“Wow,” Carla said.
“What was that story about buying back time?” Harriet asked.
“In this sort of prosecution, there’s a relationship between how much money is recovered and length of sentence. So, that was true. If they had given all the money back, they would have had minimum prison sentences. That never happens, but depending on how greedy the players, they sometimes have enough money stashed around to soften the blow on their investors, and the government likes to give them some incentive to hand it over.”
“So, what about Richard and Pat trying to get Marjory’s inheritance?” Aunt Beth asked.
“Richard was sort of a junior partner in the scam. He was the salesman, if you will. His job was to talk up his gains to people and direct them to Roland and Duane. He wasn’t in on exactly how corrupt the business was. He knew it was too good to be true, but Ronald assured him the money would keep coming in if he kept his mouth shut.
“He only got as much money as they told all their customers they were getting. Ronald and Duane were getting much more. In the eyes of the feds, however, it didn’t matter if he was a junior partner or not-he was liable for the whole amount. He needed to get his hands on all the money he could.”
“There you have it,” Mavis said. “Crime doesn’t pay.”
“That’s for darn sure,” Marjory said as she joined the group. “And I didn’t even commit a crime. I just said I was going to kill my sister, but apparently, that’s not allowed in this state.”
Aunt Beth and then Mavis hugged her, and the rest of the group stood up and crowded around her. Harriet went to refill her mug and noticed a familiar silhouette in the window. She went into the store and saw Aiden peering in, a small dog in one hand, a thin leash in the other.
“Scooter’s going for his first walk outside, and I thought you’d want to be there for it,” he said. A stray lock of hair fell over his forehead, and without thinking, Harriet reached up and swept it back so she could look into his ice-blue eyes.
“You better go get your camera,” he said. “You’re going to want pictures of this for his baby book.”
Harriet pulled her cell phone with its on-board camera from her pocket and clicked off a quick picture of Aiden’s tentative smile.
“Don’t tug too hard,” he instructed as he set the little dog down on the sidewalk and handed Harriet the cord that connected to his little collar. “He’s not used to being tied down.”
“No, he isn’t,” she said and took the leash. “He definitely is not.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Arlene Sachitano started life as a military brat. Her dad retired and moved the family to the Pacific Northwest where she still lives. She started knitting, writing and sewing at a young age and still does all three. A thirty year diversion into the high tech industry, along with marriage and children, prevented her from taking action on her desire to write novels inspired by her love of Agatha Christie until recently.
Arlene spends her days writing her novels, babysitting her grandchildren, quilting, knitting and promoting her books. She is active in the Harriet Vane Chapter of Sisters in Crime in Portland, Oregon.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
April Martinez was born in the Philippines and raised in San Diego, California, daughter to a US Navy chef and a US postal worker, sibling to one younger sister. For years, she went from job to job, dissatisfied that she couldn’t make use of her creative tendencies, until she started working as an imaging specialist for a big book and magazine publishing house in Irvine and began learning the trade of graphic design. From that point on, she worked as a graphic designer and webmaster at subsequent day jobs while doing freelance art and illustration at night. April lives with her cat in Orange County, California, as a full-time freelance artist/illustrator and graphic designer.
