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Her eyes widened behind the black rectangular frames that complemented her dark brown hair. “Do tell. What kind of case are you handling with the Grand Master of PG County criminal lawyers? Anything where I might be on the other side?”
“Doubtful. It’s an embezzlement case.”
“White collar crime? My, my—we’re moving up in the world, aren’t we?” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Even Walt doesn’t do a whole lot of those.”
“Consider the market. Most of the criminal work around here is in drugs and violent crime.” PG County had a drug trafficking and murder rate to rival its neighbor, Washington, DC. “I think Walt stumbled onto this one because it involves his nephew, Bradley Higgins.”
“Really? What’s he like?”
“All right, I guess. One of these young guys who’s into computer games, so he works for a computer gaming company. He works in accounting, has big ideas about going into business for himself someday. He’s okay, if you go for boy-ish blonds with too much family money and too little sense.”
Kait laughed, then looked thoughtful. “Embezzlement . . . not my bailiwick. But don’t kid yourself. Our Economic Crimes Unit has plenty of cases. Mortgage fraud is rampant in this county. I’m not sure which of their attorneys would handle embezzlement, though.”
“Hold your horses. The company hasn’t even pressed charges yet. All they have on him is a phony vendor account they claim he created in order to steal from the company. Since he’s the only one authorized to create these accounts, naturally, he came under suspicion first.”
“Sounds logical.”
“Yes, but ...” I held up a finger for emphasis, “he was the one who reported the irregularity that led to the investigation of the account.”
“So why would they suspect him?”
“He reported it to his former supervisor, but never put anything in writing. He thinks the supervisor took credit for finding the problem, since it was his job to spot these things. Anyway, the supervisor quit or was fired—it’s not clear which—and no one knows where he’s gone. Or at least no one’s telling.”
“So all you have is his word about reporting the problem. And he could be lying to the company and you.”
“Anything’s possible,” I said. “But I believe him. Besides, if the case against him is so clear cut, why didn’t they fire him instead of putting him on administrative leave pending an audit? Obviously, they need more evidence before they can take legal action.”
I’d left out a few details. Sure, Brad’s old supervisor, a fellow named Darrell Cooper, could have taken credit for finding the phony account. Cooper, perhaps too conveniently, wasn’t around to confirm or deny it. And what about the $5,000 they found hidden in Brad’s file cabinet? Not a smart place to hide stolen money, but who said criminals were always smart?
Kait shifted the files to her other arm. “Sounds like a live one. But wait’ll you hear this!” She leaned in with a conspiratorial air. “Mardovich and his wife have split.”
My jaw dropped. For a moment, I couldn’t think of a word to say. “Really?” I murmured.
Kait nodded, looking coy. “You know why, don’t you?”
I felt my heart skip a beat and feared I might break out in a sweat. Please don’t tell me Helen found out about us. And the whole State’s Attorney’s Office knows.
Kait smiled. “You remember Amy Hinson, right? Or was she after your time?”
It took me a few seconds to absorb her words. “Amy Hinson,” I repeated. “The paralegal?” Amy.
“Right. Tell me you’re not surprised?” She shot me a knowing look over her glasses. “She’s young, she’s cute and she’s smart. And she’s been assisting him on a lot of cases.”
“Of course.”
“They’ve been seeing each other for over a year.”
My mouth opened, but I couldn’t speak. I’d only broken up with Ray a few months ago.
Kaitlyn nodded. “Got it straight from Amy. Technically, she’s young enough to be his daughter. I mean if he, like, had a kid in high school.”
“Over a year, huh?”
“Says Amy.”
“Well . . .” I couldn’t think of a thing to add. My cheeks burned.
“I’d love to chat more, but I gotta scoot and get ready for the mid-morning docket. Good luck,” she called over her shoulder, as she plunged back into the throng.
