by Robin Mahle
A dark grey Ford Crown Vic pulled up alongside the front yard. The light that reflected off of the chrome side mirror caught Colin’s eye. “He’s here and it looks like he’s with Agent Huffman too.”
Claire drew in a deep breath and closed her eyes, praying she would not end up in handcuffs by the end. Colin had already entered the foyer and opened the door to the agents.
“Good morning, Mr. McKenna.” Agent Sanchez tipped his head as both of the men entered.
“Why don’t we have a seat in the kitchen?” Colin led them to the table.
“Good morning, Claire. How are you?” Sanchez asked.
“I’m doing all right, Gordon. And you?” Claire carried a tray containing a pot of coffee and some cups, placing it on the table.
“Glad to see you, actually. I spoke with Detective Vance and barring any new information, it appears the DA won’t be pursuing any charges. It’s looking more and more likely that Winters had something to do with Monroe’s death. It doesn’t serve the DA to bring you in for defending yourself against a possible murderer. They don’t have a case against you, Claire.”
“Oh thank God.” She turned to Colin, a smile that was filled with relief spread across her lips. “So, why was it you needed to see me this morning? Please, sit down.” Claire motioned for the men to take a seat.
“As you know, Claire,” Agent Huffman began, “we have Lucas Abbott remanded to custody as well as Frank Winslow and Chris Goyal. We’ve been able to trace much of the false documentation back to these individuals with the help of Liz Sherman.”
“Liz Sherman?” This seemed a surprise to Claire.
“Yes. Let’s just say it turns out she wasn’t providing the necessary oversight as it relates to her accounting department. She’s helping us now.”
An anger seemed to rise in Claire’s gut. They’d been able to recruit Liz to give them the information they needed and here she had risked her life trying to help them get a foot in the door. It made what she’d done all the more satisfactory to her.
“What it boils down to is that we have these people for embezzlement, plain and simple. Paul Higgins is being questioned for his involvement as well. With Winters dead, he’ll likely be able to claim ignorance as to what Winters’ full intentions were, but we’ll have him none the less. And with the discovery of what appears to be Charlie Monroe’s body, it’s entirely possible that Abbott, Goyal and Frank Winslow will also go down for conspiracy to commit murder. But that remains to be seen.”
“And Beth?” Claire asked.
“She’ll be cleared of all charges. The money she accepted under pressure to keep quiet has been returned and her bank accounts are no longer frozen. Liz Sherman said she had nothing to do with any of it.”
Claire’s hand immediately rose to cover her mouth. This was all she had wanted. To clear Beth’s name. And even though she hadn’t been the one to do it directly, she knew it had still come about through her efforts.
With all that had happened, Claire had steered clear of Beth for her own safety. She needed to know all was going to be okay before reaching out to her. Now, there was nothing stopping her and it would be the first call she would make once this little inquiry was finished. But a question still lingered heavy in her mind.
“And what about me? What about the supposed authorizations I made?” Claire felt as though a switch had just been turned on inside her. A mechanism of protection.
“Claire, what do you know about Winters’ bank account information that was in his safe?” Agent Sanchez looked at her closely, apparently watching her for any signs of hesitation.
“Nothing. I didn’t know he had anything in the safe apart from the pictures, which I assume Vance has already filled you in on. As I told him the other day, I was only interested in the photographs.”
Sanchez leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. “Of course. Although I had wished you had brought that up with me first.” He seemed to be scolding her, suggesting that they had been a team and she’d left out critical information. “We were able to gain access to those bank accounts and it seems there was upwards of about three million dollars stashed away in them. We believed he had additional accounts worldwide, but as of yet, haven’t been able to track down that information. The odd thing was that one of the accounts had been closed as of the day before yesterday. It was set up in Brazil.”
“Well, I’m not sure how that’s possible. How much money was there?” Claire replied in a cool manner.
“Don’t know, but we’re guessing at least a million, million and a half. It’s hard to say. Brazil doesn’t offer much in the way of transparency, but the other accounts had similar amounts in them. Higgins was on some of those accounts, but he’s claiming ignorance right now. We have no idea where that money is.” Sanchez looked at Huffman.
“So that’s it? We’re done?” Colin asked, stealing a hopeful glance at Claire.
“From our perspective, Mr. McKenna, yes. Claire has cooperated fully in this investigation and has suffered a great deal. It’s likely she’ll have to testify when the case goes to trial, but we have enough on the others to proceed. I know all of this came at great personal risk to you, Claire, but know that you not only helped us arrest these people; your friend, Beth Graves, has been relinquished of any culpability, which I know must mean a tremendous amount to you.”
Claire finally allowed herself the slightest display of relief. It was truly over. “Thank you, Gordon, for everything.”
“Well, we won’t keep you any longer. If anything does happen to cross your mind, Claire, that you think might be relevant, you have my number.”
The men rose from their chairs to leave. Colin and Claire saw them out.
“Goodbye, Gordon, Derek,” Claire said. When she finally closed the door, she realized it was over and turned towards Colin, embracing him firmly. “We don’t have to worry about anything anymore, honey. We’re all going to be fine now.”
***
Sanchez started up the car and slowly turned back onto the street, heading west where they would go back to the office and continue turning the evidence over for federal prosecution.
Neither said anything for several minutes. The only sounds were of the tires on the road and the wind whipping through their rolled-down windows. The cool air seemed to put smiles on each of their faces. Or maybe it was something else.
The silence was finally broken when Huffman turned to Sanchez. “She took the money, didn’t she?”
Sanchez continued to look at the road ahead and replied, “Yep.”
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robin Mahle lives with her husband and two children in Arizona. Having always been a lover of books, Robin attributes her creativity to the wonderful overseas adventures she has shared with her husband of 16 years. Traveling throughout Europe and having lived in England opened her mind and with that came a steady stream of story ideas inspired by her author-idols in the mystery/suspense genre.
If you enjoyed Ms. Mahle’s work, please share your experience by leaving a review on Amazon
OTHER WORKS
All the Shiny Things - A Kate Reid Novel (Book 1)
Law of Five – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 2)
Gone Unnoticed – A Kate Reid Novel (Book 3)
Blackwaters- A Kate Reid Novel (Book 4)
Endangered - A Kate Reid Novel (Book 5)
The Kate Reid Series Box Set (Books 1-3)
Inherent Clarity
Beyond the Clearing
Primal Deception - A Lacy Merrick Thriller (Book 1)
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