I spoke with by buddy this morning and he got a call; not from the rude unidentified moron that he had spoken with earlier, but from Paul’s brother. It seems Paul called his brother yesterday. Yes, the mystery man surfaced, but the call, it turns out, raises our concern further.
According to Paul’s brother, Paul called him last night from a hospital. Paul didn’t know where the hospital was. He was there for a physical, so his brother said. He didn’t have a phone, they had taken it away. He was calling from a pay phone. Or so he claimed. You don’t see too many pay phones around these days.
“What did his brother say?” I asked my friend.
“He said that Paul demanded that someone come get him?” my friend said.
“Did he say where?” I asked.
“That’s the problem,” my buddy said. “Has he been moved to a hospital somewhere? Is he still at the original facility, wherever the hell that is? Or, just what is going on?”
“What else did his brother say?” I asked.
“That’s pretty much it,” my friend said.
“Paul said nothing else?” I asked thinking there had to be more.
“Nope. Just I’m in the hospital. Get me out of here.” my buddy said.
“That must have been a quick call. Didn’t his brother have a chance to talk with him?”
“I guess not,” my friend said. “He said it was quick and that Paul sounded upset.”
“You never got a call-back from the people you spoke with 3-days ago?” I asked. “We’re not invited?”
“No.” my friend answered.
“Is Paul rational?” I asked. “Do you think he is he aware of what he is doing?”
“There is a little more to it,” my friend said. “Paul had a lot of money when he left to come back east.”
“I realize that,” I said.
“Well, I don’t mean to suggest anything, I’m just wondering,” he paused. “Paul flew back here. But his brother mentioned last night that he is driving Paul’s car.”
“That’s interesting,” I answered.
“Ya, and his brother called me from a restaurant.”
“So?” I asked.
“His brother is unemployed. He hasn’t worked in years. He lives in a motel. He has no money. But he seems to have Paul’s car and be eating out.”
I just listened. Things were swirling around in my mind.
“I don’t think Paul was in the hospital for a physical,” my friend said. “He had mentioned to me that he had a check-up just before leaving the west coast. Why would he have a physical, and then fly across the country and have another physical?”
My mind was full of questions. “So why was he in the hospital do you think?”
“I don’t know who to believe,” my friend answered. “I don’t know if he was in the hospital or where he might be.”
“Who is paying for all this,” I asked. “Do you know?”
“Paul paid the bill in advance at the first place, I know that, he told me,” my friend said. “But, I don’t know what to think now.”
“You’re probably wondering the same thing I am,” I said, “just don’t want to say it. Do you have a phone number for his brother?”
“Ya, I’m sure it’s in my cell phone.”
“Do you think you should call the original number again and talk to that obstinate Frenchman?”
“I was thinking of that,” my buddy said. “That guy did say we might, or might not, get a phone call in a couple of days and we’ve heard nothing. I suppose I could call him back and see if we can find out anything new.”
“They won’t tell us if Paul is there. We know that,” I said thinking out loud. “But maybe we can find out if it was Paul or his brother that said that we couldn’t visit. Maybe they never mentioned to Paul that we wanted to come up. Maybe they called his brother instead.”
“Ya,” my friend paused. “It’s the car that I can’t figure out. How did his brother end up with that?”
“Do you know where his brother lives, where the motel is?” I asked.
“No.” my friend said.
“How does he get money?” I asked. “Did he ever say anything about that?”
“No, but Paul once mentioned that his brother had some kind of a thing online where he was making some money.”
“Do you know if Paul’s brother has a car?” I wondered.
“He did,” my buddy said. “Paul said it had broken down and was sitting in a weed patch behind the motel. From what I understand it hasn’t run in a long time.”
“Didn’t you help Paul a few years back with some investments?” I asked. “Do you know where his money is?”
“I did. I know where he put some of it, but there is no way I can verify if it’s still there,” my friend said. “Paul didn’t like the whole idea of investing his money. He wanted it handy nearby.”
“A local bank?” I asked.
“No. As far as I know, he invested a big chunk of money in stocks, bonds, municipals and gold. He liked the idea of owning gold. There was no real estate or really anything else other than his car. I know he did have the habit of always keeping a couple of thousand in his draw.”
“Do you know where that went?” I asked.
“I just assumed it was in his pocket when he came east,” my friend guessed. “The guy didn’t even have a credit card or a bank account.”
“Do you know the broker he worked with?” I asked.
“Ya,” my buddy said. “I set it all up, made recommendations, and made sure it got done.”
“That might be the first phone call to make,” I was thinking out loud again.
I have to work and can’t get away. On the other hand my buddy doesn’t work. He is happily unemployed. He has houses, boats and cars and does know all about investing. He was going to make some calls.
The views and opinions in the Enterprise blogs are those of the author and are not neccessarily shared by Falmouth Publishing.
