The Investigation

D.I. EZEKIEL

After hearing about the self-made billionaire in the news with the odd picture of her with very important people in designer suits, heals and with her signature silver streak parting the front of her sleek, dark curls - This was not what I expected.

Even when I had seen her at the game at the weekend, she had still been the epitome of style and grace in designer jeans with her tweed jacket and Chelsea boots. A far cry from the woman sat before me now, in sweatpants, a tank top and covered in gunk!

Just another layer to the enigma that is J.F. Goldberg I suppose. An enigma who had appeared out of thin air around ten years ago it seemed. I had taken her case after she was attacked at the weekend and found some interesting things as I investigated.

I could have taken the witness statements and closed it quickly, the witnesses were my colleagues after all so the case should be airtight when we took it to trial. That wasn’t me though, I didn’t settle for anything less than thorough.

That was why I had gone to check on her when she hadn’t come back after half time. I had disguised it as a beer run but the truth was that my gut was telling me something was up.

A few of the guys had followed me to help me carry the drinks back and I was glad, there would be no disputing the word of three police officers, even if we were off duty at the time.

You could ask any of my colleagues, my tenacity for the truth was a weakness and a superpower at times, as they put it. It had helped me bring down some big criminals over the years and that fuelled me to keep going.

It might not have been enough to save her at the time but that was what had led me to becoming a police officer and eventually earning my rank as Detective inspector. We were only kids when my sister was taken from me and replaced by the empty shell she was when we eventually got her back, but I would be dammed if I let that happen to anyone else.

“I don’t mean to be rude detective but why are you here, at my house?” Her voice brought me out of my reverie. “I just need to clarify a few things from the statement you gave us. I tried to contact you by phone and email but got no reply.”

“Oh, I must have left my phone with my work stuff when I came home.” She explained, patting her empty pockets before going on, “Okay, what would you like me to clarify? You were there, you saw what happened.”

“You said you were supposed to be meeting a friend there, a Johnathan Michael Thornton, but that he had had a break down, is that correct?” I asked, still playing my cards close to my chest.

I knew better than most, if I wasn’t careful then she would lawyer up and getting any information would quickly become a nightmare. I had to be careful if I wanted to get to the information I had found in her financial records.

“Yes, I can show you the messages if you like?” She asked, “That would be very helpful, please.” I replied. She came back into the room shortly afterwards with her phone outstretched and open on the messages between her and Johnathan.

Well, this didn’t make any sense. According to our records he lived a short, ten-minute drive from the stadium, yet the text messages said he had broken down in a place where he had no signal. There was nowhere in the city that you didn’t get signal.

Even if his phone hadn’t been working, there were plenty of options for him getting in touch before he did. Still, maybe he had been out of town before the game. A little strange maybe but there certainly wasn’t any crime there. Yet anyway.

“Could you describe your relationship with Mr Thornton?” I needed to know if there was any way to connect her to him. After the trail fraud we had found, it seemed a strange coincidence that she would be spending her free time with him if he wasn’t involved.

Still, I had to be sure. Unfortunately, hunches don’t get convictions in a court of law, but no one got to be as rich as her without at least bending the law. Being as rich as she is though would make it difficult to bring her down.

That was how they all played it; money buys power, power buys protection and the best lawyers in the city. The fact that she had involved her lawyer right away only made me more suspicious, so I had made sure I delved deep when I investigated her.

Especially a lawyer like Michelle Snider, known for being a bulldog to work with and having famously, never lost a case. She had never had to face me before though and I would not be scared off so easily. Not when it came to exposing truth, not when it came to Justice!

“He is an employee of mine. He is assistant to my P.A. at my offices.” She said with a curious expression. “Why do you ask?” She questioned. “Is it usual for you to go to hockey games with your employees?” I countered.

“No, actually that was a first. And probably a last.” She mumbled the last part as if more to herself. Something about her openness made me want to believe her but there were still just too many unanswered questions.

“That must have made things difficult for you when you returned to work on Monday morning with him?” It was more of a statement, but I had to find a way to get the truth out of her. Maybe some awkward questioning would be enough to draw it out.

“He told me he had been visiting his sick brother, out of town and has worked hard to make it up to me ever since. Honestly, this past few days in the office have been made much easier for me with the extra work he has been taking on to try and make up for it.

