across from the Art Institute. There’s a patio
outside. Meet me at the table at the north end of the patio against the wall
of the building.”
“When? And how will I know you?”
“Two days from now, at 2 pm. You
may not recognize me from the funeral, so I’ll have a Chicago Cubs baseball hat
on the table beside me.”
John couldn’t fall asleep again
after Frank’s call. He went online and booked a flight out of Philly at 9:00
am that got him to Chicago by 10:30 central time. That would give him time to
rent a car and scope out the area around Michigan Avenue where he was to meet
with Frank. He could not be too careful responding to such a strange phone
call from a complete stranger.
John returned to bed and tossed and
turned for the early part of the night, worrying whether he was dealing with a
reckless fool who would get them both killed. And then there was the
possibility that Frank was working with Robbie’s killers, fishing for
information. But what troubled him most was the possibility that the same
people might come after Jess. He was so burned out after the accident that
he’d turned his back on any confrontation that came his way. He’d never
investigated who might have had something to do with it, preferring to try to
compartmentalize it out of his active mind. He had also never been at peace
with himself over his meekness. Now, with Robbie dead and Jess possibly in
danger, he was going to have to abandon his excessive caution. He would make
this trip and follow what turned up wherever it led.
Having decided on his course of action
and accepting the risks, John felt a peace he hadn’t felt for many years. When
accepted as such, the possibility of death lost its power over him. He felt
free of his past, a new man.
John spent the next day reviewing
all the possibilities in his head and making preparations for his trip,
including a side trip to meet with a computer and electronics ace he’d known
for many years. He left with some gadgets that he felt might come in handy.
He took them to a local FedEx office and had them shipped to an office near
O’Hare Airport. He would pick them up there to avoid questions from the TSA.
Chapter 24: Snyder Goes to Work
Roger Snyder’s favorite way to
start investigating anyone was by looking up their airline flights and private
airplane logs. The State Department also had complete passport histories, but
Snyder knew that those contained nothing not already in flight histories.
Flight histories also told of movements within countries and even cancelled
trips. In no time, he had found the records he was looking for. But after
examining them for several hours, Snyder was disappointed at the lack of useful
information. The man had been everywhere. It was impossible to know which
trips mattered. He decided it was time to follow the money, not aware that
Torres had said the same to Connolly.
Ellis’ private finances were easy
enough to access, as the Patriot Act made looking at bank records routine. In
no time, Snyder had access to a decade of bank records for Ellis, as well as
credit card statements and tax returns. The volume of material was staggering,
and Snyder realized quickly that he would need expert help if he was to make
any sense of it. On a lark, he contacted the IRS case officer who had reviewed
Ellis’ tax returns. The call was brief. After pulling up the files and
acquainting himself with the material, the case officer said, “I remember this
now. There were a lot of transfers of money between him and the company. It
looks like he was making loans to the company at certain times and getting
repaid at later dates. I never could understand all the complexity, so I just
verified that any excess money coming back to Ellis over and above what he had
loaned the company was properly taxed, and left it at that. I have too many
other eggs to fry. Sorry if that wasn’t much
outside. Meet me at the table at the north end of the patio against the wall
of the building.”
“When? And how will I know you?”
“Two days from now, at 2 pm. You
may not recognize me from the funeral, so I’ll have a Chicago Cubs baseball hat
on the table beside me.”
John couldn’t fall asleep again
after Frank’s call. He went online and booked a flight out of Philly at 9:00
am that got him to Chicago by 10:30 central time. That would give him time to
rent a car and scope out the area around Michigan Avenue where he was to meet
with Frank. He could not be too careful responding to such a strange phone
call from a complete stranger.
John returned to bed and tossed and
turned for the early part of the night, worrying whether he was dealing with a
reckless fool who would get them both killed. And then there was the
possibility that Frank was working with Robbie’s killers, fishing for
information. But what troubled him most was the possibility that the same
people might come after Jess. He was so burned out after the accident that
he’d turned his back on any confrontation that came his way. He’d never
investigated who might have had something to do with it, preferring to try to
compartmentalize it out of his active mind. He had also never been at peace
with himself over his meekness. Now, with Robbie dead and Jess possibly in
danger, he was going to have to abandon his excessive caution. He would make
this trip and follow what turned up wherever it led.
Having decided on his course of action
and accepting the risks, John felt a peace he hadn’t felt for many years. When
accepted as such, the possibility of death lost its power over him. He felt
free of his past, a new man.
John spent the next day reviewing
all the possibilities in his head and making preparations for his trip,
including a side trip to meet with a computer and electronics ace he’d known
for many years. He left with some gadgets that he felt might come in handy.
He took them to a local FedEx office and had them shipped to an office near
O’Hare Airport. He would pick them up there to avoid questions from the TSA.
Chapter 24: Snyder Goes to Work
Roger Snyder’s favorite way to
start investigating anyone was by looking up their airline flights and private
airplane logs. The State Department also had complete passport histories, but
Snyder knew that those contained nothing not already in flight histories.
Flight histories also told of movements within countries and even cancelled
trips. In no time, he had found the records he was looking for. But after
examining them for several hours, Snyder was disappointed at the lack of useful
information. The man had been everywhere. It was impossible to know which
trips mattered. He decided it was time to follow the money, not aware that
Torres had said the same to Connolly.
Ellis’ private finances were easy
enough to access, as the Patriot Act made looking at bank records routine. In
no time, Snyder had access to a decade of bank records for Ellis, as well as
credit card statements and tax returns. The volume of material was staggering,
and Snyder realized quickly that he would need expert help if he was to make
any sense of it. On a lark, he contacted the IRS case officer who had reviewed
Ellis’ tax returns. The call was brief. After pulling up the files and
acquainting himself with the material, the case officer said, “I remember this
now. There were a lot of transfers of money between him and the company. It
looks like he was making loans to the company at certain times and getting
repaid at later dates. I never could understand all the complexity, so I just
verified that any excess money coming back to Ellis over and above what he had
loaned the company was properly taxed, and left it at that. I have too many
other eggs to fry. Sorry if that wasn’t much
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