The Cartel Affair Read online

  “I take it everything went well and there were no problems.”

  “No, Skipper. Everything was ten by ten. She’s really a fascinating lady. She has seen and done stuff most of us will never know.”

  “Why do you call him Skipper?”

  “It’s a military term and he is my boss and runs the team, so he is the Skipper. Like on a ship. He’s in charge.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  All three laugh and Guardian pulls Travis to the side. “I’m glad you’re home. The arraignment went as expected and the sentencing was handed down for Baker. He’s to be executed Friday.”

  “I never thought I would say this, but why so soon?”

  “He asked for the sentence to be carried out as soon as possible. He said he wanted to have it done so the media would leave his wife alone.”

  “Does she know about any of this yet? Has she talked to him?”

  “She knows he’s been sentenced, but she said she wanted you with her when she talks to him. He’s been moved to federal prison at FCI Bennettsville.”

  “Ok. I’ll call Turner, and have it set up for us to visit Baker. Guardian, thanks for taking good care of her while I was gone. I know it sounds weird, but I like keeping my promises, even if it’s to the lowest scumbag on the face of the earth. Has she said anything about how she feels or what she might say to him?”

  “No Skipper, not a word other than to say she wanted you there when she did talk to him. She said you make her feel safe.”

  “Thanks again.”

  Travis thinks about this as he goes to his bedroom and drops off his bags. He has a funny feeling about why Mrs. Baker wants him with her when she talks to Baker. It makes him feel good that she feels safe with him there, but something’s making the hair on the back of his neck stand up and he can’t quite put a finger on it yet. Travis goes back into the living room and says his goodbyes to Guardian as he’s ready to leave.

  “Thanks again for taking such good care of Mrs. Baker.”

  “No problem, Skipper. Talk to you soon.” “Now Mrs. Baker, let’s have a chat, shall we?”

  “Please call me Joanne.”

  “All right, Joanne. I understand that you know about your husband’s sentencing?”

  “Yes, Lewis told me about it.”

  “If I may ask, why do you want me with you when you talk to him?”

  “Because right now, I’m scared of the man who used to be my husband. Right now, I don’t know who he is, and I certainly don’t know what he’s capable of. I would feel much safer with you there. Now let’s talk about your choice of school for the scholarships.”

  “All right, Joanne. I know Sarah’s favorite school was Texas A&M. I think it would be appropriate to have scholarships there in her honor.” “Texas A&M it is then. I’ll have my lawyer ....... I just realized that my lawyer is his lawyer. I was going to say I would have my lawyer set everything up, but I guess in light of everything that has happened, I need to find a new attorney. I’ll do that tomorrow and get the ball rolling. Travis, I really can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me.”

  “No need to thank me for anything. I want to thank you for the way you have chosen to honor my family.”

  Somewhere in the back of Travis’s mind, something just didn’t ring true or right about all of this. He had better figure it out quick before something bad happens. Travis decides to have the guys run rotating shifts and stand watch until he can figure this thing out. He calls Langley and talks to the team. Travis sets it up to have a barbecue the next afternoon at his place for the team. He hates having the guys run private security for him, but until he gets a handle on what’s going on, it’s probably best.

  The guys show up for the barbecue and Travis lets them in on what he wants. He apologizes for not having their families this time but vows next time will be different. Travis has been smoking Boston butts all morning. He starts to pull them out of the smoker one at a time and has Lee start chopping. Thomas comes up to Travis and asks him why all the extra security. Travis and Thomas have been friends since middle school and joined the Marine Corps together. Travis tells him about the weird feeling he has that the other shoe hasn’t dropped yet. Thomas knows how Travis’s hunches go, and 99 percent of the time, they’re right on the money. Thomas could count on one hand the number of times Travis has been wrong about a hunch. Thomas says he’ll let the others know. He tells Travis to let them know when he figures it out.

  There’s something about Joanne that’s just not sitting right with Travis. He still believes she doesn’t know what her husband was doing, but at the same time, her reaction to this whole thing has been off just enough to make Travis worry. He’ll put his finger on it sooner or later. He just hopes it’s not too late before he does.

  Travis starts to think about how Joanne has reacted to the various stages of her husband’s career unraveling and the more he thinks about it, the more lack of concern and caring she has shown. He starts to think about how easily Baker had given up and pled guilty. He knew the kind of person Baker was and he had expected a Hell of a lot more fight about everything than he had gotten. Something is rotten in the henhouse for sure. Travis just needs to figure out what it is. Well, the food is done, and it’s time for sharing and comradery with the team. He’ll worry about this later.

  Travis spends the next few hours enjoying the down time he has with the guys. As the day winds down and the food disappears, Travis and the men get ready for the first night of security detail. Most of the guys leave, except for the ones on duty tonight. Travis heads inside and goes to his room to relax. He decides to call Turner at home.

  “Director Turner, this is Travis. I hate to bother you at home, but I think we need to talk.”

  “What’s on your mind, Travis?”

  Travis fills Turner in on the hunch he has about something being not quite right with this whole situation.

