Chapter 22

Doreen walked in the front door of her house to be greeted by the animals, as if she'd been gone for days and days. She bent down, chuckling. "Hey, guys. Sorry. That was an early morning visit to the hospital, wasn't it?"

Mugs woofed and raced around her in circles, putting a huge smile on her face. She headed into the kitchen, realizing she hadn't even had coffee yet. She quickly put on a pot and opened up the back door, inviting everybody outside.

As soon as Mugs was free, he raced to the closest bush and emptied his bladder.

She sighed. "Sorry, buddy. I should have left you out longer before I left." Quickly she checked around the house for accidents and found none, which was a saving grace all on its own. She wouldn't blame them if they'd had a problem, since it was her fault for leaving in such a rush.

With a cup of coffee in hand, she went outside, sat down with her notebook, then proceeded to fill in her notes on what had just happened. She was pretty sure that somehow Robin was involved in all this, but, with the woman no longer around and probably in the same place as her ex, it was hard to imagine getting any answers there.

So Doreen went back to her desk in the kitchen and went through all the previous divorce paperwork that Robin had left for Doreen, hoping she would find something all tied up in a nice little bow that would clear things up, but it was not to be.

Things were never that simple. It seemed Mathew and Robin had left this mess to see if Doreen could figure it out somehow, as if she had all the answers, while they laughed from the grave. Doreen didn't even know what to say about it but returned with her notebook to the backyard, as she updated her information, including comments from the kid, Tony. Doreen still wondered if he was a little more involved than he was saying or if he really was na?ve enough to think that coming forward with a little bit of information would let him off the hook.

Even if the Jaguar's insurance company let him off, she couldn't imagine all these rich people not suing him for using their expensive vehicles for personal gain. If nothing else, they would want their cut of the pot. She imagined that some wouldn't care, especially if they were getting paid already because it was just another way to make money.

However, she imagined a good share of them would be horrified at what had happened. It was certainly something to consider, if and when she ever came to the point of needing to store her vehicle. It would definitely not be in a place like that. Not that she was planning on going anywhere anytime soon. Besides, no one would want to rent her old beater.

With her first cup of coffee down and the animals rolling around on the grass, generally just enjoying the lazy day and being outside, she got up and grabbed a second cup. She was hoping that Mack would get back to her, but, knowing Mack, he would wait until the last minute before he contacted her, particularly if there was anything to update.

What she needed to know was a question that maybe Nick could answer. She frowned, wondering if she should bother him with it. How could she keep asking him to do stuff when she may never have money enough to pay him in the end? She didn't want to take advantage of him. Although she had money coming from Nan's antiques at some point, the check is in the mail seemed to be the recurring phrase for her life.

She decided that she would ask Nick, and, if he said no, that was fine. She quickly picked up the phone and called him.

"Hey, what are you up to?" Nick asked. "I've been trying to reach my brother, but I figured something had blown up because he's not answering."

"He probably just doesn't have a moment to get back to you," she guessed, then filled him in on the happenings of the morning.

"Wow. That's some good progress. It seems things are really heating up though."

"Yes, but they're at that point where they can blow and go one way or the other. We just need to keep the information flowing."

"Okay, and was there a specific reason for calling me?" he asked.

"Yes. One of the theories we have is that there could potentially be some property of Mathew's in my name that I didn't know about."

"How would you not know about it, though?"

She hesitated and then in embarrassment whispered, "Because I signed things blindly. He didn't like to be questioned, and eventually I found that life was easier if I just did as he asked. And, worse than that, Mathew was not above forging my signature."

A long moment of silence came from the other end, and then he gave a heavy sigh. "You told me that you have no property in your name."

"Except for this house that I got from Nan, yes."

"All right then. I'll see what I can find." And, with that, he was gone.

He didn't ask for payment, but she was more determined than before to give him something by the time this was all over, providing she had anything to give. She had to remember not to be greedy at that point because that's when people got upset. And, with that, she thought about Reggie. She made a quick phone call and, when he answered, he sounded tired, worn out. "Hey, Reggie. I'm so sorry to bother you. And you sound as if it's been a rough couple days for you."

