I Love You, Goodbye - Prentiss Sr. Grant

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Taylor’s irritation with Judge Smith was growing at a rapid pace but he remained professional. “Your Honor, given the seriousness of the charge the State would request a bond in the amount of $10,000,000.” The gasp heard from the crowd in attendance let the District Attorney know he had scored major political points despite the judge’s interference. Elizabeth’s mouth dropped open and she spun around to face the district attorney. Jeffrey looked over at her and smirked slightly. He wanted Elizabeth to know she had made a grave error in not cooperating with him. Elizabeth stared back at Jeffrey and turned back around to speak to the Judge. But before she could open her mouth Judge Smith raised a hand. “Mr. Taylor, this court has handled murder trials before and this one will not be treated any differently because of the identity of the victim. Bond is set at $250,000.” With that, Judge Smith pounded her gavel on the bench and announced a ten-minute recess to allow the courtroom to clear. She rose from the bench, instructed the bailiff to return Ms. Blaine to holding, and exited the courtroom.

      Back in the holding cell, Elizabeth sat alone rubbing her wrists. Even though the handcuffs were not tight they were heavy and once removed left marks on Elizabeth. She wondered how she had gotten in this predicament. Then Elizabeth thought about Jeffrey Taylor and the look he gave her in the courtroom. What a smug son-of-a-bitch, she thought. Once this was over and she was cleared, Elizabeth vowed to do whatever it took to insure Jeffrey Taylor was defeated in the next election. Elizabeth’s solitude was broken with the announcement of a visitor. The guard opened the door and Janice Whittington walked into the cell. Elizabeth stood and hugged her so tightly Janice felt she would pass out.

      “I’m sorry.” Elizabeth said as she released her grip and backed away. “Please sit down and tell me what you have found out.” It was quickly apparent that Janice Whittington was out of her element in the county holding cell. Her silk shirt and skirt were not the usual dress of visitors to the county facility. She walked slowly to the wooden bench built permanently along one wall, constantly staring at the floor covered with dirt, vomit and blood. Janice’s steps were as careful as if she were crossing a pit of snakes. Upon reaching the bench she looked down at the graffiti and stains and actually appeared to be ill. “I know it’s difficult to believe that people actually are kept here but it won’t kill you to sit.” Elizabeth was already on the bench looking up at Janice. Janice sat on the edge of the bench and placed her hands on her lap.

      “Well, did you speak to him?” Elizabeth asked. “Not yet, I have an appointment later this morning. I don’t understand how you intend to hire him. He’s got to be expensive.” “I will take care of that once I get to speak with him. Here is what I want you to do. Tell Mr. Griffith that I need him to come here and bring a blank power of attorney form. Once he agrees to take my case I will sign the form and he can retrieve my bond and his retainer from my assets.” “Do you think you should trust him with your bank accounts?” Janice asked without looking up from the notes she had begun taking. “I’m going to trust him with my life. I should be able to trust him with my money. Besides how else am I to get out of here? It’s not like I can go to the bank myself.” Elizabeth’s tone echoed the frustration she was feeling. “I can go for you,” Janice said with a little trepidation. It was obvious she was trying to be a friend but didn’t want to get too involved. Elizabeth understood the position Janice was in and quickly let her off the hook. “No, you are risking too much already just helping me. You don’t know how vicious rich people can be. Until I clear my name, they think I did it and anyone associated with me can find themselves running into a lot of problems. Just make the appointment and get Mr. Griffith here. If you have to pay him to come, I will pay you back as soon as he gets me out or instruct him to repay you once I sign the power of attorney, whichever you want.” Janice nodded her agreement and the two women sat for a few moments in silence. When Janice rose to leave Elizabeth stood and thanked her. Calling for the guard Elizabeth noticed how Janice was looking at her. A cross between wanting to believe her friend was innocent and wanting to ask Elizabeth if she killed Mary Michaels. It was then Elizabeth realized everyone would look at her that same way. As the guard opened the cell door Elizabeth smiled at Janice and watched her walk away.

      Chapter 4: Back to Business

      Harrison sat in his office trying to motivate himself to get to work. With the current events unfolding in his life it was difficult to concentrate on work but some accounts he handled alone. Actually it was only a few accounts, no more than twenty, but those twenty represented billions of dollars worldwide. Harrison opened the file in front of him and studied the figures inside. After thirty or forty minutes Harrison reached for the intercom to summon Elizabeth. Suddenly he was thrust back into the reality of his life. He looked at the picture of Mary sitting on his desk and briefly wondered why life had to be this way. Trying to reassure himself that events occurred for a purpose Harrison garnered his strength and began with the task at hand.

      Harrison summoned his remaining secretary and directed that she have the company plane ready for a trip to the islands. Normally Harrison cherished the idea of traveling to the islands for business. The islands’ banks understood the pure nature of business. They did not want to know your personal business. They did not care where your money came from. They just wanted you to put your money in their banks, even for a little while. And for that you were treated like a king. The system fit Harrison Michaels to a tee. But this trip was more necessity than anything else. Few people in the ordinary world understand the need for uniformity in the business world. Watchdog governmental agencies were everywhere and checked every level of large companies. Banking, stocks, and taxes, everything was under constant governmental scrutiny. The biggest way to alert the “eyes”, as they were known, was to break the normal routine. That was the also the best thing about the governmental agencies. They were staffed by government employees who understood that unless you initiate the work yourself you could make it through the day easily. And because they were government employees they could not be fired unless they made a major error. Therefore, in order to enjoy a long relaxing career, they learned to watch for the “red flags” from corporate entities, things done outside the company’s normal course of business.

      With the combination of corporate greed and governmental laziness, men like Harrison Michaels thrived in the business world. Money made the difference. There had to be a lot of zeros on a financial ledger to justify the actions taken by corporate big wigs. Most acted in ways that were unethical, which is irrelevant given that most of their actions were illegal. Money was transferred from one account to another. Benefit and retirement funds were used for purposes other than those intended. Small companies were formed to act as holding companies. All companies with the requisite size and number of employees to justify the risk carried on the practices. Most people think the practices are done to enhance a company’s bottom line. But the truth is the money earned by an enterprising executive on the interest on several millions dollars sitting in a holding company’s account for several months was staggering.

      Harrison Michaels controlled several of these holding company accounts. Often executives in the banking industry had an ownership interest in holding companies. Who else besides a banker could transfer money between bank accounts without raising red flags? Besides, bankers are experts in the numbers game and in order to utilize the holding companies without uninvited meetings with government officials, you have to know the numbers game. Obviously the transactions occurring in these holding company accounts were not disseminated throughout the company. The files were kept in Harrison’s office under lock and key. No one was allowed access to the files, not even Harrison’s secretaries. The accountants were only given bottom line figures and all the money was where it was supposed to be at the end of the fiscal year. Only a full-scaled audit would reveal the true nature of Harrison’s business and that would not happen as long as no “red flags” appeared. Therefore now a “normal” transaction had to occur. Money had to be moved back into the pension fund account of Vulcan Technologies.

      Vulcan was a huge computer corporation, which primarily assembled computers for various venders. It employed over sixty thousand people across the country and had a pension fund valued in the hundreds of millions. Vulcan’s pension fund invested in a number of companies through the purchase of stock. Others it invested in directly by advancing financing for growth. Much of this financing would sit in an account earning interest.

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