  “It’s funny you should say that. I’ve been doing some digging of my own and I’ve got some things I think you need to take a look at. Can you be in my office first thing in the morning?”

  “I’ll be there at eight sharp.”

  “Good. See you then.” Travis hangs up and wonders what the director has found.

  FORTY

  Director Turner’s Office

  WHEN TRAVIS ARRIVED at Turner’s office, Turner was there waiting for him.

  “Come on in, Travis.”

  “Thank you Director.”

  “I have some things I think you need to look at, Travis. I’ve been doing a little background on Mrs. Baker. Do you know what her maiden name is?”

  “No Sir. What is her maiden name?”

  “Rothschild.”

  “Not ‘The Rothschild’?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Holy shit, Sir.”

  “It appears from the records that she inherited $300,000,000 when her father died. She was the one who financed Baker’s political career. Records show she spent about $30,000,000 getting him elected mayor of Napa, then governor of California, then his Senate seat. The funny part is, after he won the Senate seat, her money disappeared. I did some digging and found out she has $450,000,000 in offshore accounts.”

  “Well, that would certainly explain some things I was wondering about. So, she had the money and he was broke until he married her. How the Hell did he manage to land a Rothschild?”

  “It looks more like a partnership than a marriage. She put up the money to get him elected with the understanding that once he got in the Senate, he would use his seat to gain power and money.”

  “Well, he certainly made good on his end. He has more power than anyone on Capitol Hill. What’s bothering me so much is how easy he rolled over and pled guilty. With that much power and control, you would think he would fight until his dying breath to keep control. I’m not buying this crap about being concerned for his wife. Hell, a man like that would throw her under the bus in a heartbeat to keep his power and control. Hell, he would
sell his own mother out to maintain his status. People like that don’t change overnight. Something is hinky in Denmark.”

  “I agree 100 percent. But what the Hell could it be?”

  “I don’t know yet, but you can bet your bottom dollar I’m going to find out. Wait, you said she inherited $300,000,000 and has $450,000,000 in offshore accounts? Where in the Hell did the other $150,000,000 come from?”

  “Maybe it came from his dealings with the cartels.”

  “Maybe, but what’s bugging me now is the talk I had with her about finances. She said she had no idea how much they were worth. She said they never talked about finances. I just don’t see a Rothschild handing over her money and not knowing what’s going on with it.”

  “That’s a good point.”

  “Whose name is the account in?”

  “The account’s in hers.”

  “Maybe she started the account to hide assets from the government for tax purposes and he took it over after he made the deal with the cartels. But why would she lie about not knowing about the finances? She’s bound to be smart enough to know we would find out her maiden name and ask questions.”

  “That part really makes no sense at all.”

  “I can see the money coming from the cartel deals, but her not knowing about it is really throwing me off. I don’t want to confront her until we figure this thing out.”

  “Yeah, confronting her now would only make her go further underground than she already is. I’ll keep looking into this and keep you informed of what I find.”

  “Ok. I’ll do some investigating myself and maybe between the two of us, we can figure out what in the Hell is going on. In the meantime, I need you to set up a visit for me and Mrs. Baker to see the Senator. She says she wants me to be there with her because she’s afraid of him. Something about that’s not sitting right with me either.”

  “Consider it done. I’ll call with the details.”

  “Thank you, Sir. Let me know what you find and I’ll do the same.”

  Travis leaves the director’s office and heads down to the Op’s Center to talk to the guys before going home.

  FORTY-ONE

  Travis’s Home

  TRAVIS ARRIVES AT his home after his meeting and finds Joanne in the kitchen cooking. He goes to his room to do some thinking. This whole finance thing has him confused. Travis just can’t believe that a Rothschild couldn’t know about the money in the offshore account. He knew she had to be lying about that, and if she lied about that, what else was she lying to Travis about?

  Joanne knocks on Travis’s door. “Come in.”

  “I don’t mean to bother you, but I was wondering if you liked Beef Wellington with Au Gratin Potatoes and a fresh salad? All homemade, of course.”

  “That sounds absolutely delicious.”

  “I hope you don’t mind but I sent Lewis to the market with a list. I figured with your hospitality, the least I could do was make a nice dinner for you and the boys.”

  “I don’t mind at all. They’re here to help you when I’m not around. I really appreciate your going to all the trouble to fix that for us.”

  “It’s not a problem at all. I love to cook for people that enjoy eating.”

  Travis laughs. “Well, you can bet that these boys like to eat. That’s for sure. I’m sure they’ll be very thankful to get a decent meal for a change.”

  “Do you drink wine, Travis?”

  “Yes ma’am, I do.”

  “Would you care to join me for a glass before dinner?”

  “I would really enjoy that. Shall we?”

  Travis thought to himself, maybe a little wine will put a new spin on this mess that makes sense.

  Travis joined Joanne in the kitchen for a glass of wine and conversation. “How long have you been cooking today, Joanne?”

  “Oh, I started just after you left this morning and have been doing so ever since. You’ll be pleased to know that I found a lawyer this morning and got the ball rolling on setting everything up for the scholarships. I told him to put the money in a trust fund for the next 20 years.”

