Texas Temptation

by Kathryn Brocato

  “That must have been half of Houston. Felix appears to have been the brother most likely to wind up in jail. He partied through college and was involved in a fraternity hazing incident where someone died. What’s more, rumor has it he got married on Walter’s orders, so he could present a good image to the stockholders.”

  Tyler turned into the parking lot of the first café they passed. Berry regarded the picture windows with approval. The sooner they got settled in a nice, private booth, the sooner she could spill her information.

  “I believe it, because he seems to be a vindictive sort who never forgets a grudge, and boy, has he got a list of grudges.” She buried her face in her hands a moment. “I’ll be busy on them the rest of the afternoon.”

  “Do you think he’ll develop a grudge against me for taking his sexy new secretary right out from under him?” Tyler parked his Porsche in a slot as near the entrance as he could find.

  Berry laughed. “Only if he finds out. But there’s a gorgeous woman already working there, and she’s in love with him. Oh, the atmosphere in that office!”

  “In love with him? Are you sure? The guy has the morals of a tomcat.”

  “Bonkers over him.” Berry nodded enthusiastically. “Unrequited love is practically choking out all the air in the place. Her name is Concetta Tomayo, and she’s Walter Farley’s assistant. She’s acting as receptionist right now because: one, she has nothing better to do while Walter is on vacation, and two, the receptionist just up and quit last Friday, and three, someone has to ride herd on a wild and out-of-control accountant.”

  “You’ve lost me,” Tyler complained. “Let’s get out of this heat before you say another word.”

  He hustled her inside the cold café, where they chose an empty booth that looked as private as the little eatery could offer.

  Berry settled into the booth and gulped ice water. “I’ll be lucky if I don’t need medicine for high blood pressure after a few more days like today.”

  “All right, what wild and out-of-control accountant is on the rampage at Farley Brothers?”

  Berry leaned forward and lowered her voice. “His name is Nathaniel Corrigan. He’s a short, redheaded guy, and he’s putting down roots beside my desk even as we speak. He won’t even leave to grab a sandwich or a cup of coffee.” She glanced around. “In fact, I think I’ll take him a sandwich and a cup of coffee and lay some heavy sympathy on him.”

  He regarded her askance. “I’ll bet he loves violet-eyed women.”

  “Please, Tyler. You’ll put me off my food. After this morning, I deserve a really good lunch.” She studied the menu appreciatively. “I’ll have the BLT with all the trimmings, and another wrapped up to go with a large cup of coffee.”

  “You can never go wrong with a good bribe.” He placed their orders and turned back to her. “Why is this out-of-control accountant putting down roots beside your desk? Is he aiming to make Felix jealous?”

  Berry shook her head and gave him a portentous wink. “Farley Brothers is undergoing an outside audit, and Mr. Corrigan is the accountant sent to do the dirty work.”

  Tyler gave her a look of stark astonishment. “What? An outside audit? Are you sure?”

  Pleased with this response, Berry proceeded to enhance the effect. “It seems Mr. Corrigan has a few questions about something he calls ‘internal controls.’ According to him, the Westheimer number two store’s manager, Bernard Warren, is responsible for both inventory and general ledger entries.”

  “I can’t believe this.” Tyler drew in a deep breath and stared at her in disbelief. “Well, Miss Mary MacGregor, much as I hate to admit it, you may have stumbled onto something.”

  Berry experienced a surge of gratified triumph. “I knew that company was hiding something. But I haven’t got the faintest idea what he’s talking about.” She regarded Tyler hopefully. “What was he talking about?”

  Tyler leaned back. “Tell me everything you learned. A lack of internal controls simply means that the opportunity exists for some creative bookkeeping to take place.”

  Berry mulled that over and grew more cheerful by the minute. “First, Concetta Tomayo came rushing in and told Felix that Mr. Corrigan was on his way over. The way she said it was so full of meaning, I knew something was up.”

  “I’ll just bet.” Tyler stared at her in fascination. “Go on.”

