Death's Door (33 page)

She stopped dead in her tracks. “What? You can’t mean that.”

“Why not? I’ve studied your record. A mathematics major trained in sequencing research and statistics. You could analyze projects and evaluate them as well as anyone.”

Her breath caught in her lungs and for a moment she was speechless. Finally, she managed to say, “I have no credentials. No one would respect my decisions.”

“This foundation won’t be up and running for another year or so. I hope I live to see it. You could train on the job.” He smiled encouragingly. “A foundation is better off with a well-rounded person than someone like Garrison. He’d just back sea-based research.”

“You’d turn down your own son?”

“No. We’ve discussed it. I think I told you before, Garrison isn’t interested.”

“Surely there is someone at your company.”

“Not really. A couple of guys are possibilities, but they’re too close to retirement.”

They’d reached the guesthouse, and she took out the key. If Wyatt thought it was unusual for her to lock the door just to go to the main house, he didn’t mention it.

“You aren’t going back to Total Trivia, are you? Why don’t you come see what we do? Then you can decide.”

“May I think about this? It’s so, so…unexpected. I’ve got so much on my mind.”

“Of course. Just have faith in yourself and consider this an opportunity.”

“I will.” She walked into the guesthouse. One thing Wyatt said was absolutely true. Once she turned Chloe in, she couldn’t go back to work.

P
AUL WATCHED
Madison as she told Special Agent Wells about what she’d found in Chloe Larsen’s bank records. The FBI agent nodded thoughtfully and glanced down at the sheaf of papers Madison had handed him. Now she gave him copies of her own bank records with fraudulent withdrawals highlighted.

“There’s not much we can do immediately,” Wells told them. “Her records were obtained illegally.”

“Can’t you find an excuse to do it?” she asked.

Wells shook his head. “We can watch her, and you bet we will. Apparently, she sold your ID information to a known fraud ring. They’ve tried to open several accounts in your name, but you were smart enough to have the credit agencies freeze your accounts.”

“I can’t get any credit, either.”

Paul heard the frustration and rising anger in her voice. They’d already been to the police department and were told the same thing. From the moment she’d told him what she’d discovered, Paul had warned her that it would be hard to act on illegally obtained information. The police were sympathetic and noted the information, but Paul knew they wouldn’t do anything about it. Paul thought they would have a better chance with the FBI. They had a special identity-theft unit. There were aware of Madison’s problems because she had reported the theft to them earlier.

“I’m sure she’s going to do it again,” Paul told them. “It’s just a matter of who the next victim will be.”

“Have the employees at your company been warned?” Wells asked.

“No. I didn’t think it was necessary. The only ones who make much money are my ex-husband and me.”

“What about this woman, Chloe?” Wells asked. “Does she have access to the employees’ personal information?”

“She could get it.”

Paul said, “You’d better warn them. Even if they don’t have a lot of money for her to take, she could sell their personal info to the credit card fraud ring. A gambling habit needs to be fed. She might just get desperate enough to do it.”

“He’s right. Warn them,” Wells advised calmly from behind his desk.

“You might want to contact Professor Hinson at Stanford University. I believe he can give you more information about this woman’s activities.”

Paul was a little surprised to hear Madison say this. They’d talked over the situation and decided not to involve Pamela Nolan because it might jeopardize her position at the university.

“Oh? What do you think he would tell me?” Wells wanted to know.

“I’m not sure exactly but it’s my understanding that Chloe Barnett, now Chloe Larsen, was asked to leave the university after a similar scam. He may have details that you could use.”

“Okay, I’ll contact him. It’s still early on the West Coast.” Wells stood up and handed his card to Madison, then gave one to Paul. “We’re going to get her. I promise. It just may take a little time. Be patient. Call me if you have any other details.”

They thanked Special Agent Wells and left. On the way out of the building, Paul told Madison, “Don’t be discouraged. I really think the FBI will do something.”

Madison didn’t respond. He put his arm around her and gave her a hug.

“It’s just so frustrating,” she finally said. “I wish there was something I could do to catch her.”

“I don’t think there is. You should warn Total Trivia’s employees. Don’t mention her name. She could sue you.”

They got into the Porsche Paul’s father was letting him use. “I’m going to drop you off at your office. I’ll come back in two hours. Don’t go outside of the building.”

“Wyatt had an interesting proposition for me,” she said.

Something in her tone bothered Paul. “What kind of a proposition?”

“He wants me to work at Holbrook Pharmaceuticals. He wants to train me for the job of foundation president or whatever title a foundation head has.”

