“Trust me. I know my brothers. Creating an office is the least of their worries.” Sally opened the front door and walked toward the main homestead.
“Why are you doing this?”
Sally stopped in the middle of the yard. “Because I feel guilty about the way I treated you and because I want to help. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” Ashley murmured.
“Do you want to give friendship another try?”
“I’d like that. But I’ll only be here for a few days.”
“I know. Just do me a favor and try not to break Matthew’s heart again.”
Ashley saw the worry on Sally’s face. “I wouldn’t have asked him for help unless it was important.”
Sally sighed. “I know.” She linked arms with Ashley. “Do you need any pens or paper?”
“I brought enough paper with me. If you have a spare whiteboard marker, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’m sure we can find something.”
Using one of the cottage’s spare bedrooms as an office was a wonderful idea. Ashley could lay everything out, connect faces and names on the whiteboard, and try to make sense of all the information she’d collected.
She just hoped that after Bonnie talked with the treasurer of The Reaching High Foundation, the connection between Jasmine and Congressman Welsh was more obvious.
If it weren’t, she would fly back to New York and take her chances with whoever was following her. Without proof that the grant money had been stolen, her story would be going nowhere.
***
“You’re not going to believe this,” Bonnie said as soon as Ashley called her. “The treasurer of the Foundation has only been in that role for the last three months.”
Ashley could hear the excitement in her friend’s voice. “Is that good or bad?”
“It could be good when I tell you why the last person left. Apparently, there was a huge argument between Jasmine and the previous treasurer. The next day, the treasurer resigned. No one’s saying what the argument was about.”
Ashley frowned. “Did you find this out at your meeting?”
“No. I spoke to one of the Foundation’s personal assistants in the coffee shop afterward.”
“Did you see any of the Foundation’s financial records?”
“Not yet.” Bonnie sounded disappointed. “The treasurer said she’d send me a copy of their income projections and their marketing plan. I don’t think they’re going to help.”
“They might. I’ve still got a copy of the accountability report the Foundation filed. I’ll keep working through that. Harry’s going to call me after he’s met with the companies who supplied materials for the youth center project.”
“I asked the treasurer about the projects they fund. Her only involvement is to pay the bills and make sure the overall costs don’t exceed the budget. Program leaders are assigned to each project. They’re in charge of making sure the right people are involved in each project.”
“Who was the project leader for the youth center?”
“Congressman Welsh. He managed all the contractors.”
Ashley opened one of her folders. “Congressman Welsh was running for mayor about the same time as the youth center project was starting. He would have been busy.”
“Maybe he made an honest mistake. He might have overpaid a contractor and they never told him.”
“He didn’t pay the bills—that was the treasurer’s job.”
“And she would only pay the amount that was invoiced. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
