She sat on a kitchen stool. “I’ve got one ultra-wealthy widow who is the darling of the social circuit, a nonprofit charity that receives a lot of money, and a bank account that doesn’t make sense.”
Harry dropped two slices of bread into the toaster. “I hope it’s the wealthy widow’s bank account that doesn’t make sense and not yours.”
“You’re just worried that one day I’m going to come and live with you.”
He snorted. “You forgot about the security camera over my front door. At the first sign of a woman carrying anything larger than a folder, a solid steel door drops in front of her.”
Ashley waved her folder in the air. “Your bachelor status is not under threat, but I’ve got a feeling Jasmine Alfredo might be.”
“What do you mean?”
“She doesn’t need to defraud anything. Her charities have all got plenty of money, except The Reaching High Foundation. It’s the largest nonprofit she manages. They haven’t done half the projects they were supposed to, but they’ve spent the federal grant money they received.”
Harry buttered a piece of toast and held it toward her.
“No, thanks. I’ve already eaten.” She opened her folder. “If you don’t spend the grant money on the services or products the government is funding, you’re supposed to pay it back. The Reaching High Foundation can’t afford to repay any money.”
Harry wiped his hands on his jeans and looked through Ashley’s folder. “If the funding didn’t go to the projects it was supposed to, where has it gone?”
“That’s what I tried to find out. Not all nonprofits have to complete an independent audit. But this one should have. Last year, they received three federal grants worth between two- and three-hundred thousand dollars each.”
“And the money’s disappeared?”
“Most of it.”
“I hope you didn’t do anything illegal to figure that out?”
“Not really.”
“Don’t tell me what you did. I’ll only get stressed.” Harry frowned as he read the notes she’d made. “How do the photos from the dinner party tie in with the grants?”
“The people invited to the dinner party are all involved in Jasmine’s nonprofit charities. She wanted to thank them for their support. I looked for their profiles on the Internet, but a lot of them are camera shy. I’m hoping you and Bonnie can tell me their names.”
Harry turned to the first sheet of photos. “That’s Jason Le Blanc. He manages an art auction house called Taylor and Mitchell.”
Ashley wrote his name under the photo.
He pointed to another image. “Stephanie Malcolm, Chief Financial Strategist for Duncan and Malcolm. Her father owns the company.” Harry turned to the next page. “James Gardiner, big whiz in the telecommunications industry.”
“How do you know these people?”
“I’ve been working in New York for ten years. You see a lot of faces in that time. That’s Marty Williams—great guy—owns a yacht in the Bahamas. I can’t believe he’d be involved in anything illegal.”
Ashley added Marty’s name to his photo. “I don’t know which charities each of these people support, but I’m going to find out.”
Harry told her the names of another four people. “Are you sure you want to investigate Jasmine’s nonprofit charities?”
“She needs to be held accountable for the money the charities have received.”
“Apart from Jasmine, the people in this folder are some of the wealthiest and influential in New York. If you annoy them, your career could be over.”
Ashley closed the folder. “I know. That’s why I’m being careful.”
“Define careful.”
“You and Bonnie are the only people who know what I’m doing.”
“And?”
