The dark blue Yukon Denali was easy to spot as it was bigger than any other vehicle on the street.
"Good Morning Robbie, how are you, on this fine day?" Jack said, maintaining eye contact as he climbed into the truck and reached to shake Robbie's hand. The rose-tinted John Lennon-style glasses made Jack aware of possibly another Robbie, whose handshake was damp and lacked strength.
"I should warn you, I'm not much of a morning person."
Perhaps he wasn't a morning person because of the alcohol, which mixed in the interior air of the vehicle with the peppermints Robbie had eaten to try to conceal it. He offered Jack a peppermint - which he took,
Robbie turned his attention to the road. The Yukon with its twenty-inch wheels rolled down the street. As they moved onto the highway Robbie's phone rang through the truck's speakers. Robbie pressed the green answer button.
"Hey, Robbie! Can you hear me?" Through the speaker came a voice which Jack recognized - one of the new guys, Ben
Robbie answered with a noise somewhere between 'yeah' and a grunt.
"I have some car problems."
"Do you mean you'll be delayed."
"No, I mean, Jim, and I won't be joining you today."Jack watched as Robbie's shoulders hunched up and his hands rolled backward and forwards around the steering wheel.
"This is not acceptable. You guys have to sort out your cars. I'll see you both tomorrow, in the office."
"OK Robbie, sorry about that."
Robbie grunted again and disconnected the call.
"That's unfortunate," said Jack.
"You need a reliable car in this business. What do you have?"
"A Yukon also. Not as new as this one. This looks brand new."
"I've had it a month."
"I see it's had some extras fitted."
"What'd you see?"
"Well, compared to mine, this has got a customized grill, really big fender flares, and—"
"The really cool stuff is inside." Robbie moved his fingers on the steering wheel. The sound system exploded from multiple speakers. "Listen."
Thanks to Aunt Louise, Jack recognized "The Hall of Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg. Robbie played with the control, increasing the volume as the crescendo of the song approached. Finally, Jack had to stick his fingers in his ears so blood wouldn't start pouring out of them.
"I love it," said Robbie, when the song was over. "Had it tweaked to improve the quality. No distortion no matter how high the volume. But I don't usually listen in the morning. Then I need silence." He nodded his head as if agreeing with himself. "I've done well the last few months, so I bought this and had it fitted with everything I've ever wanted."
"You must have done exceptionally well. I know what this truck costs and what the extras cost."
"Yep, but the job is not without its stresses and strains and risks."
"Risks? What risks?"
Robbie reached for the peppermints and offered them to Jack. "You want some more?"
"Thanks."
"Take two."
Jack took them, put one in his mouth, and spoke, around it, "Risks, you said risks. How risky can selling real estate be?"
Robbie was looking down the highway. Jack watched Robbie as he waited for an answer.
"So Jack it's just you and me today. I'll have to do this with the other Ben and Jim, some other time.
Clearly, whatever the risks are, they are not up for discussion.
"I'll show you the office first and then we'll head off to the 'repossessed' lots."
"That's fine with me. But as you said, they're not actually repossessed, are they?"
"Correct. They were at risk of being repossessed when we stepped in and bought them. We've just gotten into the habit of calling them repossessed to distinguish them from the subdivision."
"Does Magna own all this land?"
"Magna is a trading name. The registered owner is River View Homes, RVH. That's the name on the sales agreement. You may have seen it among the list of companies on the wall in the foyer. The San Francisco office is just the registered office of those companies."
RVH. RVI. RV sitting in the back of Jack's memory, courtesy of Debbie. Where's the connection to the illegal stuff she mentioned? Nothing illegal about buying land from someone who's about to get foreclosed by the bank. Doesn't sound risky at all.
YOU ARE READING
Forensics 101
Mystery / ThrillerJack Rhodes should have been ordinary. But twenty-five years ago something happened which left him with anger which he struggles to contain whenever he comes across injustice. Intellectually, this is channeled into his consultancy work as a forensic...
