grouchy old fart called the cops to report the theft. Thankfully, he accepted an apology and didn’t press charges, but it took some fast talking on my part to get Gram to say she was sorry.”
“Your grandma always was a firecracker. How long ago did your grandpa pass?”
“Five years now. Gram’s lonely. She says she doesn’t like being single.”
He waited while she punched in a code at the entrance gate. “Single, not widowed?”
“Shows where her mindset is.”
“Good for your grandma.” He laid a hand on her arm and squeezed. “I’m sorry about your grandfather.”
“I am, too, but I’ve gotten used to his absence. I still miss his charm and wit, however.” She let out a sigh and knocked on the door to one of the apartments facing a central courtyard. “No police cars out front or uniformed officers prowling the grounds. That’s a good sign.”
The door swung open before he could respond. Talk about your blue-haired old ladies . . . Leah’s grandma was short but not hunched. She stood ramrod straight in the doorway. Her eyes snapped with temper beneath curls tinted the blue of a summer sky.
“About time you got here.” She transferred her gaze from Leah to Ryan and gave him a slow perusal. “Who’s the hunk?”
“Grandma, you remember Ryan Alexander.”
“The one you let get away? Of course I do, but you look a lot older now.” She snorted with laughter. “Of course, I’m no spring chicken, either.”
He responded with a broad grin. “It’s good to see you again, Mrs. Grayson.”
“You can call me Evie, short for Evangeline, which is a real mouthful. Come on inside.” Spinning on a slipper-clad foot, she retreated into a room crammed with knickknacks. Her pink silk caftan with a peacock embroidered on the back floated around her small frame.
“What’s the emergency, Gram?” Leah dropped onto a couch upholstered in purple suede while her grandmother paced the area rug in front of it.
Ryan hovered, waiting for the elderly woman to sit.
Instead, she picked an envelope up off an end table and tossed it in Leah’s lap. “I didn’t get around to opening yesterday’s mail until a little bit ago. Read that drivel. I don’t know who’s to blame, the apartment manager here or some idiot at the bank. Either way, heads are gonna roll come Monday morning.”
As Leah read without speaking, her lips tightened. Finally, she glanced up. “I don’t suppose you have a recent bank statement handy.”
“I think one came a few days ago, but that thing is confusing. Anyway, the machine spits out a little slip that tells me how much money I have when I get cash.”
“Can I look at your statement?”
With a flutter of her caftan, Evie headed toward the rolltop desk in the corner. She lifted the lid and returned with an unopened envelope. “Here you go. So it was the bank that screwed up, not the manager who sent the letter telling me I hadn’t paid my rent?”
“We’ll see.” Leah’s tone was grim as she ripped open the envelope. Moments later, her eyes widened. “Gram, what’s this transfer from your investment account to your checking? It looks like you moved the money back out again a few days later.” She pointed at the statement. “You wrote a pretty hefty check a couple of weeks ago, too, which is why the one for rent bounced.”
Ryan’s gut tightened at the fear darkening Leah’s eyes. His gaze swung to her grandmother as the woman’s brow creased. “I gave a check to that nice Mr. Woodward to invest in his new housing development. He assured me I’d triple my money before the year ends.”
“And the transfers?” Leah’s knuckles whitened as she gripped the statement.
“He said I’d want to have capital available for future investments, so I sold my stocks the next day and moved the profits. But that money should still be in my account.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “Did you give this Mr. Woodward your account number?”
“No, but I got out the statement that came before this one for him to look at. He said he didn’t want me to write a check for more than I could afford.” Her earlier temper seemed to fizzle. “I appreciated him safeguarding my best interests. He was a real nice fellow. Good-looking, too.”
“Did he write anything down when he looked at your statement?”
Evie shook her head, blue curls fluttering. “No. He was too busy telling me all about his project and how I was getting in on the ground floor when investing was most lucrative. Then he showed me pictures of the houses in his development he’d taken with his phone. Real luxury homes for a reasonable price.”
Leah turned to glance up at Ryan. “He probably snapped a picture of her statement.” All the color had leached from her face, and she swayed slightly.
He sat beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “How much did he transfer out of Evie’s account?”
“A little over a hundred grand plus the check for five thousand.”
His grip tightened. “Maybe you can recover most of it. The bank should be able to trace where it went.”
Her grandmother glanced between them. “You’re scaring me, Leah. What’s going on?”
“The letter from the manager is a notice that your rent check bounced. That’s because the one you wrote to that man, Woodward, in addition to your other bills, overdrew your account. But the bigger problem is all the money from the stock transfer is now missing.”
“I don’t understand.”
Leah stood and took both her grandmother’s hands. “That man was a scam artist. How’d you meet him?”
“Through Bea, who lives two units down. She invested with him, too.”
Ryan balled his hands into fists as he rose to his feet. “I doubt they were the only two this crook approached. You’ll need to call the police to report him.” He met her grandma’s tearful gaze. “Don’t you worry, Evie. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“But he was such a nice man . . .” Her voice trailed off, and her eyes glittered with temper through her tears. “Shame on him for abusing my trust.”
