Page 75 of Heated Takeover

“I need to know everything you can about Janice Brunswick,” I say.

“She was my accountant. Head of accounting, actually,” he says, and I can practically hear him scratching his beard. “She was a hell of an accountant, too. Not somebody I would pin embezzlement on.”

“Maybe not,” I say. “But–”

“She did quit rather abruptly,” he goes on, and I take satisfaction in him answering questions before I ask them.

“When?” I ask.

“About eight months ago,” he says. “Cashed out on her retirement early,” he says. “I told her she would get less if she didn’t wait a few more years, but she was adamant that she was ready to go. She said she wanted more time to be with her kids and grandkids, travel, and take some pottery classes. It sounded like pretty typical reasons, so I granted her request and didn’t ask questions outside of that.”

Jim is right. It’s not that fishy to retire early when you get paid as well as she did. What is fishy, however, is the timing for M.E.

“Jim,” I ask, leaning back in my chair. “Do you think there’s any chance that Janice knew about the embezzlement? Do you think she had suspicions that something was going on? I’m just wondering if she gave any indication that she knew something was off deep inside the books. Deeper than she had the authorization to go?”

“Why do you ask?” he says warily.

“Because if she did know something was awry or became privy to enough information that could put her position and herself in serious jeopardy, she may have decided to keep her mouth shut and leave before the shit hit the fan. That would make sense. She knew something was wrong and got out before it went really bad.”

Jim draws a breath and lets it back out. “Alright. So if you don’t think I had anything to do with it, and you’re not exclusively accusing Janice, what exactly are you suggesting? Because you claim none of your people were involved,” he asks. “Who do you think is sending millions overseas?”

“That,” I say, clicking my pen again, “is what I am trying to figure out. And I will figure it out; that’s a promise.”

“Well,” he says, sucking the air between his teeth. “I suppose I am in no position to do anything but trust you. So let’s get to the bottom of this. I put too much of my time, my money, and my life into this business to watch it all go belly up because someone I thought I could trust was actually my enemy,” he says.

“I agree,” I say.

And with that, the conversation is over. I end the call. I get up and walk over to the liquor cabinet, grab four glasses and the decanter of whiskey. I pour two fingers of whiskey into all of them. After I hand them out and take a sip of my own, I glance at Steve, who is tight-lipped.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asks. “Why didn’t you tell him that Reese and Garrett sold their stocks?”

I nod once, the threat of a grin on my face. “We need to tread lightly, boys. This is a family business at the end of the day, which makes this a family affair. I’m not interested in turning the King against any of his rooks just yet. Because if his daughter does have something to do with this, and the money is going overseas, it will be all for naught if we point fingers now,” I say, sitting back at my desk with my glass. “The thing about chess is that it’s a slow game…a calculated game. We need to make sure that all the people in question don’t know we are playing.”

* * *

Later that evening, Natalie and I get some things done at Mission headquarters. Everyone has left for the day anyways. After that phone call and that meeting, I wanted to get out of that building. But I also wanted to see her so we could talk about everything and because I simply wanted to. There is just something about Natalie’s presence that has such a calming, reassuring effect on me. The sight of her also sets fire to every nerve in my body. It amazes me how she makes me feel.

But something about Natalie is different tonight. She’s a little more reserved than I expected her to be. As we talk things through, she’s professional to a fault. I can appreciate that, especially with such delicate matters, but I can’t decipher her coolness tonight.

“Things are going to be okay,” I tell her as she scrolls through her tablet and I gather my things.

“I’m sure they will,” she says. But I feel like she doesn’t actually mean the words that come out of her mouth, and that bothers me. I don’t want her to feel unsure. About anything.

The other night we were so very sure about so many things…

“I talked to your father,” I tell her, and Natalie looks up at me.

“Was he there?” she asks. “In the meeting?”

“We called him,” I tell her as we both stand up and prepare to leave the office for the night. “Steve, Terry, and I. I thought it was important to include him in the conversation.”

“Did you tell him about Reese and Garrett selling their shares?” she asks, her voice brimming with slight panic.

I shake my head. “No. That would have been a poor move. We still don’t know why your sister and her husband have pulled out of the company, especially since they seem so adamant about being a part of it. I wanted to talk to your father because we need more information about the previous accountant,” I say as we begin to walk.

“Janice,” she nods. “She retired early and nobody knows much about it.”

“Right,” I tell her.