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“Jesus, did they lose their retirement benefits?” asked Ian.
“Almost. The state stepped in and helped to make up some of it, but it was down considerably, and there was a real risk of some of the retirees losing benefits by a certain age. You can only imagine how that went over.”
“So the system is busted?” asked Gaspar.
“Not any longer,” said Hannah. “The system was taken over by one of the retirees, and money started pouring back into the system, giving the retirees even greater benefits. In fact, they took it away from the city and put it under private control.”
“And just who is this private control?” asked Nine.
“Gates Investments. Charlie Gates owns his own investment firm. The money is invested through him and has seen substantial growth year after year. Most police officers will now retire with double what they thought they would have.”
“How do we fucking argue with that?” frowned Rafe.
“They’re still killing innocent women. He’s doing this through investment but also through murder and stealing. I’m all for them getting great retirements, but not at the expense of human life,” said Gaspar.
“What do we do now? We’ve got Pierre going in playing footsie with the women and Addie possibly playing the men, Noah, Julia, Mama, Ruby, and U-Jin reading palms, talking to ghosts, and giving psychic readings. What else do we do?” asked Baptiste.
“We have to find where the rest of the money is located,” said Hannah. “There’s no doubt that the vast majority is being reinvested in the retirement fund, but it’s not accounting for millions in stolen goods and cash. I think Gates is using it to fund his campaign because he’s telling the world that he’s self-funding. In fact, this tells them that he knows how to invest and raise money better than anyone.”
“He is waiting for the next role after Congress,” said Gaspar. “He’s hoping this shows how good he is and impresses all the right people. Hell, all the people. Period.”
“I think that’s what he’s doing,” said Hannah.
“Nice work,” smiled Ella. “I would agree, looking at these spreadsheets. Wait. What is this? Why are these accounts redepositing?”
“What? Where?” asked Hannah, looking at the books. “Damn, I missed those. Jean? What do you think?”
“I think we need to find out if those people are dead. If they are, was their money left to a specific person, or was it relegated back to the retirement fund.” Tailor stared at the tables, shaking his head.
“Fuck. They’re killing their own men for money.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“Charlie, it’s good to see you, man. Looks like you’re staying steady in the polls,” smiled Mike.
“Got a ways to go, but we’ll win it. Then we own the fucking world,” laughed the older man. “Tell me what’s happening here. What’s going on?”
“Well, Al is, of course, grieving his loss,” smirked Mike. Al laughed, shaking his head. “Grieving more than you know.”
“Yeah, I’m having a tough time with all the old lady pussy coming at me,” he chuckled. “Man, I’m telling you, there’s nothing colder than a woman with her eyes on a single man.”
“Speaking of, tell me about this new guy you want to bring on,” said Charlie, taking his seat with a glass of whiskey in his hand.
“Former cop, did some time in the Army. Looking for a place to retire but can’t afford what we charge. He’s got a wife, but she’s a retired cop as well. Showed me a picture of her, and she’s fucking hot as shit. The old guys here are gonna be grabbing their little blue pills.
“We talked some, and he’s pissed about what his retirement benefits are, and he’s looking for part-time work. Asked if we could use help with security as a trade-off on his rent.”
“Where was he a cop?” asked Charlie.
“Here in New Orleans. I’ve already asked someone about him and got nothing but glowing reviews. Great cop, a little heavy-handed with the criminals, but nothing that the union didn’t get him out of. He sounds like someone we could use, and the guy is big as a bus,” laughed Mike.
“Sounds like our kind of man. How did the women receive him?”
“Dude is good-looking, man. Big, muscular, handsome. And he’s a local, so he’s got that southern twang the ladies love.”
“I look forward to meeting him and the wife. Tell me about these new psychics that are causing trouble,” he asked.
“It’s a weird group. There’s some Chinese guy,” said Al.