“Not exactly the way I would express my opinion, but close enough.” Leah pulled her checkbook out of her purse, scribbled furiously, then ripped off the slip to hand to her grandma. “Give this to the manager so he won’t be on your back about rent before we get this problem straightened out.”
“Thank you, Leah. I’m so mad I could spit, but Mr. Woodward seemed smart and trustworthy.”
“Most con men do.” Ryan gave her a reassuring smile. “You aren’t the first to be fooled by a predator like him.”
“And, unfortunately, I doubt you’ll be the last. Don’t cry, Grandma.”
Evie wiped away a few tears. “I just want to smack myself for being such a sucker.”
Leah hugged her tight. “Did you sign a contract when you gave him the check?”
Her eyes brightened. “I sure did. Now where did I put it?” She headed back to her desk to rummage through the drawers, then waved a thin sheaf of papers stapled together. “Here’s the copy he gave me.”
Leah took the document and dropped back down on the couch. Ryan moved in to read over her shoulder and glanced at the letterhead.
“Woodward Enterprises with a post office box in Portland.”
Leah flipped pages. “Looks like a bunch of gibberish to me. Damn.” She slapped the papers against her thigh. “I’ll take this with me to the police station tomorrow. They’ll probably send someone out here to talk to you, but I don’t want to deal with the authorities tonight. At this point, I doubt a few hours will make a difference. On Monday, we’ll go to the bank during my lunch break.”
Evie smiled at her granddaughter. “You take such good care of me.” Her gaze slid to Ryan. “You’d better be nice to my girl.”
“No worries. I intend to treat her like a princess.” Glancing over at Leah, he hammed it up, hoping to erase a little of the tension carving tight lines around her lips. “Princess Leah has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
She rolled her eyes and stood. “We have to go now, Gram. Promise you won’t lose sleep over this.”
“Oh, I won’t. I trust you to get me out of this mess the way you have all the others.”
“I’ll do my best.” She dropped a kiss on her grandmother’s creased cheek. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Not too early. I’m taking a walk with Magnus right after breakfast.” She turned her attention to Ryan. “Good night, young man. Nice to see you again after all these years.”
“You, too, Evie. Sleep well.” He hurried to catch up with Leah, who had already reached the door. With a final smile for her grandma, he followed her out.
Leah ran a few yards to lean against a light post. Her shoulders shook as she pounded her fist against the metal. “Goddamn it! I’d like to scream right now.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind. “Hey, don’t fall apart on me. You were great at keeping your grandma’s spirits up.”
“No point in both of us breaking down. I can’t believe this!”
“Unfortunately, scumbags prey on seniors all the time. I’ll help you through this, Leah.”
She straightened, swiped a hand across her damp cheeks, then gave him a grim smile. “I appreciate that, but I’ll call my sister in the morning. Her husband is a corporate attorney, so he should have some ideas about recourse in a situation like this. And I’ll file a report with the local police so they can be on the lookout for this creep if he’s still in the area.”
“Your grandma signed those papers two weeks ago, so he’s probably moved on by now.”
Her lips twisted. “Bilking elderly people in some other senior community.”
Slipping an arm around her waist, he led her toward the parking area. “There’s nothing you can do right this minute, so let’s go home.”
She nodded, her hair brushing his neck as she leaned against him. “Thanks, Ryan. I’m glad you were with me.”
He hesitated for a moment. “If your grandma needs some temporary financial assistance—”
“I’ll figure something out. With the move to California, my parents don’t have a lot of extra disposable income, but between them and my sister and me, hopefully we can manage living expenses until Gram’s money is recovered.”
He kept his mouth shut as he opened the door to the Audi, which she hadn’t bothered to lock. In cases like these, often there was little money left to recover. No point in mentioning his fears to Leah and upsetting her, however. Once they were seated and she started the engine, they drove toward town in silence.
Finally, she glanced over. “I’m sorry our evening ended on such a sour note. The objective was to have fun tonight.”
“We had a great time at the reunion. I think everyone got a kick out of the objects we put in the time capsule.”
“I’m looking forward to showing our childhood treasures to my students. We plan to bury a new time capsule next week.” Streetlights cast shadows across her sober expression as they passed through town. “Maybe in twenty years they’ll have a reunion, too.”
“Maybe so. And in a couple of decades, your students will look back and be thankful for having had such a creative teacher, the same way we appreciate Mr. Manning.”
A real smile lit her face in the glow of the dash. “I certainly hope so.”
She turned off the highway and slowed as they bumped down her driveway. After edging around his Jeep, she pulled into the carport and turned off the engine.
He reached over to touch her hand. “I’ll walk you inside.”
“You don’t want to stay?”
“I doubt you’re much in the mood to . . . well, do anything.”
She grimaced. “Maybe not.”