  “Felix was on his way to the golf course. When he heard that, he got into an even bigger hurry and said Bernard Warren should handle it. So I was designated to call in Mr. Warren while Felix made a wild dash for the door.”

  Tyler asked slowly, “That was a problem?”

  “I’ll say it was. I went through the address book program about five times before I finally gave up and asked Concetta who he was.” She sipped more ice water gratefully. “I was trying to give an impression of total competence, but can you imagine how dumb I felt when I couldn’t even locate a lousy phone number?”

  “Concetta rubbed it in?”

  “Without saying a word,” Berry confirmed. “It turns out that Bernard Warren is the manager of the Westheimer number two store, which is under Felix’s jurisdiction and is the most profitable store in the chain. It was one of those little facts that’s so well known, no one bothers to enter it into their contacts list. Anyway, Mr. Corrigan arrived while I was punching in Bernard Warren’s number, and he was breathing fire.”

  “I’d never have dreamed a boring auto parts business like Farley Brothers could harbor this much drama. Get on with it, Challoner. What did he say?”

  “He demanded to speak to Felix at once and declared that he’d sit right there for the next two days if he had to. Concetta couldn’t do a thing with him. In fact, the very sight of her seemed to set him off.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Guess what, Tyler. Bernard Warren is Concetta’s half-brother.”

  Tyler’s eyes widened in a way that gratified Berry enormously. “Nepotism?”

  “And how!” Berry felt her cup of happiness was now full. “Mr. Corrigan spent ten minutes shouting about how that kind of nepotism within a company ‘invites—yes, invites!—ambiguities.’ Which is the most accountantly thing I’ve ever heard, even if I don’t know what it means.”

  Tyler dropped his forehead into his hand. “This is unbelievable. And you didn’t even have to hack into the company books to find all this out. What happened next?”

  “Well, Mr. Corrigan then huffed out that as an accountant, it is his duty to insure that the internal controls of the company are sufficient to guarantee accurate data, but in this case, he fears he cannot do that.”

  “Oh, God. Berry, you’ve hit the jackpot. What happened next?”

  “Then he shouted that all the internal controls devolve upon Bernard Warren, and Bernard Warren is Felix’s sandbox buddy.”

  “What?” Tyler looked as if he might choke.

  “Felix and Bernard grew up together, went to school together from first grade on, dated girls together … In short, they’re such close friends, there’s no doubt in Mr. Corrigan’s mind that the two of them have cooked up a scheme to defraud the company.”

  “He said that?”

  “Yes, he did, but that was because Concetta insisted on conducting a shouting match with him over my head while I called Felix’s cell phone. When he didn’t answer, I tried to find the phone number of his golf course. And do you know, I found it? It was in the contacts list under ‘G’ for ‘golf course.’”

  Tyler sat as if frozen in place and stared at her in stunned silence.

  “Can you believe that? They didn’t bother listing Bernard Warren, but they had five golf courses listed. I called two before I got the right one. Not that it did any good. If Felix wasn’t answering his cell, why would he answer a page at the golf course?”

  “Berry … ” His mouth opened then closed.

  Their waiter arrived with sandwiches and iced tea. Berry kindly allowed Tyler some recovery time before she sprang more of her morning’s discoveries on him. Aft
er the waiter departed, she squeezed lemon into her iced tea and added a spoon of sugar and refreshed herself with a sip.

  “Anyway, Felix will be given the message as soon as someone can locate him on the golf course,” she said. “How much do you want to bet that Felix doesn’t show back up today? Or tomorrow?”

  “From the sound of things, Felix is the sort who thinks bad news undelivered is somehow not bad news,” he said at last. “I have to hand it to you, Challoner. It looks as though you were right. Something nefarious is going on at Farley Brothers. The big question now is: was it the cause of Daniel’s murder?”

  “I’ll bet it was,” Berry declared. “We know there was a reason Daniel was killed, and if he somehow discovered what Felix was up to, well … Who knows what a man like Felix will do? What if he’s a sociopath or something?”

