Bill Seagraves came from a good family In Washington, D.C., but stole money from even better families. He didn't plan to run a Ponzi scheme but does. Now, he know all Ponzi schemes are doomed to failure and plans for the inevitable day he gets arrested. One son cooks the books, and the other hides the money abroad. And, nobody even feels bad about it. One of his clients was Jeff Franklin in St. Augustine, who kills himself over his financial loss. Eric Franklin was remembering the wax replica of his father lying in the coffin, as he watches two drunks barge out of the restaurant in the cold winter rain and realizes he must face the emptiness of his life. His girlfriend, Monica Lansing, is one of those highly-intuitive women who understand male egos better than men do. She advises him to break everything in his life and start over. He does, joins the Army and becomes a sniper in Afghanistan. His older brother, Josh, is a big time defense lawyer in D.C. who unsuccessfully defends "The Giggler" a psychopath that hides in dark alleys to strangle passersby. "The Giggler" is sent to the same Maryland prison as Bill Seagraves. Eric returns from Afghanistan and visits an old buddy in exotic South Beach. In the famous Tides Hotel, he meets the younger son of Seagraves, who has been shuffling stolen money abroad between Nassau and the Isle of Mann. Eric meets him in an alley and kills him the as The Giggler would. Of course, that very satisfying murder also prevented any payback of looted funds to anybody. Eric also compares the experience with killing from a distance as a sniper. Then, it becomes complicated. Eric returns to live with Josh outside D.C. while he looks for a job. Fulfilling a promise to his former lawyer that he would give Bill Seagraves the finger, The Giggler kills Seagraves in prison, using only a finger, as payback. The Giggler's brother, who paid for The Giggler's legal defense and now wants payback of those funds, goes to Josh, demanding blackmail, as Josh had referred substantial business to him, allegedly as payment for having Seagraves killed. While a Miami Beach detective is able to get Eric indicted for murder, the trustee sues the victims for payback of any monies they received, as they were also stolen from somebody else. Ever the existentialist, Eric sees only absurdity and dumps the whole messy truth on the courtroom floor and receives the death penalty. He goes to his death with no regrets, and the Epilogue brings a bittersweet satisfaction to the conclusion.
About the Author: Jim Flinchum is a former Special Forces officer and expert marksman, who lives in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Already retired as a Senior Vice President from a major bank, he is currently Managing Principal and owner of Bay Capital Advisors, LLC, a state-registered investment advisor. Mr. Flinchum is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) professional as well as a Certified Investment Management Analyst(R). He holds degrees from Old Dominion University, the College of William & Mary, and the University of Dallas. He also won the Kessler Award from the Investment Management Consultants Association for the Best Financial Article of 2008. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP(R), CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.