Chapter 32
Across town, the Pace cousins were making Sparkles into a new success story. Customers stood in long lines waiting to get in. Top end local musical acts were booked months in advance. VIP tickets and exclusive access were at a premium.
Leon sat back in satisfaction as Mark walked in the door.
“Nice job, man. Things are finally humming again.”
“Yeah. Did you hear about what happened at Star Candy?”
“What a shame. Used to be a nice place.”
“Looks like someone is cleaning house.”
“I guess you can’t get anyone to run a club. The guy they replaced me with was such a failure, they burned the place down.”
“What’s next?”
“They’ll declare bankruptcy, wait a while, and rebuild.”
“Will any of that splash back on us?”
“Nope. We served our time and that’s it. Besides, we’re making lots of bread for the investors here.”
“Good.”
***
Things were not so good at police headquarters. Detective Jones and his FBI colleagues also heard about the burglary and fire at Star Candy. The Detective started the update meeting.
“According to the investigators, the sprinkler system did not activate properly. The insurance company might claim that negligence contributed to the loss and withhold a portion of the insurance claim.”
“Any other hope of proving arson?”
“It will be a difficult case to make. Matches and alcohol all over the place make for easy fires.”
“What about the robbery claim?”
“Preliminary findings show no residue in the safe, which was found with the door open. That means the contents were taken out before anything burned. Looks like the investors will be able to make a full claim for stolen property.”
“What kind of goods are listed?”
“The usual—cash, jewels, bonds, and the like.”
The detective’s frustration started to boil over.
“So we sit here, knowing the robbery and fire were probably planned, unable to prove anything while the owners take the insurance settlement and rebuild the place?”
“Maybe not. One avenue left to us is to investigate the security guards on duty the night of the fire. Perhaps we can tie them to the Vandenburg organization. After all, they’re not going to use unknown first timers for a job like this.”
“Good point. Let’s dig into them ASAP.”