Mystery at the Hedge Fund Read online

  Mystery at the Hedge Fund

  A Mandy and Roger Cozy Mystery - Book 4

  Eleanor Kittering

  Copyright © 2018 by Eleanor Kittering

  No part of this book may be copied, reproduced, downloaded, transmitted or shared without the express permission of the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. All situations, characters and dialogues are part of the author's imagination. Although real locations may be referred to, they have no relation to any persons, living or dead and any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

  Thank you for buying this book

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Prologue

  Roger sensed an impending doom. He had a dream from back when he was a detective in New York. The dream was about a case he had been working on. He didn't have enough evidence to bring in the suspect. The suspect struck again and killed another person. Had he only acted sooner and brought him in on some kind of charge, maybe the second victim could have been saved. But he was following the rules too rigidly. And it ended in an innocent person's demise.

  He woke up with a feeling of déjà vu. Ever since he started to investigate this crime, he'd come up against a wall. There was no motive but he had a suspect. And the suspect was dangerous. How was he going to protect Mandy from this predicament, he asked himself?

  He spoke with Colin and Lana about his ideas.

  “Look, I don't know how to say this, but there are a couple of people that want to cause Mandy harm, and she's completely oblivious to this. Either we do something, or she's going to get hurt. Somehow, I have to get through to her and get her to call Fred, the police captain, so he can come over here. Otherwise, she's just a sitting duck.”

  Meanwhile, in another part of town, the killer had Mandy in his sights. He was thinking to himself:

  “I don't know if this Mandy woman suspects something, but so far, she's been showing an interest that's unusual for someone that knows nothing about investments. I can't take any chances that she'll discover what happened. Originally, I had planned for one death. I can't let one nosy person jeopardize this whole operation. Besides, nobody is going to miss a housewife who died 'accidentally'. Yes, the more I think about it, a dead Mandy is better than a live Mandy.”

  These were the forces working behind the scenes. One was planning Mandy's demise, the other protecting Mandy from certain death. Which one would win?

  All this started a couple of days ago, when Mandy was investigating a possible murder in her life.

  Chapter One

  It was a quiet morning at Mandy's house. The cats were relaxing on the sofa when the phone rang. It was Jill.

  “Hi Mandy, I was calling to see if you were interested in going to Joanie's?”

  “Sounds like a great idea, I thought of having lunch here, but I enjoy Joanie's cooking much better.” Mandy said.

  “Yes, the idea of eating at Joanie's is always a better idea than eating at home. Joanie has us and everybody else beat by a mile in the kitchen.” Jill said, laughing.

  “You got that right. Alright, let me get the cats together and I'll meet you there in 15 minutes.”

  Mandy said to Roger and Lana “Hi guys, we're going to Joanie's.” The cats didn't understand but when she showed the leash for both of them, they knew they were going out. Lana truly enjoyed going out to the park and chasing after birds, in addition to playing with Roger. Whenever she saw the leash, she thought she was going to the park, but it was not always the case. Roger, on the other hand, knew he was going out, and knew he would wind up somewhere.

  Mandy put the leash on both cats and left the house. Once inside the car, they both sat in the back and were good passengers. Mandy headed for Joanie's, looking forward to the dining experience, because she was hungry. Jill was already there when she arrived.

  “Hi Jill” Mandy said. Jill waved from her booth. Joanie was taking care of other customers, but when she saw Mandy, she waved to her from the distance. Mandy sat in the booth and the cats took their positions in the booth, which meant wherever they found a spot to sit. Joanie headed towards their booth with menus.

  “Hi there, you brought my two favorite cats.”

  “Hi Joanie, hope you cooked something good today, cause I'm starving.” Mandy said.

  “I'm looking forward to your menu today as well Joanie.” Jill mentioned.

  “Well, I'm featuring a couple of specials and my usual fares. I'll let you look at the menu and I'll come back.” Joanie said.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Mandy said. As Joanie retreated to the kitchen, Jill petted both Roger and Lana,

  “Lana seems completely settled in, as a part of the family.” Jill said.

  “Oh she's been like that since day one. I don't think she enjoyed being alone when she lived with Agent Brookdale. Agent Brookdale left her alone a lot, due to the nature of her job. I think Lana enjoys the companionship of Roger and the way I spoil her.” Mandy said.

  “Yep, she certainly looks spoiled.” Jill said, kidding around.

  “I'm sure you'd do the same.” Mandy said jokingly.

  Mandy and Jill occupied themselves for a while exploring the menu and wondering what they should get. After deciding on one of today's specials, Joanie came by and took their order. They went back to talking.

  “Well, we now know there is no money in pet spas, and they're a lot of work, I continue to try to think of something we could do in the near future to make money from the money we've made. However, I'm not coming up with anything amazing.” Mandy said.

