Chapter 7

George: Stupid conclusion… oh, Nancy dear, you don´t know what you´re talking about…as always…

Nan: You're right, when I said "yes" to you forty years ago, that was really stupid… what do you think you're doing, George? I thought at least you had a little dignity left, you greedy bastard! Do you want to embarrass your daughters publicly? That´s tax evasion, a federal crime!

George: Shut the fuck up, Nancy! That money was really a donation!

Nan: Don´t you raise your voice at me, George! The money is not listed on your donation statements!

Daphne: Stop! Stop it right now!

Daphne had tears in her eyes and took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Apparently, her parents' divorce was a novelty to her. When Fred approached and held her hand, inevitably a tear ran down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away to pretend she wasn't crying.

Daphne: This is so… ridiculous! I have been here for only an hour and I heard criticisms about my career, I was compared to my sisters and now I have to watch you two argue?

The Blakes glared angrily at each other and agreed to stop. Obviously, it was not a sign of respect for about their daughter's feelings, they just didn't want to make their marital problems more evident.

Fred: Mr. and Mrs. Blake, I'm sorry for taking your time. I´d like to ask you to focus on our questions, please. George, can you please clarify? NYPD needs information about the money to proceed.

George: As I said, it was a donation. Actually, it was a gift, that´s why it´s not listed on my statements…

Nan: Oh, your father gives 36-million-gifts, Daphne, how generous he is with others! That´s strange, because he usually is a complete asshole to his own family, he was not that generous with poor Dorothy minutes ago…

Daphne: Mom! Please!

Fred: Mrs. Blake, I need you to let George speak...

George: As I said, it was a gift to Alan Mayberry. He mentioned that he would start his own fintech and I decided to help him in acknowledgment of the excellent job he did at Blake Bank. I am surprised to hear I am "the other victim" in this case. I didn't lose any money, I just gave him with the amount he needed. Also, I am surprised that the money ended up in South Korea. I didn't even know Alan had invested the amount in a foreign brokerage instead of investing in his own business…

George´s testimony surprised us and destroyed all the hypotheses we once had about that case.

Fred: So you're saying that Alan is the owner of those 36 million dollars because you deliberately gave him the amount?

George: Exactly.

Fred: Did you transfer that amount from your Blake Bank account to Alan's Applegate Bank accounts?

George: No, the amount was transferred by him, he was one of Blake Bank directors, he knew how to do it, so he did it himself.

Fred: So… if Alan needed the money to start his own business, why did he invest the amount in a foreign brokerage instead? Can you explain that, Mr. Blake?

George: I think he tried to make the money grow faster…

Velma: What about the other 2 million dollars that Alan gave Liberty? Do you know who is the owner of this money?

George: Certainly, Alan is the owner. He is a genius as an investor, he wouldn't be stupid to take out loans…

Velma: Based on your experience as an investor, a 36 million investment would make a 2 million return?

George: Depending on the investment and the period of time, yes.

Velma: Is it possible to lose a whole 36 million investment?

George: Depending on the investment, yes.

Velma: Do coin investments offer such financial loss risk?

George: Certainly. And Alan is a cryptocurrency enthusiast.

Fred: Mr. Blake, do you think he invested the 36-million amount in Liberty and earned back 2 million?

George hesitated slightly before answering.

George: Hmm… let me see… if I remember right, the donation ocurred about 2 years ago… so… maybe… yes… I think its possible that he got 2 million back in some good investment…

Daphne: Wait... dad, what you said doesn't make any sense. 36 million dollars was transferred to Liberty's accounts at Applegate Bank recently, take a look at these receipts! And the money came from your Blake Bank personal accounts… this is your transaction history…see?

George got surprised. He held the receipts at an-arm distance and squinted at them to read the information.

George: These receipts are fake Daphne, they show 2021 dates… the donation I mentioned happened two years ago in 2019, when Alan was about to start his own business. Whoever got this receipt for you is trying to deceive you and manipulate the facts...

Daphne: I got them myself, Dad, and they are real, I´ve checked Blake Bank's systems twice.

George was perplexed and squinted again to read all the information written. When he finished, his eyes widened as if he could scarcely believe

George: Damn Mayberry! How did he do this? And why?

Velma: What did he do, Mr. Blake?

George: How did he dare to steal my money after all I've done for him!

We were surprised to hear that. The case was getting more and more confusing.

Daphne: How do you know Alan is the one to blame, Dad? Can be somebody else... Mr. Cho, Liberty´s manager, maybe?

George: It was him! Take a look at the transaction code, this eight-digit authorization key is a special key that only Bank directors have. Huge transactions need authorization to be done, and in this case, Alan is the one who authorized. I remember his key number.

Daphne: Now I'm confused, dad… why would Alan do that? I mean… why would he steal from you if he's financially successful? And why would he use a robbery as evidence in a lawsuit against Liberty?

Velma: Hmmmm… seems like I´ve solved this mystery, gang… the probable possibilities are: Alan is not as successful as he seems, or he was never robbed by Liberty. Or both.

Daphne: Velma, it doesn't make any sense!

