Bennie and the Ace of Hearts

Chapter 6

Adam

When I questioned Bennie about knowing about the FBI investigation, he gave me something about reading it in the newspaper or something. I let it go and we got out of bed and made some breakfast, I was still trying to figure out how Bennie knew some of these things, but I didn’t ask any more questions.

As I was getting ready to leave, Bennie asked, “will you go with me to the Children’s Hospital fund raiser next Saturday night?”

I thought for a moment, “do you want me to go? I’m really not the charity event kind of guy. Would I have to rent a tux?”

He laughed, “don’t worry, you’ll do fine. I will buy you a tux.”

I gave him a kiss, “if you want me to, I guess I can give it a try.”

I smiled, “thanks, I really want to show you off to all those stuffy old people, it’ll give them something new to talk about.”

I went into the office the next day. Dallas was already there and was actually working.”

I said, “you’re in early, what’s the occasion?”

Dallas handed me a piece of paper, “your buddy from the FBI sent us this. They tried another raid on one of Cabot’s containers this weekend.”

I looked at him, “and?”

He shook his head, “nothing, the container was full of exactly what was on the manifest.”

I said, “ok, so what does all this mean?”

He continued, “well, Dan said they still think that someone is tipping Cabot off when the FBI is coming.”

I asked, “who is the FBI telling that they are coming?”

Dallas said, “that’s just it, they aren’t telling anyone outside of the FBI. So, what do you want to do, I also have a voice mail from Cabot asking for an update on his hacking case, what should I tell him?”

I ran my hands through my hair, “I don’t know. If Cabot is doing something shady, I want nothing to do with his case. I think I need to have a talk with him again, if I’m not convinced that he is telling me the truth, I’ll just tell him that I will no longer work for him. I did find a couple more leads on his hacker that I want to check on today.”

He said, “there’s more, look at the bottom of that email from Dan, he found two more cases that match the pattern of Robin Hood.”

I scanned the paper, “really? Takes the money then donates it back to victims?”

Dallas nodded, “yep.”

“Ok, I’m going to take another trip to the dock and talk to Jerry Boothe the customs agent, I still think he is hiding something, then I am going to pay a visit to Mr. Cabot.” I told Dallas.

He asked, “what do you want me to do.”

“See what you can find out about Boothe, if Dan calls back be sure and let me know, I should be back before lunch.” I answered.

Dallas nodded, “got it, keep me posted.”

I headed down to the docks and headed straight to Jerry Boothe’s office. By the look on his face, I could tell that he was annoyed to see me.

I said, “Agent Boothe, I have a couple more questions about Cabot Imports.”

He shook his head, “I told you everything I know Mr. Edwards, Cabot’s shipments are clean. He does everything by the books. I have nothing else to say on the matter.”

“Well Agent Boothe, the FBI raid this weekend tells me there is more going on then you are telling me.” I tell him.

He shoots me a look, “I fully cooperated with the authorities, you are not a member of any law enforcement agency, I don’t owe you an explanation for anything.”

I nodded, “yes, you're right, but I have feeling that you are involved in this somehow, if you are protecting someone, don’t be surprised if they throw you under the bus.”

I saw the look of concern on his face as I turned to leave. I paused at the door, and glanced back through the window, Boothe was already on the phone. I guess I rattled his cage, I hope Dallas is able to find something on this guy.

I pulled into Cabot Imports parking lot about 20 minutes later, I gave the receptionist my name and asked to see John Cabot.

Cabot came out of his office, “Mr. Edwards, thanks for stopping by, come on in, have you got an update for me?”

I sat down, “I do have a few more leads I’m checking on now, but I do have a couple questions to ask.”

He took a sip of his coffee, “ok, what would you like to know?”

“For starters, why are you being investigated by the FBI?”

His face went pale, “that’s a good question, maybe you should ask the FBI about that.”

“Mr. Cabot, the FBI doesn’t randomly inspect incoming shipments without a reason. I am not going to continue working for you if you are involved in anything illegal. Just tell me right now that you no longer want me to continue my investigation into your hacking issue, I will walk away and let the proper authorities finish their work. Tell me to continue and I will, but I warn you that if I find anything that is even questionable, I will turn it over to the FBI.” I tell him.

