"Capron, Bill - Color Blind Detective - Ups Green" - читать интересную книгу автора (Capron Bill)

I shrugged my agreement. "Okay, I agree it sounds fishy, but the world is full of strange coincidences. We'll get on the Internet tomorrow and see what we can find out."

We fished the Cut Bank River until nightfall, caught and released a lot of large striated gray rainbows, then made our way back to Browning in the dark. My mind returned to Edgerton Fuller, III, but until I knew more, there were only dead ends.


* * * *
The next day, long after Dave left for his morning deliveries for Big Green, I blocked his phone id, then placed a call to Biorad Research using the number Dave got from the delivery envelopes.

A perky voice answered, "Biorad Research, how can I help you?"

"Hi, my name's Carter Jackson, and I'm with the Internal Revenue Service. I'm needing some information on one of your employees, an Edgerton Fuller."

"The third?"

"Yeah, that's the guy."

She transferred me to personnel. "Hi, this is Jackie Thomas. Kathy says you're with the IRS and you need some information on Edgerton. Is there a problem?"

I gave her my guarded confidential voice, "Well, there might be, but we're not really sure yet. We learned his wife, Tamarella, received a large insurance award, but it wasn't reported on their joint return. We need to ask him a few questions." I heard her scratching on paper. "I tried calling him in Tucson, but the line was disconnected. Does he still work for you?"

I could feel her thinking over the line, how much to tell me. "Yes, but Edgerton's been transferred." I waited. "To the Rocky Mountain States region. He's in Montana."

"Can you give me an address?"

"I'd need that request in writing, Mr...?"

"Jackson," I said, then, "Look, just give Mr. Fuller,III, a call and ask him to ring me up. My number is 415-555-1515." She said she would.

Fuller would get the offices of my company, started, built and sold in a previous life. He'd maybe try information to see if the IRS number was close, if maybe it was just a mistake by Jackie Thomas, but it wouldn't be. He'd start to worry, and I wanted him worried.

I got onto Dave's computer and adjusted the color palate so the screen was readable to my sensitive though restricted vision. I used one of the people-finder search engines, but Fuller's new address was not listed. I did a national search on the first name, Tamarella. I got only three hits, two in the same town in Kentucky, Kettle, and one of course in Tucson.

The first Kentucky number was for a Tamarella Kelly. A man with booming voice answered. I asked for Tamarella. He said he didn't know where she was, and for all he cared, she could be dead. The second number for Tamarella Tubutz was disconnected.

The town was tiny, so I tried the city hall. A woman with the old voice of a lifelong public servant answered, "Kettle City Hall." It sounded like a single word.

"Hello, my name's Carter Jackson and I'm trying to locate one of your former citizens, a Miss Tamarella Tubutz. Can you help me?"

Her voice took a reflexive institutional guarded tone, "Well, just what is it you're looking for her for, young man?"

"Seems a Bob Tubutz in Tennessee died and left her a bundle of cash."

She whistled, "Jesus H., some people get all the luck."

"What do you mean?"

The reservation I'd noted in her voice was gone, we were friends. "Well, young Miss Tamarella was in town about four months ago. Her daddy died a year ago and the estate, mostly stocks and bonds stolen from when he ran the bank here, was finally settled. She was the last surviving issue of that lying thieving old coot, so to speak. Had to sign some paperwork so she could transfer her fortune to some foreign bank."

"Off-shore?" I asked.