A Good Kind of Trouble (A Trouble in Twin Rivers Novel Book 1) (25 page)

"What have you got, Fox?" Sam said, leaning back in the chair.
 

They were in the conference room on the fourth floor down the hall from Lara Petrie's office. Sam had insisted on meeting away from the newsroom, convinced that other editors were conspiring to take the arena story away from him and would assign it a special editor who would be devoted to the biggest political scandal Twin Rivers had seen in years. Lindsey and Dani had less than fifteen minutes to sell Sam on this new development before he would have to dart back downstairs to the newsroom for the last afternoon editorial meeting. If they were successful, Sam might cut her loose from her routine city hall beat to work on this investigation, maybe allow her more resources to help her dig into the story. That would have the added benefit of keeping her too busy to think about Ben.
 

And if she and Dani failed to convince Sam? She'd still have the bonds story, but that wouldn't keep Bear O'Bannion and his collaborators from getting away with this scam. The idea that powerful people shouldn't be able to break the law with impunity was why she went into journalism and put up with bad hours and stagnant salaries and little respect. She'd seen journalism in action her entire life. Doing it right mattered to the community.
 

Lindsey took a deep breath, climbed off her mental soapbox, and stood next to Dani at an easel. Dani flipped over the first poster board to reveal a detailed map of the proposed arena. Sam tilted his head and studied the image.
 

"This story isn't just about the bonds," Lindsey said. "Every part of this proposal is dirty. Dani and I found some unusual property transfers and we think they are linked to the arena proposal."
 

Sam leaned in, his eyes narrowed. Lindsey nodded at Dani, who took a deep breath and dove in.

"First, I took Lindsey's notes from her interviews with the business owners by the arena," Dani said, tucking a strand of honey-colored hair behind her ear.
 

Lindsey and Dani had been buried in county records for the last week, dividing up the property and corporate records and trying to shoehorn their investigation around other assignments. For Dani, this was easier because she was in the newsroom part-time. But Lindsey had covered several minor press conferences and a couple routine city government stories while trying to sneak off to dig into the public records. This morning, they'd had a quick conference in the empty cafeteria and Lindsey decided they had to go to Sam with the results of their investigation. Lindsey wasn't sure how Dani had managed to produce the visual aids in the few hours since, but she was impressed.
 

Lindsey pointed to a spot on the map showing the row of parcels in front of the rail yard. "All of these buildings were sold at least once in the past year. None of the properties were ever listed for sale."
 

She tapped the documents on the table. "This is the first building that sold, fourteen months ago. It was owned for fifty years by the same family. It was sold to Vanda, LLC."

Dani flipped to the next document, placing it next to the previous one. "Vanda is a limited liability company that is owned by Cattleya, Incorporated, a Nevada corporation."
 

"Who owns Cattleya?" Sam asked, his brow furrowed.
 

"Nevada does not require disclosure of the shareholders' names," Dani said. She flipped to the next document. "Vanda sold this building ten months ago. It was purchased by Center Street Holding Company at triple the price. Vanda made a killing flipping the property."
 

Sam jotted down a couple notes and started to ask Dani another question, but the intern held up a hand. "Now here are the records for the other properties on that block. In each instance, the property was purchased by either Vanda, LLC, or Laelia, LLC."
 

"And I suppose we don't know who owns Laelia, either," Sam said.
 

"Laelia is owned by Cattleya, also."
 

Sam raised an eyebrow. Dani continued.
 

Thirteen commercial buildings were sold in the four months prior to the city council's announcement that the city would develop the rail yard. During that period, six of those buildings were resold within weeks. Since then, several other buildings changed hands. In each transfer, the buyer was an anonymous corporate entity. With each subsequent sale, the price doubled or tripled, netting the short-term owner a fortune.
 

