Footprints in the Heart Daniel J. McNeil
Chapter 1
It was a perfect night for a crime. The sky was dark and overcast with a vast expanse of cloud cover. The street lamps did very little to illuminate the area, but rather seemed to accentuate the darkness. Night had arrived earlier than normal for the second week of September. James Bradford Winslow III pushed the illumination button of his watch to check the time and was surprised to learn it was only just past six-thirty. It appeared to be much later because of the darkness outside. He had been sitting there looking out the window of his bedroom upstairs for quite some time now. He shifted his chair to a more comfortable position.
He began to think back to a less pleasant time in his life. It had been exactly two years to the day that his parents had been killed in a tragic automobile accident. He remembered it even now as if it had just happened. He had been informed by the investigating officer that his father swerved to miss an animal and had lost control of the vehicle, according to eyewitnesses. The car had turned over twice before hitting a tree. Both had been pronounced dead at the scene.
He was an only child and the sole heir to his parents estate. His father had inherited a large sum of money from his father and had invested it wisely. The estate consisted of full ownership of three shopping malls and several other small businesses including a moving company, a construction company, a computer business and the three-story house that James resided in at the present time.
The first four months after the accident had been the most difficult time of his life. He had been offered counseling, but had refused. He had always been a reserved individual and very independent. This had served to help him cope with his loss. He still missed his parents very much and knew he always would. He had always enjoyed a good relationship with his parents and had loved and respected them. The realization he would have to accept things as they were and move ahead with his life was strong within him. He knew the secret he had kept from them would remain his secret.
James allowed the law firm his father had used and trusted to manage his business affairs in the months that followed the accident. He withdrew from public contact and began to conduct all his business from within his home. He did not receive visitors and expressed a wish to absolute privacy. Most of his parents friends and associates complied with his wishes. He had a transfer system installed in his mailbox that allowed him to receive mail without leaving his house. His telephone number was changed to an nonpublished number and a screening device was installed to eliminate unwanted calls. He had a security company install an elaborate security system in the house and on the grounds. He had made a few changes of his own after they completed installing the system that made it almost foolproof.
He maintained contact with Matthew Thomasson from the law firm in regard to his business affairs and had him set up charge accounts at several establishments which allowed him to have anything he might have need of delivered to his home. This allowed him complete privacy. Six months after the accident, he contacted Thomasson and instructed him to list all three malls for sale. A month later James was informed that a bid of $110 million dollars had been made on the property. James advised him to thoroughly investigate the offer and call him when he had collected all the necessary information. A week later he received a call from the lawyer concerning the offer. He was informed that the party involved did not have sufficient funds to complete the transaction and had withdrawn their offer to purchase the property. James instructed him to keep the property listed and to keep him informed if anything changed.
A week later an investment firm made an offer of $147 million dollars. The lawyer was told to follow the same procedure as before. Two weeks later James received confirmation the offer was legitimate and that they had sufficient funds to purchase the property. James gave his authorization to proceed on the price quoted. Three months later the deal was finalized. The paperwork was handled entirely by the lawyers. After the transfer had been completed, James received $106 million dollars. He made a deposit of $100 million in a numbered Swiss bank account and deposited the remaining $6 million in several banks within the city. He retained the services of the law firm to regulate the operation of his other businesses. They were instructed to send him a monthly statement from each company.
Three months later James called Matthew Thomasson again and instructed him to make an offer to purchase a financially troubled computer company. He was able to purchase the company for the sum of $2 million dollars. The transfer was completed two months later. After the papers had been signed, James had a prototype computer sent to his home. There were only two such models in existence. The former owner of the company retained the other model for himself. This had been part of the transaction agreed to by both parties.
James began to learn everything he could about computers. He arranged to have all available information sent to his home from the library over the next three months. He studied day and night until he was satisfied with his level of accomplishment. The following day he sent a check for $50,000 to the law firm he had been using. He informed them that he would no longer be needing their services. He told them he would contact them if he needed their services in the future. The registered letter he sent explained his reasons in detail and informed them he appreciated their help the past few months.
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