Names (Trouble Part 2)

Madeline Clark, author of five best sellers, three about the awful P.I. Walker. They are not bad entertainment, they are even somewhat interesting. Well written, with a complex intrigue, unique characters, interesting events, truly great books. I only hate them because the real work is so boring. In the last 5 years of work, I have not felt the need to even carry a gun. I have a cell phone in a holster now, not a firearm. Her Walker is always running, dodging bullets and solving horribly complex and important crimes. I read her books when I’m bored, and with the true nature of this work, I have read her books often.

She was married to Albert R. Thompson. She met him 15 years ago, got married two years later. A thirteen year long marriage, seems lucky enough nowadays. He’s not a celebrity, he’s basically a nobody. Thankfully I know where to look. When my father left the job, he left behind a ton of important contacts. A couple of phone calls, some pulled favours, some promises and I can get the info I want. He’s 47 years old, worth more than your average city block, partially owns a bunch of companies here and overseas. He seems to favour shipping companies, however I am told it is a tendency in some investors. No matter what the state of the economy is, things need to go in and out of countries. He’s been moving money around for about 17 years. Again, people like him don’t leave big traces until they start moving things. Too old for all the things kids use for social networking, these tools make my job a lot easier, when I have to do it, when it comes to twenty-somethings.

He has no kids too. That is surprising, but he also wasn’t married before Madeline. Married at 34, that seems odd. He must have studied somewhere for a while. I’ll have to search for him in academic networks. Something doesn’t quite add up. A cursory search doesn’t bring his name up in the families of movers in the financial world. He may have been getting the money needed to start his investment career. I am told, however, that the choices he makes are usually educated, with some exceptions. Could he be involved in insider trading? So far however, nothing sticks. He has money, he invests it, he makes more money. He must have work to start his initial investment because he was not born into money. He has some sort of education or works with someone educated in financial investment. He also owns enough to get a lot of money, but not enough to end up in the big journals. He is not a big player in any company either. The most he owns is a tenth of any company. My sources are drying up however, no files with the police, no records anywhere. He does not own a car, owns one house and doesn’t bring any attention to himself. He wasn’t even at his wife’s book signings or launches. Even their marriage was not mentioned in any papers. The most I get would be a mention in an interview by Madeline: “Yes, I am married, however our marriage is not something we want in the public sphere. This is a decision we made as a couple, and I will respect it.” Too bad you were the only one honouring the decisions made as a couple.

And now the third name I know, the friend who reported the infidelity: Sarah Blake. Madeline’s agent, and apparently the reason for her success. She represents many authors, most women. And if it weren’t for the fact that she was such a vocal advocate for the rights of gays and lesbians, I would almost suspect her to be the mistress, however I know the husband would be packing the wrong tools for the job. I’ve seen that happen before, the friend starts sleeping with the husband, and after a while she feels guilty and “runs” into the husband with his nondescript mistress. Sometimes they also run into the husband with another mistress, get jealous and take him down. But in her case, it would not add up. Even if I omit her orientation, she would not be the mistress, since she used her cell phone to take a picture of Thompson with the mistress. I’ll have to talk to her but now I am more interested by the picture I have just received by email. I can’t say much about her other than she is the opposite of Thompson’s wife. Short, nondescript and her eyes are weary. This is a good picture: I have to remember to ask what phone this Sarah was using, I needed to replace mine. It might just be one picture, but the body language is wrong. They are not scared; they sit in the middle of the restaurant. They have two identical mallets. They are both dressed in what would pass as corporate casual clothing. To the casual observer, this would be a normal lunch business meeting. A second picture comes in, they are holding hands, and he’s pushing his briefcase with his foot. This is odd. A third picture comes in; Madeline must not know that you can attach multiple pictures to one email. Can’t help but smile. The third one, she is standing up, she has the briefcase that was on his side in her hand. Next picture, they are kissing. They exchanged briefcases and kisses. What does it all mean?

I have a hunch, the answer lies in his past, and my only key to Thompson’s past is this woman who he seems to know well. However, I have to remember this is only a divorce case. However, I might be able to bill for time spent on my hunches if they lead to some hidden money. Plus, I have been having a boring week.

[The long awaited sequel to Trouble... I'm gonna try to update "Trouble" once a week. Mostly on Saturdays. As you can see, I have somewhat of a plan with this. I'll try to not go too fast, and I don't know how long it will take to get to the end, this might end up as a long short story, or a very short novel...

Also, I apologize for the late posting, I have been giving myself a little vacation, and I was away from the internet for most of the day. The story is here and I think it's getting better.]