Taking Stock (19 page)

“No.”

He hid his annoyance with a question about her progress on payroll. Completing the plan meant more to him than anything. As he said, he wasn’t expecting to find criminals. He was working to earn his bonus. Sarah lied and told him she’d validated fifty employees. He relaxed.

“Exactly how did you come across this find of yours
?
”

“I was investigating that letter I showed you.”

“Did you go back to January one
?
”

“Not yet. I was planning to but–”

“This is not the way we operate.”

“I know. But I need to tell you what I’ve found.”

“I don’t need the Lone Ranger on my team. Remember our little conversation about Stan
?
Stan doesn’t pull shit like this. He may be slow, but he’s always moving toward the goal line.”

“I know. I know, but I need your help.” Sarah waited until Herman threw open his hands. “There’s a real issue in that letter. The company paid off the client, but my research keeps running into roadblocks.”

Herman sat back down and crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”

She explained the timing of the order and how the customer lost over three thousand dollars. She told him how much Gregg had helped and how they’d run aground when they asked for technical help from Brad and
Eric
a. 

“You think there’s a reason no one in IT will help you
?
”

“It looks bad. There’s a discrepancy between the customer’s phone bill and our records. It looks like the data’s been doctored.” Herman started fidgeting in his seat. “What if this isn’t the only transaction
?
Someone could move the difference to another account and then get the money out. Where better to do that than from IT
?
”

“So we can’t explain what happened and there’s money to be gained.” Herman rubbed his chin. “What have you done to investigate
?
”

“Gregg and I talked to,” Sarah fished in her notes, “
Brenda
n Purcell. He took the call. He’s got an excellent record and,” she paused for the right words, “he’s a good kid. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s not our man.”

“Probably doesn’t have the connections to pull this off. Not unless he’s working with someone upstairs. Who else have you talked to
?
”

“
Eric
a Fletcher. She’s the go-to person for systems problems.”

“I know
Eric
a. Pretty popular around here. What did she say
?
”

“Not much. She said she’d look into it, but I haven’t heard anything in over a week.”

“So you want me to light a fire under her
?
”

“I’m not sure. I’m stuck and I’ve got no way around.”

“You did the right thing. Systems people make me nervous. They can clean up after themselves in ways other people can’t. I’m not ready to accuse anyone, but do you think she’s hiding something or is she just busy
?
”

“I’m not sure. Gregg trusts her one hundred percent.”

“But you don’t
?
”

“I don’t know. She seems friendly enough and supposedly she helps everyone down in client services, but I’m not getting anywhere.”

“Back to my question. Is she busy or is she avoiding you
?
”

Sarah wanted to say she was stonewalling, but didn’t want to speculate.

Herman went to personnel for
Eric
a’s file and left Sarah waiting. She wondered what she’d set in motion.
Eric
a had the relationships, the access and the brains to do this, but was she the criminal type
?
Gregg trusted her completely, but he was in love. Was his judgment colored or was hers
?

Herman returned and plopped the file on the low table between them.

“I got an update from HR. She’s worked for four different bosses. If anyone knows this business from every angle, it’s her. She received stellar reviews in her first three jobs, but for some reason things have changed with Brad Foster.” Herman paused, thinking. “She’s got access to customer data, she’s smart and she knows just about everyone in the firm.”

“So I’m not crazy
?
” Sarah asked. A fraud would explain the friction between her and Brad. Rules would need to be bent to cover up what she was doing. It also explained her reluctance to help.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Herman walked over to his phone and punched a few numbers. The ring played over the speaker and then a man’s voice came on the line.

“Hey, Brad. I’ve got Sarah Burke on the line with me.”

“Hello, Sarah.”

Sarah’s weak greeting was surely inaudible on the other end.  Herman picked up the conversation. “Brad, we have a situation here involving one of your employees. I’d like you to spend some time with Sarah. Let her show you what she’s got. Can you do that
?
”

“Something serious
?
”

“Can’t tell. What’s your schedule like
?
”

“This week’s bad. I’m away most of next week. I could do early next Friday. Breakfast away from the office might work. If this is urgent, we could do something after hours.”

Herman didn’t give Sarah a chance to respond. “Let’s keep this first meeting out of the office. Breakfast next Friday will be fine. Sarah will handle the details.” Herman thanked him and hung up.

