The Hunt For VALHALLA

Investigator Harley Proffit and Judge JD Parker sat where their conversations would not carry in the elaborate gardens of the Hensley Estate, enjoying their drinks, just served. 

      “Beautiful here.  Nice of Mrs. Hensley to have us.  Can you tell me what you know about the man, JD?”

       “So much to tell, so little time.”  The Judge admired the crystal and studied the question.  He glanced over at the mansion across the vast lawn and exhaled a big sigh and spoke with a distant gaze.

  “Doctor Matthew Hensley. . . Nobel Prize nominee.   An avid sportsman, a serious SCUBA diver, he loves fishing and diving, it is - it was - his primary therapy . . . he could never stand the confines of the laboratory for too long; he loathed the high-society part of his life too, but God knows, he could control research breakthroughs and exploit them ferociously.  And you know about his mistress . . . Lisa Stevens.”

       “How about the money, his enormous wealth?”

       “Hensley was a shrewd businessman. He was rich early on through patents.  The stock he owned in Kalera Research skyrocketed; it grew into a true wonder company and got fatter.  Too fat, some say.  But now there's trouble brewing, over legalities.  The Feds built their case before he went missing.  Now the Securities-and-Exchange Commission and the IRS want a sit down with the good doctor . . . overdue . . . having now missed their chance.  The Feds are now looking for him, as are you.  It appears Hensley raided his own corporation; he sold all his stock - took all that money and hid it.  Huge amounts of money.  The path leads offshore.”

“Matthew had discoveries that would turn the world of medicine completely upside down.  He was to announce the successful development of a new treatment, one that attacks diseases at the sub-cellular level.  But then?  Hours before the news reached the world, he disappeared.  Now everyone’s hunting for Doctor Matthew Hensley… and his yacht VALHALLA.”