"Oh my God, it's been exhausting. Between the police—who came and just basically tore apart the house—followed by the slew of lawyers, partners, and developers, then everybody else calling, all of them looking for information and money. It's been pretty rough."

"Ouch. I'm sorry. That must be miserable. Have you spoken to Mathew's estate lawyer, Roger?"

"A little bit, and he did tell me that I'm mentioned in the will, but, until the reading of the will, he won't tell me how much."

"Right, and, of course, we don't trust Mathew at this point."

"No, I sure don't," he agreed cheerfully. "Also there was a time when I used to put property into my name in order to save him on taxes, transferring it back to him later. Then he would sell it, and somehow the money would just disappear. Looking back, I did a lot of those things or put up with that. Now I wish I hadn't."

"I hear you there," she replied.

"Anyway, I'm hoping that Mathew remembered all the things I did for him and that he doesn't screw me over, like he did so many others. Of course you of all people know all about that," he said, with a half laugh, "since you did the same." After a moment of silence, he asked, "Didn't you?"

His tone was odd, and she had goose bumps. "I signed a lot of things because he wanted me to, and I didn't read them because he found that offensive somehow. Frankly, it wasn't worth the potential consequences. But I certainly wasn't aware at the time that I was signing property into and or out of my name," she murmured.

There was another short silence on the other end. "Wow, I wonder if that's what all this fuss is about."

"What are you talking about?"

"Some developers are looking for documents on several properties, but I'm not handling Mathew's business affairs and so keep referring him to the lawyer who is doing that. But even he told me to not forward any more calls, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"Maybe not answer the phone, cancel the number. I don't know," she suggested. "I'm curious. Did Mathew's business attorney also do your taxes?" she asked.

"Yes." Then he groaned. "Yes, of course he did. Oh my God. Because, of course, he did my taxes and paid the tax on any property transfers but probably used it in other ways to shuffle tax credits and things," he murmured.

"Oh dear, and I'm sure now that the lovely Robin would have helped Mathew do all kinds of stuff we never suspected."

"Yes, exactly, until she died."

"Right. If there's anything that you can help the police with, the sooner we finally clear up all this, then we can ensure that neither of us had arrears on taxes or are heading to jail for tax evasion that we didn't even know about," she declared, her tone rising. "Jesus, will it ever end?"

"And who needs all that?" His tone was agitated. "All I ever did was my best for him, and I'm far too old to wind up in jail."

"I hear you there, and let's not go down that rabbit hole until we have a better idea. Still, considering that somebody was after him in a pretty serious way, it makes me very suspicious."

Reggie gave a hysterical laugh. "Yeah. I'll feel better if I hear that he left me one million dollars for my pension coming up. If he didn't, maybe I'm better off in jail. At least I wouldn't be out on the street."

"I hope he did. Now try not to worry. We'll get to the bottom of all this. But please help yourself by sharing with the police anything you think of or find out. I know you still feel some loyalty to Mathew, but you need to think of yourself at this point." She couldn't help the heavy sigh that slipped out. "I'm having struggles of my own, since he'd been fighting me on the divorce every step of the way—"

"Partly because he thought it wasn't all over with between you two."

"Yet because of Robin's machinations, I was to get nothing but to walk away."

"Seriously?" he cried out. "You were with him from the beginning."

"I know, and apparently that's why my lawyer is now fighting to get me something, but Mathew hadn't been willing and had fought it tooth and nail all the way."

"Oh, oh, oh," Reggie muttered, his voice trembling. "This doesn't sound very good at all."

"Let's hope he was a better friend to you than he was a husband to me," she stated. "I don't know how we will get any answers, until the reading of the will."

"That's supposed to be in a couple days."

"Is it? I haven't been told."

"Are you in it?"

"I'm not sure." She automatically shrugged even though he couldn't see it. "I believe the police mentioned that I was, but I don't know anything else."

