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“Cynthia is problematic. She has access to all levels in the firm. Meaning she has the potential to sabotage anything you may work on. We can’t have anything visible that gives Cynthia a clue we’re on her trail. You hear me, baby?”
“I understand.”
“Good. Get it done as quickly as possible. It’s late enough. We’re going to wrap it up for the day and regroup back at the hotel. I want you to walk me through everything on your laptop.”
Chase disconnects, and I quickly get to work filing the documents as if the piles had no significance to our investigation.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
CHASE
Before I return from the bathroom, I send Butch a text stating we have a lead and have to pack up. My brother is already shutting down equipment when I hustle into the conference room. The two of us move quickly, packing up any gear that could be tampered with. It isn’t standard practice, but we’re not accustomed to dealing with a potential culprit this close to the situation. Better to be safe than sorry.
Trent watches, scratching at his head. “Um, are you guys coming back tomorrow?”
“Yup.” I wave a hand at our equipment. “We’re just taking work home for the evening.”
Trent visibly relaxes. “Okay,” he says, with a nervous laugh. “You had me worried when you started packing everything.”
Simone and Punk enter the room, encouraging me to wrap up my talk with Trent. “See you in the morning.”
Not giving him a chance to respond, I grab my laptop case and wrap my arm around Simone’s waist, swiftly escorting us out of the building. We have a lead, meaning we need to assess the situation promptly.
Butch and Punk load our equipment in the SUV, and we head back to the hotel. We set up base camp in my and Simone’s suite. Punk orders Thai takeout for dinner, while Butch and I set up our shit in the room’s corner.
I pull out my laptop from my bag, firing it up. With Trent no longer glued to my side, I can hack into the firm’s security feeds. I could mention to the d-bag I’m doing this for the investigation, and he probably wouldn’t dispute it. However, I don’t want any of the staff knowing I’m monitoring live video feeds. It’s easier to spot shady shit when nobody knows someone’s watching them. And although the company has security cameras, it’s not like they have a guy in a room monitoring them all day.
Within five minutes, I’ve hacked into the cameras’ live feed. It should be surprising a company with high-paying clientele has such sucky security, but the truth is, it’s all too common. Lots of big companies don’t enjoy dishing out more than they have to for anything, even if it’s protecting them and their clients. I shake my head at my computer as I scroll through the live security images.
Simone side-eyes my work with thinned lips. “Is that to watch me?”
“Partially,” I admit, unabashed. There’s no point in lying to her. “I like being able to check on my woman when I want.” I wink at her to lighten the intensity of my confession. “It’s mostly to spy on the staff. Maybe we’ll catch the perp in action.”
“Good plan,” Simone murmurs, returning her eyes to her spreadsheets on her laptop.
Punk joins our group. “Food should be here in thirty minutes.”
“It gives us enough time to go over what I uncovered,” Simone says.
In the next half-hour, Simone explains the erratic patterns of money being funneled out of the financial firm.
“Do we know where the funds are going?” Butch asks.
“Not precisely. Larger amounts of cash are doing this round robin sort of scenario to conceal where the funds originally came from. Numbers get split and shuffled into different areas of investment, making it difficult to track. From there, they divert the funds into accounts that appear authorized to receive payments and transfers.”
“A true Ponzi scheme,” I groan. Flustered, I yank out my man bun, pulling at my hair. This case had red flags from the start. We knew the risks going into this operation. But company theft versus embezzlement is another level. “This isn’t going to be a quick operation.”
“It’s a fucking nightmare,” Butch mutters, shaking his head. “We’re supposed to be in and out. How are we going to manage hunting our embezzler in such a brief window, Chase? We have other assignments already lined up on the calendar.”
“We’ll call Atlas and explain the situation,” Punk offers. “He and Gauge can rearrange the schedule to give us more time, I’m sure. It’s not like this is our fault. These were unforeseeable circumstances.”
“Doesn’t matter if it’s outside of our control. Atlas isn’t known for his tolerance,” I grumble.
Our crew grimaces. Nobody enjoys dealing with a raging Atlas. His anger issues have massively improved since Jo came into the picture and he started counseling, but he still has his moments.
Simone sighs. “Deeper digging will prove if these accounts are a front. If they are, then our perpetrator can take the funds for personal gain. There are bills and receipts for activities that appear legit at first glance but under closer inspection most likely never happened. Portions of the funds return to the original account, giving the illusion of a poor investment or expenses accrued. Some of it is clean and straightforward, though harder to discern since it involves smaller amounts. Others, not so much—it’s large, traceable sums being handled sloppily.”
“You need me and Butch to do the deeper digging,” I state, understanding this is more than she can handle solo. “No problem. This is what I expected us to do anyway. It’ll just be on a wider scale. We already have access to the firm’s hub. It should make it easier for us to track.”
