Page 30 of Truth is the Ultimate Weapon

“Cashed in? Meaning, someone died?” Nash asked.

Rip nodded, “We haven’t made it through all of the files, but so far, we can confirm, that there are around half a dozen properties he’s inherited in recent years.”

“Years?” Nash questioned. “I thought this guy hadn’t been around all that long.”

“He hasn’t been in Coyote Creek long, but he’s been at this for some time,” Devyn told the group as she passed out more documents.

Coy read the paper, shook his head, and tossed it into a pile on the table, “It’s not hard to piece together what our mother fell for when you see all this shit.”

“But the loan…” Nash scratched his head, “Doesn’t that raise a red flag when the landowner passes away?”

“Maybe they didn’t all have to take out a loan and used their savings or retirement funds. Or, perhaps, they didn’t buy additional assets at all.” Rip chimed in. “If they already had something substantial enough for Steele’s liking to do whatever it is he’s using it for, then maybe that was good enough. I don’t think this is a one-size-fits-all crime ring. I do believe he exploited them as far as he could and didn’t push as not to raise those red flags.”

“As for the loans, he doesn’t have anything to lose.” Devyn shared. “In a worst-case scenario, the debts fall to the estate to pay. He has these deeds and land transactions buried so deep that by the time the lender calls a loan, he’s managed to work over the land enough to make it all worth his while before the deed reverts back to the lien holder. Or, the estate pays the debts, not knowing they just paid off Steele’s land.”

Rip tossed his stack of papers on the table with Coy’s, “I really don’t think he has to worry about that much. He’s completely off the hook either way. He’s even smarter than we thought.”

“Meaning?” Devyn asked.

“Meaning he’s sold the same plots of land over and over again. If someone’s loan defaults and the property goes back to the bank, he’s out nothing because he already sold it multiple times and inherited it multiple times, without a loan involved.”

“Jesus. So, when his victims die, he inherits the land, then sells it again, knowing he’s the one who will inherit it when they meet their maker, too?” Coy shook his head in disbelief. “Then sells it again…”

“It’s all right there in the deed history for each property. Every single one of the sellers on there is one of his shell companies, and every buyer has a file and will established by… Ellis Steele. Your case has been made for this guy. I don’t think I need to list the charges this guy faces.”

“If it wasn’t stupid and illegal, I’d think it was brilliant. The ultimate scheme. This guy must have brought in millions.” Coy shared.

“He filters all the funds to a single account that I haven’t unlocked just yet.” Devyn told the group, “But it seems to be the final stop for the money once it’s nice, clean, and hard to trace. If I can unbury that last shell corporation and prove Steele’s attachment, he never gets out of jail once we put him there. It’ll also tell us who he’s been working for.”

“Freeze the accounts,” Coy said. “Can you do that?”

“I can, with a little help from your company genius, Killion.” She snorted, “That guy is impressive.”

“Good idea,” Rip chimed in. “Tie up that money, and you’ll flush out Steele and whoever he’s working for.”

“Working for?” Devyn asked.

“That’s how these things work. There’s always a frontman. A cleaner. Someone who appears to be a legitimate professional who’s the face of the whole operation, but they’re working for someone else, who usually remains anonymous and the harder villain to find, unfortunately.” Rip explained.

“I-I didn’t see any other names anywhere.” Devyn began to sort through papers, then pecked away at her laptop. “How? How the hell do I find this other party?”

“By freezing the accounts.” Coy tried to explain as simply as possible. “When the assets are frozen, they’ll come to Steele seeking penance for letting their shit get seized. That’s how we find the mystery third party.”

“So, like some drug lord or something?” Nash asked.

“Yes, but usually bigger. My guess is it’s a rogue small cartel cell that regrouped after being dismantled at some point. Someone who didn’t get put away saw an opportunity and ran with it.”

“I might have something.” Charlotte entered the kitchen, her expression tense with concern, holding a folder full of papers and something else in her hand as she scanned the room. “I just found this in your Mama’s things while going through papers for Devyn. It’s a… picture.”

Charlotte turned the image around, revealing it to the group while handing Devyn the folder. They all leaned in, their curiosity piqued, to get a better look. Coy reached out and took the image, inspecting it closely, his brow furrowing with confusion as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

“That’s… interesting. I wonder what this means.” After studying it, Coy flipped the picture around and spoke up. “That’s Mama and Pop. Glen and George. And…”

He glanced at Charlotte, noticing the concern etched in the way she bit her bottom lip. “And Owen Bridges.”

Nash's gaze flickered between the picture and Charlotte, his expression reflecting his stunned disbelief. He reached out and grabbed the image, intent on studying it more closely. “Owen did know more than he led on.”

“I knew it,” Charlotte spoke quietly, her voice drowning with suppressed emotion. “He wasn’t being honest. Not even with me.”

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