Cabot thought a moment, “Mr. Edwards, I want you to continue your work, I run a legitimate business, I have fully cooperated with the FBI, I have nothing to hide.”

I stood, “thank you Mr. Cabot, that’s what I needed to know, I want to go over a few things with Jeff, with your permission of course.”

He nodded, “absolutely, anything you need. He should be in his office.”

I walked to the door, “thank you, I will let you know what I find within the next couple days.”

Cabot was reaching for his phone as I headed down the hall to see Jeff. I have sufficiently stirred the pot this morning, now to wait to see what Boothe or Cabot do next.

I knocked on Jeff’s door, “hey, you have a few minutes?”

He stood and shook my hand, “sure, any luck?”

I told him about the leads, and we went to the server room and checked on them. We had now traced the money to the Cayman bank and found that the money was now back in the states but had been split into smaller amounts. We dug a little further and saw the money now had been moved several more times, still nothing to identify the hacker.

I asked Jeff, “so, do you think your boss would be involved in anything illegal, like shipping in drugs?”

Jeff shook his head, “I really don’t think so Adam, I get to see a lot of confidential things, but I haven’t seen anything that would raise any suspicion. If he is involved in those things, I haven’t seen it.”

I thought a minute, “yeah, I don’t think he would do anything intentionally, I just get a feeling he may be involved in something indirectly.”

Jeff asked, “what does that mean.”

I said, “maybe someone has something on him, they may be using him, or his services, I’m not sure what yet but there is something else going on.”

He said, “you mean like blackmail?”

I nodded, “that’s a possibility.”

Jeff said, “well, I will keep an eye out for anything, he does trust me and tells me things from time to time. I will let you know if I hear anything. I know John rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but I have worked for him a long time, he has always treated me and all his employees fair and with respect.”

“Thanks Jeff, I’m glad to hear that. I’m going to keep an eye on those bank accounts we found to see if they lead anywhere, I’ll let you know what I find.” I stood to leave.

He stood to walk me out, “thanks Adam, I’ll do the same.”

I headed back to my office, as I was waiting at a stop light, I saw a Mustang that was similar to Bennie’s drive by. It was a different color, but I found my mind turn to thoughts of Bennie’s naked body. God, he was gorgeous, that pale skin with the fine hair on his chest and legs, it felt so good against my smooth skin. I had never thought that piercings were that attractive, but that single nipple ring he had was sexy as hell. And that cock, Jesus Christ that cock felt so good in my ass, I could keep him inside me forever, I loved it when we slept together, and he was tight against me and that beautiful cock against my crack. He had taken me to be fitted for my tux last night, he just sat there watching the tailor measure and pin the material for altering. Half the time I was standing there in my underwear while being measured, I’m still not sure who was checking me out more, the guy doing the measuring or Bennie. I’m pretty sure they both had noticeable bulges in their pants, and I think I heard the tailor tell Bennie he was a lucky bastard when I was getting dressed. That certainly gives a guy a boost in his confidence. Damn it, what was I going to do if I found out for sure he was Robin Hood. I know I should turn him in, but my heart was telling me to protect him.

The car behind me honked its horn, shit Adam, quit your daydreaming. I got back to office just as my hardon subsided, thankfully, because Dallas surely would have had a comment to make.

I updated Dallas on my meetings, he just smiled, “I have some updates for you too.”

I sat in the chair next to his desk, “ok, lay it on me.”

He was clearly excited, “ok, so that feeling you had about Boothe, the customs agent was dead on. I got into his financials, he is clearly living above his means, the guy has all the toys, boat, RV, his wife drives a fancy car. He has a house in a better neighborhood than your boyfriend, Richie Rich, the wife doesn’t work and likes to shop at all the upscale stores.”

I glared at Dallas, “his name is Bennie.”

Dallas continued, “yeah, yeah, anyway, I see his monthly paycheck deposited, it lines up with other custom agents, but once a month there is a large cash deposit the coincides with when Cabot’s shipments arrive.”

I sighed, “ok, so Boothe is being paid to oversee the shipment, or to look the other way when it comes in.”