Once Lindsey and Dani had been able to compare the highlights of their individual research, it had become clear—someone had gotten some inside information on the arena site and used that to buy up the neighboring land. Lindsey figured Bear O'Bannion must be the original buyer—he had the development background and pull at City Hall. He was sleazy enough to bribe a city official and then maximize his profits by flipping the properties. Plus, Teri Schulman was married to O'Bannion's corporate lawyer, Frank Derry. That was another possible conduit for confidential information.
 

"There are multiple layers of corporate shells hiding the person who is in control of the properties," Dani said. "But I did find the name Cattleya, Inc., in another public filing."
 

Lindsey held her breath. Dani hadn't mentioned this bit of news in their brief meeting.
Bear O'Bannion. It had to be him.
 

"Another Nevada corporation listed a loan that it made to a wholly owned subsidiary, Cattleya, Inc., on a form filed with the Nevada Gaming Commission. One of the parent company’s holdings is a small casino in Laughlin."
 

Sam threw his pen and Lindsey stepped aside as it bounced harmlessly off the table. She understood his frustration. She'd wanted to throw something several times during her investigation.
 

"Is there an end to this paper chase, Carter?"

Dani shook her head. "Not yet. I'm still working on it."
 

Lindsey cleared her throat. "We know the names of the corporations who bought the buildings when they were resold, but not any of the shareholders or officers."
 

Dani gave a heavy sigh. "I'm still trying to figure out who is behind the corporate shells. They're all structured in the same way."
 

Sam stood up. "So, we have an amazing real estate bubble in the months leading up to the announcement, indicating that someone at the city tipped their hand and a few investors took advantage—"
 

Lindsey shook her head. "No, only one investor. Cattleya. All the corporations lead back to that. At least the first buyers, right?"

Dani nodded. "Yes, it's a thin thread that connects the corporate entities, but it leads back to Cattleya, Inc."
 

"It's not enough to run with. Not yet." Sam started to head to the door. "Keep looking. Look behind the corporations that bought the land and see who's running them. Find out who runs Cattleya, Inc."
 

Dani sank into the plush chair next to Lindsey as Sam left the conference room.
 

"Good work, Dani," Lindsey said.
 

"Thanks. You, too. But it's not enough. I'm not sure where to look next."
 

Lindsey leaned back in the chair and stared at the ceiling. The barber and the tobacco shop owner said they had paid rent through a property management firm and had no contact with anyone from Vanda, LLC. She had tried to reach the property management firm, but it was a huge corporation and no one had gotten back to her yet.
 

"How did you know to look in the Nevada Gaming Commission filings?" she asked.
 

Dani shrugged. "A hunch. Nevada corporations sometimes own casinos, which are highly regulated. I just did a quick name search to see what would turn up. Maybe I should go back to Carson City and see if there's more information about the person behind the Laughlin casino."

Lindsey stared at Dani, frowning as she tried to figure out why the intern knew to check the Gaming Commission. It was a great idea, but it wasn’t a place Lindsey would have thought to check. Did Dani have some sort of background in casinos? She was hardly old enough to place a bet. The only place to gamble in Twin River was the new casino outside of town.
 

Lindsey let out a gasp as the dots connected in her mind.
 

“Oh, my God. Are you related to Sterling Carter?”
 

Dani’s face flushed and she sucked in a breath. Lindsey immediately wished she could take back the question. If Dani didn’t want to share her family connections, who was Lindsey to pry? They were in the same boat. Sterling Carter had been the county district attorney for a decade before leaving to help the Pine Springs Tribe open a casino outside of Twin Rivers. He was successful in both politics and business and Lindsey could see why his daughter might not want to traffic in his reputation.
 

“Yeah, he’s my dad,” Dani said with a sigh. “Please don’t tell anyone, though.”
 

“I won’t, I promise,” Lindsey said, shaking her head. “Don’t worry.”
 

“Thanks. You have no idea what it’s like being his daughter in this town.”
 

“I understand,” Lindsey said. “Is that how you knew to look at gaming commission documents?”
 