  “Accounting fraud doesn’t mean Felix is a sociopath. It just means he’s greedy.” Tyler studied the tabletop, frowning, obviously deep in thought.

  “What kind of fraud do you think could be going on?” Berry asked. “Oh, and Mr. Corrigan also said Bernard Warren was responsible for the inventory figures and for the general ledger entries. What does that mean?”

  He looked up, gaze sharpening. “I can’t know without having some figures. The possibilities are, quite literally, endless.”

  Berry thrust out her chin. “Then I’ll get some figures. After all, Mr. Corrigan is going to be with me for a while—until Felix decides he can’t dodge the man forever. So give me some questions to ask him. I’ll bet I can narrow things down by early this afternoon.”

  Tyler nodded slowly. “I’ll write a few questions down for you. In the meantime, you said Felix is getting his old grudges off his chest. What else did you find out in regard to that?”

  “Apparently Walter is considered the brains of the organization, although the rumor is that he may be losing it.” She laid down her sandwich and thought through the progression of her morning. “He took off suddenly for New York last week, which thrilled Felix down to his toenails.”

  “It’s another chance for Felix to prove his managerial worth, I’ll bet.”

  “You’re probably right. Felix is claiming Walter is senile, and that he, Felix, is now the driving intelligence behind the company’s current profitability. Take that, all you old fossils who thought Felix would never amount to anything.”

  “How long have you been employed there? Three whole hours?”

  “Three really, really long hours.” Berry grinned back at him. “Obviously, you’ve been used to working alone in that passionless two-man office of yours, whereas corporate offices are veritable seething caldrons of mystery and emotions.”

  “I’ll suggest to Dad that we hire a secretary.” He reached over and covered her hand with his. “You can come stir Dad and I up when your investigation at Farley Brothers is complete.” He added, “If it isn’t already.”

  Berry smiled back at him. “You know, Tyler, I expected to think a lot of sad stuff about Daniel and his last days there. But within ten minutes of sitting down at my desk, I was too busy trying to keep from laughing out loud to grieve. Felix doesn’t seem to think a secretary exists when he starts talking about all his dirty little secrets.” She added gleefully, “I’ll bet Daniel never knew any of this stuff, even after two years there.”

  “I have to admit, I’m impressed. In barely three hours on the job, you’ve done better than a professional detective,” Tyler agreed. “I wonder if Felix is always this forthcoming in his letters.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Berry said devoutly. “I’ve never had such a good time typing letters in all my life.”

  “So Corrigan says internal controls are nonexistent,” he said thoughtfully. “Did he apply that to the entire company, or just to one particular store?”

  “He kept talking about the Westheimer number two store, which Bernard Warren manages. What does a lack of internal controls mean?”

  “It usually means that the same person is responsible for several accounting operations. In this case, it sounds as if Bernard Warren is responsible both for the inventory figures and for recording payments in the general ledger. That means he could take items out of stock for his own use. Or he can charge personal expenses to the company accounts. It could mean a lot of things, and the fact that Corrigan brought it up probably means he’s found some highly suggestive discrepancies in the store’s accounts.”

  Berry practically quivered with excitement. “I get the picture. Accountants prefer a system with a different person responsible for each operation, right? So they can tattle on each other?”

  Tyler gave a crack of laughter. “That’s right. Otherwise, the opportunity exists for unlimited embezzlement.”

  “So, Mr. Warren could be driving a car built entirely out of parts the company paid for,” Berry realized, thinking it over. She laughed suddenly. “Lord, Tyler, no wonder so many companies are going broke. These days, a company has to choose between paying lots of people to obtain proper internal controls, or paying a few people and letting them steal a little.”

  “Please, Challoner.” He put his forehead on his hand again, obviously stifling laughter. “I’m going to have to remember that one for the next meeting of the CPA society. Did Corrigan give any indication that he thought someone was embezzling?”