  “Joanne, that’s so gracious of you, but that’s a lot of money. I don’t want you to cut yourself short.”

  “Don’t you worry about that now, Travis. You told me that my husband was worth over $40,000,000, did you not?”

  “Yes ma’am, I did.”

  “Well, I certainly don’t need that much money to live on, now do I?”

  Travis thought about the $450,000,000 in the offshore account. “No, I guess you know what’s best for you.”

  Travis stands there drinking his wine and for the first time, takes a really good look at Joanne while she goes about cooking. He realizes that she is a very attractive woman. She is about five foot four with sparkling green eyes and brown hair. She has a very nice figure. She cuts quite the figure as his dad would say. Travis laughs to himself as he thinks about his dad. He would have to visit his parents after all this was settled.

  Joanne caught Travis’s interested glance and it made her feel good to know that a man of Travis’s age would look at her that way. She had always tried to keep herself in good shape and presentable, as her mother used to say. She felt like for a woman of 50 years old, she was doing something right. She might consider making a move later on down the line. Travis, after all, was a very handsome man and he definitely took good care of himself. You could probably wash clothes on his abdomen. After she got rid of her old man of a husband, why not treat herself to something special for a change?

  Travis knew Joanne had seen him looking at her and smiled to himself. He had no sexual interest in her, but if she thought he did, maybe that could work in his interest. Travis raised his glass. “Here’s to a long and happy friendship.”

  Joanne raised her glass and smiled. Here’s to more than friendship, she thought to herself. Hell, she couldn’t remember the last time her husband had looked at her that way, or for that matter, the last time he had touched her. He was too busy with his damn career for anything like that. “Here’s to a long and happy friendship indeed.”

  “How long before dinner’s ready, Joanne?”

  “Should be ready in about an hour.”

  Travis excused himself to go let the boys know about the wonderful dinner Joanne was preparing for them. He told them it should be ready in about an hour and to come on then to get ready. He then went back in the kitchen. He noticed when he got back that Joanne had undone another couple of buttons on her top and was bending over in his direction a lot more. He found this very amusing. Hell, she was old enough to be his mother. Travis did like older women though. He could definitely enjoy her beauty and figure. He would play along for now.

  “So, Travis, what amount of money per year would you like for the scholarships to be?”

  “I’m leaving that entirely up to you. I’m just grateful that you’re willing to do this for my family.”

  “How does $20,000 a year for each of the two scholarships sound?”

  “That sounds like a lot of money. That’s $40,000 a year for 20 years - almost a $1,000,000.”

  “That’s $800,000 to be exact, and you let me worry about that. It’s the least I can do considering what my husband has done to you and your family. I think I can live very comfortably on $39,000,000 plus dollars.”

  “So, have you thought about what you’re going to do after all this is said and done?”

  “I’ve given some thought about becoming a philanthropist and spending my money on worthy causes. How does that sound to you?”

  “Sounds like a very noble cause to me. Maybe do something with the arts or the underprivileged.”

  “That sounds truly noble indeed. Perhaps choose the underprivileged. I was also thinking about children’s cancer research. The arts already have so many patrons.”

  “Sounds perfect to me. By the way, you look lovely this evening.” Travis thought to himself, I can play the game for a while and see what I can get out of you, information wise
. If I play this right, you might just give up the game with a little pillow talk.

  “Why, thank you kind Sir. It’s been a while since anyone has said that to me.” Joanne thought to herself, if he keeps this up, I may speed up the timetable and move a lot sooner. I could live with being a sugar mama for a while. Hell, I’ve been a sugar mama for my entire marriage. At least he’s young and good-looking. Joanne smiled to herself.

  The phone rang and Travis excused himself it. “Hello?”

  “Travis, this is Director Turner.”

  “Yes, Sir. What can I do for you?”

  “I have it arranged for you and Mrs. Baker to visit the Senator day after tomorrow at three o’clock. You can visit for about an hour. I had them waive the usual security searches so she wouldn’t be uncomfortable.”

  “Thank you, Sir. I’ll let her know. I may do a little security check myself before we leave. I still don’t trust her yet.”

  “That might be a good idea, Travis. I don’t see how she could do anything with you there, but you never know.”

  “My thoughts exactly, Sir.”

  Travis hung up the phone and started thinking about how he might go about searching her before they left. He could play this a couple of different ways. He could try to become involved with her so he could watch her dress. He could explain that it was part of the routine before a visit. Better he do the search than some stranger at the prison. Or he could explain that when they get there, she’ll have to be searched. He would think about it and see how things went tonight. Just as Travis walked back in the kitchen, he saw that Joanne looked a little wobbly. He went around the counter just as she seemed to swoon. Travis grabbed her around the waist and held her up. He helped her to a chair.

  ” Are you all right?”

  “I don’t know what happened. It must be a combination of the wine and the heat. I’m so sorry if I scared you.”

  “You didn’t scare me. I was just worried you might fall and hurt yourself. I hope I didn’t grab you too hard.”

  “Oh, no. I’m just glad you were there. You have a very strong grip.”