The Texas Ranger's Family (Lone Star Lawmen 3)

Kit’s watch alarm went off at six. He got up and out of the house before anyone else stirred. After leaving a note on the counter that he’d be at headquarters if Natalie needed to talk to him, he left in his car. A rug-cleaning service van was parked across the street. He nodded to the guys and drove downtown.

At work he stopped in the makeshift lunch room where he poured two cups of coffee and grabbed a couple of doughnuts. When he reached his office, the first thing he saw was a forensics report in his in-basket. He put the food on the desk and reached for the printout.

The DNA from the black hair found in Rodney Harris’s car was a match for the DNA of felon Juanita Morales. Kit didn’t need to read the rest. The case was coming together. Where in the hell were she and Alonzo hiding out? How soon could Natalie expect another visit?

“Kit?”

Cy had arrived. “Come on in and have breakfast with me.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” They sat across from each other. Cy bit into a doughnut. “The guys were right. Anyone would think you’re a priest.” He squinted at his friend. “Is the collar providing enough protection?”

“What do you think?” Kit muttered before taking a sip of the hot coffee.

“I can only speak from my own experience. A week into my undercover role as Kellie’s husband and I wanted it to be real. I take it that’s the place where you are about now.”

“You’re not a Ranger for nothing.” Kit let out a frustrated sigh. “I swear I’m going to go crazy if I don’t catch up with the Morales duo soon.”

Cy leaned forward to reach for his cup. “That’s why I’m here. After talking with TJ, I sent you an email. Open it and take a look.”

Kit turned to the computer and found Cy’s email.

Marcos Garcia, 63, of Sunset Valley, Austin, Texas, convicted of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. He’s been ordered to pay restitution totaling $400,000 by US District Court Judge Richard Salazar.

The Assistant US Attorney who handled the case stated that Garcia was an employee of the Empire Guaranty Mortgage Company based in Houston. He was responsible for preparing loan packages and forwarding the documents to financial institutions that provide financing and advisory services for assets management.

Kit looked up from his reading. “How do loan packages like these work?”

“In legal transactions, financial institutions purchase loans originated by mortgage companies, allowing the mortgage company to receive immediate payment and the financial institution to collect the interest.”

“How exactly was Garcia implicated?”

“During this scheme, he signed a number of loan documents using various names. He forwarded these documents to multiple investor financial institutions, one of which was Austin Metroplex Bank. In effect, Garcia set it up so that there were numerous loans all connecting back to a single property, a fact that was not disclosed to the financial institutions.”

“Ah.”

“The proceeds of the fraudulent loans were subsequently wired into the account of a company associated with Empire Guaranty Mortgage Company. It’s a bogus company. The name Julia Varoz comes up on the records, but there’s no live body to prove she exists. As a result of Garcia’s actions, Austin Metroplex Bank was one of nine financial institutions to suffer a loss. The total fraud scheme amounted to approximately twenty-five million dollars.”

Kit let out a whistle. “Why does TJ feel this case touches on the one I’m investigating?”

&n

bsp; Cy’s brows lifted. “Julia Varoz is missing and so is four-hundred-thousand dollars. You’re looking for Juanita and Alonzo Morales. One or both of them ransacked Natalie Harris’s house looking for that exact sum of money.”

“So TJ is thinking Julia could be Juanita, but the alias hasn’t come up on the criminal index.”

“Not yet. The connection I see is that Park withdrew four-hundred thousand from his account the day before he was murdered. Garcia owes that amount in restitution for his crime, but he’s behind bars and Julia Varoz is missing.”

“So maybe all four of them have been pulling off two cons at the same time,” Kit mused aloud.

“It’s possible.”

Kit’s thoughts shot ahead. “Juanita might be the girlfriend trying to find that money to help Garcia when he’s released from prison. Maybe she turned on Harold.”

“I don’t know. But think about it... Garcia’s only serving an eighteen-month sentence. Maybe Park double-crossed them and hid the money where they couldn’t get at it.”

“Esger made fraudulent documents for Juanita, but she might have found another forger to make her a new Varoz alias in order to run that dummy account for Garcia. But to find the right forger is a tough order.”

“Yup.” Cy finished off his coffee. “I’ve got to get going, but I wanted to give you something to chew on. Knowing you, you’ll find the common denominator.”