Chapter 18

I woke the next morning to sunlight in my windows and the smell of coffee. I got up and did my morning routine, dressed and headed for my travel mug and the coffee pot. After carefully decorating my coffee with cream and sugar, I found Bobbie in her office for my morning kiss. Next was my recliner and the morning newspaper.

I sat reading and sipping and thought about what I wanted to accomplish today but nothing really came to mind. Chris sent me a text that just said, ‘Walking.’ I told Bobbie I was going walking with Chris and got my standard reply, “Okay, have fun.” I started down the long driveway to the road and saw Chris coming out of her gate with kids in tow.

I walked over to her and gave her a peck on the lips and got behind Emily’s stroller to push. We walked and chatted and told each other how much we loved the other. We walked three laps on the dead end road, which was probably about a quarter mile each lap. A dark panel van passed us slowly and drove to the end of the street and turned around.

I sent Chris in the house with the kids and dropped a packet into the two men that were in it. ‘Stop the van,’ I sent to the driver as he went past me. I walked to the sliding door, opened it and got in, leaving the door open. ‘Stop all recording devices and leave them off,’ I sent them. They each had some type of GPS device they pulled out and turned off. The passenger also had some larger device similar to a laptop only it’s screen looked a little like a radar screen.

“Turn that off and don’t turn it back on.” I told them.

“Yes Master,” the passenger said.

“What are you doing in this neighborhood?” I asked them.

“One of our associates has disappeared and there’s a large sum of money missing also. He was watching over two other of our associates who happen to be missing also. The suitcase he used carried an old tracking device and the battery was almost dead but we tracked it to this area. We just can’t get a lock on it because the battery is weak, we think.” he said. I knew exactly what he was talking about and was about to take care of it.

“What does the tracking device look like?” I asked.

“It’s a small white plastic disc about two inches across and less than a half inch thick.” the driver said.

“It will be sown into the lining near the handle.” the passenger said.

“I happen to know for a fact that no one in this neighborhood has any suitcases. Your tracking device is wrong. The neighborhood you are looking for is ten miles from here.” I said and they both nodded in agreement.

I felt like Obi-Wan Kenobi, “These are not the droids you’re looking for.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m going to take your faulty devices from you to save you from having to throw them away yourselves.” I told them.

“Thank you so much.” the driver said.

“You are too kind to help us like this,” the passenger said as they handed me all their equipment and power supplies.

“You will not remember ever being on this road or talking to me. You will not remember me or why you are here or what you were looking for when you drive away,” I told them. I looked around for the van for anything else I wanted and saw two briefcases. I grabbed them and got out with the tracking gear and closed the van’s door. They drove away, I gathered up the briefcases and tracking gear and headed home.

I took it all to the basement and spread it out on the 8’ tables. I went to the closet and uncovered the suitcases and dug them out. I dumped all three suitcases in separate piles and started looking for the device. In the last bag I found a small lump in the lining near the handle. I grabbed a pair of scissors and cut it open.

There it was, just as he had described it. I grabbed a hammer out of the utility closet and took it outside to the concrete patio and smashed it until it was in pieces and it’s innards were coming out. I was sure that it was no longer functional but I wasn’t taking any chances. I wadded it up in a piece of paper, took the three suitcases upstairs and loaded them in the back of the Escalade.

I told Bobbie I was going to run an errand and asked if she needed anything from the store and left. I took the three suitcases to Goodwill and went to Wally World and picked out three large, heavy duty duffel bags. I repacked the piles of cash into the bags and hid them again.

I went to the two briefcases and opened the first one to find a very nice loaded Walther PPk .380 in a belt clip holster, a wallet, a passport, plane tickets, some miscellaneous notes, a small bottle of hand sanitizer and a couple pair of disposable latex gloves. I put on a pair of the gloves before I touched anything in the briefcase. The wallet had a thousand dollars cash, which I took out, several credit cards and a picture ID of what looked like the driver. There was nothing in the pouches of interest so I opened the second briefcase.

The second briefcase also had a gun. There was a lovely Sig Sauer P229 in a small shoulder holster, a couple pairs of latex gloves and hand sanitizer, a wallet, a passport, plane tickets, a note tablet with some writing in it, a couple of bottles of prescription medicine in the name of the guy on the picture ID, which was the passenger. He also had a thousand in cash and multiple credit cards. There was also a piece of paper with a series of crazy names, dates and numbers that didn’t look familiar so I kept it, meaning to Google it later. I kept out the little notebook and planned to go through it too.