"The attorney should be getting in touch soon, I would think, and I don't know whether you can do it virtually or will have to come down here for the reading."

"I don't know either, though I'm hoping for virtual. Under the circumstances, it would be nice not to have to come down."

"It would sure be nice to see you though," Reggie noted.

She smiled at that. "You're about the only good part of that time of my life," she replied, "and you're right. It would be great to see you. Anyway, I don't want to call the lawyer myself. I don't want to get involved in any of that. However, you need to watch your back because I'm not sure just what all Mathew might have done to get himself out of trouble, and we all are potentially in significant danger."

"I agree," Reggie replied. "Mathew was definitely in trouble. He'd stopped sleeping and was really worried about something. He'd found out something recently that set him off in a big way. I think it may have had something to do with Robin, but I really don't know."

Doreen shook her head. "I hate to say he deserved it, but, with Robin, he did a lot of crooked deals. It seems she may have turned the tables and did a crooked one on him."

"I know," Reggie replied, his tone soft. "Toward the end, Mathew wasn't very clear about where he was headed and what he was after. He did say that he made a big mistake with you."

"That mistake was something he couldn't go back on," she stated. "I'm a very different person now."

"God knows you're better off away from him," Reggie replied, his tone growing stronger. "Anyway I'll have a shot of whiskey and try not to think about any of this for a while. Once it's over, I may have to hire a lawyer or somebody to look into my taxes and all of that to ensure that I'm free and clear. I certainly don't want to go to jail for tax evasion, fraud, or some other ridiculous thing."

"No, me neither," she said, her face wrinkling up. "I'll talk to you later." And, with that, she disconnected and quickly called Nick back.

"I haven't got any answers for you yet," he said calmly.

"I know, and I just talked with Reggie again." She quickly explained what he'd told her.

"Holy cow."

She winced. "That's bad, isn't it?"

"Well, good Lord, I don't even know what to say, but obviously we'll have to do a much deeper investigation into all this."

"I'm really, really not sure what to say either," she whispered. "It'll be bad news if Reggie got caught up in this, not to mention me. But I really don't want to go to jail for tax evasion that Mathew caused."

"You won't," Nick confirmed reassuringly.

"Yeah, you say that, but believe me when I say that Mathew was all about playing games. Plus he had Robin dabbling in the background."

"So I understand, but I'm starting to get a better idea of what the problem was in terms of why he was dragging his feet so much on the divorce and why he kept wanting to talk to you, sidestepping me."

"Yeah, but he didn't say anything to me about this latest turn of events, although he did mention to Reggie several times that I needed to sign something for Mathew."

"Yeah. I'm thinking he may have been done in by his lovely girlfriend, the lawyer," Nick shared. "I really want to laugh, but I won't until I know for sure that there's something here to laugh about. At the same time, he could easily have screwed you over completely. As far as the law goes, you're still married to him. I'll get back to you as soon as I have something." And, with that, he was gone.

She stared at her phone, shock and worry knotting her stomach. She lifted her head, glanced around, and looked down at Mugs. "How do I get into these situations?" she cried out. "Will Mathew ever be done screwing me over?"

At that came a reply from the other side of the fence. "Not until you're divorced and you've got at least a year behind you."

Richard was clearly in a mood, and it showed in his tone. She asked him, "How do you know?"

"Speaking from experience, of course," he snapped. His head appeared over the fence. "And that husband of yours? He was up to no good right from the beginning."

"I didn't know anything about it," she stated.

"That's because he didn't want you to. They're like that. They're manipulative."

She nodded slowly. "I guess they can be. He definitely didn't turn out to be who I thought he was."

At that, Richard laughed. "He was who he wanted to be, and he allowed you to see what he wanted you to see. Other than that, he was just having a grand old time."

"Do you know anything about tax law? Will I be in trouble if he moved property into my name and then backed out and that sort of thing?"

"Depends how he did it, but, chances are, you will be fine. As long as the taxes were paid in your name and on time, it should be okay."

