Chapter Six: Everyone Loves a Paper Trail
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office
One Hogan Place Centre Street
Manhattan, New York
Monday December 14
Mike, Connie, Lupo, and Bernard were all in Mike's office.
Mike was sitting at his desk. Lupo and Bernard stood, while Connie sat on the edge of Mike's desk, holding Mike's favorite old, worn baseball.
"So we spoke with Lucinda's closest friends. They knew all about the divorce, but according to them, Lucinda didn't have any enemies. We even spoke to her husband again. He couldn't think of anyone, either," Lupo said.
"What about Lucinda's financials?" asked Connie, absentmindedly tossing the baseball into her other hand. "Anything?"
"Now here's where it gets weird," said Bernard. "Her bank records show that she made some large deposits into her checking account. The bank said they were cash deposits, and they weren't made at regular intervals, But if you add them up—the total is over three thousand dollars. We also saw that she was signed up for direct deposit from the theater company, so of course, her paychecks were automatically placed in her account—obviously labeled and at regular intervals. We think the situation with the cash is weird because we talked to her friends and parents, and they all said they weren't lending her money. Any money she would've received from a bank would've been in the form of a check, so she wasn't getting any money from a bank loan."
"We also contacted a few local businesses that loan money to people between paychecks," said Lupo. "None of them had Lucinda as a client."
"Well, that's not weird at all," Mike said sarcastically.
"No kidding," said Lupo.
"What do you think, Connie?" Mike asked.
"I think it's strange, too," Connie replied. "In fact, I wonder…" she added.
"Wonder what?" asked Lupo.
"Mike, would you hand me the file on Lucinda?" Connie asked.
Mike did so, and she thanked him.
Connie opened the file and perused it for a moment.
"It says here that she was a development officer," said Connie. "That means she was a fundraiser. I had to look that up for one of my white collar cases once."
"So what're you wondering?" asked Lupo.
"I'm wondering if she was stealing from the organization," Connie replied. "I mean, we don't know where those cash deposits came from, and she was living beyond her means because she had high-end Nelson Bryce as her divorce lawyer. It all fits."
"How would she have taken the money?" Lupo asked.
"My guess is that when donors gave her checks, she kept them for herself and then went to the bank and pretended she was authorized to endorse them on behalf of the organization," said Connie. "That happens with fraud."
"I bet you're right, Connie," Mike said. "And I bet that's why she was murdered."