Page 40 of Hurricane Irene

“There was no executive committee.”

Clint wrote the sentence on the whiteboard in large letters.

“Good,” Clint said. “One of you has now invented an approving body, and the other has denied it existed.”

Voss’s face reddened.

“I meant the three principals,” he said. “The three people sitting here.”

“Then all three principals approved the transfers?” Alton asked.

“No,” Calder and Lenora said at the same time.

Jackson allowed the silence to lengthen. Luke watched Calder’s right hand close into a fist against his knee. Cam shifted enough to make the chair behind Voss creak.

“Seven Pelican agents objected to the sales language,” Jackson said. “Six were recovered dead near abandoned concrete slabs. One remains alive. When did you last speak to any of them?”

“We were told they resigned,” Lenora said.

Eric placed a photograph of the legal pad beside the bonus chart. The words were faint but legible: women, copies, Baton Rouge, claims, rain, bodies.

“Your handwriting,” Alton said.

“Random notes from unrelated matters,” Lenora said.

“Unrelated women, unrelated bodies, unrelated Baton Rouge reporters, and unrelated rain?” Clint asked.

“Yes,” Lenora said. “That is what unrelated means.”

Eric opened the recorder case. He did not play the device. He only set it where all three could see it.

“That was in my office,” Calder said.

Jackson looked at him.

“How do you know?”

Calder said nothing. Voss stared at the recorder as if it might speak on its own.

Clint pressed a button. Calder’s recorded voice filled the room: signatures are armor. Lenora’s answer followed: bodies contradict people every day.

“That is taken out of context,” Calder said.

“Then provide the context,” Jackson said. “What bodies were you discussing?”

“Hypothetical bodies,” Voss said.

Lenora closed her eyes for a moment.

“Stop helping,” she said.

Jackson’s gaze moved among the three of them.

“Did any one of you report seven missing employees?”

“Our responsibility begins and ends with the contracts,” Calder said. “The homeowners had the opportunity to read them. They signed. They paid premiums. They accepted the terms.”

“Employees leave,” Voss said. “People relocate after hurricanes.”