"I didn't know anything about it, so I don't have a clue if the taxes were paid or if they weren't, but I've got a lawyer looking into it now."

"Good," Richard noted. "I hope for your sake it's all free and clear."

"Yeah, me too," she muttered. "Other than that, I don't know what else to do."

"How is the murder investigation going?"

"We're looking for Mathew's briefcase, but there's been no sign of it."

"The ones who killed him probably took it. Then, if they didn't find what they were after, they'll be looking for the next source of information."

"Which may be Reggie, my ex's man of affairs. He oversaw the house and things. He's been in Mathew's employ for a very long time."

He stared at her. "He was that rich that he needed a man of affairs? I've never even heard of that."

"Yeah, but I don't even know if that's a good name for him. He wasn't his lawyer or his banker, but he was the one who looked after him."

"Then he would probably know everything."

"He says he doesn't though."

At that, Richard's eyebrows shot up. "Are you sure you trust him?"

"Yes, of course. Why?" She stopped and stared.

"Why would you trust him? Why would you trust anybody who had anything to do with that period of your life?"

"He's quite worried. He apparently was unwittingly involved in some of the real estate transfers and such. Now he's worried he won't even get consideration in the will, as a form of pension, which was always part of their arrangement."

Richard snorted. "Do you think he would be deemed completely innocent and exonerated of all charges, if he allowed all these property transfers in order to save his employer tax? Unfortunately the name for that is tax evasion. So, if he participated, he's guilty of helping your husband at a minimum."

She didn't know what to say to that. "Well, that's very scary," she muttered.

He snorted. "Yeah, hopefully you already filed your income tax this year. Did you?"

She nodded slowly. "I did, but I didn't have any income, so it was pretty easy to do."

"Have you gotten anything back from them?"

She nodded. "Yes, I got a zero assessment on it."

"That's a good sign," Richard declared, "but that still doesn't clear you, not if they find any wrongdoing in the last seven years—or more, if companies are involved." He snorted. "I wouldn't sleep too easy if I were you."

"I'm hardly sleeping at all as it is," she admitted. "I did go see Mr. Woo this morning."

At that, Richard turned and looked back at her. He'd been in the act of getting back down behind his fence again, but his head popped up and over the fence. "How is he doing?"

"He's awake and alert. Apparently two men attacked him."

Richard's eyes grew round. "Wow, he's lucky to be alive."

"They chose his place to wait for me or maybe Mathew," she explained. "However, they didn't realize that Mr. Woo's business was open. So, when they figured it out, they went in to find out what he might have seen."

"That's pretty risky. They should have killed him at the time."

"I guess one of them got a phone call that had them making a hasty exit, after giving Mr. Woo another threat and promising him that they would be back."

"They should have just popped him right then."

"Oh, I agree, but I'm very grateful they didn't. Seems the one guy took off. I wonder if the other one was supposed to have done the job and didn't."

"That makes sense too," Richard replied, nodding. "Just because he was supposed to do the job didn't mean he wanted to or was up for it."

"Oh, I never thought of that," she noted. "Maybe he took off, thinking he could come back later or thinking the other guy could come back and finish it."

Richard nodded. "Depends. It could also mean that Mr. Woo is still in danger."

She winced at that. "He's still in the hospital, but there is a police guard on him."

"Sure, but, if you don't solve this soon, he'll get discharged and will be looking over his shoulder every moment."

"Great," she muttered, glaring at him. "Now I have to worry about him too."

"You don't have to worry about everybody, but you sure need to be careful about who your friends are," he pointed out. "And everybody needs to be careful about being friends with you." With that parting shot, he dropped to the other side of the fence again.

She sat here, staring at it, hating the truth behind his words. Yet Richard was right, and this was turning out to be a bad deal for anybody who was connected to her. However, so far, the bad guys hadn't made any attempt to come after her. But then they'd been tracking her, so maybe they were hoping that her ex would take care of her. Or at least get her to fall in line. That would be a completely different story now.

She had to find out what was happening behind her back.