Chapter 36
Ken Brownling sighed as he leafed through the bankruptcy paperwork. He preferred the more lucrative auto accident cases, but this one had specifically been assigned to him by the organization. He knew better than to turn them down.
He could use the income. Someone had breached his home and cleaned out his private safe. The insurance claim had been filed, but who knew how long it would take to pay out the claim? Meanwhile, his liquid assets were about nil. Like many small businessmen, his wealth was tied up in property, long term securities, and his legal practice.
Brownling cursed the incompetent police. They had arrived, taken their report, and done a cursory investigation. After a few weeks of inquiries, the lawyer understood the police had few leads and were obviously busy with higher priority cases. The cash was impossible to trace while the jewels could be melted down or otherwise altered into new arrangements. He knew what the police thought. Just another ambulance chaser who got what he deserved. The fact that he was Black didn’t raise his case on the priority list either. If he had any influence with city hall, he wouldn’t have to throw in with Vandenburg and accept assignments.
The phone rang, and he picked it up. Speak of the devil—it was Arthur asking for a status update.
“Any progress?”
“Things are proceeding, but slowly. Bankruptcy is a tedious process. Particularly when they haven’t closed the arson investigation yet.”
“Will they?”
“Yes. The insurance company can file a negligence report on the sprinklers, but that’s it. There’s no hard evidence of anything else.”
“Do what you can to get the process moving. The colleagues are anxious to get going with the remodel/rebuild, particularly when other similar establishments are booming.”
“I’ll do what I can to speed up the process.”
“Thanks.”
“Before you hang up, any word on who nicked my house? It’s damned peculiar that someone targeted my personal residence, man.”
“We understand your concern. I have feelers out there on who the culprit might be, but no leads yet. Rest assured, you are a valued employee, and we will inform you of any information gathered.”
“Thanks.”
Vandenburg hung up the phone with a smile. Using employees like Fields, Pace, and Brownling for tasks while targeting them for lucrative robberies was a tidy operation. Long ago, his father had counseled Arthur to never take sides and maximize profits from every angle. All you had to do was keep each operation compartmentalized and only give out information on a need-to-know basis. Arthur could easily deflect Brownling’s inquiries. Despite his legal practice, the man had few friends with influence in the community and nowhere else to go.
Later that afternoon, he met Sam Trenchard for a status update.
“Any progress?”
“The residence is in the hood and too difficult to crack. I’m targeting the Sparkles club instead.”
“What is the ETA?”
“In the next week or so. There’s a lot of traffic and activity on the weekends, so I’m looking at a weekday early morning for penetration.”
“Keep me informed.”