It is Wednesday Story Day again and last week Larry and Andrew decided they needed to talk to Ned Dixon the banker. The reason is Gloria (Larry’s deceased wife) advised Larry in a séance to follow the money. Ned is the only one involved who is near money. Larry wants a face to face meeting hoping he can get Ned to divulge details he might not do over the phone. I see that Larry has an appointment with Ned and is going into Ned’s office now.

 

“Good Morning Detective Dunfee. Please have a seat.”

“Thank you, Mr. Dixon.”

“You can call me Ned.”

“I am here on official business, Mr. Dixon. Let’s just keep it formal, shall we?”

“Official business? What does that mean?”

“I’m investigating the death of Igor Sandusky and since you have had some dealings with him I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Dealings? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Weren’t you his banker?”

“This bank did give Mr. Sandusky a loan if that’s what you mean.”

“Who arranged for the loan?”

“Well, I did. That was over ten years ago.”

“Yes, it was. I understand that the loan was in default.”

“Yes. The payments were made routinely up until about six months ago.”

“Wait a minute. Mr. Sandusky was deceased. Who was making those payments?”

“They came from Mr. Sandusky’s trust.”

“Trust? He had a trust?”

“Yes, he did. I also set that up for him.”

“When did you do that?”

“I would guess about two years before he died.”

“Who’s the beneficiary?”

“That is the strange part. At the time he didn’t want to name a beneficiary, so he left that part of the trust open for a person or persons to be named later. Unfortunately, he never named anyone and stipulated that if this were the case the trust would remain in perpetuity until claimed by an heir.”

“Does he have an heir?”

“We have not been contacted. Mr. Sandusky also spelled out a specific identification protocol that the person claiming to be an heir would have to satisfy”

“This protocol is not well-known I take it?”

“No one knows. It is in an envelope put in a safe deposit box by Sandusky himself. It takes two keys to open. One is here at the bank and one was with Sandusky.”

“I’m guessing that whoever is an heir will show up with a key.”

“That is the assumption. But the person needs to satisfy the protocol.”

“Who is the trustee?”

“That would be me in the name of the bank.”

“So, let me get this straight. The bank was the trustee and made payments on the loan.”

“That is correct.”

“Why were the payments stopped?”

“I felt the business opportunities were nil, so I saw no reason to continue the loan.”

“You put Sandusky’s building on the block for the defaulted loan.”

“Yes.”

“So, in essence, the bank caused a default and then is selling the building.”

“True.”

“Where do the proceeds from the sale go?”

“To the bank to satisfy the loan and then any remaining funds to the Sandusky trust.”

“This is legal?”

“Mr. Dunfee. Since we are all formal here are you trying to say I have committed a crime?”

“No, Mr. Dixion. I have to wonder about manipulating a dead man’s affairs to the banks benefit is all.”

“Benefit? Mr. Sandusky took out a loan. The bank in good faith honored its loan agreement. It is a simple matter of paying back what was owed.”

“Did the loan have a pre-payment penalty?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then making all those payments simply gave the bank more interest. Had you sold the building and paid back the loan ten years ago, the trust would have been richer by the saved interest.”

“In theory that is true.”

“Theory has nothing to do with it. Seems like fact to me.”

“Except for the fact that Mr. Chisom wanted to keep the business going.”

“Mr. Chisom? Who is Mr. Chisom?”

“You met him.”

“I don’t recall the name.”

“I think you know him as Louis.”

“I’m confused.”

“About what?”

“Why would a bank keep making payments on a loan simply because one person wanted to keep a job.”

“That was not the reason. Mr. Chisom had a signed agreement to continue the development of the non-invasive surgical technique he and Mr. Sandusky developed.”

“Did you see this agreement.”

“I did. It was the only way I would keep making the payments.”

“Do you know who signed the agreement?”

“I do.”

“Okay, I guess twenty question is the game. Who signed?”

“A person by the name of Cortez.”

“Not Joachim Cortez.”

“Yes, in fact, it was.”

“Of the Cortez cartel?”

“Not familiar with that group.”

“One of the most wanted men on the planet.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

“So what happened to the business?”

“As far as I know, the contract was never paid and hence the business folded. Louis insisted he was going to collect but after so much time I had to pull the cord.”

“So, you believe Louis fulfilled his end of the contract.”

“He told me he did.”

“Follow the money.”

“What?”

“Sorry. I was just repeating what I was told about getting this case wrapped up. The money, in this case, is in a den of vipers.”

“I don’t understand.”

“That’s okay. Thank you for your time. I may have more questions later. You have been helpful. Oh, wait. If it is not against the trust rules can you tell me how much the trust is worth?”

“It is a matter of public record at the IRS. The trust now has fifteen million under management.”

“What did it have in the beginning?”

“About two million.”

“Whew. That is some growth.”

“I’m proud of that, Detective.”

“Can I open a trust? Of course, I’m just joking.”

“Any time Detective, any time. I’m not joking.”

“Good day Mr. Dixon.”