Chapter 4

"Hello," I coughed into the phone, my mind blurry from being pulled rudely out of an erotic dream concerning Penny and me and a shadowy figure. Like an old man, I napped in the early evening. Penny had exhausted me.

"Cole McAndrews has been a busy man," said Sandy.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis at a colleague of Jordan's house."

"And he doesn't mind the long distance call?" I asked, finding myself completely awakened by confusion.

"She says she's an interested party. We've decided to get drunk, so I'm calling before my rational mind gets distilled."

"Well I'm glad you're in a safe place. Is that where you're staying?"

"I don't think the lady of the house would have it any other way. Just a second." Sandy spoke to her hostess. "I'll have another." After a pause she giggled and said, "And another drink too please." She began to address me again. "I don't want to be rude to my hostess, Joe, so I'll be as quick as possible."

"Are you doing the Mata Hari bit again?" I asked.

"I couldn't resist. She's sexy and smart and cute. No, Carol, you're not much older than I am. He's just not your type. I'm sure you like men, but nice men who aren't so smarmy, am I right? No? And you look so innocent, you nasty girl. She says she likes an occasional flesh stick. Her husband was the nice type, and she'd prefer just the hard-on for a night. She says I'm her type. Thank you Carol. Fix me another, I want to catch up. Anyway, Joe, there's a bit of a story here, so I'll cut to the chase.

"It started with the Eau Claire police detective," began Sandy. "He remembered the mysterious death of Penny Kolhaas. He had interviewed Cole and Joan and tried to get a hold of Jordan, but was shut down when the coroner ruled it an accidental drowning.

"He didn't like Cole. The kid came off cocky, and considering his supposed girlfriend had just died, well, you get the picture. The one fact he and the coroner knew but kept to themselves so as not to create any ugly repercussions concerned Penny's pregnancy, probably a couple months gestation. In other words just long enough for her to be certain of it. A young man needing an unsullied name and about to be married, a mysterious brother of suspicious character who had been cuckolded by that self same brother, and a wild woman with an unpredictable character, and death by drowning resulted. With our exchange of information, Edgar Buchanan, a typical tough but sweet detective got behind me and pressed the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire to free up transcript info. As it turns out, Cole transferred to Madison. He studied, get this, computer science, business with a specialty in banking, and, after getting his BA, went to a trade school for private investigation."

"Sounds like he prepared his way for money laundering, off shore banking and extortion."

"Yep. He worked three years at a Milwaukee bank before moving to South Florida and continuing his banking career. He apparently became a top executive in loan operations by the time he retired and disappeared. The guy must have changed his name. I faxed his picture to the Miami Police to see if anyone has bumped into him. As far as anyone knows, he hasn't been arrested. I'm sure there are no prints on record."

"We could look for financial institutions popping up in Miami at the time of Cole's retirement, except..."

"He could have set up shop anywhere, especially if it was a dummy company."

"So what about the mom?" I asked.

"She hasn't seen him for awhile. There's been no mail. He calls her from time to time, every couple months or so, probably to keep her from worrying. She hasn't had a call for over six months."

"I'm sure you had her look at her phone bills."

"Of course. She had to unbury the older ones, so she's going to get back to me tomorrow. The last one wasn't listed on her bill."

"I bet he was in town," I said.

"Yes, I'm thinking the same thing. So how's Joan or Penny?"

"She's in Maui."

"Really?"

"Visiting a mysterious friend for the weekend."

"Cole?"

"We'll find out soon. I have Gabe Kahalani tailing her."

"Don't forget the receipts."

"I hope if Cole fucks his brother over, that Jordan doesn't end up stiffing us."

"He's paid us enough so far. We're good."

"Alright. Oh, by the way, I got cast."

"Huh?"

"In the play with Penny."

"Yeah? Congratulations. Break a leg. I hope you're still in it after Penny finds out."

"Hey, acting is a very responsible profession. I have to be on time, be prepared and not go leaving the play in the middle of everything."

"If you say so. I have to go. Carol just put her hand down my shirt."

"Have fun. Send my love to Carol," I said, hearing the click of the disconnection in mid sentence.