Duplicity - A True Story of Crime and Deceit by Paul Goldman (surface ebook reader txt) 📗

run a police report on her, that shemight have a record. And an alias. They’re telling me that this isbigger than we think.

PAUL - Really?

TERRI - I am seeing a big sign that says “FRAUD.” She thinks it wasokay to defraud you, since she gave you sex. I can tell you that ifher lips are moving, then she is lying. She had that child from thesecond husband only so she could get child support from him. Again,I feel that she might have a long track record, and that you shouldrun her police record.

PAUL - I’ll see what I can do.

TERRI - Paul, this person is like a child molester, she needs to bein jail, off the street, because her sole desire is to inflictfinancial damage to anyone she can find. You need to contact theIRS about her tax fraud. They have a “whistle-blower”program.

PAUL - Thank you for this information.

I hung up the phone andimmediately replayed the recording I'd made of the phone call. Thesuggestion that Audrey was abused seemed so extreme, but also sobelievable given her relationships with men and her obviousperspective on sex. The idea of “whoring” also struck a chord withme, and the suggestion that she used her sexuality to gain thingsfrom men proved a convincing analogy. More than anything, however,Terri’s recommendation that I dig deeper into Audrey’s past seemedintriguing. It also seemed necessary, proactive, and a far betterthing to do than wallow in my own depression. I stood up from thecouch and collected an old picture of my parents from their ownwedding day, which I kept framed on a nearby end table. Looking attheir blissful faces, I couldn’t shake what Terri said about Audreyseeking out vulnerable men. Could I have been that weak? Well,maybe so, I thought, but no longer.

And I became intent on proving that to Audreyas well.

The next day, I called my lawyer and told himof my intent to investigate Audrey. Adam was both agreeable andcautious as he instructed me not to do anything that wouldjeopardize our standing in court. Assuring him that I simplyplanned to learn more about her background, her husbands, and herpatterns, I hung up the phone feeling invigorated with purpose. Iarrived at Adam’s office two days later to effectively begin mylife as a P.I.

“Are those the bankstatements?” I asked him, as I handed him a cup of coffee. Ipointed to a large stack of papers while I took a seat in front ofhim, eager to begin my research. Adam took a sip from theStarbuck’s cup, closing his eyes for a second while the effects setin, and nodded at the pile.

“I subpoenaed Audrey’sbank statements from January, 2007 to the present. If you findanything interesting, let me know.” Adam slowly pulled back the lidto reveal a plume of steam and a stronger aroma of fresh coffeebean, threw the cap away, and took a big gulp. I briefly wonderedhow he could handle such hot coffee, thanked him, and walked outthe door.

Three hours later, I picked up the phone andwas talking with Adam again.

“You wanted to know if Ifound something. Well, I did.” I was speaking quickly, my energyfueled by my discovery.

“What did you find?” Adamasked, still cautious in tone.

“Where do I start? Tobegin with, do you remember that $1,600 a month in child supportthat Audrey told the judge was her only income? Well, that wascomplete bullshit. The bank statements show monthly deposits ofbetween $4,000 and $5,000. As I said, the child support was only$1,600 and so the difference between those numbers is… ”

“Unexplained,” Adamfinished for me, now showing a little more emotion.

“You bet. And that’s notall. These deposits, which are made throughout each month, are inrandom figures, such as $456.83, and $308.84, and so on. All veryodd amounts, don’t you think? I’m guessing they’re either interestfrom CDs, or else dividend checks from stocks.”

“Could be. If I remembercorrectly, Audrey claimed in the interrogatories that she had noassets other than her car,” Adam said, as if he were thinkingaloud.

“So, what can we do withthis information?” I asked, hoping the impact would besignificant.

“I will file a motion to'compel better responses' to the question about assets, and tellthem we want to know the exact source of these funds.”

“Oh, and there’s one morething-- her debit charges. There are absolutely no charges for gas,food, or anything else in Cocoa Beach. However, on the days thatshe was supposed to be in Cocoa Beach with her grandmother, thereare lots of charges at stores right around here, especially thePalm Beach Mall. This confirms what Bob Thompson, Audrey’s secondhusband, already told me over breakfast. Audrey was never in CocoaBeach.”

“It sounds like we haveourselves a real con artist. She really set you up,Paul.”

“It sure looks like thatnow, doesn’t it?” Had Adam made that comment months earlier, I mayhave acted more emotionally, but now was different. I was on amission to uncover everything I could about the real Audrey, andfind a way to put an end to her cons. Audrey had hurt enoughpeople.

* * *

Thirty days later, Adam called me with theirresponse to the motion to compel, which he had filed immediatelyafter our conversation.

“Paul, I got theirresponse and, believe it or not, they came back with the same thingas before: Audrey has no additional assets.” This time, becomingaccustomed to Audrey’s true nature, I was not at allsurprised.

“Do they think we’restupid? Why do they keep delaying this information if theyeventually have to tell us anyway? By law, they have to provide it,right?”

“Right, but by delaying itas long as they can, they are also delaying the trial and therebycontinuing your monthly payments of $750 to her.”

I was disgusted. “What’snext then?” I asked, disappointed by the outcome.

“I will file a motion forcontempt and we'll get a hearing. Unfortunately, it will probablytake another thirty days.”

And it did. Four weekslater, in July of 2009, we were again seated before Judge Andrewsfor a contempt of court hearing. Though the judge had seemedreasonable up until now, I was curious to see how he would handlethis new information, especially since I had stopped sending Audreythe monthly payments he had ordered. Both sides presented theirarguments