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“It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Clemens, and your two friends.”
“We’ll be in touch,” she said, shaking the man’s hand once again.
They got into the limo and Izzy let out a big sigh. “Thank God we are out of there. You did catch what he said when he was on the phone, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Clay said. “He obviously knew who we were and whomever he was talking to did as well.”
“Probably the mastermind behind the embezzlement.” Jay grabbed Izzy’s hand. “You were amazing back there. Accountant. Interior designer. Actress. Is there anything you can’t do, Izzy? With your acting performance, I really don’t think Gonzales realizes we’re onto him.”
“I hope you’re right, but we have our work cut out for us.”
“You reacted strangely when we were introduced to Gonzales, sweetheart,” he said. “Did you come across his name while you were checking the records this morning?”
She shook her head. “No. But do you remember your uncle’s phone call the day he hired me? He was talking with a man named Alberto. They couldn’t be one and the same, could they?”
“I don’t think so,” Clay said, but the look on his face told him he was concerned. “But we definitely need to check Mr. Gonzales’s records thoroughly.”
“I hate to ask this but I must. Do you think your uncle might somehow be involved in this?”
Jay sighed. “I certainly don’t want to believe he is, but we need to keep this just among the three of us for now.”
Izzy was reading the files. “This is all in order and it ties up all the loose ends you found.”
“Just like a nicely wrapped package that someone planted for us to find,” Clay said.
He agreed with both of them. There was no paperwork failure about the discrepancy he and Clay had uncovered. Someone was stealing from GWI. “And it still doesn’t answer why Janice found the warehouse locked up and appearing empty just a few days ago.”
“True,” Izzy said. “Or why for the past five years the Spanish office hasn’t ever contacted London about the warehouse. Logistically, that seems very unlikely.”
“But we all saw those shelves.” Clay shook his head, a clear sign of his frustration. “The missing inventory was there, but how did it get there so fast?”
“That’s what we are going to find out,” Izzy said, determination in her voice.
“But we must be careful,” Jay warned, concerned for her safety. “Gonzales and his partner, or partners, think they’ve duped us. We need them to keep thinking that.”
Chapter Eleven
Back at the conference room at GWI’s London offices with Clay and Jay, Izzy’s frustration grew during the conference call with Tom and Lyle for a couple of reasons. First, it didn’t look like they were getting any closer to figuring out the real answers to the discrepancy about the two warehouses. And second, Tom and Lyle were making it very clear that they were still unhappy that she was the lead on this project.
“The paperwork was very clear, Isabella.” Tom’s voice came through the speaker sitting in the middle of the table. “The warehouse in Chicago is being operated out of GWI’s Toronto offices.”
“It’s been in operation for five years,” Lyle added. “So far everything checks out perfectly. We should be able to wrap this up by the end of the week.”
“Just a paperwork glitch. I’ll call the firm and let them know,” Tom said, obviously trying to reassert his seniority with her.
“Not just yet, Tom. We still have some investigating to do before I report back.”
“Certainly, if you want to delay this matter. It’s on you.”
By the look on Clay and Jay’s faces she could tell they were pissed with Tom’s insubordination.
When they leaned forward to respond to him, she hit the mute button. “I got this, guys. Okay?”
They nodded but their demeanor didn’t change. Tom was lucky that the Atlantic Ocean was between him and them.
She unmuted the call. “Tom, listen to me and listen good. I know you and Lyle are not happy with this situation—me being in charge—but that’s how it is, like it or not. And the three of us have a job to do. We are representing MJK and if we miss anything, it will reflect on the firm. So, here’s what I want you to do. Recheck the records for any anomalies. Go through every invoice and purchase order for the past six months. See if the names Alberto Gonzales or Kenneth Mason have ever appeared anywhere on that warehouse’s paperwork.”
Moody had mentioned Kenneth Mason’s name that first day in his office.