Dallas beamed, “that’s what I think, do you think that he is smart enough to be the mastermind behind this?”

I thought a second, “I don’t think so, I think someone else is pulling the strings.”

He asked, “Cabot?”

I shook my head, “I don’t think so, He is involved somehow, but I think indirectly, Cabot is maybe even being blackmailed into letting someone use his containers.”

Dallas’s eyes widened, “I hadn’t thought about it going that way, but he has to know something is going on, right?”

I nodded, “yeah, I think so, someone has something on Cabot to make him take a risk like this. Someone is making him and Boothe do this, but who? Thanks Dallas, good work.”

“Um Adam, there is one more thing.” Dallas says. He suddenly looked nervous.

“What is it?” I ask.

He started, “I did a little checking on Richie, er I mean Bennie.”

I interrupted, “Dallas, I like this guy, you need to get used to that, you need to stop trying to deter us.”

He held up his hand, “please, just let me tell you this, you decide what to do from there and I will never interfere again. I got into his financials, he does very well for himself, a nice check every month from Harlow Industries, he has no debt, all looks normal for someone like him.”

I felt relief, “see, I told you, now will you drop it?”

Dallas said, “wait, there’s more. There are also some transfers to his account that I can’t track.”

I said, “yeah, he told me he does day trading as a hobby, it’s probably money he makes when he sells some stocks.”

Dallas took a deep breath, “maybe, but they match up with the five cases that your buddy Dan sent you. What did he call it a “finder’s fee”? The timeline and the amounts all match.”

I thought back to Bennie asking all those questions about the Cabot case, he knew about the FBI investigation, him knowing about my dating profile. Then I suddenly remembered that strange phone call from the guy who wanted me to cancel that subscription, that guy said his name was Mr. Hood. Damn it, was he playing me?

I looked at Dallas, “Jesus Christ, what have I got myself into?”

Dallas put his hand on my shoulder, “I’m sorry Adam, I had to tell you. Look, go talk to him, maybe there is a good explanation, it could be coincidence.”

I said, “he’s out of town, Harlow Industries is opening a new plant somewhere out east, he is there for the ribbon cutting. He won’t be back until Saturday, so he can attend the Hospital fundraiser. I am going to have a long talk with him when he gets back.”

I spent the rest of the week thinking about what I was going to say to Bennie and working on the Cabot case. On Friday afternoon, I went to pick up my tux, I saw myself in the mirror, shit, I did look good all dressed up. I envisioned Bennie in his tux and thought how good we would look together, Jesus he had better have a good explanation for where that money came from.

Saturday at about 1, I got a text from Bennie, his plane had just landed, and he missed me and couldn’t wait to see me in my tux. I texted back, I missed him too. He told me he would pick me up at 5 and I would get my first ride in the T-Bird. I wasn’t sure when I was going to talk to him about my suspicions, I decided it would probably be best to wait until after we left the fund raiser.

I got dressed and was waiting, when Bennie sent me a text, “on my way.”

I took a deep breath and looked myself over in the mirror one last time. Just as I was tucking my phone into my pocket, it started to ring.

It was Dallas, “oh God Adam, I’m glad you answered. I’m sorry I think I did something bad.” He was talking a million miles a minute.

I interrupted, “Dallas, slow down, what’s going on?”

He took a breath, “two guys showed up at office today, they wanted to see you. I told them you weren’t here. God Adam, they looked like they just walked off the set of Goodfellas, they were big and ugly, I didn’t know what to do.” His speech was speeding up again.

I said, “calm down, what did you do?”

Dallas continued, “I panicked, I told them you were going to that fundraiser, I said look for the guy in the tux riding in an old T-Bird. I’m sorry I gave them too much, I should have just told them I didn’t know where you were, shit you need to hide somewhere, for God’s sake get someplace safe, please.”

My mind was racing, “it’s ok Dallas, I’ll think of something. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

Dallas said, “be careful Adam.”

I ended the call. I was watching out my window for Bennie. I saw the T-Bird come around the corner. I left my apartment to go meet him. As I stepped out the door, I saw the car speed away with a black SUV following behind it.