Ben shook his head. “Just the painting crates. The museum curator will be by for those later today. I want no reminders of Hahn in my home.” He stood, and Evelyn did as well. “You can take these chairs too.”
“It’s ok. We’ll get those last. Thanks!” The agent nodded with a smile and went back to direct his men to begin loading the truck. Ben ensured the twelve painting crates were set aside and sat back down.
A second filing cabinet was discovered, but it only contained Rainor’s personal finance documents from his non-criminal activities. He’d compartmentalized his life into the two distinct income streams. His personal investments had already been transferred to Ben’s accountant, so these documents were just trash. He recalled receiving an envelope from the lawyer in Sidney containing Rainor’s unfiled paperwork. There’d been pages for each deed. These were currently in a locked cabinet in Walter Greyson’s office, and he’d been given instructions not to mention them until the legal ownership issue had been resolved.
Ben dumped the cabinet’s contents into a dumpster behind the building, and Agent Nelson loaded the empty office furniture into the truck.
A second truck drove into the yard, and once more all activity stopped as the agents watched the newcomers drive close. Ben waved to the woman sitting in the passenger seat as he recognized Ms. Desmond. She got out with the driver and joined Ben next to the crates. She looked timidly at the agents.
“They are an intimidating group,” she said.
“Good thing they’re the good guys then,” Ben replied with a smile. “Nice of you to come on such short notice.”
The woman’s face lit up with a smile of her own. “Shall we take a closer look at this art?”
Ben nodded and went to the first crate. He carefully lifted the painting out so she could see it.
“Oh my! That’s lovely.” She peered closer and made odd noises as she studied it.
She leaned back, and her eyes were twinkling with excitement. Ben smiled and lowered the painting back into its crate. He went on to the next one. On the seventh, it looked like the woman might faint.
“Are you ok?” he asked cautiously.
She raised a hand to her forehead. “Yes, my apologies. I- I believe this one was originally thought to have been lost to the Nazi’s in world war two. A remarkable discovery. It hasn’t been seen since then. This one must have been in a private collection.”
Ben gave her an impressed look then moved on to the next painting.
When they finished, it looked like the lightest breeze might blow the curator away. “This is beyond generous, Mr. Shepherd.”
“Ben, please. And it’s just a good idea to have someone who knows how to handle the art properly, take care of it. I trust you’re willing to do so?”
She smiled broadly and pulled some paperwork from her purse. “Could I take a picture of that writ you mentioned before?” she added pulling her cell phone out.
Ben extracted the letter and held it up for her to take a picture. He took one with his cell too while he had it out. Then he signed her paperwork, and she gave him one of the forms once she’d signed it. Ben helped carry the crates over to the back of the van and shook the woman’s hand once more.
“Thank you so much, Ben! I’m so glad I took your call today!” she gushed.
He grinned back at her. “I’m glad I was able to convince you it wasn’t a hoax. If you’d hung up on me, my next call would have been to the Museum of Modern Art.”
She gave him a scandalized expression then slapped his arm playfully when she saw his teasing smile. She burst into surprised giggles at her boldness in hitting him.
With another wave, she climbed into the van with her driver, and they drove out of the yard. Ben walked back to the Sergeant who was standing, as the chairs were in the truck. He walked over to the container, and there were only a few items left. It looked like boxes of linens. Agent Montrose walked up to him. “Thank you, Mr. Shepherd, for your assistance today. My apologies for the rocky start.”
“It’s fine. Good luck with your case against the Mafia boss,” Ben returned. “I guess I can go now?”
Montrose nodded as she looked to Agent Nelson who also nodded. “Thank you for the donation of the furniture and household items.”
“My pleasure,” Ben said with a smile.
“You’re the only one walking away empty-handed,” the FBI agent said with a grin.
Ben extracted the writ from his pocket. “I have this.”
Montrose shook her head in confusion. “Yeah… but you gave away a fortune in art and kept nothing from the container.”
