Free Kent Conwell - Tony Boudreaux 06 - Extracurricular Murder by Kent Conwell Page B

to take a chance?”
    I made a face, then laughed. “On what I make? You’d run me
out of here if you knew what I take home weekly.”
    He joined the laughter, but kept selling. “George started
small. He did everything the right way. He saved, invested as he
could. Never lost patience or hope. Almost had it. You probably
could do the same thing.”
    Now I was seeing another side of Holderman, though his
strong appetite for life and his meticulous attention to detail
seemed to fit right in with his investment strategies. “What
happened?”
    Waldron’s smile faded. He paused and stared into the air
over my head. “Too often, Mr. Boudreaux, all of the careful
planning, the well thought out strategies, blow up because of
one factor.” He fixed his eyes on mine. “Greed.”
    I frowned. “Greed? You mean he lost his money?”
    Waldron nodded. “Not all of it, about half. And on top of
that, he made himself one big enemy.”
    My pulse raced. An enemy? Who could Waldron be talking
about? My brain raced. The only name I could come up with
was Perry Jacobs. “Go on. He listened to the wrong person, you
said. Who? Who is the enemy he made?”
    He hesitated.
    “Look, Mr. Waldron. Holderman’s dead. I don’t know if
whoever you’re talking about had anything to do with it or not,
but it could be important.”
    He gave me a sheepish grin. “I always figured it could, Mr. Boudreaux, but when the police never came to ask questions, I
dismissed it. If they didn’t think it was important, why should I?”

    I’m always amazed at just how easy it is for people to lie to
themselves so they won’t have to be involved. It’s so much
more comfortable to simply forget about a bad situation if possible. Push it out of your mind. Let someone else handle it.
    But, I bit my tongue. I still needed information, so I couldn’t
alienate the man. “I don’t know, Mr. Waldron. Could be they
knew nothing about Holderman’s real estate interests.”
    He shrugged. “Maybe.” A tinge of embarrassment colored
his plump cheeks.
    “So, who is this enemy you’re talking about?”
    He hesitated. “Maybe enemy is too strong a word.”
    I was growing impatient. “Come on, Waldron. Either you tell
me, or I’ll bring the cops out. I don’t have time for games.”
    An embarrassed grin spread over his round face. “I’m sorry,
Mr. Boudreaux.” He gave a deep sigh. “Look, Boudreaux, I’m
like most. I don’t want to get involved.”
    “I understand. But, you understand, you might have information that will help find the killer. Either way, Mr. Waldron,
you’re going to give us the information you have.”
    He nodded. “I know.”
    “Good. Now, this enemy he made. Who is it? The same one
who told him about the investment?”
    “No. Chu Cheng Lee talked George into investing. We all
thought the deal was legitimate, so George convinced a friend
to invest. This friend did and lost it all. They almost went to
blows right here in this office.”
    “Who is the friend?”
    Waldron hesitated.
    “Come on, Waldron. Who are we talking about?”
    “Perry Jacobs,” he replied softly. “Perry Jacobs is the man
who lost everything.”
    My reply was couched in the archetypical Tony Boudreaux
eloquence. “P … P … Perry Jacobs?”

    He nodded.
    “The teacher? The schoolteacher? That Perry Jacobs? He
lost everything?” Motive in capital letters flashed before my
eyes. Compound that with his loss of a contract, and you could
be talking lethal injection time. But then I reminded myself that
a teacher couldn’t have that much to lose anyway.
    Again, Waldron nodded. Clearing his throat, he explained.
“Chu Cheng Lee set up a parent corporation to invest in several large real estate complexes in and around Austin. He was
smooth. Half a dozen Chinese nationals invested over twelve
million with him. At first, the investments paid off nicely for
Holderman. At the time, him and Jacobs were on friendly