Read Online Another Dead Republican by Mark Zubro - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Mark Zubro
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spent half an hour going through Veronica’s papers and the family Trust documents we’d found so far and devouring the rest of the Kringle and coffee. We agreed that after Scott and I sorted the rest of the mass of papers in the closet, we’d go over what we found with both her and Veronica. When we were finished, Achtenberg nodded in satisfaction. “As far as I can tell, Veronica should be okay. If this copy of the Trust is up to date, Veronica does inherit some, but a great deal more passes directly to the kids.”
“The kids get that kind of money? Patricia is only six.”
Each child got over five million dollars.
“No, Veronica is the trustee in conjunction with Mrs. Grum.”
“Like equal voting stock?” Scott asked.
“Sort of. It’s not clear who has the final decision. Veronica could be in some trouble, but I don’t think a lot.”
“We found some insurance policies. There could be more. Would Veronica get that money?”
“If she’s the beneficiary.”
She was.
“How about bank accounts?” I asked.
“Depends whose name is on the accounts.”
“I don’t know if we found all the policies or all the accounts.”
“Keep looking. The Trust is clear on a lot of the contents. You saw the list. For instance, a quick glance shows that most of the sculptures in this room are in the Trust, but not the boxes of stuff in that closet. When you find more information on all the accounts, the sources of income, and the deed for the house or documents on it, we’ll know more.”
I pointed at the grizzly. “That’s a family heirloom?”
“The document we do have is incredibly specific about what belongs to whom, but it’s ten years old. How much of the money is Edgar’s? If his name is on it, and it is not named in the family Trust, it’s now Veronica’s. His will is clear. This house and land are his. None of the money and property in the family Trust have any connection to Veronica. Just her kids.”
“So they can’t throw her out?”
“No.”
“But she’s going to need income to pay the bills, the mortgage.”
“Look carefully at the investments you found. Are they in the Grum Family Trust or in Edgar’s name?”
“We’ll sort it out,” Scott said.
Achtenberg stood up, picked up her purse and briefcase. She said, “Good. I trust you guys. Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can find out what the police are doing. I’ll be back this evening.”
SIXTEEN
Wednesday 11:00 A.M.
Scott and I spent the next hour sorting papers. We talked some at first. One of the first things I said was, “What was that not our “blood” crap?”
“Sounds mostly like they’re trying to protect their money, and it’s an easy shorthand for hating a relative or two.”
A lot of the work was mindless, really, especially once we had a system going. At first often, but then less so, we’d consult with each other about the placement of a particular item.
Edgar’s bank records indicated he had numerous accounts in a bunch of different banks, some of them with addresses in the Cayman Islands. I took a sheaf of statements from one bank and showed them to Scott.
We paged through six months of them from one bank. At the end, I said, “I don’t get these. Where did he get the deposits to his accounts if he had such lousy jobs? If they were electronically deposited, there’d have been records. If he was depositing them with cash, why and where and who was he dealing with in that much hard cash? Why aren’t cops looking through his financials?”
Scott said, “Somebody must know something about them, although Veronica says she doesn’t.”
“It could also be as innocent as him having investments that gave him regular interest or capital gains payments.” I fanned the stack of bank records. “These don’t say where the money came from, just that it existed.”
“Do we care where
“The kids get that kind of money? Patricia is only six.”
Each child got over five million dollars.
“No, Veronica is the trustee in conjunction with Mrs. Grum.”
“Like equal voting stock?” Scott asked.
“Sort of. It’s not clear who has the final decision. Veronica could be in some trouble, but I don’t think a lot.”
“We found some insurance policies. There could be more. Would Veronica get that money?”
“If she’s the beneficiary.”
She was.
“How about bank accounts?” I asked.
“Depends whose name is on the accounts.”
“I don’t know if we found all the policies or all the accounts.”
“Keep looking. The Trust is clear on a lot of the contents. You saw the list. For instance, a quick glance shows that most of the sculptures in this room are in the Trust, but not the boxes of stuff in that closet. When you find more information on all the accounts, the sources of income, and the deed for the house or documents on it, we’ll know more.”
I pointed at the grizzly. “That’s a family heirloom?”
“The document we do have is incredibly specific about what belongs to whom, but it’s ten years old. How much of the money is Edgar’s? If his name is on it, and it is not named in the family Trust, it’s now Veronica’s. His will is clear. This house and land are his. None of the money and property in the family Trust have any connection to Veronica. Just her kids.”
“So they can’t throw her out?”
“No.”
“But she’s going to need income to pay the bills, the mortgage.”
“Look carefully at the investments you found. Are they in the Grum Family Trust or in Edgar’s name?”
“We’ll sort it out,” Scott said.
Achtenberg stood up, picked up her purse and briefcase. She said, “Good. I trust you guys. Meanwhile, I’ll see if I can find out what the police are doing. I’ll be back this evening.”
SIXTEEN
Wednesday 11:00 A.M.
Scott and I spent the next hour sorting papers. We talked some at first. One of the first things I said was, “What was that not our “blood” crap?”
“Sounds mostly like they’re trying to protect their money, and it’s an easy shorthand for hating a relative or two.”
A lot of the work was mindless, really, especially once we had a system going. At first often, but then less so, we’d consult with each other about the placement of a particular item.
Edgar’s bank records indicated he had numerous accounts in a bunch of different banks, some of them with addresses in the Cayman Islands. I took a sheaf of statements from one bank and showed them to Scott.
We paged through six months of them from one bank. At the end, I said, “I don’t get these. Where did he get the deposits to his accounts if he had such lousy jobs? If they were electronically deposited, there’d have been records. If he was depositing them with cash, why and where and who was he dealing with in that much hard cash? Why aren’t cops looking through his financials?”
Scott said, “Somebody must know something about them, although Veronica says she doesn’t.”
“It could also be as innocent as him having investments that gave him regular interest or capital gains payments.” I fanned the stack of bank records. “These don’t say where the money came from, just that it existed.”
“Do we care where
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