Back in my office, I felt that something was fishy. The sons and heirs took the fraud lightly and did not even attempt to get at the truth. To satisfy myself that I was not being drawn into a morass, I obtained a copy of the proceedings instituted by the prosecutor against Lena. It turned out she had confessed and her lawyer’s only task was to plead for a light sentence. The police did not attempt to trace the money. Indeed, this was not their task.
For a few days I reflected. I did not need a fee and could simply turn down the brief. My curiosity, though, had been roused. After an internal struggle I rang up the bank officer who opposed the idea of a settlement.
“Sorry, Peter,” said Quentin as soon as he recognised my voice, “I am extremely busy these days. I do not have the time to train for the forthcoming Contract Bridge Tournament. I’ll have to give it a miss.”
“I am not ringing you about this event. I, too, must take a rain check. I’ll be outstation when it is held. I am calling about a matter involving your former branch. I suggest we have lunch as soon as possible and – Quentin – this will have to be an off-the-record chat.”
“How about tomorrow, Peter?” he chuckled. “And listen – old boy – I think I know what this is all about.”
“So, our chat will be off the record! We are, in all probability, on opposing sides. Our confidential chat is contrary to the Law Society’s rules of ethics and to the Bank’s own policy.”
“Of course: but don’t you worry! Both of us believe in leaving well alone. Obviously, you have grasped that something is wrong.”
Quentin arrived a few minutes after me. The cosy restaurant, in the heart of the city, looked old fashioned. The slightly shaky tables were placed closely together so that usually the noisy speech of loud guests carried over. Still, the manageress had secured for me a table in a distant corner. True, the place was inelegant – a fact evidenced by Quentin’s expression. Still, the food was excellent and reasonably priced.
“Well, what is on your mind, Peter?”
“You had a very old and illiterate customer.” I went straight to the point. “Don’t you think he deserved special attention.”
“I know all about the case you refer to. In essence, we were pacified by our awareness of the assistance the deceased got from Lena. She is – or rather was – an officer at another bank. This way we were ‘lulled into safety’. What do you think?”
“How about the payment of cheques for large amounts over the counter?”
“Lena was known to us and, usually, she muttered that the money was needed for some investments.”
“I see. But there remains a question mark. How comes that you – from all people – decided to oppose a settlement? You are acting out of character!”
“I investigated the case, Peter. Aren’t a few facts puzzling?”
“Well,” I prompted.
“To start with, didn’t the faked bank statements look pretty genuine? How about the colour scheme and the quality of the paper. They did look genuine to me!”
“Was it then an in-house job? Thomas thought that digital made such fakes reasonably easy provided you had a good printer and camera.”
For just a moment Quentin hesitated. Then he went on unflinchingly: “I disagree. Even water marks were beautifully reproduced. The fakes were produced by an employee and I managed to unmask him. It will take him a long time to get another job!”
“Didn’t the Bank report him? Was he prosecuted?”
“Somebody higher up decided that his dismissal was good enough. We decided to avoid the unsavoury publicity that could result from a hearing.”
“I understand; but then, why didn’t you recommend a settlement?”
“Because Lena must have had an accomplice in the late Mr. Lim’s household. Someone who removed each original statement from the letter box and substituted the pre-prepared fake!”
“I can think of but one person. The venerable Freddie, Lena’s adoring stepfather. He did have access to the letter box. But what would be his motive?”
“The oldest one in the world,” Quentin asserted dryly.
“Not curiosity, surely?”
“Greed, Peter. Craving for a bit of an extra.”
Quentin’s words made sense. Freddie stood to inherit the family’s home and one third of all the estate’s other assets, including the amount standing to the credit of the account. His own stepdaughter ‘milked’ that account. If part of her spoils had gone to him, then he would in addition be entitled to one third of any amount refunded by the bank.
Freddie’s ill-gotten gains though would depend on the amounts paid to him by Lena. I had thought that the money stolen by her had ended up in her paramour’s account. On that basis, Freddie would have got a small amount. But this did not make sense. Why would he facilitate a fraud without making a genuine profit?
Quentin looked at me keenly. He guessed my train of thought. His next words threw light on the outcome. “Lena’s boy friend got about $300,000. The accomplice at the bank pocketed a miserable $150,000. The balance was shared by Lena and Freddie. No wonder Freddie remains attached to our new prison convert: a model Christian! I am sure they’ll go to church together – arm in arm – when she is out!”
“So, the true losers are the deceased’s second and third sons.”
“So, it would appear. But who knows how much they got out of their dad when they bought their owns houses. In my books, Peter, family frauds usually remain undisclosed. Nobody wishes to wash the dirty linen in public. All in all, family Lim is united. Their bloody hope is to get an extra $2.1m. from the Bank. In the circumstances, Peter, do you still think I am ‘acting out of character’? Why should they milk us!”
Quentin’s outburst surprised me. Had he himself been gotten at by members of his own family? Still, my present business concerned Lena’s defalcations. To clear matters, I observed: “I see your point now, Quentin. But how about the money that went to the Bank’s accomplice and to the paramour?”
“We got the money bank from both the internal culprit and the boy friend. You see, Peter, the boy friend had an account with us. We used the rights conferred on us under the General Terms and Conditions vigorously: we debited his account.”
“I see. So, in reality you got back $450.000. Can’t you – in the very least – pay these back? After all, you don’t want to make a profit from the family’s loss? Further, don’t you want to avoid the publicity of the episode. Its handling by the Press would not enhance confidence in the Bank!”
“You have a point there. Let me think all this over,” concluded Quentin. “But Peter – on which point do they want you to opine? Just the validity of our existing terms.”
“Quite,” I affirmed dryly.
“Surely, you can do so without any issue of conflicts.”