Ben just smiled at the two agents as he tucked the envelope back into his pocket and turned to leave. He waved over his shoulder as the Sergeant walked with him. Ben pulled out a cell and ordered a taxi as they made their way to the front of the building.
When they were alone, the Sergeant looked up to Ben. “Captain Kendricks informed me that you inherited a safe deposit box in Berlin as well. Are the contents of that covered by the writ too?”
Ben nodded. “I think so, but I’ll get confirmation. According to the wording of the writ, all items included in the inheritance are legally mine. It doesn’t specify the geographic location of the inherited items.”
“There was a memory stick in the box which led to the issues with the Russian industrialist. Was there anything else in the box of value?”
Ben smiled at Evelyn and nodded. Then his smile slipped a little. “I wonder if the CIA was aware of the contents before they arranged for the writ.”
He pondered that while they waited for the taxi. Once it arrived, he called the charter flight pilot to let him know they were on their way back.
He called Walter to let him know how it went. When Walter heard of the writ, he was over the moon excited. On his return from Germany, Ben talked with Walter about his trip and made him aware of the deeds. He told him he still had to determine the legal ownership rights. Now it seemed that question had been answered.
“I’m going to send you an image of the writ once I hang up. I got it as a favor from the CIA, so I need you to confirm just how ironclad it is and the true scope of its coverage. If you determine it is sound, I’m probably going to ask you to sell some of the property. I’ll work with you and Jerry to invest that income under a new business entity.”
“Ben, if that happens, we’d be moving into real estate, and I’d need to expand my practice to manage this. I have someone in mind. A real wizard I’ve worked with before. I’d bring him onto the team. Also, Jerry’s been talking about the need to expand his operation too,” Walter advised.
Ben nodded. He suspected this would probably happen sooner or later, considering how his estate had been growing in recent days. “That’s fine with me. If you and Jerry need me to sign anything, I’ll be available in a few days.”
“Thanks, Ben. Sure can’t say working with you is dull!”
Ben chuckled. “We live in interesting times.”
Walter laughed at the reference to the subtle curse. They said their goodbyes then hung up.
Ben looked to Evelyn who was staring back at him with wide eyes.
“Properties?” she asked quietly.
“Deeds to extensive plots of prime real estate in seven different countries,” Ben said, equally quiet. His mind was forming a plan. He couldn’t see all of it yet but it was looking like it might be the most ambitious project he’d ever taken on.
They rode in silence until they reached the airport. The flight wouldn’t be for another hour, so they grabbed some food and relaxed. Ben had a few people approach him for autographs which he turned down, but he posed for photos with them. He was grateful when they were finally allowed to board the plane and soon after they were on their way back to LA.
“We should get back to the hotel a little after 7 pm. When we land, I’ll see what the others are doing for dinner.”
“What are you going to do with the money you’re going to make from the property sale?” Evelyn blurted.
He looked closer at the woman. She seemed earnestly curious.
“I’m going to invest it.”
“So, you’ll make money from the money. But what are you doing with the money?” Evelyn pressed.
He smiled. “For a period of time in my life, not that long ago actually, I was in the situation where I was making money just for the sake of making money – growing the nest egg. Then Gabriella and Catherine came into my life. And Tina. And Trish. People in my neighborhood I could help with those savings. Money without a purpose is a terrible thing. Soon I discovered I was investing in people and making a difference in lives. The money finally had a purpose!” Ben exclaimed.
“I have a… need to help, and sometimes it gets out of control. Gabriella brings me back down to earth. She, of all of the women I love, gives me the firmest foundation in reality. She reminds me that I can’t save everyone. I spread myself too thin. Too much until I begin to do myself harm. She protects me, from me.” He happily sighed as he thought of the gorgeous brunette.
“With this new income, I’m going to be able to help others on a much broader scale, but I’ll need Gabriella and the others more than ever to help keep me centered and focused on the important things. Family, friends, and the little corner of the world I’ve made my home.” He turned his eyes to the window once more.