“Between that and the fact that Maria, my P.A of 8 years trusts him, I decided to give him another chance.” She relied calmly, there was no hint of deception in her expression, but she didn’t get where she is without being able to act.

The fact that this billionaire was sat with me now, covered in after birth and hay, in a kitchen that looked more like a tidy, well organised work room spoke of how much she was hiding already.

She kept herself out of the limelight and there were hardly any pictures of her online. Combine that with the fact that there was no record of a J.F. Goldberg beyond ten years ago and I was more than a little suspicious.

But so far, she was giving me nothing to work with. Time to up the ante “Miss Goldberg, I will be frank with you, during our investigation we found several anomalies in your financial records.

Funds that were not accounted for, traces to offshore accounts, even connections to some criminal gang related payments. Do you have anything to say about that?” I needed her to know that we were on to her, and the game was up.

She looked...shocked? Well, that wasn’t the reaction I was expecting. Anger, belligerence, maybe even an outburst so I could get her into cuffs right away, but shock was not a reaction I had accounted for.

She was good, I would give her that. If it hadn’t been for my years of experience in dealing with people like her then I might have even bought into her little act. Her next words sealed the deal for me though.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I think we should carry on this conversation with my lawyer present.” She said, regaining her composure and squaring her shoulders.

That was the face I was expecting, the real, hard faced, business tycoon. "Fine, you have two choices then Miss Goldberg. You can come to the station of your own free will or I can arrest you on suspicion of embezzlement and fraud.”

I didn’t have the evidence to tie her directly to it yet, but I could hold her for 48 hours for questioning which would surely be enough time. Plus, an arrest of someone like this would surely put pressure on the station to give me more workforce so I could get the evidence I needed more quickly.

She sighed, like I was being an inconvenience. “Look, we both know that if you had the evidence to arrest me right now then I would already be in cuffs. So how about this, I promise I will come by the station tomorrow afternoon. It’s late and I need time to contact my lawyer. I also want to check on my horse and foal.”

It was a reasonable request and would make things easier if she came willingly. “You seem to have perfectly capable staff for taking care of your animals from what I saw. Why do you need so much time?”

“You mean Jackson? He is my vet and has a whole ranch to care for as well as his freelance work. Anyway, Dolly, my mare, is a rescue and is still unsure of men and our female staff won’t be back on duty until the morning.”

She looked at me with a resigned sigh then pulled out her phone. After a few clicks she showed me the screen, it appeared to be a live video feed of the barn we were in earlier.

“Look, see? That’s Jackson stood outside the stall and that’s Dolly, pinning her newborn foal to the back wall with her ears pinned back, clearly uncomfortable. The only reason he would still be there is if the foal hasn’t fed yet, so I need to make sure they are okay.”

I didn’t know much about horses, but I had to admit that what she was saying seemed to line up with what I was seeing on the screen. I could concede this, after all, it would work in my favour if she tried anything now.

“Fine but if you are not at the station by 12 noon then there will be a warrant issued for your arrest.” I stated with my arms crossed and my expression stoic, she couldn’t manipulate her way into my good graces just by claiming she rescued one horse.

I watched as her shoulders slumped slightly in exhaustion and relief, she tried to cover it up, quickly squaring her shoulders again and schooling her expression to be impassive. I heard a small whine from the other side of the table, and it was only then that I noticed the dog was no longer in the corner.

Jennifer reached down and seemed to be trying to reassure the dog, speaking softly. Why did this have such an effect on me, I felt my heart melt just a little, tiny bit for this gesture that seemed to be so kind and caring.

They seemed to be trying to reassure each other. No, I wouldn’t be fooled, this was still the cold hearted, business lady that had conned her way into billions of dollars. This was still someone who was under investigation for fraud, I had to remain impassive.

“Thank you, detective, I promise you I will be there. If someone is messing with my finances, then I want to get to the bottom of it ASAP. I trust my finance guy implicitly but ... I have been wrong before, and clearly something is going on.”

She was mumbling to herself now, she really seemed sincere, she had my curiosity piqued, maybe there was more to her than I thought. One thing was for sure though, I would find out.