The office was sizable but neat, with the usual office furnishings. Shelves lined one wall, a leather couch sat against the other, and Gibson’s sizable executive desk and chair faced the door. Thankfully, his laptop was still there.
“Look for any connection between Gibson and these guys,” Jack replied. “I’m going to the security office to cross-reference the access logs against any footage of Kyle scanning his card. I could only remotely access a month’s worth of footage.”
“Ry, check his laptop,” Joker said, motioning to the desk. “I’ll search the desk drawers and the filing cabinet.”
Ryden opened the laptop and frowned. “Um, I don’t have the password.” Just then, the screen changed, and the desktop appeared.
“You’re welcome,” Jack said through their comms.
“Show off,” Joker muttered, his lips quirked at the corners. They moved quickly and efficiently while Chip sniffed around the office or guarded the door. Just because the building was closed didn’t mean someone wouldn’t show up, especially if they weren’t careful with the flashlights.
Yikes. Jay would break out into hives if he saw this desktop. Dozens of vaguely named folders were scattered haphazardly across the screen. The man’s computer was nowhere near as neat as his office. So far, nothing struck him as weird. The folders primarily contained commercial invoices, pro forma invoices, packing slips, certificates of origin, waybills, customs forms, and other documents typically found in an import/export company.
“Nothing’s jumpin’ out at me,” Ryden said as he moved on to the next folder. “Y’all got anything?”
“Found his agenda.” Joker flipped through the pages. “There are several meetings on his calendar, but none of the names belong to any of our guys. Here’s his lunch meeting with Colton.”
Ryden found the accounting software and opened it. Maybe he’d find something there. A quick scan revealed an alarming picture. “Holy shit. Gibson is in the hole for almost twenty million dollars.”
“What?” Joker hovered over Ryden’s shoulder, and Ryden pointed to the red numbers. Clicking on a link opened a spreadsheet containing several file attachments, including one from an insurance company.
“Damn. Two months ago, an entire cargo ship’s worth of shipping containers sank, and the insurance company denied his claim.”
“Why?” Jack asked from the other end.
“It says Gibson Global’s policy doesn’t cover defective ships or owner negligence, but Gibson argued that the ship hadundergone rigorous inspections and denied any negligence on his company’s part.”
The screen flickered, and numerous documents flashed rapidly across the screen.
“Really?” Joker grumbled. “Micromanage much?”
“I know,” Jack sighed. “It’s a problem.” The screen stopped, and a copy of the insurance claim Gibson had filed appeared on the screen. “Looks like there was an explosion that caused damage to the hull. The ship didn’t sink, but the containers of costly cargo did. All of them. That’s why the insurance company doesn’t want to pay. They’re claiming owner negligence.”
Ryden shook his head. “This is makin’ less sense. Why would these guys want to be involved with a shipping company over twenty million dollars in debt?”
“This is why.” Joker showed Ryden a letter he’d pulled out from the back of the agenda.
“What is it?” Jack asked.
“It’s an offer,” Ryden replied as he read the letter. “From Bullard to buy Gibson Global, and they offered a hell of a lot of money. Way more than the company is worth even without the debt.”
Joker hummed. “Not suspicious at all.”
“Do y’all think this is what Gibson refused?” Ryden asked, thinking out loud. “But why would he refuse this much when he was so far in debt? He couldn’t’ve known what these guys were up to. As far as he was concerned, it was a legitimate offer. So he refuses to sell, and what? They kill him, and any chance of buyin’ the company? I don’t get it.”
“We need to talk to Colton,” Joker said. “The letter is dated the day before Gibson died, which is also the day he had lunch with Colton.”
Ryden nodded. “Agreed. Jack, any luck on your end?”
“I found something odd. Two months ago, Kyle scanned his card to get into Gibson’s office, except at that time, Kyle was out on the loading dock. Whoever it was, they knew where the security cameras were. They got into Gibson’s office and accessed his laptop.”
What the hell was going on? “So someone else used Kyle’s card, or a copy of his card, to access Gibson’s office. Where was Gibson?”
“It was after five, so he and the rest of the office employees were gone for the day.”
“Wait. Two months ago? As in, around the same time the explosion happened?” Ryden asked. They were on to something here.
“As in, the week before,” Jack replied.