  Berry leaned toward him enthusiastically. “According to Mr. Corrigan, the inventory figures appear to be largely fictitious. He wants to know why, and he demands that Mr. Warren allow him to complete an inventory to prove it. Mr. Warren says he can go straight to hell and take his lying insinuations with him.”

  Tyler whistled. “Thousands of dollars may have been embezzled.”

  Berry regarded him with admiration. Now, more than ever, she realized how right she had been to ask for Tyler’s help.

  “How would Mr. Corrigan know the inventory figures are fictitious?” she asked.

  “I’d guess he counted a few items on his own. That’s standard procedure, just to verify that the inventory figures are likely to be accurate. But if he found some big discrepancies in a few items, he has good reason to assume the rest of the figures are phony.”

  Berry had never known accounting could be so fascinating. “That’s amazing. When I find discrepancies in my bank balance, I just subtract until I get whatever the bank says is in my account.”

  “An outside auditor’s job is to verify the company’s figures,” Tyler said. “If he can’t, he tries to find out why he can’t.”

  Berry cocked her head and thought on that. “And if he still can’t, someone at the company is in trouble?”

  “Big trouble. And not just with his or her employer. There’s usually the little matter of unpaid taxes on the gains, not to mention the criminal aspect.”

  Berry drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, Tyler, it looks like I signed on at Farley Brothers just in time for the kill.”

  Chapter 7

  Tyler returned to his office reluctantly. Now that he had decided to cast aside a lifetime of conservative, boring behavior, he was ready to get on with it. He hadn’t told Berry about the idea that had taken possession of his thoughts while they discussed her morning at Farley Brothers in case he changed his mind. The more he considered the idea, however, the more determined he became to carry it out. But common decency bade him inform his father of his upcoming absence.

  He bypassed his own office and went straight to his father’s. “Hi, Dad. I’m taking off for a few days. There’s something I’ve got to take care of.”

  Tyler had never seen anything quite like the expression that passed across his father’s face as he slowly lifted his gaze from the papers on his desk.

  “You’re what?” Mason said, in disbelief.

  “I’m taking a few days off.” Tyler regarded his father, frowning. “Is there something wrong with that?”

  Mason’s mouth opened slowly then closed. He stared at Tyler in a way that indicated total astonishment and something
else Tyler couldn’t put a name to.

  “I haven’t taken a vacation in the past few years,” Tyler continued ruthlessly, “and in view of that fact, I think I’m entitled to a few days when I need them, no questions asked.”

  Mason sat unmoving, like a statue.

  “I knew you’d agree.” Tyler smiled and stepped back out the door with a farewell wave. “See you in a week or so, Dad.”

  He concentrated so hard on the plan that he’d hatched during his lunch with Berry, he didn’t even waste time feeling guilty about the half-finished quarterly reports on his desk. The quarterly reports could wait. Fraud at Farley Brothers couldn’t, not with Berry uncovering scandal right and left.

  He drove directly to the nearest Wal-Mart. When he left the store, he wore a pair of dark slacks, a short-sleeved white shirt, a clip-on tie, and a pair of horn-rimmed glasses with plain glass lenses. Standing before the fitting room mirror, he slicked his hair straight back. He thought it went well with the glasses.

  Then he drove down Westheimer until he reached the Farley Brothers Auto Parts store known in financial statements as the Westheimer number two store. After driving past it twice, he parked his Porsche about a block away, well out of sight of the store employees, and walked back.

  He paused and peered in. Clerks who looked like mechanics manned the long front counter. In spite of his efforts, Tyler couldn’t kid himself that he looked like one of them. He looked more like a computer nerd.

  Tyler studied his own image in the plate glass window with sudden doubt. But what did he have to lose? he asked himself. He could always watch the men at the counter and reappear tomorrow in a different guise. He shoved open the door and joined the crowd at the long counter.

  He took up a position to one side and watched a transaction closely. The clerk handled an intricate-looking piece of metal with hands that showed calluses and deeply ingrained grease stains. Tyler shoved his hands into his pockets. Perhaps he should have opened the hood of his car and checked the oil before coming in.