I closed the briefcases, stashed them in the utility closet and went upstairs with the slip of paper and notebook. I took off the gloves but put them in my pocket and told Bobbie I was going to Chris and David’s. I got my usual reply.

I walked to Chris and David’s, went straight in and made sure I hugged and kissed everyone, even the kids.

“Did you have any problems with the people in the van?” he asked. “Chris came in and told me you were with someone that looked suspicious in our neighborhood.”

“It was fine. I had a conversation with a couple of mafia guys that were looking for their missing friend. I’m sure he’s in FBI protective custody right now. They were looking for their missing money too but I made them know that it wasn’t in this area and took their equipment, and briefcases. They also gave me their wallets, passports, cash, credit cards and forgot who they gave it to and forgot what they were looking for.” I told him.

David laughed out loud, “I’m glad we’re friends Lonnie,” he said, still chuckling. “By the way, I checked all the accounts, which is a dozen now. There was fifty million more between them. I moved it around in the accounts and banks. That gives you 619 million to play with.”

“Us, OUR money my love.” I told him. “Find out how we can use it, share it, help others less fortunate and still keep a low profile in the community.” I told him. He smiled and stood to hug and kiss me. We held each other for a minute and I showed him the slip of paper and the notebook. He looked at it and couldn’t make heads or tails of it either.

We talked about it for a while, from what it could be to what it might be. We went from bingo to a nuclear launch code and everything in between for hours. It got late and I went home, promising to return in the morning.

Bobbie and I had a quiet evening and I woke to sunshine and the smell of New Orleans blend coffee, my favorite. I shit, showered, and shaved as my morning routine required and dressed. I decorated my travel mug with cream and sugar and got my morning kiss and headed to Chris and David’s house.

I stopped to kiss Kayla and the kids eating breakfast first and headed straight to David in his office. He jumped up and hugged me excitedly as I stepped in. He closed the door and said he had figured it out in the night. The strange names were horses and the numbers were odds and races at different tracks. He said we could bet online and see what happened. I was all for it and had him bet on the horses in the notes.

He placed a dozen bets on the information we had on the slip and notebook at different tracks in the northeast. I had him bet the maximum on what he figured out on each race. We watched online as win, place and show and exacta bets all raced. We placed bets for winners and losers using the information on the slip and notebook knowing this would probably be the only time. All of our picks came in winners and almost 4 million won across the races and tracks.

The next day David and I went to the bank and opened an account for our charitable foundation. I texted the others to meet David and I there and all showed up except Kayla who was home watching the kids. Everyone signed off on cards, showed verification and supplied the needed documentation. I transferred the almost 4 million in winnings to the Foundation account to open it. I went back and took Kayla last as Chris watched the kids and Kayla signed on to the account. I made sure they could access and see the account online but didn’t have authority to make changes.

That evening we transferred two hundred million to the account and waited for the consequences, or in layman terms, for the shit to hit the fan. Two days later three senior investigators from the IRS showed up at my house asking questions about the foundation and donations. Richard was the lead and I took control of him immediately.

I dropped a packet into all three of them. “Everything is normal and there is no need for investigating or auditing. All donations are legitimate and deserve tax exempt status for a charity. You will approve and expedite this request and ignore any problems. All activities are perfectly legal and above reproach. You will report only good things about this foundation and it’s members.”

A couple of days later I received a letter by mail that our 501C3 status had been approved unconditionally and was given a tax number to use.

We received a large notebook of checks with a place for two signatures and notations in the margins from the bank. I was glad I didn’t have to write checks for everyone.

Ayame sent a text message that she wanted to come see me. I told her I was home and she could come by anytime she wanted. Twenty minutes later there was a knock on my door and I welcomed Ayame into the house. I led her to Bobbie’s office, “Look who came to visit,” I said.

Bobbie turned in her chair and grinned, “Ayame! It’s so good to see you again,” she said as she got up to give her a big hug. “You’ll have to come by sometime when I’m not working so I can visit with you too,” she said as she sat back down. Ayame nodded and we went to the living room. I held her hand as I led her to the couch and sat down next to her.

“What brings you to see me?” I asked.

She thought about what she wanted to say while looking down, “When I delivered food the other day...” she paused. “You kissed me,” she said.

“Yes I did Ayame. I’m sorry, did it offend you? I would never...”

“No no, I was not offended,” she interrupted. “No one has ever kissed me before and I have been thinking about it,” she said.