I squint at the numbers. “12:50?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lector’s brows lift, but I’m not making the connection. “12:50 am.”
William’s voice buzzes through the speakerphone. “You mean someone processed the claim in the middle of the night?”
“The time zone,” I whisper, meaning dawning with brittle clarity.
Lector grins and points a pen at me. “Bingo. Now, one could easily claim that this is the automatic system running overnight, but I think not. On legally the same day as Rigton merged with another company, a secondary company with the same name opened, swept up the business number already deactivated in the central time zone, and reassigned it. And Rigton keeps operating as a private company, despite no longer existing.”
“But you can’t re-use a business number,” I argue.
He nods. “Correct. You can’t. But somehow they did. My guess is they triggered the system to think the original deactivation was an error and simply reactivated it while also changing out the state code and tax ID.” He lifts both hands and shrugs. “That’s above my capabilities, but I’m sure the OCB’s analysts can trace the digital logs inside the taxation department’s system. That issue aside, I’m guessing what you want to know is where the money is coming from, because they couldn’t escape having assets transferred to DoorKit.”
“I feel a headache coming on,” William grumbles. “We can’t track movement for a privately listed company if they didn’t raise equity.”
Lector’s already back on his keyboard, a determined look in his eye. “No, but you can trace who’s registered as the owners.” He scans a new page and makes a noise in his throat. “It’s another company. And they are, wait for it, Cash Link.”
That name rings a bell, and Lector watches me with his lips pressed tight together as I do the search. My mouth dries up as my Omoogle results clear.
“They’re a subsidiary of—”
“Alpha Cash,” Lector confirms, nodding.
“Wait,” William says. “Are we talking abouttheAlpha Cash, like, the payment app?”
Lector folds his fingers together, a gleam in his eye. “Yes, sir, we are. National market share of 32% of all financial transactions, and 11% of payments globally.”
“Shit,” I mutter. I flop back in my chair, winded. Alhedy told me Ray was tapped into big-time money, but I thought it would be cash in some airport hangar in the middle of nowhere. Somehow he’s legitimized his money and turned it into a financial superpower.
“This something personal, Calli?” Lector asks.
I nod, still processing. “Yeah. Something for Red.”
“Ricky’s omega?”
Damn. I forgot I’ve never told them we scent matched too, but it’s not something I want to admit with the OCB agents on the line. I tap a finger to my lips and he nods in understanding.
“Well,” he says, tracing a dust mote across the desk. “If it’s something you need more help with, I reckon I could step in.” Lector selects a leather binder from a collection between two carved bookends and flips it open. “Do me a favor and read this out loud.” He slides a printout across to me.
I read the title,Potential Acquisitions, for next year. My voice falters when I reach the third company name: Alpha Cash.
Lector’s already been investigating, but for entirely different reasons.
“What’s that about?” William asks.
Lector shrugs, but his grin is far from innocent.
I roll my eyes as I answer, “It’s evidence against an insider trading claim if he goes ahead and takes over Alpha Cash after this conversation.”
My stepdad leans closer to the phone. “But a little extra immunity from the OCB wouldn’t go astray. You know, because we’re cooperating with an investigation and all.”
“Oh,” William muses. “Well, I’ll talk to the director about it.”
“That’s all a man can hope for,” Lector says. He cocks his head, studying me. “What do you think, Calli? Should I go for the head while your friends hunt down the feet?”
I gape at him, stunned. He’s totally serious.
“But they aren’t even right-side up,” I shoot back, pointing at the evidence on his monitor. “That’s a ridiculous investment.”
