16. Suspicions Confirmed

During her lunch hour, the following Monday Mary calls Pam and says, “My plan worked, Pam. I called two companies doing business with the city this morning and said I am the secretary to the Assistant Treasurer. I asked for duplicate invoices saying we are preparing for an audit and discovered we’ve misplaced their invoice for April. They bought my story claiming we will fail the audit if we don’t have their invoice to match the check we sent them. They agreed to overnight a duplicate so we’ll have it for the audit I claimed we’re having on Thursday. They are sending the invoices to my Courthouse mail address. No one will see them but me.  I should have the invoices we need for proving Hess’s embezzlement by tomorrow morning.”

“Good job, Mary. Did you learn if Hess has a registered handgun?”

“Yes I did. He registered a 9 mm Glock and has a concealed carry permit for it, just as you suspected.”

“Okay, good to know. Call me as soon as you have received the invoices and checked them against the checks Ralph sent and what he listed in the monthly financial report. I have errands in the morning but I’ll have my cell phone with me.”

Wednesday morning Pam is grocery shopping at the Pineville IGA. She gets a call from Mary about 10:00. Mary says, “Pam, I got the duplicate invoices this morning and checked them against the checks sent. They match the checks and not the inflated amounts Ralph put in the financial reports. That proves he’s falsifying the financial reports to cover his embezzling city funds.”

Pam replies, “As we suspected. Thanks for your efforts, Mary, I’ll get Sue Johnson involved and she’ll have the sheriff on the right track in no time. I’ll keep your name out of it, don’t worry.”

Pam finishes buying groceries and puts them in her car. She calls Erin at the Cut and Curl salon. When Erin’s on the phone she says, “Remember when you were cutting my hair the last time? I said I might need you to set up a meeting for me with Sue Johnson without the sheriff knowing about it. I would call Sue myself but I don’t want the sheriff to know I’m talking to Sue. If I call and the sheriff asks about the call she would never make up a story. She can’t bring herself to do something like that. You can say you’re calling about her next perm appointment as well as setting up lunch with me. If the sheriff asks she can tell him the call is about her perm appointment. Please ask her to meet me at the Harbor Deli at noon today. I have important news she needs to relay to the sheriff without him knowing it comes from me.”

“I’ll call Sue as soon as you hang up, Pam. Glad to help even if I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Thank you, Erin. You’re a good friend. Goodbye.”

Pam looks at her watch and sees she has enough time to take her groceries home, put them away, and get back to the Harbor Deli in time for lunch with Sue. She can think of how best to inform Sue while driving home and back.

Pam is sitting at a table in the back corner of the Harbor Deli where her conversation won’t be overheard when Sue arrives a few minutes after noon. Sue comes to the table, sits down, and whispers, “I assume you have a private message for me, Pam.”

“Yes I do, Sue. Thanks for meeting me on such short notice. I’ve heard the sheriff eliminated all the people involved with Glen Lund’s shady land deals as suspects in Glen’s murder.”

“He has and he says he’s at a dead end in the investigation. Mary Jane Bloom’s columns are driving him up a tree. He can’t let it go. I wish I could help him because he’s making my days difficult.”

“That’s why I’m meeting with you, Sue. I have some information to share with you. It can put the sheriff on the right track if you handle it right, which I know you’ll do. I won’t share how I learned what I’m going to tell you. It could get an innocent person in trouble. Well, maybe not completely innocent, but only unethical, not guilty of something illegal.”

A waitress with pink and blue streaks in her dark hair comes to take their order. Pam orders a tuna fish sandwich and ice tea. Sue says she’ll have the same. When the waitress is out of hearing, Sue leans close to Pam and whispers, “Want hair like that?”

Pam says, hair like that violated our dress code on the Grand Rapids Police Department and I’ve never wanted it anyway. I’m quite happy with my plain black hair.”

“Nor me,” says Sue. But I admit I have Erin touch up my graying temples now.”

“Working for Sheriff Ericsson would give me gray hair too,” Pam says chuckling and then continues, “I learned Ralph Hess is embezzling city money. He’s been doing it for some time and he’s continuing. That I know for sure. I don’t know if Glen Lund found out when he started working as Assistant Treasurer and I don’t know if Hess murdered Glen to keep his embezzling from being exposed. It’s a plausible theory, determining if it’s true is an investigation the sheriff can conduct. First he should get proof of Hess’s embezzling. He needs to compare the treasurer’s monthly financial reports with the monthly statements from the city’s checking account. He’ll need to access Hess’s computer files and the bank’s web site. The person who can do it for him without Hess knowing is the computer systems administrator. The sheriff can prove Hess’s embezzling before he approaches Hess. Even if it turns out Hess isn’t the murderer, arresting him for embezzling city funds will help the city and the sheriff’s reputation. If the sheriff meets with Hess he should know Hess has a concealed carry permit for a 9 mm Glock. Do you think you can put the sheriff on Hess’s trail and let him know Hess has a gun without letting him know where you got the information?”

“I can do better than that, Pam. I’ll feed the sheriff clues in a way he’ll think the new line of investigation is completely his idea. That’ll get him out of the doldrums and make my days better, not to mention the days of the deputies. They’ve been avoiding the sheriff while he’s been in his funk.”

“There’s one more thing, Sue. There may be a way for the sheriff to be a real local hero. I know Hess is the embezzler. He could be the killer. If he is, the sheriff can solve both crimes at once if he does it right. Once the sheriff has satisfied himself that Hess is the embezzler he can investigate the possibility of Hess being the killer without spooking Hess. Suppose he gets a warrant for Hess’s gun but tells Hess it’s for a routine check to see if the gun is one involved in a crime in Flint or Saginaw. A crime that Hess knows his gun can’t possibly be connected with. He’ll give up his gun without a question because if he protests it’ll be suspicious. Getting Hess’s gun allows firing a bullet to compare with the bullet that killed Glen. I assume the sheriff found the bullet.  If he did and there's a match the sheriff has solved both crimes and Hess won’t know he’s caught until he’s arrested. Do you think Sheriff Ericsson has the patience to play it like that?”

“I should be able to get him to see the glory he’ll get from solving both cases.” 

“I knew I could count on you, Sue. Let me buy your lunch.”

“No, let me buy your lunch, Pam. I’m the one who will benefit from the sheriff having a new line of investigation. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised Ralph Hess is embezzling from the city. It may explain why city expenses seem too high, as I’ve heard some council people believe.”