Why? Paul asked himself. Not that Madison wasn’t smart, with a great personality, but her field wasn’t medicine or science. “Is this his way of making sure you donate?”

“I don’t know. I agreed to consider it. What do you think?”

“I want whatever you want. It’s really your decision.”

She turned away and looked out the window. “He invited me to dinner tonight to discuss it.”

“Go,” Paul encouraged. “I’m meeting with Trey Williams this evening to interview one of the guys that Wyatt said might have a grudge. I won’t be back until nine or so.”

“His offer comes at a good time. I need to get out of Total-Trivia. I don’t want to be around that horrid woman. I plan to do more with my life than create a game. I certainly don’t want to be a part of anything that encourages gambling.”

“I don’t think that’s a half-bad idea. But are you going to sell to Estevez?”

“No. I want Aiden to buy me out.” She thought for a moment, then said, “Did you take a look at Nathan Cassidy?”

“Yes. He didn’t make any trips to Boston. At least, none showed on his credit cards. Why?”

“I don’t know. There’s something about him,” she replied.
“You know, these are the kind of people who use private planes.”

“Give me some credit,” he said in a teasing voice. “I thought of that. Nothing showed up when we checked around. Now there are a lot of small airports. We didn’t have the manpower to check them all.”

They drove the rest of the way to Total Trivia in silence. Paul was still puzzled about Holbrook’s offer. But it might be just the opportunity Madison needed.

T
HE MINUTE
Madison walked into Total Trivia’s reception area, Jade cried, “There you are. Aiden’s been trying to reach you for over an hour.”

Madison had turned off her cell phone to go into the FBI field office and hadn’t remembered to turn it on again, nor had she checked voice mail. “What does he want?”

Jade rolled eyes that today were coated with violet eyeliner. “I don’t know, but he went ballistic when he couldn’t reach you. I didn’t know where you were. He called the Russerts but they told him you moved out. They didn’t know where you were.”

“I’ll be in my office,” Madison told her.

“Aren’t you going to see Aiden first?”

“Nope.” Madison walked away. Let the jerk stew. She had to admit she was curious. Aiden seldom “went ballistic.” He was usually as laid-back as a Malibu surfer. The only time she recalled him actually raising his voice was when she refused to sell her half of Total Trivia during divorce negotiations.

Aiden was behaving oddly. She’d put it down to money troubles—Chloe having spent more than they had—but now she wondered. Could he be the one after her? Aiden certainly had the computer expertise to alter records. She didn’t think he knew about her and the Holbrooks but it wouldn’t have been difficult for him to find out. He could have a bug in her office or something.

She walked through the cube farm and nodded at several programmers who looked up as she passed. She had to tell them about the identity theft. She went into her office, dropped her purse in a drawer and placed her laptop on her desk, then took it out of its case. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Aiden sprinting toward her office. Boy-o-boy, something was on his mind.

A second later, he burst into her office, saying, “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for over an hour.”

“I was with a friend.” She opened her laptop and sat in her desk chair.

“We’re in trouble.” Aiden collapsed into the chair opposite her desk.

Madison sincerely doubted she could be in much more trouble than she already was. She calmly asked, “What’s the problem?”

“We’re not going to be able to make payroll.”

“What?” she shouted. “Why not?”

“Shush.” Aiden put his finger in front of his lips. “We don’t want the programmers to walk out.”

“We have plenty of money.” A cold prickling sensation started on her cheeks, then crept down her back. Aiden always handled the finances. She was good at math, better than he was, but their business was relatively simple and he’d insisted on doing it.

“We’re missing a quarter of a million dollars.”

“Missing?” she repeated as if it were a foreign word. She was suddenly conscious of the anxiety reflected in Aiden’s eyes. A pulsing knot formed in her chest. It was one of those things she just knew without being told. Chloe had taken the money.

“I logged on this morning and it was gone.”

“Was it there yesterday?” she asked as she logged on to her computer.

“Yes.”

She heard the threat of tears in his voice. The only other time she’d known Aiden to cry was when he told her how sorry he was for hurting her, but he loved Chloe. She typed in Chloe’s password. “What is the exact amount we’re missing?”

“Two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.” His voice was still shaky.

There it was sitting in Chloe’s account. It was right there on the screen. She opened the drawer, took out her purse and found Special Agent Wells’s card. She picked up her desk phone and began dialing.

“Who are you calling?” Aiden wanted to know.

“Where’s Chloe?” she asked, continuing to punch in the number.

