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Authors: Bill Pronzini
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Chicago because I had a new job there, and that she would be moving in first while I finished up my old job in Minneapolis. He didn't seem to care; he wasn't the nosy type.
The rest of the week I dealt with the phone company and played tourist. On Friday afternoon, just before closing time, I returned to the Mutual Trust branch and removed $5,000 from the safe deposit box—a sum that didn't exceed the maximum amount of cash that could be brought into the Cayman Islands by a nonresident.
The flights to Puerto Rico and then to Grand Cayman were uneventful. Richard Laidlaw's new passport passed inspection and I went through customs without incident. As soon as I could on Monday, I went to one of the larger banks and, with half of the $5,000, opened an account under the Laidlaw name. At a different bank, I used the other half to open a second account in the name of Wise Investments, Inc., Richard James Laidlaw of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., sole proprietor, and arranged for all monies that came in to that account to be immediately transferred to the first one. My passport was the only identification required.
The two separate accounts guaranteed untraceability. Bank accounts in the Caymans are sealed, just like those in Swiss banks, a fact that in those days wasn't as well known as it is today. Not even government agencies like the FBI and the IRS can gain access to personal information related to them. Monies held in Caymans banks are also free of corporation and other taxes and are not subject to exchange controls, which allows free transfer of funds in and out of the islands. Richard Laidlaw would have no U.S. tax liability on the sums he moved from the Caymans to his bank on St. Thomas, because that money was already his; he would be simply transferring assets.
The rest of my time on Grand Cayman I soaked up the heat and local attractions, and the blue-water vistas from my hotel balcony—an invigorating foretaste of what was to come. The tropical sun and humidity didn't bother me. From that brief exposure, I knew I would thrive on them.
I still had two vacation days left when I got back to San Francisco. I spent these making the rounds of the six banks and arranging for wire transfers of half the funds in each dummy to the new Wise Investments account in the Caymans. Only one of the bank officers commented on the procedure, but his main concern was the loss of business to his bank, not the transfer itself. The completed transactions fattened the Wise account to more than $250,000.
That weekend I saw Annalise, gave her a report on the Chicago portion of the trip, and handed over her passport and Illinois license and the keys to the South Side apartment. For her protection, I didn't tell her about the trip to Grand Cayman or the new accounts.
July.
Annalise gave notice at Kleinfelt's, saying that she was moving to Seattle at the end of the month to get married. Her apartment was rented on a month-to-month basis, so there was no lease to break; she gave notice there as well. Over that month, she disposed of nearly all her personal belongings, either selling them to acquaintances or giving them away to Goodwill. She kept only the clothing and personal items she could fit into two large suitcases and one small carry-on bag. She held on to her car until the thirtieth, then sold it for the Blue Book price to a Van Ness Avenue dealership. On the thirty-first, she rode a cab to the airport and bought a one-way ticket to Chicago, as before paying in cash and using an assumed name.
The previous weekend was our last together during the preliminary stages. We met at a small hotel on the Monterey coast and wallowed in bed most of the two days. She was nervous and excited about the move, and this translated into tremendous sexual energy. I was worn out by the time we were ready to leave.
"I'm going to miss you so much," she said. "Two and a half months seems like an eternity."
"They'll
The rest of the week I dealt with the phone company and played tourist. On Friday afternoon, just before closing time, I returned to the Mutual Trust branch and removed $5,000 from the safe deposit box—a sum that didn't exceed the maximum amount of cash that could be brought into the Cayman Islands by a nonresident.
The flights to Puerto Rico and then to Grand Cayman were uneventful. Richard Laidlaw's new passport passed inspection and I went through customs without incident. As soon as I could on Monday, I went to one of the larger banks and, with half of the $5,000, opened an account under the Laidlaw name. At a different bank, I used the other half to open a second account in the name of Wise Investments, Inc., Richard James Laidlaw of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., sole proprietor, and arranged for all monies that came in to that account to be immediately transferred to the first one. My passport was the only identification required.
The two separate accounts guaranteed untraceability. Bank accounts in the Caymans are sealed, just like those in Swiss banks, a fact that in those days wasn't as well known as it is today. Not even government agencies like the FBI and the IRS can gain access to personal information related to them. Monies held in Caymans banks are also free of corporation and other taxes and are not subject to exchange controls, which allows free transfer of funds in and out of the islands. Richard Laidlaw would have no U.S. tax liability on the sums he moved from the Caymans to his bank on St. Thomas, because that money was already his; he would be simply transferring assets.
The rest of my time on Grand Cayman I soaked up the heat and local attractions, and the blue-water vistas from my hotel balcony—an invigorating foretaste of what was to come. The tropical sun and humidity didn't bother me. From that brief exposure, I knew I would thrive on them.
I still had two vacation days left when I got back to San Francisco. I spent these making the rounds of the six banks and arranging for wire transfers of half the funds in each dummy to the new Wise Investments account in the Caymans. Only one of the bank officers commented on the procedure, but his main concern was the loss of business to his bank, not the transfer itself. The completed transactions fattened the Wise account to more than $250,000.
That weekend I saw Annalise, gave her a report on the Chicago portion of the trip, and handed over her passport and Illinois license and the keys to the South Side apartment. For her protection, I didn't tell her about the trip to Grand Cayman or the new accounts.
July.
Annalise gave notice at Kleinfelt's, saying that she was moving to Seattle at the end of the month to get married. Her apartment was rented on a month-to-month basis, so there was no lease to break; she gave notice there as well. Over that month, she disposed of nearly all her personal belongings, either selling them to acquaintances or giving them away to Goodwill. She kept only the clothing and personal items she could fit into two large suitcases and one small carry-on bag. She held on to her car until the thirtieth, then sold it for the Blue Book price to a Van Ness Avenue dealership. On the thirty-first, she rode a cab to the airport and bought a one-way ticket to Chicago, as before paying in cash and using an assumed name.
The previous weekend was our last together during the preliminary stages. We met at a small hotel on the Monterey coast and wallowed in bed most of the two days. She was nervous and excited about the move, and this translated into tremendous sexual energy. I was worn out by the time we were ready to leave.
"I'm going to miss you so much," she said. "Two and a half months seems like an eternity."
"They'll
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