Page 73 of Flash Freeze

“Let’s get him in here.” Athena perked up, fatigue falling away. “Looks like CEOs Whitmore and Kerrington might have to make good on their promises.”

“I’ll give the lab a call,” Bach offered, “and meet you when the witness gets here.”

“Good. Paulson, try to go a layer deeper on Mora’s finances. He’s got to put this money somewhere.”

“Not in his mattress,” Campbell chimed in. “We looked.”

“I’ll talk to the other janitors,” Shoops volunteered, “get their impressions of him, see what they think now that he’s been arrested.”

“OK, team,” Athena directed. “Let’s wrap Mora up with a bow.”

A stocky, balding man met Athena and Bach in the visitors’ lounge. “Thank you for coming in, Mr. Middleton.” Bach shook his hand. “I’m Detective Bach, and this is ASAC Bouvier. The tip line has gotten a lot of calls, but yours might prove to be the winner.”

Middleton shuffled his feet from side to side, fingering the cap in his hands. Athena thought he might utter, “Ah, shucks,” any moment.

“Won’t you have a seat and tell us what you saw?” she invited.

He waddled over to a big stuffed chair, as if he’d suffered a hip injury in the past, and sank into the seat. “Well.” He scratched at the five hairs sprouting from the top of his ball-shaped head and stretched out his boots. “I reckon it was four or five months ago, like when the leaves started turnin’, and it was finally gettin’ cool at night. I was workin’ the night shift then, followin’ the pipes with my flashlight, makin’ sure there weren’t a gusher somewhere. A little leakage is OK, but Mr. Booker’d be spittin’ mad if he came upon a lake, you know?”

Bach nodded in serious agreement.

“That’s when I noticed somethin’ goin’ on at the small order loadin’ dock.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, worried eyes shifting between Bach and Athena. “Ain’t usually anyone over there at two in the mornin’, so I wandered that way to have a closer look. That’s when I recognized Isaac directin’ some foreign-lookin’ fellas loadin’ fifty-gallon drums onto the back of this flatbed. It weren’t one of our trucks, that’s for sure.”

“What did you do?” Athena asked.

“Well, I thought it was odd, but who knows?” He raised his palms and cocked his head. “I went back to inspectin’ the pipes and forgot about it. I mean, Isaac works in that buildin’, and I don’t. It could’ve been a special order. I don’t know. But then, when I saw on the news last night that he’d been arrested, it dawned on me, and I remembered. What if that night I saw him, he’d been doin’ somethin’ sneaky? Illegal? So, I called the tip line first thing this mornin’.”

Middleton sat back, pride beaming on his round face. “Does this mean I get the reward?”

“Perhaps,” Bach replied.

Athena took out an 8 by 10 and passed it to Middleton. “Is this the man you saw?”

He took the photo and glanced at it. “Yeah, that’s Isaac. I know him, see? Well, back when I was on days, we often shared a lunch shift. Not like we spent weekends at the huntin’ camp or nothin’, but I know who he is. We’d shoot the breeze sometimes. I figured he was just a regular guy, but then they showed the report about the car chase, and he hit that fire truck and all? You just never know about folks, do ya?”

“No, sir, Mr. Middleton,” Bach concurred. “They can fool us sometimes.”

“Will you agree to testify in court to what you saw that night?” Athena asked.

“Yes, ma’am.” Middleton straightened, assuming a respectable posture. “I’m a good Christian, a law-abidin’ citizen. If Isaac was stealin’ from us, I don’t reckon he should get away with it.”

“Thank you,” Bach said. He handed Middleton a legal pad and a pencil. “Please write down what you just told us and sign it.”

Taking the pad, he began to write. Then he glanced up, eyes sparkling. “Who decides if I get the reward money?”

That was a good question, one Athena didn’t know the answer to. “We’ll call and let you know.”

Paulson hailed Athena when she and Bach returned to the workroom. “It wasn’t easy, but I think I found the account,” he announced. “I dug up a supposed charity established in 2021 by Gael Andre Salcido Kuri, only I can’t find any record of anyone by that name living in Texas.”

“Gael Andre was Mora’s brother, killed in action in Afghanistan,” Athena said. “And Kuri is his mother’s maiden name.”

“Well, Isaac Mora is listed as having rights of deposit and withdrawal on the organization’s bank account,” John continued, “which has moved two million dollars since the charity was established.”

“What’s this fake charity called?” Bach asked, leaning on the edge of Shoops’ desk.

“Rise Together Foundation,” Paulson answered, then rolled his eyes.

“Good work, Agent Paulson,” said Athena. “Get an injunction to freeze its assets.”