Slow Kill - Michael Mcgarrity [45]
“So, everyone is healthy and well,” Trinidad said, when Joe finished bragging about his family. “That is what is most important, to be happy and well. But you didn’t come here for an old man’s philosophy of life. What brings you to see me, Mr. Policeman?”
Joe laughed. “I’d like to talk to you about Clifford Spalding.”
“For what reason?”
“Spalding has died under suspicious circumstances, and I’m looking into questions about his finances.”
Sandoval shook his head. “When you get to be my age, it seems like everyone you know dies. What are these suspicious circumstances you speak of?”
“He may have been murdered,” Joe replied.
Trinidad quickly crossed himself. “I will say a prayer for him at Mass.”
“How did Spalding come to do business with you?”
“First, he tried to buy the property through a Realtor. But I wouldn’t sell. Because of the zoning, I knew it was valuable. It was only one of a few commercial parcels close to the Plaza that could be developed into a hotel without difficulty. When he offered to lease it, I accepted, because it kept everything in the family.”
“Who were his partners?” Joe asked.
Trinidad blinked. “His partners? He didn’t have any.”
“Perhaps they were silent partners,” Joe replied. Chief Kerney’s notes had specifically mentioned that the property lease had been secured by a partnership that included Spalding.
“I don’t think he had any partners,” Trinidad said.
“Could I see the original paperwork?” Joe asked. “I’ll keep the information confidential.”
Trinidad thought a long minute before nodding in agreement. He left the kitchen and soon returned with a thick packet, which he placed on the table in front of Valdez.
Joe spent an hour reading the material, taking notes, and asking Trinidad some clarifying questions. Spalding had paid the first two-year lease up front. The agreement had a rate renegotiation clause that kicked in every twenty-four months. It was tied to current costs per square foot of similar properties, which had risen dramatically over the last three decades.
Along with the money he’d borrowed, Trinidad had used Spalding’s first payment to renovate and enlarge the building. When the initial lease came up for renewal, the monthly rate jumped significantly to take into account the expansion and improvements Sandoval had made to the property.
From day one, Trinidad had wisely retained complete control over the property, which he now owned free and clear. The hotel generated a sizable chunk of money every month, enough to support every member of the Sandoval family comfortably for the foreseeable future.
Joe left with the name of the Albuquerque law firm Spalding had used to draw up the lease agreement in his notebook. When time allowed, he’d call and see what he could learn about the source of the six-figure payment Spalding had made to secure the lease.
Other than the question of Spalding’s financing, nothing looked out of the ordinary.
Mid-morning found Kerney at his desk reviewing the information that had come in on the Spalding family and Debbie Calderwood. Interestingly, Clifford Spalding had filed a bankruptcy petition three months before the death of his son in Vietnam. Before the court could act on the matter, Spalding had withdrawn the filing and paid his creditors in full.
A real estate transaction record dated six months later showed that Clifford and Alice Spalding, doing business as Sundown Properties, had paid a mall developer for a land parcel to build a motel in Albuquerque. That seemed to jibe somewhat with what Penelope Parker had told him.
He went back through his notes. Parker had said the developer had wanted to buy Spalding’s old motel, tear it down, and put up a franchise hotel next to the mall.
He thumbed through the bankruptcy paperwork. The motel Spalding had listed as an asset was several miles away from the shopping mall. Kerney