Soul Sucker

John Miller’s POV

Manhattan, New York City

Friday, December 2, 2022

It had been a long week after the long holiday weekend. Almost a third of the office was still on vacation, leaving guys like me to pick up the slack. I’d been working long hours to catch up on my caseload and was looking forward to ducking out early for the weekend. I had a lot to do, after all.

Around three, I got a call. “Fraud Investigations, John Miller.”

“John, it’s Samuel Kincaid at First Insurance Investigations,” the gravelly voice said.

“Hey, Samuel, how’s it going?”

“It’s Friday afternoon, and I caught a new investigation,” he told me. “Remember that request for information you sent out a while back?”

“Of course.”

“Well, I set some triggers on new policies, and one of them hit this morning. The insured party is thirty-five and rich. He owns a cryptocurrency exchange in Denver worth between twenty and sixty million dollars. We haven’t done the physical yet, but the policy application lists rock climbing as a hobby.”

Privacy rules prevented him from giving me names, but he gave me details I could use. I started a Google search on Denver Cryptocurrency Exchanges while we talked. “Uh-huh. Let me guess. He’s engaged to a hot, younger woman, and she’s taking out a big policy on him.”

“You got it. The fiance wants a twenty-five-million-dollar, 10-year term life with a flat fee add-on to cover the dangerous activities. With that rider, it nearly doubles the rate to just over $11,000 a year. The stated reason for the policy is for estate planning, as she would face significant capital gains when liquidating his estate.”

I thought about it. People often purchased life insurance as part of estate planning, especially to cover estate taxes if they wanted to keep control of a ranch or business after the death of both parents. “No kids or other complications?”

“Nope. The fiancé is twenty-six, European, and nearly as rich from what I can tell. She moved to Denver recently, and they’ve been seen in town together a few times. Since he is one of the most eligible bachelors in town, the gossip pages are all over the pair.”

“Have you looked into her background?”

“Yeah. Not much there; the woman doesn’t use social media. I found some legal documentation from her parents deaths in Sweden. Homeschooled or private Swiss schools, not much there. I don’t have many contacts overseas to find out more.”

I thought about it for a minute. “I’d be careful with this one, Samuel. What does your gut say?”

“It’s a little queasy on this one. I’ve only got a few days before the physical results come in. If the physical comes back clean, they’ll issue the policy.”

I didn’t know what to tell him. “There’s only so much you can do, buddy. It’s not illegal to buy a policy, and keeping your personal information private is a good idea. I agree that it meets the criteria I’ve seen in other cases where I couldn’t prove fraud.”

“So we insure it?”

“If it were me, I’d recommend reinsuring at least half of the policy to reduce the risk to your company.”

He let out a breath. “That cuts the commission and profit in half if I’m wrong.”

“Tell them to do it ONLY for the first year of the policy. If the woman is part of a Black Widow ring, she’ll off him shortly after they get married.” It was the best I could do.

“That’s a good idea. Thanks, John.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know what happens.” After hanging up, I went into the search results. It didn’t take long to figure out that Landon Street had just gotten engaged to Swedish heiress Ingrid Anderson. I found an article in the Style section of the Denver Post showing the couple leaving a local restaurant. He was a good-looking man, thin like a runner, while she was tall and athletic with Nordic features and light blonde hair. I printed out what I could and started a file for personal use.

I checked out with Terry before heading out. I updated him on my cases, then told him about Samuel’s call. “It’s not our policy, so it’s not our problem,” he told me.

“I’m just going to keep an eye on it.”

“I can’t justify spending company time on it unless you can connect it to one of our cases, John.” I nodded in agreement. “Cathy’s disappointed you guys aren’t coming over this weekend.”

“Well, you closed the pool for the season, so I don’t get to see Mary in a bikini,” I replied.

“The hot tub is still open.”

I smiled, thinking back to our blind date. “We’ve got other plans. The girls are having a sleepover at my place.”

He shook his head. “I can’t believe you think showing them a bachelor pad will help your cause.”

I chuckled. “Have fun decorating for Christmas, buddy.” I turned and left, knowing he’d spend the whole weekend around the house and yard to keep Cathy and the girls happy.

I changed and biked home, arriving just before six. I’d been cleaning the studio apartment all week in preparation for their visit. Nothing screwed up the mood for a date like a dirty bathroom. I finished the kitchenette and walked to the train station to wait for them to arrive.

“John!” I heard Heather yell my name and opened my arms as she ran into me. “The train is SO COOL!”

“You kept Mom safe?”

She nodded. “I stayed close and kept my eyes open,” she told me.

“Self-defense starts with staying aware of your surroundings. Good job.”

“Hi, honey,” Mary said after a kiss full of restrained passion. She had a small rolling suitcase with her, while Heather had a backpack.

We caught a cab back to my apartment, and Heather was shocked at how small it was. “Your bedroom is by the kitchen,” she said.

And the heavy bag and free weights were in the living room past the dining table. “It’s called a studio apartment. It’s all one big room except the bathroom and closets,” I replied. “It’s small, but it’s expensive.” I wasn’t kidding about Manhattan rental prices, either.

“Then why live here?”

“It’s close to my work and dojo, and I don’t need a car to get around,” I replied.

Mary set the bags on the bed as Heather ran to the window to look at the city. There was no view of Central Park, but from the 20th floor, you could see the Hudson between the buildings. I opened the sliding door to the balcony for her. “It’s so loud,” she said as she looked around.

“Always,” I replied.

Mary helped me set the table, and we ate pizza before getting into our jammies and watching a movie. Heather fell asleep, so we left her on the couch and retired to my queen-sized bed. “I’m so glad to have you in my arms again,” I told her as she cuddled into my side.

“I missed you, my love,” she told me. “Good night.”

I kissed her forehead. “Good night, Mary.”

I slept until nine and still was up before the girls. I left Mary and headed into the kitchen to make breakfast. The smell of eggs and sausage woke them up. “Here’s the plan,” I told them. “We eat, stretch, and work out this morning. After lunch, we’ll take a taxi to my Mixed Martial Arts dojo. We’ll eat dinner around there, then come back to watch UFC Fight Night.”

I mixed cardio and heavy bag work into the morning exercises. After showers and changing clothes, we had grilled cheese and tomato soup for lunch. I was proud to show them my dojo, and they watched from the chairs as my advanced class worked on kicks and takedowns for the next hour. Finally, it was time for Ranking Fights in the Octagon.

I sat with the girls through the first three fights, commenting on the fighters and their techniques. Mary enjoyed martial arts workouts and practical self-defense training. Heather was like me; she liked to fight. I left them to warm up, as my fight was fifth.

My opponent thought he’d attack fast and often and get a quick win. It didn’t work well; my defense was good, and my counterpunching left him reeling. By the second round, my conditioning started to win out. When he overextended on a punch, I stepped inside and hit him with a devastating combo that knocked him on his ass. I was on him quickly, and the referee stopped the fight before I did more damage.

“Yay, Daddy! Woohoo!!”

I turned around in the ring, shocked at Heather’s outburst.

It was the first time she called me Daddy, and I liked it.