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stand beside Giselle. “Tell us about Skyway Gravel and Paving.”
She had to hand it to the older man. He didn’t blink an eye at the sudden change in
subject, but went on the offensive. Taking a menacing step forward, he clenched his
fists. “You bastard! I know all about guys like you, preying on older women who need a
man.”
Giselle bristled. “Larry, it’s not about Con and me. It’s not even about you and me.
It’s about Stonehedge Landscaping and Skyway Gravel and Paving. How did they get
to be one of our suppliers?”
The foreman took a reluctant step back. “Why this sudden inquisition, ’Zelle? What
kind of poison did this kid infect you with?”
“It was the new software that detected the discrepancy, Larry,” she said softly.
“There’s an unexplained difference of nearly nineteen thousand dollars between what I
thought we ordered over the past two years and what Stonehedge Landscaping actually
paid them.”
Con reached down to a particular sheet containing columns of numbers. “After I
saw the printouts, I dug into the files. I’m a forensic accountant, you know. Just like my
dad was. You might remember Con Senior, the man who was raked over the coals in
public but was vindicated in the courts? He taught me how to search for clues to
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Adding Heat
embezzlement, to malfeasance. And I found a lot of clues right here in these filing
cabinets.”
He lifted his chin, straightened his spine, and seemed to Giselle to grow an inch
taller. Taking a step toward Larry, whose shoulders slumped, Con asked, “Who besides
you and Giselle approve invoices? Who besides you and Giselle can access the
accounting software? Who besides you and Giselle signs checks?”
“Larry doesn’t sign checks, Con. I’m the only signatory.”
Ignoring her, still looking at Larry, he repeated, “Who besides you and Giselle signs
checks?”
“Giselle, I was only trying to help you.”
“Help her?” Con interrupted. “Help her by embezzling nineteen thousand dollars?
What do you think she was living on, air and mulch?”
“Giselle, please, let me explain everything to you without this kid interrupting. Can
we talk privately?”
“Con is not a kid. He’s fully as adult as I am, and maybe more adult than you. He
can stay right here and listen. He’s my accountant as of this moment, and he is being
paid to advise and represent Stonehedge Landscapes. As soon as we get to the bottom
of this, I’ll be informing my current accountant of her change in status. And for both her
sake and yours, Larry, I hope you have nothing to do with how she worked on my
accounts or calculated my taxes.”
She rested her hip on the desk and sighed. “I guess my part-time administrative
assistant is suspect now as well. She’s the one who reconciled all my monthly bank
statements.”
“I have a handwriting expert I can call on,” Con volunteered. “He can tell us
whether your signature was forged on any checks, especially checks written to Skyway
Gravel and Paving.”
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Cris Anson
At that, Larry collapsed. “Giselle, I didn’t mean to hurt you. Please forgive me.
Skyway is my cousin’s company. He knew how much I love you, how it hurt me that
you didn’t give me the time of day. It was always business, business, business with you.
I thought that if you saw the business wasn’t doing well, I could suggest you take me in
as a partner because I could offer you lots of cash to stay afloat. Then I could become
your hero by negotiating better prices with Skyway and saving you all that money.”
“Oh Larry.” Giselle swallowed hard. It took three tries to get enough saliva into her
throat to be able to speak again. “Did—did you forge my signature?”
He looked so abashed, so forlorn, that Giselle almost—almost—felt sorry for him.
“A few times. Most of the invoices were legit. And no, your admin had nothing to do
with it. I never knew her before you hired her. She’s clean.”
Giselle closed her eyes. Even with Larry’s endorsement of the admin, she’d better
go over the bank statements and scrutinize all the checks.
Con pulled out his cell phone. “I think it’s time we get the authorities in here.
Embezzlement is a crime punishable by hard time in prison.”
“Con, no!”
“Giselle, he’s a thief.”
She stayed his action by putting her hand on his arm. “Con, wait. The guys are
coming in. Let me get them on their way quickly. I don’t want them—or anyone else—
to know about this problem until we have a handle on it.” She looked into Con’s eyes.
“Promise me.”
“You know I’d do anything for you,” he said softly. “Even let slime slip through my
fingers.”
Fighting tears, she nodded once, decisively. “Fine. I’ll just give everyone their
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