Synopsis of Justice for Angela
Elderly ladies are being scammed out of large sums of money, even their life savings, by a gang of vicious cons. Unlike many boiler room operations that frequently change locations, the gang operates out of a permanent location with the curious name, the Opportunity Company. It is the brain-child of a mad genius named Dirk Struik. He had founded it three years prior to the time this story takes place. Angela Huber is an elderly scam victim who is murdered in a brutal home invasion just a few days after the gang has cleaned out her retirement nest egg. Her close friend, Tony Jencks, shares his devastation at her death with Jimmy Tate, a friend who is also a private investigator with Engstrom and Associates, Confidential Investigations.
The murder appears to have become something of a cold case for the Tucson police. Angela’s brother and sister are increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress. They plus Tony join in to hire Jimmy and the other three associates to investigate. They embark on a crusade to track down Angela’s killers.
The four associates are all in their early sixties, the prime of life, and live in an adult-only community known as Tucson Estates. Before getting roped into being PI’s the year previously by Gus Engstrom’s FBI brother, they were a carefree bunch that rode their Harley’s and called themselves the Merry Marauders. Their investigative technique at times betrays their novice standing.
A puzzling insurance policy comes to light. The beneficiary is not Angela’s daughter Beth but rather a so-called “close friend” named Chloe Fraser. Is there a common thread binding the scam, the deadly home invasion, and the insurance policy, or are they separate unconnected events? The Tucson police and their top homicide cop, Mark Behrends, are not thrilled with the intrusion of Gus Engstrom and his buds on their turf. Can these two factions make nice and secure justice for Angela?
Books by Robert Solem 