Stepping out of the car, he braced himself with a hand on the hood when Barney sprinted through the doorway and jumped. “Down.” His sharp order produced results, and the dog backed away after the initial contact of big paws on his jacket.
“Hey, he minds you.” When Barney ran over to her side, Leah scratched his ears. “Good boy.”
After brushing off the paw prints, Ryan tucked an arm around her to head toward the kitchen door, where he stopped beneath the glow of the porch light. Bending, he tipped her chin with his free hand and kissed her thoroughly. Both their breathing had quickened when he finally raised his head.
“Maybe I could get in the mood . . .”
“No offense, but you look worn out. I’ll let you get some rest.”
She pressed her forehead against his chest. “I feel like someone scrubbed the floor with me. Thanks for understanding.” She glanced up, her beautiful brown eyes clouded with fatigue and worry. “I may have taken a direct hit, but I have amazing powers of recovery. Do you want to do something tomorrow after I talk to the police?”
“Sure. I’ll give you a call.” He kissed her again and reluctantly released her. “Good night, Leah.”
“Night.” Juggling the sheaf of papers and her purse, she opened the door, shooed the dog inside, then gave Ryan a final quick smile before shutting it behind her.
Feeling noble, he turned and walked away as the cool night air swirled around him. She might appreciate his nice-guy qualities, but they sure wouldn’t keep him warm tonight.
* * *
Leah sat opposite Officer Chris Long on Sunday morning in the nearly empty squad room with the contract open on his desk between them. A steaming cup of coffee and a half-eaten bagel also occupied the space, and Leah felt a little guilty for interrupting his mid-morning snack. Not that he seemed to mind as he flipped to her grandmother’s signature at the bottom of the last page and frowned.
“You showed this document to a lawyer?”
She nodded. “I scanned it then emailed the doc to my brother-in-law earlier. He said it’s a standard form you can print online after filling in the pertinent information. Basically worthless, and nothing that would hold up in court. He also researched this company, Woodward Enterprises out of Portland, and couldn’t find any listing. His conclusion was the same as mine. Thomas Woodward, or whoever this man might be, is a scam artist who swindled my grandma out of all her savings.”
“I’ll run his name through the database to see what comes up.” Officer Long’s gaze was sober as he fidgeted with his coffee mug. “We’ll certainly do our best to locate him.”
“I appreciate that. I can’t contact the bank about Grandma’s account until tomorrow. Although at this point, that would be sort of like shutting the barn door after the whole herd moseyed out to the pasture. There’s nothing but a few dollars left in there to take.”
“Maybe we can track where the money was wired. I’ll need her account information to look into that angle.”
“Gram’s statements with the account numbers are at her apartment.”
He typed on his keyboard for a moment before glancing up. “Is there anything else you can tell me about this man?”
“I’m afraid not, but Grandma spoke with him face-to-face, and her neighbor also invested with this jerk.” Leah tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and sat back in the chair. Bea Stenson, I think her name is. Both women should be able to give you a description.”
“I’ll head over there now to talk to them. Even if he’s left town, we can put out an ATL via LEIN across the West to keep watch for him in other senior communities.”
Leah blinked. “Huh?”
Chris grinned, reminding her of the boy she’d known back in high school. “Attempt to locate. It goes out through the Law Enforcement Information Network.”
“Oh. That would be great.” Leah stood when he did, and shook the hand he extended. “Thank you for your help.”
“You bet.” He released their grip and walked with her out to the lobby. “I’m sorry this ruined your weekend. Kim said she had a lot of fun last night.”
“I talked to your sister at the reunion. Catching up with old friends was terrific.”
“Sounds like everyone enjoyed themselves.” He opened the door for her. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I have an update.”
“Thanks, Chris.” She headed across the pavement toward her Audi but paused when a police cruiser pulled into the lot and stopped beside her.
The window lowered, and Irving Stackhouse rested an elbow on the opening. “What brings you to our neck of the woods on a Sunday morning, Leah? Nothing wrong, I hope.”
She squinted against the sunlight as she stepped closer. “Morning, Chief. Unfortunately, some sleazebag scam artist is preying on local seniors, including my grandmother. I just filed a report with Officer Long.”
His eyes darkened. “I’m sorry to hear Evie was a victim, but we’ll put all our resources into following up on your report.” A frown carved lines deep in his forehead. “In fact, I’ll personally oversee the case. Can’t have our older citizens targeted in their own homes.”
“I appreciate that.” Leah glanced at her watch. “Darn, I’m late meeting someone. I’ll talk to you later, Chief Stackhouse.”
“Enjoy your day, young lady, and don’t worry about your grandma. We’ll make sure she receives justice.”
Leah was all for justice and would love to see the cretin who’d taken advantage of her grandma drawn and quartered, at the very least. But her most immediate concern was cold, hard cash. Short of robbing a bank, she wasn’t sure how she was going to pay to keep her grandma in her apartment. After opening the car door, she leaned against it and closed her eyes. She’d figure out a way. Somehow.