Part 21 (1/2)
Just how involved was Barbara Hardisty in Dax Martin's murder? She was certainly the architect of the destruction of the wildlife reserve. What better way to get rid of any possible witnesses? Did she act on her own, or was she carrying out instructions from someone at Beaumont? During the conversation I overheard in the park, Lawanda Price demanded money. Hardisty replied, ”People who get in their way,” and ”I'll talk to them.”
I looked up from the directory. ”Dana, what do we know about Hardisty's husband, Lowell? Has anyone taken a look at him?”
She pointed her finger at the booklet in my hands. ”Not yet. We just got this copy an hour ago.”
I waved the directory in the air. ”Do you mind if I take this home? I want to see what else I can discover about Lowell Hardisty.”
”Not at all. I'm so swamped I could use the extra help.”
Back at my home, I fired up my laptop. ”You're the computer expert, Carl. What's the fastest way to find out about Lowell Hardisty?”
”What exactly are you looking for?”
”I want to see what he looks like. Either rule him in or out as a suspect based on the witnesses' description. I also want to look at his financials. How can this couple afford to send their kids to the most expensive private school in the country?”
”If I had my computer here, I could use the proprietary software Ed and I developed to search for the information. Using your computer will limit the extent of our search.”
”Would the software be on Ed's computer?”
”Well, yeah, but-”
”We're in luck, then. Ed left his computer with me.” I smiled at him.
Carl grinned in turn. ”Dude!”
I fetched Ed's laptop from the living room. Carl typed furiously, pulling up screen after screen until he found what he was looking for. The word ”Hermes” stood in bold black letters on a blue background. Beneath the logo was a box asking for a pa.s.sword.
”Here we are. We named our fraud-detection software after the Greek G.o.d of communication, trade, commerce, and thievery.”
”Cute. What's the pa.s.sword?”
”Madoff.”
I groaned. Because of his t.i.tanic acts of fraud, Bernie Madoff singlehandedly reinforced centuries of anti-Semitic prejudice. Now his name-his Jewish name-would forever be synonymous with the biggest swindle in history. I cringed every time I thought about him.
”What does the program do, exactly?” I asked.
Carl kept typing. ”First, we're going to see what kind of businesses, bank accounts, and other financial records there are in his name. This program allows us a global look. If he stashed money outside the country, we'll find it.”
He sat back while the computer executed a slow search. ”Your Internet connection sucks, dude. This may take a while.”
The time was nearly four in the afternoon. I pulled out a bottle of Pinot Grigio from the refrigerator.
Carl held up his hand. ”None for me. I'm on duty. Crusher would have my bal . . . my neck if he thought I was compromised in any way. I will have a cup of coffee, if you don't mind.”
By the time the coffee had brewed, text and numbers had shown up on Ed's computer screen.
”Wow!” said Carl. ”Take a look at this.”
I handed Carl a steaming cup of coffee and sat beside him, holding my wine in my favorite red Moroccan tea gla.s.s, with the gold curlicues. ”Tell me what I'm looking at.”
”This is Lowell Hardisty's financial history. His company lost money for about three years in a row. The man had no other source of income, and his business accounts were overdrawn. There were pending lawsuits from creditors, including former employees. The dude was bankrupt. Then two years ago, he got a huge infusion of cash, putting him back into business. He paid off his creditors and hired employees again.”
”What's the name of his company?”
Carl looked at me triumphantly. ”Valley Allstar Construction.”
I put down my gla.s.s of wine. ”No way!”
”Way.”
”Can this program spell out exactly where the cash infusion came from?”
Carl clicked a few more keys. ”The cash came from SFV a.s.sociates.”
Jefferson Davis's company. Now we had proof positive of a conspiracy between the Beaumont School and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Beaumont School needed a site for their million-dollar baseball stadium. Barbara Hardisty needed money to save her husband's company and finagled an entree into the exclusive and expensive private school for her children while she was at it.
Even more egregious was the conflict of interest in the devastation of the wildlife reserve. Lowell Hardisty's company was the contractor on that deal too.
”Carl, is there anything there showing us if any funds went to Valley Allstar Construction before or after yesterday's destruction in the Sepulveda Basin?”
”Just a minute. Holy c.r.a.p! One million dollars was transferred on Monday to Valley Allstar's account from the United States Treasury.”