“It’s not much of a trail, yet,” Diane said. “The land for Old Dunes was purchased five years ago by a Houston company that set up a new corporation in Florida. It has done business here before, primarily in the Naples area. It leased an office in Orlando and went to work, got all the permits and approvals, promised to be good boys and productive citizens. So far, no complaints. The Texas guys have a nice reputation for building quality resorts, hotels, golf courses, the works. It’s a private corporation so not much in the way of public records, though I did track down some of their other developments and learned that they prefer to build, then hold and manage themselves. Not in the habit of flipping. However, in September of last year, they sold Old Dunes to a company registered in the Bahamas. Proper paperwork was filed here by the new owner, Hibiscus Partners. Couldn’t find a thing about them. Like a lot of offshore havens, the Bahamians keep things private, for a nice fee, of course. Then, in early October Hibiscus sold Old Dunes to Rio Glendale, and the weeds get thicker. Rio Glendale is registered on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, a rather notorious haven for shady corporations and tax evaders.”
“I’ve never heard of Montserrat,” Bruce said.
“They advertise in travel magazines and that’s about it.”
“Where is it?”
“It’s a British territory, down the road from Nevis and St. Kitts.”
“Sorry I asked.”
“Most of it was destroyed by a volcano a few years back.”
“And they call it a haven?”
“Anyway, it’s impossible to penetrate the record-keeping on the island, same as the other Caribbean fronts.”
“So, another dead end?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” Diane was in her element, slowly peeling the onion. “You might not be surprised to learn that Tidal Breeze has a history of tax troubles. I’ve found two newspaper articles about dust-ups with the IRS, and both led to investigations in the Bahamas and Cayman Islands.”
Steven said, “It’s possible that Tidal Breeze bought Old Dunes through Rio Glendale and is keeping it offshore.”
“And does this little conspiracy have a motive?” Bruce asked as he tried to keep up.
“Ever heard the word ‘earwigging’?”
“Not since lunch.”
“We’re dreaming here, Bruce, speculating. Playing a game of what-ifs. Panther Cay will be far more profitable to Tidal Breeze than Old Dunes, so what if Tidal Breeze figures it can have both? It uses Old Dunes to snag Lenny Salazar, who just might be able to influence his mother.”
“You’re really throwing darts here, Steven.”
“True. But as I said, we’re just playing a game, for now anyway.” Steven nodded to Diane, who said, “I’ve spent the past two hours studying building permits, something I don’t recommend, both in Camino and Duval counties. For the past three years Lenny Salazar has built fourteen duplexes in Duval, federal government housing, average value about two hundred thousand. He also built a small apartment complex and a strip mall. He’s a hustler, stays busy, good reputation with the trades. Last September he appeared at Old Dunes and started building condos worth a lot more. I called his office, said I was looking for a builder, and was told Mr. Salazar was too busy to call me back.”
Bruce sipped his latte, looked at Steven, shrugged at Diane, and said, “Okay. I’ve read a million mysteries and I love a good plot. This one wouldn’t make it to chapter three, but it has just enough suspicion to turn a few more pages. What’s next?”
Diane said, “Well the plot does thicken a little. Of course every foreign corporation, as well as every out-of-state one, must have a registered agent here in Florida. Virtually every other state reciprocates. There are dozens of companies who do nothing but serve as registered agents, shuffle the paperwork, and provide an address. It’s especially big business in Miami with so many South American companies doing business in the state. Rio Glendale is using a registered agency in Coral Gables. So far I’ve found two other offshore companies owned by Tidal Breeze who register at the same address. So Tidal Breeze knows them well. Again, there are literally tens of thousands of entities and it could be purely coincidental, but I’m still digging. It does look a little suspicious.”
“Okay. That turns a few more pages. What’s next?”
Steven said, “Not sure. The only way to know who owns Old Dunes is to sue the company, get ’em in court, and make ’em divulge their ownership.”
“I can think of several lawyers around here who specialize in bogus lawsuits,” Bruce said.
All three laughed. Then Bruce stopped laughing and asked, “What kind of lawsuit would it be?”
Steven said, “I really don’t know. Not my area of expertise. I’ve thought of snooping around out there and trying to find an EPA violation somewhere, run to federal court and harass them for a while. But I really don’t have the stomach for it, nor the time. And it would be a long shot at best.”
Diane said, “I’ve checked all the dockets and no lawsuits have been filed against Old Dunes so far.”