“At the doctor. What does it matter where she is? Who are you calling?”

“The FBI.” The phone started to ring.

“That’s ridiculous. They can’t help us. This isn’t a federal case. I think we should go to Luis Estevez for a loan. I want you to come with me.”

Special Agent Wells answered on the second ring. “It’s Madison Connelly. I want to report a crime in progress. Can you do anything about that?”

“Depends. What’s going on?”

“I’m at my company. Two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars is missing from our business account. I have Chloe Larsen’s personal account up on my screen. Our money is sitting in her account. It was deposited there early this morning.”

“What?” Aiden vaulted out of his chair and stormed to her side of the desk. “I don’t believe this.”

“I’ll freeze the account,” Wells told her. “As part of a federal investigation I can do that. You’ll need to get a lawyer and start proceedings.”

“Please hurry,” she said, aware that Aiden was reading her computer screen over her shoulder. “You saw how fast my money disappeared.”

“It’ll take less than five minutes.”

“That’s not our money,” Aiden insisted, his face becoming the color of an eggplant. “That’s from Chloe’s trust fund.”

“Chloe doesn’t have a trust fund. Her parents aren’t wealthy, but you wouldn’t know that, would you? You’ve never met them.”

“They died in an auto accident.”

“No. They’re alive and well. They’re high school science teachers in Fresno.”

“I don’t believe you.” There was a kernel of doubt in his voice.

“I could care less what you believe. I have proof that Chloe took my money. I gave it to the FBI this morning. That’s why I had Special Agent Wells’s card so handy.”

“You’re just saying this because you hate Chloe for taking me away from you.”

“You’re right, I hate her, but she did me a favor by getting you out of my life. I hate her for taking my money. I hate her for taking money from a Stanford University special marine project.”

“Where are you getting all this?” Aiden’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Sit down, Aiden.”

Aiden did as he was told. He slumped down into the chair. Disbelief etched the face she’d once found so handsome. He was a weak man. How could she not have seen it?

“Chloe loves me. She wouldn’t do this to me.”

“Maybe she does love you, but she loves online gambling more.” She went into her purse again and found the card Tobias Pennington had given her. She had the feeling Wyatt’s assistant would know a lawyer who handled these kinds of cases.

Madison thought of calling Nathan Cassidy, but there was something about the man that caused her not to trust him. Paul might not have found a link between Nathan and trips to Boston during the time the other donor-conceived children were murdered but that didn’t mean Nathan wasn’t involved. Instead of contacting Nathan, she dialed the number and Tobias answered on the first ring.

“Hello. It’s Madison Connelly. Am I getting you at a bad time?”

“Not at all. What can I do for you?”

“I’m at work. I’ve discovered an employee has taken a considerable amount of money. The FBI has frozen her account, but to get it back I have hire a lawyer. Do you know someone who handles cases like this?”

“Yes, but it’s going to cost you and it’ll take time. You’d be better off to demand the employee return the money.”

“No way. I want her stopped.”

“You’re just as stubborn as the rest of the Holbrooks,” Tobias told her with a chuckle.

Madison didn’t bother to argue that she wasn’t a Holbrook. She merely wrote down the name and phone number. When she looked at Aiden, he was cowering in the chair like a dog waiting to be kicked. It made her think of Aspen back at the guesthouse.

Madison tried to reach Paul but his cell kicked right to voice mail. She told him to call her, then she called the attorney’s office and made an appointment for the following morning. She’d had to use Tobias Pennington’s name to get seen so quickly.

Aiden had perked up a bit while she’d been on the phone but he still looked like a man about to face a firing squad. “Where are you going to get the money for a lawyer? Why don’t I just convince Chloe to give it back?”

“Nope. I’m filing charges.”

“Look, I’ll pay you back every cent you lost, too,” he pleaded. “Chloe loves me enough to get help for this problem.”

“It’s an addiction and it’s not easy to kick.”

“I won’t be part of any lawsuit. I’ll say I gave her the money.” His smug grin reminded her of a used-car salesman. “No lawyer will take your case then. You couldn’t pay one anyway.”

“Aiden, let me make one thing absolutely clear to you. I will file charges. If you lie, you could be charged, as well. I will chase you with lawsuits for years to come and make your life a living hell.” Like a time bomb, anger ticked inside her and was reflected in her low but mean voice. “Do you know where I’m living? In Wyatt Holbrook’s guesthouse.”

She saw Aiden recognized the name. Most people would, but Aiden always knew the players in Miami and longed to be among them.