“It’s not good. Your mom and I were going over the finances and there’re big discrepancies.”
Roe holds up a finger and looks around. For a moment, it almost feels as if his gaze stops on me but it moves on quickly. My heart pounds but he doesn’t scream or have any sort of reaction, so I’ve got that going for me. I curl myself up in a ball again, sitting on one leg so none of my personal bits touch anything. I’m gonna be honest it’s weird to sit with all your lady parts out there, regardless if they can be seen or not. I’ve found many ways to protect myself over the years. I’m weirdly proud of my ability to get naked in public.
“Did you hear something?”
“No,” his companion says, but glances around. His gaze moves all over and passes me again. “Why?”
Roe shakes his head. “Go ahead.”
“We can’t figure out where it’s going. At first, it was a charge here or there that didn’t seem right. Enough that I stopped to look into it. A charge to a few companies that seemed innocuous enough. Actually, your mom saw them first. I assumed it was just some contract work or something.”
“What companies?”
“I’ll send you the list. I can’t think of any of the names right now. They’re located here in LA, though.”
“That doesn’t sound right. I contract all work out to the companies in the nearby towns. And there’s a reason for that.”
“That’s what caught your mom’s attention.” Paul’s ball cap is in his hands again, getting twisted into a tube shape.
I lean forward with interest. What was this? A little business on the side? Is he scamming people out of money? As if he needs more. That doesn’t seem right either.
“We did some digging. It’s only a few thousand here and there but enough to raise some red flags. It’s shady.”
Roe’s face gives nothing away. Even his normally telltale eyebrows sit neutrally on his forehead. “I’ll look into it and get back to you.” Roe is lost in thought when he glances at his friend and then does a double take. “What’s wrong, you seem upset still?”
Paul frowns like something more weighs on his mind. “The thing is. I researched these LA companies. Each one had a basic website, not much to them and they all seem legit, but umm, shortly after that my computer and several others on the intranet got a nasty virus. We still haven’t been able to fix them. We’ve resorted to using old machines just to keep things moving.”
“I’ll ship new computers out right away. Just tell me how many you need.”
“It feels weird. The timing.”
“I agree. You think somebody didn’t like you snooping?”
“Does that make me sound paranoid?”
“I really don’t know anymore. Sometimes I think…” He stops himself short. “I dunno. Never mind. Email me everything you know. To the secure account. Otherwise, don’t contact me at all.”
Roe uses the five o’clock shadow on his chin to scratch the palm of his hand.
“I know we’ll work this out.” Paul clears his throat. “The things you’re doing for our town. It’s life changing—I wish you could see it there.” The other man’s voice is tight with emotion.
Roe waves him away. “You don’t have to… I know. I mean. This is…” He runs his hand over his neck.
Both men look so uncomfortable with this exchange it’s almost laughable. They quickly change the subject and slip into talk about work and family. I need to come Up because I’m getting dizzy and so I hide in the darkness of the corner until it looks like they’re wrapping up. Paul stands up and replaces his ball cap. They hug again.
“It's good seeing you. Hey. Don’t sit on this okay? I’ve heard some really stupid ideas about how to handle this. Ideas that could get out of control.”
“What do you mean?” Roe’s eyebrows scrunch together in a concerned look.
“Nobody likes the idea that someone is pulling shit over on us. They’re grabbing pitchforks.”
“Don’t let them do anything. I’ll fix it.”
“I’ll try.” Paul scrutinized him. “Hey. Your mom told me to tell you to eat more.”
They both laugh.
“Noted.”
