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As if my questions were broadcasted via satellite, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I retrieve it to see Glen’s name on the screen.
“Who is it?” Skylar asks, picking at her meal too.
“Answers, I hope.” I tap the green icon on the screen. “Your ears ringing, man?”
“Only until you answered.” Glen chuckles. “Wanted to call with an update. You sitting down?”
My fork slips from my fingers and clangs against the stoneware. I wince, not realizing it had still been in my hand.
Three words.
You sitting down?
How did three simple words laced together send a chill up my spine?
Glen had been digging for hours. After my lunch with Terrance, I asked him to look into the additional missing money. At first, I thought he would need access to Terrance’s computer. Turns out, it wasn’t necessary. So long as we used the same servers, he could access Terrance’s history via my computer. The process made it less noticeable to anyone snooping. Glen had said, “If anyone asks, just say your computer was making strange noises.” End of story.
“Why do I not like the sound of this?”
He huffs on the other end. “Because it’s not good, man. Sorry.”
I rest an elbow on the table and drop my head in my hand. Take a deep breath. Then another. And another.
If Glen says this isn’t good, it’s bad. The dreadful kind of bad.
“Lay it on me, man.”
“It’s someone in-house. Took a lot to unearth answers, but I located the source.” He pauses, giving us both a moment to register his revelation. “I don’t have a name, just a user ID. But they’ve been skimming accounts for years. Whoever it is, they’re damn good at covering their tracks. Tech smart. Or knows someone who is.”
I sag into the chair, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Jesus.”
“After I traced down your issue, I checked your coworker’s computer. Same user ID. Once I nailed those down, on a whim, I decided to dig deeper. Look at all the activity for this user.”
Don’t mind me, while I have a heart attack, waiting for Glen to finish after his dramatic pause. “And?”
“And whoever this is, they’ve been at it a long damn time. More than a decade.”
The first thought to cross my mind—it’s not Terrance. He hit his ten-year mark two months ago. Busted his ass for the accolades framed on his office walls. Worked hard to make a name for himself in Stone Bay.
One thing not his forte… technology.
Terrance knew how to navigate the company software. Spent extra time with training to understand the program, so as to not look the fool with clients. But if I ask him to create a spreadsheet with pie charts, he pawns the task off on his assistant.
Aside from me, there are only three others with tenure exceeding a decade. Garrett, Sheila, and Theodore.
January third, there had been a cake in the staff break room, large two and zero candles plunged in the frosting. Sheila’s cheeks had been tight and red the entire day from smiling. Her husband and daughter, in on the surprise celebration, showered her with a bundle of wildflowers and half a dozen colorful balloons.
Sheila is a pillar in the community. Many women, young and old, look up to her. Listen to her personal story when she talks about saving and growing for the future. Sheila didn’t grow up in poverty, but she understands hardship. With each rough patch in her past, she trudged through and came out on the other side stronger.
Which is why I know it isn’t Sheila.
Theodore Osborn is respected as much as the Stone Bay original families. Such merits don’t come easily in a small town, but Ted earned the honor through decades of hard work. He also founded Stone Bay Financial. Built it from the ground up. Established trust with the residents that he would keep their wealth safe.
Thirty-seven years.
Ted founded the only investment business in town thirty-seven years ago. When I was in training underpants and breaking my thumb-sucking habit. No matter which angle I look at the situation from, it is impossible to picture Ted embezzling client money. He sacrificed too much. No way he would hand himself a one-way ticket to prison. No way he would ruin his future and that of his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Which leaves one other person.