“Is it safe to bring another person from systems in on this
?
”

“Good thinking. It could be anyone up there, but I don’t think we need to worry about the CEO’s brother-in-law. Stealing from the company wouldn’t go over well at family dinners. Don’t treat him different than anyone else, but don’t go throwing accusations around. It could be bad for both our careers.”

Sarah felt foolish for the suggestion and the lecture made it worse. She left his office energized to get her investigation back on track. She’d catch up on that payroll project while she waited for Brad Foster to get back from his trip
.

The suitcase faced Brad from the bottom of the closet. Assembled after this insider trading opportunity plunged into a nightmare he couldn’t escape; the case held enough clothes and enough money to get him somewhere he could melt away. He could live out his days comfortably in
France
. The problem was extradition. The moment he disappeared, information about the theft would surface and his face would be on the front page of every newspaper in the country. He’d seen the file complete with photos, time tables and other details. The file had kept him in line until now, but things were getting so hot that no one could protect him. Running had proved disastrous and going to jail terrified him. He sat, torn between sneaking off to the airport and going back to work to run the program.

His only other alternative was to call Marty and beg forgiveness. Marty would be furious. He’d call this a crime against the family. Unforgivable. Only the threat of negative press would keep him from prosecuting. Brad’s sister would never speak to him again. That he could tolerate, but not what would happen if the authorities got the file. Before asking Marty for help, he’d need to have his partner under control and the file in hand. After being captured in the tunnel, he knew getting the file away from the boss and his goons wouldn’t be easy.

The single CD on the bedspread reminded him of where he should be. This disc held his greatest technical achievement. The program siphoned money from small BFS clients in dribs and drabs and it had run undetected for three years. It had never left his BFS office before, but with
Eric
a so close and internal audit bearing down, he couldn’t imagine leaving the disc there no matter how good his hiding place was. He could never bring himself to stay late and run it again and that was going to be difficult news to deliver. He was woefully short of his six million dollar goal.

Frozen by fear with every alternative looking bleak, Brad cycled from the suitcase to the phone to the CD. The one constant was his ruthless partner. Disobedience wouldn’t be taken well even after years of servitude. Brad remembered the night Stu Tinsley stumbled into the computer room. He’d gotten too close, asked tough questions and Brad flinched. He barked at Stu to mind his business and forget what he saw. Brad let it go, but the boss didn’t settle for risks like Stu walking the halls.

Two days later, Brad asked the kid to help retrieve some records. The two went down into a dusty storage area in the bowels of an old warehouse. Stu recognized Brad’s partner when he emerged from the shadows, but he never realized the trouble he was in. He answered flippantly. He pried and pried for information about what Brad was doing that night, never realizing his only hope was to run for his life and never look back. Seeing the gun sobered him a little, but he never believed he was in any danger. The first bullet changed that. Burning through his midsection, it would have been fatal without treatment. The kid was stupid enough to get angry at his executioner; cursing him for what he’d done, never realizing the bullet was meant to get his attention.

The first shot to the knee woke the kid up. It zipped through, missing the bone, and lodged in some boxes. The second met his knee cap, fragmented, and chewed up everything in there to gnarly rubble. Agony wracked his face. He begged. Swore he’d never tell. Promised he’d told no one. If he had they’d have met the same horrific fate. When the boss was satisfied he wasn’t a threat, he put one in the kid’s temple. They left him there. Dead for doing his job, wondering what his boss was up to, trying to lend a hand. He came down willingly and they left him there pooling blood on the concrete.

They left the warehouse together, but the body was never found.

Brad envisioned himself stuck in a prison cell for the next twenty years. His feet rooted themselves to the floor. He should have gone to the office, but he couldn’t move. Refusing to follow orders was risking his life. Still he sat paralyzed for over an hour, his eyes cycling from the phone, to the CD then the bag.

The phone rang.

“If you’re there, I guess you have my six million.”

“I’m not going to make it.”

“You don’t make it, the shortfall comes from your share.”

“Screw that. I do all the work. No way I’m giving up four million.”

“People have to be paid, important people. If you value your share, get in there and get it.”

“Impossible. I can’t run this thing again”

“Don’t turn into a coward on me, Foster.”

“Coward
?
I’ve got the new internal auditor breathing down my neck. She’s not a complete idiot like Stan.”

“She’s not a cop either. She’s not staking out the building you dumb shit. She’ll look at the access records. Keep pointing them at our friend.”