  “I know what you mean. There are ways we could make money, but nothing generating a regular income. Part of the problem is the market is saturated. Ever since people discovered they could make money online, people came up with a thousand and one things to sell online, and unless you come up with something amazing, it's hard to stand out from the crowd.” Jill said.

  “That's kind of what I came across. A lot of things have been exploited, and other things I'm not interested in.” Mandy said.

  “I read this one book saying you could make money selling products that alleviate hemorrhoids, or vaginal warts, but I can't build up an interest building web pages to sell this stuff. What do you say in a conversation when you're asked 'what do you do for a living?', say you service the hemorrhoids and vaginal warts community? I don't think that's what I want to be known for.” Jill said and they both laughed.

  “But there's gotta be something we can invest in that we can get a return on the money and do something we actually like.” Mandy said, after a while.

  In the midst of her conversation, Mandy looked around Joanie's, wondering if anybody was there she knew. In the distance, she saw a woman that seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place her. She turned to Jill.

  “Listen, doesn't that woman over there remind you of Jennifer Watson from college?”

  Jill turned around to look “You know, she definitely looks like her, even though I'm just viewing her profile. Well, there's only one way to be sure.” Jill called out 'Hi Jennifer' and waved at her from the booth.

  The woman turned
around and looked in the direction where she heard her name called. She looked, and the people looked familiar. As she walked towards Mandy and Jill, they could see she dressed in good taste, but expensive, as well as carrying a Chanel bag.

  “Jill? Mandy? Wow, I haven't seen you in so long.” Jennifer said.

  Jennifer walked over to where Jill and Mandy were sitting.

  “We saw you in the distance and weren't sure it was you. What are you doing in Pleasant Falls?” Jill asked.

  “Well, I've been living in New York City for the last couple of decades, but my husband's business moved out to Route 3 and we moved out here. Real estate is so much cheaper here than in Manhattan and nowadays location is not as big a deal as it used to be in the old days.” Jennifer explained.

  “What business is your husband in?” Mandy asked.

  “He's a partner at a hedge fund and investment firm. It's a small firm and they do pretty elite business only through personal referrals, but they're very successful in what they do. I'm not familiar with the inner workings of it, but nowadays, you need to use the latest technology just to keep up. All trading is being done by computers today anyway, so, you don't need to be in New York anymore.” Jennifer said.

  “Wow, sounds exciting and you look great. Very stylish.” Mandy said.

  “Well, after the grunge era back in college, I accumulated enough grunge to last me a lifetime. These days I focus on a more of a classic look. The kind of things that never go out of style.” Jennifer said.

  “Well, it looks great on you. What a nice bag.” Mandy said.

  “I picked it up in Paris when we went there for vacation last year. Truly a beautiful city.” Jennifer said.

  “Yes, that's on my bucket list of places to go in the future.” Mandy said.

  “Mine too.” Jill chimed in.

  “So tell me, what have you two been up to these days?” Jennifer asked.

  Mandy explained the misadventures they experienced in the last couple of years, and the last one where she almost got killed, while exploring an investment opportunity. They came to the conclusion that opening up a business was not for them.

  “Wow, you've led an exciting life, and saved some lives along the way too. May I suggest however, if you want ideas on how to invest your money, talk to my husband Michael. He's up to date on everything profitable these days and he would steer you in the right direction. Normally they don't advertise for business, but if I tell him about your set of circumstances, he'll meet with you, it won't be a problem.” Jennifer said.

  “Oh, that would be great Jennifer. We haven't had any professional advice since we started to explore our options. We would love to talk to Michael.” Mandy said.

  “No problem. I'll call him later today, and he'll probably see you this week. His name is Michael Winnans. A lot of people kid me my initials didn't change even after I got married.”

  “You're right, from Watson to Winnans.” Mandy said.

  “Well, at the end of the day, what's in a name, as long as people recognize you and can call by your name, that's all that matters.” Jennifer said.

  “You're right. Nobody's called us by our last name for a long time.” Mandy said.

  “Well ladies, I have an appointment I need to get to, I just came in here to get a little snack. I'm sure we'll get together soon. I'm certain Michael can help you.”

  “Thanks very much Jennifer, we'll keep in touch.” Mandy said.

  As Jennifer walked away and out the door, Mandy and Jill continued their conversation.

  “Well, she certainly has changed from her college days.” Jill said.

  “She sure has. She used to be the queen of grunge, always listening to weird music and leading a crazy life style. And now, here she is, a sophisticated urbanite, very fashionable and apparently has done well for herself by marrying a man that appears to be well to do.” Mandy said.

  “Someone who works at an investment firm and is an investment partner is well to do, not appearing to be. Whatever the case may be, this may well help us with our dilemma. I was afraid to invest by myself, but having an expert insider working for us, I think our investments can generate an income, and then we can do things we truly enjoy, without worrying if it's going to make money or not.” Jill said.

  “I just realized, we forgot to show her the cats. Where are the cats anyway.?” Mandy said.

