AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I launched in. “This afternoon I was in Bay Head seeing Nancy, and she told me that she and John split up six months ago. She gave me an earful, and I think he’s spiraling down, hiding something, and it has to do with Runstan.”
They all looked shocked, and my mother’s eyes filmed. My father was about to start talking again, but I raised an index finger and he clammed up. If I’d known it was that easy, I’d have done it a long time ago.
“I think John is mixed up with something, with some bad actors like you say, Dad. If that’s true, then he’s in trouble and he needs our help. The other theory is a darker one, that he’s up to no good. We have to know either way, and the answers have to be in this office, with us. After all, it’s about Runstan, and Runstan—”
“Is my client,” my father supplied.
I let it go. “Right. So here’s what we need to do. Dad, do you know how Runstan’s operation works and generally about its finances?”
“Of course.”
“Then get all the Runstan files we have, from your office and from John’s, and I want you to look them over.” I wrote on the boardDAD—RUNSTANto keep my thoughts in order. “John told me that he found irregularities in their accounting, which was why he was meeting with Lemaire on your birthday. There has to be some kernel of truth in that story. It might be that it’s the other way around, as in maybe Lemaire found irregularities in Runstan’s accounting and wanted to meet with John about it. Either way, we need to know about Runstan’s finances.”
My father nodded slowly. “Okay, I can do that.”
My mother recovered her composure. “TJ, do you know where John is? We’ve been calling him.”
“No, I have no idea. I’ve been wondering if he’s with Stan.”
My father interrupted. “He’s not. Stan doesn’t know where he is, either. It’s not like John to go AWOL.”
My mother seemed to lose focus. “I’m worried about him. He always returns my calls.”
Gabby patted her hand. “I’m sure he’s fine. It’s the weekend, and he’ll be in tomorrow morning.”
I had to get the meeting back on track. “Dad, did Stan say anything about the fight at the wake? Was there any fallout from Vuarnex?”
“He didn’t say. Maybe that’s where he is, meeting with Vuarnex and trying to save the acquisition.”
“No, Stan would know if he were there, if Stan was telling you the truth.” I turned to Andre. “You’re our IT genius, and we need you now. First, it looks like everybody’s got new computers, huh?”
“Yes, and I set them up.”
“All our documents are stored in the cloud, right? So we didn’t lose anything as a result of the burglary?”
“Right.”
“Can you get into John’s computer files, even if they’re under password?”
Andre hesitated. “Yes, the system saves the passwords, so I can get them to plug in, even if they don’t reveal themselves to me. That’s all you need, right? To see what’s in the files?”
“Exactly, thanks.” I turned to my mother. “Mom, the way billing works is that each individual lawyer sends out his own bills, isn’t that right?”
“We draft the bill. The bookkeeper actually sends them. You know Brigitte.”
“Okay, I want you to look at John’s billing practices, specifically with respect to Runstan.” I wrote on the dry-erase board,MOM & ANDRE—JOHN’S BILLING. “We know that he was charging thema premium, and I want to understand more, in detail. I also want to understand if there’s any other clients he was charging on a premium basis. He had business clients with smaller deals, didn’t he?”
“Yes, he was building his book of business.”
“Perfect. Then you and Andre work together, okay? We need to generate a list of John’s clients and the bills he sent for each, over the past two years, let’s say. I’m sure that’s in digital files, if not paper, right?”
Andre nodded. “It’s digital.”
My father frowned. “But what if it’s encrypted? Or hidden? I mean, can you do that, Andre? Do you have to hack in?”
“No.” Andre shook his head. “I wrote the software. I use it for all my law firm clients. It organizes case files, administrative, and billing.”
“Now for Gabby and Martin.” I turned to them, sliding my phone from my pocket, scrolling through my photos, and finding Fake Elliott Thompson’s driver’s license. “Guys, see this man? He’s posing as an Elliott Thompson, but it’s a fake ID. He’s one of the men who broke into our office.”
