husband —and our friends. But they were in a domino match, and I was bored. I walked to the front desk to speak with Marsha, but she was busy. I took a walk outside, and when I returned, Marsha still wasn’t free to chat.” The truth was Marsha and Chef Steven were involved in a chess game against each other, and neither wanted to be bothered. She didn’t want to see either of them fired, but their attention should be on their jobs, not on each other.
“What happened then?”
Abby snapped to attention. What was she doing slipping like that? She’d have to increase her ginkgo and green tea. “I returned to Earl, Tom, and Emma. A stranger was talking with them, and he introduced himself as Russell Jergon. He talked to Emma about life insurance. When he asked for money, my radar went nuts. I told him to leave. ‘Where’s your ID?’ I said.” She leaned closer tothe agent. “Jergon had this rigor mortis smile going. Made some stupid comment about Emma wanting to make sure her family was taken care of after she was gone. Why, Emma doesn’t recognize her family half the time. I stomped off to get Marsha. By the time I got her pried away from her work, the salesman was gone.”
“Ever see this Jergon fellow again?”
“No, the slippery weasel. The next day I asked Earl if he’d bought life insurance from the man. He couldn’t remember, so I checked our accounts. Sure enough, another thirty thousand dollars was missing. The bank had flags on our account, but a VP said they’d received an e-mail from Earl to have the money deposited to another bank.” Abby snorted. “Now, do you think an old man with Alzheimer’s would have e-mail?”
The thought of it again made her angrier at Marsha. While the woman had been engaged with a “knight,” good people were scammed.
“Anything else?” the agent said.
“What have you learned today?”
“We haven’t written our reports.”
Abby frowned. “You’ve been here since one o’clock. What about the files, backgrounds on staff, glitches in the security cameras? Did you check out Liz Austin, a staff member who quit yesterday? She was a floozy, and I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
The agent jotted down something. “Mrs. Hilton, thank you for your statement.” He rose from his chair.
Didn’t the suit understand Earl might have made a dent in Daniel’s inheritance . . . and their lives?
CHAPTER 10
7:30 P.M. FRIDAY
Daniel settled into a recliner in his grandparents’ media room. Before Gramps clicked the remote to watch the recorded news, he needed to make a request.
“Why don’t you two stay here for a few days until this scam thing is settled. I can make arrangements for a nurse.”
“Forget it,” Gramps said. “Abby and I have friends there.”
“Would you think about it?” Daniel said.
“Nope.” He picked up the remote.
In silence, they watched the local news air a press statement from Houston’s FBI media coordinator. He revealed four cases of elderly fraud involving false life insurance policies. Identical to his grandparents’ case. The report warned the community that, if approached, they should contact the FBI. A phone number was displayed on-screen. Interested persons could obtain additional information on the FBI’s website. Billboards would be up this weekend to assist in communicating the scam.
“Agent Evertson’s a smart gal. I could tell,” Gramps said. “I’d like to see the jerks who swindled us lined up in front of a firing squad. And if they killed Tom, I’d pull the trigger myself.” He reached into a candy dish for a miniature Snickers bar, but Gran snatched it back. She guarded his sugar intake like a watchdog.
“Those are for guests, and you’ve already had two,” she said.
Gramps didn’t miss a beat. He reached for the candy with his other hand. “I’d share my Snickers with the good-looking gal from the FBI anytime.”
“Earl!” Gran said. “You’re a married man.”
“Married,
“What happened then?”
Abby snapped to attention. What was she doing slipping like that? She’d have to increase her ginkgo and green tea. “I returned to Earl, Tom, and Emma. A stranger was talking with them, and he introduced himself as Russell Jergon. He talked to Emma about life insurance. When he asked for money, my radar went nuts. I told him to leave. ‘Where’s your ID?’ I said.” She leaned closer tothe agent. “Jergon had this rigor mortis smile going. Made some stupid comment about Emma wanting to make sure her family was taken care of after she was gone. Why, Emma doesn’t recognize her family half the time. I stomped off to get Marsha. By the time I got her pried away from her work, the salesman was gone.”
“Ever see this Jergon fellow again?”
“No, the slippery weasel. The next day I asked Earl if he’d bought life insurance from the man. He couldn’t remember, so I checked our accounts. Sure enough, another thirty thousand dollars was missing. The bank had flags on our account, but a VP said they’d received an e-mail from Earl to have the money deposited to another bank.” Abby snorted. “Now, do you think an old man with Alzheimer’s would have e-mail?”
The thought of it again made her angrier at Marsha. While the woman had been engaged with a “knight,” good people were scammed.
“Anything else?” the agent said.
“What have you learned today?”
“We haven’t written our reports.”
Abby frowned. “You’ve been here since one o’clock. What about the files, backgrounds on staff, glitches in the security cameras? Did you check out Liz Austin, a staff member who quit yesterday? She was a floozy, and I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
The agent jotted down something. “Mrs. Hilton, thank you for your statement.” He rose from his chair.
Didn’t the suit understand Earl might have made a dent in Daniel’s inheritance . . . and their lives?
CHAPTER 10
7:30 P.M. FRIDAY
Daniel settled into a recliner in his grandparents’ media room. Before Gramps clicked the remote to watch the recorded news, he needed to make a request.
“Why don’t you two stay here for a few days until this scam thing is settled. I can make arrangements for a nurse.”
“Forget it,” Gramps said. “Abby and I have friends there.”
“Would you think about it?” Daniel said.
“Nope.” He picked up the remote.
In silence, they watched the local news air a press statement from Houston’s FBI media coordinator. He revealed four cases of elderly fraud involving false life insurance policies. Identical to his grandparents’ case. The report warned the community that, if approached, they should contact the FBI. A phone number was displayed on-screen. Interested persons could obtain additional information on the FBI’s website. Billboards would be up this weekend to assist in communicating the scam.
“Agent Evertson’s a smart gal. I could tell,” Gramps said. “I’d like to see the jerks who swindled us lined up in front of a firing squad. And if they killed Tom, I’d pull the trigger myself.” He reached into a candy dish for a miniature Snickers bar, but Gran snatched it back. She guarded his sugar intake like a watchdog.
“Those are for guests, and you’ve already had two,” she said.
Gramps didn’t miss a beat. He reached for the candy with his other hand. “I’d share my Snickers with the good-looking gal from the FBI anytime.”
“Earl!” Gran said. “You’re a married man.”
“Married,
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