  Joanie was very fond of Roger and Lana, and when Mandy brought them over, she gave them the full range of the coffee shop. Right now, they were sitting on one of their favorite perches, which was on top of stools by the counter. Jill pointed with her head.

  “They're over there, sitting on their favorite stools.”

  “I don't believe it, they can sit anywhere and they pick those stools, which are not easy for a cat to reach.” Mandy said.

  “Leave it up to cats to do the least practical thing. That's why the show 'Cats' was such a hit, based on the 'Book of Practical Cats', surely a fantasy work because there's no such thing as a practical cat.” Jill said and both she and Mandy laughed at this. Meanwhile, Roger and Lana sat at the stools, unaware they considered them impractical, and some might even say lazy. However, Roger had seen too much action to wear such a moniker. But at this time and space, they certainly appeared to by lazing around.

  “So, what did you think of Jennifer?” Mandy asked.

  “Well, aside from being a different person than the one at college, she certainly has married up. As I recall, her family didn't have much money, and now in contrast, she oozes affluence. Those were Loubotins she wore.” Jill said.

  “I didn't notice. I was focusing more at her outfit. And her purse. That's an expensive bag, and she got it directly from Chanel.”

  “Yes, it didn't escape my notice, when she said she got it at Paris.” Jill said.

  “Let's see what kind of advice her husband offers us. For all we know, he'll show us how we can make money with our money.” Mandy said.

  “Yes, that was nice of her. It can't hurt to get the opinion of a professional. And if these people are running a hedge fund as well as regular investments, I'm sure they're making money. I hope our money is big enough for them to look at us seriously. Sometimes these people won't touch you unless you have several millions to invest.” Jill said.

  “For the time being, let's treat it as an exploratory episode. When we meet him, we tell him what we have, what we want to do and whether it can be done with our funds. It would be nice if we could pull a regular income from our investments. But do we have enough money for that to happen? I guess we'll find out when we meet with him.” Mandy said.

  During this interchange, Joanie showed up with their dishes.

  “Sorry it took so long ladies. One of my help is out today and I have to pull double duty.” Joanie said.

  “No problem Joanie. We were just talking, so we weren't getting antsy over the food. Are the cats ok over there Joanie, or are they in the way? We can move them if you need or want.” Mandy said.

  “No, no trouble at all. They're welcome to stay where they are, hardly anybody sits at the counter and they're not taking up special seats.” Joanie replied.

  “Well, let me know if they get in the way and I'll get them over to here. We were just commenting before why they chose to perch themselves up in those stools. But cats will be cats.” Mandy said.

  “Can't argue with that. Anyway, let me get going and finish up other orders.” Joanie said.

  Mandy and Jill proceeded to eat their lunch, each one pre-occupied with the thoughts of their meeting with Michael Winnan. In the middle of this, the cats showed up back at the table.

  “Now that there's food on the table, you find a way to get back here. It wasn't the smell of the food that brought you back was it?” Mandy asked teasingly, knowing why they were back.

  “Here, have a little piece.” Jill said tossing some food in their direction. They grabbed it with their teeth and were eating it right away.

  Mandy and the cats were r
egular patrons at Joanie's and nobody seemed to mind one way or another that the cats sat on the tables or sat on the stools. Some people actually thought the cats belonged to Joanie and asked about them from time to time. They never realized the cats were only there when Mandy came to visit. Joanie came by at that moment.

  “Well, I see my favorite boy and girl are getting a little snack.” She mentioned as she saw the cats eating. “How's is Lana adjusting to living with Roger?” Joanie asked Mandy.

  “It's as though they've known each other forever. You couldn't ask for a better situation with two cats. They play well, they get along well. They sleep together, they go to the window together. I'm still trying to figure out if it's because Roger was lonely or because he didn't know other cats existed and now, he's found one. Lana I know loves it because she was left alone regularly. So, she loves the regular company and the attention. Although her people didn't mistreat her, they didn't spend a lot of time with her.”

  “Wasn't she adopted by the FBI?” Joanie asked.

  “Yes, they used her to keep tabs on criminals. She was the perfect spy, one nobody suspected.” Mandy laughed saying this.

  “Well, it's definitely for the best she wound up living with you. Unless it's a dedicated K9 group, I don't think animals belong in law enforcement. Animals are peaceful, loving creatures. The only entities that break the law are people. Most are not peaceful, loving creatures.” Joanie said this with a smirk and they all laughed around the table.

  “Yep, I know what you mean Joanie, I've had my share of those not abiding by the law and had my brushes with death as a result. So you're not going to get an argument out of me.” Mandy said laughingly.

  “Well, I better get back to work, I can see some tables need my help.” Joanie said.

  “No problem Joanie, we'll catch up with you again soon.” Mandy said.

  While this conversation went on, Jill checked her cell phone, either checking out a series of messages or sending out messages of her own. She seemed glued to her phone on a regular basis, in addition to being a great technician.