Chapter 7 - A Company Made of Paper
Northstar's listed office sat over a closed pharmacy near the river. Detective Pierce advised everyone against chasing the cart into traffic, and Elena agreed. She had spent too much of her marriage reacting to Victor's traps. This time they documented the evidence they had and let the investigators do their jobs.
But waiting did not mean doing nothing.
By dawn, Tessa had identified the original ledger on her employer's accounting terminal, and a judge had authorized preservation of specific records. Alma supplied years of shift schedules showing repeated after-hours visits by Northstar couriers. June gave a signed statement about the bridge conversation. None of it was proof of murder. Together, it was enough to make powerful people nervous.
Elena called an old friend, Dana Cole, who ran a legal-aid nonprofit for workers pushed out of jobs after reporting fraud. They met in Dana's tiny office above a bakery. Elena still wore her crimson gown under a borrowed wool coat.
"You look like a very expensive crime scene," Dana said.
"I feel worse."
Dana slid her a cup of coffee. "Tell me what you know, and don't confuse what you suspect with what you can prove."
Elena explained the foundation, Northstar, Marcus's recording, and the missing sculpture. Dana listened without interrupting. Then she pulled an old complaint from a locked drawer. It involved a Bellwether scholarship applicant named Sofia Bell, whose college award had vanished after she refused an interview with a foundation executive.
"Sofia tried to expose it," Dana said. "A month later, her mother lost her cleaning job. There was a false theft accusation. I couldn't find a witness willing to contradict the hotel."
"Where is Sofia now?"
"Teaching music at a community center. Still paying off loans she never should've taken."
Elena thought of Marcus, who had been the first person in their family to graduate college. "I want to speak to her."
Dana's phone rang. She listened, her expression changing. "Elena, it's the financial crimes unit. They found something odd in the foundation records."
"What?"
"According to the bank, the person authorizing most of the transfers wasn't Victor."
Dana glanced up, horrified.
May you like
"It was you."
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