Dani nodded. “I’ve learned a lot about casinos recently. Mostly from my dad complaining about how regulated they are. I figured if the state is regulating them, then there’s going to be a paper trail.”
 

She shrugged and gave Lindsey a shy smile.

"Why are you covering sports?" Lindsey asked. All that talent wasted on reporting who hit a ball the farthest.
 

Dani grinned. "I like sports. And it’s big business. It should be covered like any other news story."
 

Lindsey grudgingly agreed. She still wished Dani would reconsider and focus on news. She had great instincts and was a tenacious investigator. Lindsey had no doubt that given enough time, she and Dani would unravel the carefully crafted web of anonymous shell companies. But how much time did she have? The city council was scheduled to vote next week on the bond contracts for both the arena and the sewer treatment project. She had been working late trying to finish that story so it could go through several layers of editors and fact-checkers. The property sales looked suspiciously like the result of inside information. It was a juicy lead, but it was distracting her from the bonds story. On the plus side, it was also keeping her from thinking about Ben. At least some of the time.
 

"There has to be something to connect all these corporations to an actual person who is directing their property purchases," Lindsey said.
 

"I'm sure there is, but I haven't found it yet," Dani said with a sigh. "But trust me, I will find the Orchid Thief."
 

Lindsey laughed. "The what?"

Dani flashed a wide smile. "That's how I started thinking of him—the Orchid Thief. Because of the corporate names, you know. They're all types of orchids."
 

Well, that was a place to start. "Does Cattleya own other commercial properties in Twin Rivers?"
 

"A lot. Well over a dozen right now, but it has bought and sold probably thirty different buildings in the last twenty years. Usually it holds on to them a lot longer than it held on to these properties," Dani said. "I ordered corporate papers on Cattleya, but I don't have them yet. And they might not show anything except another corporate parent company."

"Give me some addresses of Cattleya properties," Lindsey said with a sigh, standing up and gathering up her notes. "I'll start knocking on doors and see if any of the tenants know who their landlord is."
 

Dani thumbed through her folder, then slid a list of addresses across the table. Lindsey glanced down and recognized the street names in Twin Rivers—all appeared to be in commercial and industrial districts. Except for one at the bottom of the list that was outside the city limits.
 

"This one," Lindsey said, putting her finger next to the address. "Do you know anything about the property on Meridian Lane in Hunter Lake?"
 

Hunter Lake was a forty-five-minute drive from Twin Rivers and was a popular vacation spot. Very big houses with very big boats moored at private docks. The lakeside houses were owned by the wealthiest families in Twin Rivers. Farther from the water, in the cheap seats, there were smaller rental cottages.
 

Dani shook her head. "Only that the company bought it about eighteen months ago. And that Hunter Lake is a fancy address for a business.”

"Maybe the owner lives there," Lindsey said.
 

"It's possible. Meridian Lane is right on the water. Only a few of those houses are rentals. The rest are summer homes."
 

"Are you familiar with the area?" she asked.

"Sure, I used to spend time there when I was a kid."
 

Lindsey tucked the list into her satchel and gathered the rest of her files. "I'll check it out," she said. "It will be nice to get out of town for a couple of hours."

Ben's office door banged open, the sudden sound shattering his concentration. Glancing up from the computer, he saw Sharon in his doorway, holding a plant in one hand. At the sight of his secretary, Ben quickly minimized the items on his screen and then pushed the legal pad on his desk under a folder like a kid caught with a Playboy magazine.
 

"Good afternoon, Sharon." She was never going to learn to knock before entering his office.
 

She stalked toward his desk, her usual dour expression on her face, and Ben wondered if she somehow knew what he'd been working on.

"It's Mr. Stanton's birthday this weekend," she said, setting the plant on his desk. Ben moved some papers out of the way as a few pieces of bark bounced out of the plastic pot. "You bought him this orchid."