Velma: Daphne, it makes lots of sense! Hours ago, we discovered that Liberty develops suspicious activities to make money: we found a casino and cryptocurrency machines. Now, we discovered Alan received 36 million dollars two years ago to start his own business. If I remember right, yesterday you said Alan's wealth inexplicably increased 2700% in the last two years, right? In my opinion, the explanation for such exorbitant gains is: Alan invested the 36 million dollars in Liberty´s activities and had huge returns. Then he started his business and enjoyed financial success for a while… until losing all the money in a bad investment. Well, but he is the CEO of the largest fintech in America, he can´t simply report his loss and declare bankruptcy, it would ruin his name and his business forever. So, what was the smartest way he has found to deal with it? Simulating a robbery, suing Liberty for it and earning the lost millions back.

Fred: Yeah, it's similar to burn down a house to get the insurance money, Daphne. A good, old swindle.

Velma: Exactly. And Alan has involved you, Mr. Blake, to make his story rationally believable. Also, you are a respectable person in NYC and Blake Bank is worldwide famous, justice would certainly favor you against Liberty. That´s why Alan has said you are "a victim" too.

Fred: Well, Mr. Blake is indeed a victim of robbery. But Alan was the robber, not Liberty.

George looked at Fred and I, despite his face showed that he was impressed with our line of reasoning, he didn't thank us for our work.

Fred: That´s enough. Thank you, Mr. Blake, and sorry for taking your time. Apparently, Mr. Mayberry is trying to fake a crime to recover the money he lost in a bad investment.

Nan: It's your fault George, you trust everyone! You could have put your daughters in danger! Don´t you remember what happened to the Pitstops? They trusted Sneekly too much and…

George: Mayberry is not like Sneekly, Nan, for God's sake! And how would I know? Alan was like a son to me, the son you never gave me! There must be something wrong, it's not possible, I can't believe the boy did that... I'm going to call my lawyers right now...

Nan: Nice! So take this opportunity to answer my lawyers' calls. They will watch your stupid generous donations closely from now on.

Daphne looked to her mom and dad every time one of them mentioned the word "lawyer," but neither of them realized that she is a lawyer and could handle all those the situations herself. Apparently, she wasn't in the mood of reminding them about that, so she just sighed and started gathering her papers. Daphne was frustrated with the quick end of a mystery that (according to her plans) would last our entire vacation. Fred, on the other hand, was ecstatic to know that Alan was the villain, so he started listing all the crimes Mayberry committed and all the ways we could arrest him – and no one cared at all. Then I remembered the wise words of Bertolt Brecht: What is robbing a bank compared with founding a bank? And I couldn´t empathize with neither the accused nor the victim.

George: I need to go. Please, next time, don't you involve Daphne. I didn't raise my daughter to solve crimes and do your police work. Sometimes I have the feeling you go out of your way just to have her around, Jones.

Daphne: Dad! Don't say that!

George ignored and left without saying goodbye. The Blakes ask us to stay away from Daphne since middle school, so we weren't surprised with that.

Velma: You're welcome, Mr. Blake! It was our pleasure to help you, no need to thank us!

My heavy sarcasm made everyone laug. Even though Nan hated us, she laughed too, after all, she wanted to disagree with her ex-husband on everything. Daphne was the only one who didn't laugh, she looked upset with the case conclusion.

Daphne: Ahhh, I'm going to kill Alan! I´m going to beat him up, strangle him and tear him to in shreds! That... that... stupid idiot!

Daphne doesn't know how to swear. She still has the same repertoire of swear words she had in kindergarten, but the combination of two light-swear words to define Mayberry showed how mad she was at him.

Daphne: I'm going to call him right now and demand an explanation! I… I… I feel ashamed for asking your help with this ridiculous case…

Fred: No, don´t do it! It's dangerous, Daph. He can get angry when confronted with the truth and have a violent attitude…

Daphne: Freddie, I can defend myself, okay? I asked your help, you solved the whole mystery, now I´ll take care of the rest! I will take appropriate legal action...

Velma: Fred is right, Daphne, we don't know how Alan will behave. You´d better let the police take over from here.

Daphne disagreed, but heeded our advice. She took all the anger she felt out on the lawsuit papers, muttering her double childish swear words. When I looked around, I realized that Nan had left just like George - without saying goodbye - and Marcie was walking around the room admiring every inch of that luxurious architecture. We were in the big hallway when Jenkins met us and politely stopped us to introduce Shaggy and Scooby-Doo eating some cookies.

Jenkins: Miss Blake, I´ve found your friends in the dining room looking for you. Anette has served lunch fifteen minutes ago. Would you please take your seats before Mr. Rogers and Mr. Doo eat everything?

Scooby jumped on us with joy, and Shaggy was also smilling.

Shaggy: Hey, I´ve finally found you! Where the hell were you? Like, I got lost, then I found the dining room and I was waiting for you there, but nobody showed up… when are we having lunch?

Getting lost in a 100,000 m² property is absolutely normal. But getting lost with a sniffer dog and not being able to find your friends - yet conveniently finding the place where food is served - is something that only happens to Shaggy. Ever.