Chapter 9 - The Case at the Curb

"When did you record this?" I asked.

"Yesterday," Eli said. "I was moving cars for the investor dinner. They told me not to park near the north entrance, so I got suspicious."

"Who is the other man?"

"Victor Senn. He runs Meridian Facilities."

Meridian Facilities had billed the hotel for emergency repairs, staff transportation, and temporary workers. In nineteen days I'd never seen one of its trucks. The invoices weren't merely inflated. Some charged for work performed on dates when the hotel had been closed to guests.

The case Graham handed Victor could have contained perfectly innocent documents. I wouldn't pretend a thirty-second clip proved otherwise. But combined with the invoices and a false contract extension, it told me where to look next.

"Send the original to Dana," I said. "Do not edit it."

Eli hesitated. "If Graham finds out—"

"He may fire you. I can't promise otherwise. But I can promise you won't have to face him alone."

He nodded and sent the file.

Luis checked his watch. "The police are taking statements at the loading dock. The fire department is sending an inspector. Graham's office wants to know why."

"Tell him the truth."

"That's going to be a new experience."

For the first time all night, Ana laughed.

Dana called again. "The supposedly signed extension came from a printer in Graham's personal office. Metadata places the file creation at six fourteen. Your forged signature was inserted from an image scan."

"Enough to stop it?"

"Enough to challenge it and demand the original. I need you upstairs. Two independent directors are waiting for the emergency vote."

I stood, but Ana caught my hand.

"Don't leave the workers out of the room," she said.

"I won't."

We headed back through the service corridor together. When I reached the ballroom, Graham was onstage. His picture filled two enormous screens beneath the words A FUTURE BUILT ON TRUST.

He lifted his glass.

"Tonight," he declared, "I am proud to announce a ten-year agreement that keeps the Vale family in charge of this extraordinary hotel."

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The crowd applauded.

And then he pointed straight at me.