“It would have been good if they’d remembered that.I didn’t purposely go out of my way to sabotage their circle of friends.”Theo turned right off Main Street.He was going to interview Penny Terry about a new project she was working on.
Tony sounded as though he was shuffling some papers.“Do you think McGibbons is suing you to save his reputation or make you look bad?”
“Probably both.He’s guilty, but he’ll do everything he can to make it look as though he’s the victim.”
“If we can prove what we already know, he’ll never be mayor again.”
Theo parked against the curb.That was the least of McGibbons’ problems.If he was found guilty of tax evasion, he could be facing prison time and a hefty fine.“When you find Anne, tell her to call me.”
“I will.”
With even less hope than he had yesterday, he turned off the ignition.In the last few days, clearing his name had become more important than funding the radio station.He didn’t want to be known as a liar or a person who cared more about ratings than the truth.
He’d leave that dubious honor to Steve McGibbons.
THE NEXT DAY,Barbara handed Theo the last page of an application form.“Once you’ve signed on the bottom line, you’re all set to go.”
For the last half hour, they’d carefully gone through the form in his office, making sure all the relevant questions were answered.If this didn’t provide the radio station with additional funding, she didn’t know what he could do next.
“Thanks for helping.I wouldn’t have included half the things if I’d filled it out on my own.”
“It was no problem.You can use this one as a template for the other applications.Most of the questions are similar.”As he slipped the form into a plastic folder, she studied Theo’s face.Usually, he was totally focused on what he was doing, but he’d seemed distracted for most of their meeting.“Penny enjoyed your interview.”
“I enjoyed talking to her, too.I didn’t realize she wanted to develop the old cottages into small businesses until you told me.”
“She’s been looking for a project to keep her busy since she moved to Sapphire Bay.”
Theo smiled.“You wouldn’t find many projects as large as the one she’s attempting.I hope the county sees the benefit in turning the cottages into small businesses.”
“It’s taking longer than we thought to make sure the project meets their planning requirements, but they seem happy to support what she’s doing.Is everything all right?”
Theo frowned.“I think so.Now that we’ve completed these forms, I can mail them to the funding committee.”
“I wasn’t meaning the forms.I meant in general.You seem worried about something.”
Theo’s gaze dropped to the papers spread across the kitchen table.“It’s been a long day.”
“Is that code for mind my own business?”she asked half-seriously.
“No, it’s…” Theo’s serious blue eyes lifted to hers.“I heard back from Tony, a friend who’s helping me find the missing documents for the story I wrote.”
“Was it bad news?”
“More like no news.He was in Stanhope, looking for the last two businesses who invoiced McGibbons for work he claimed as a business expense.One invoice was legitimate, but Tony couldn’t find the other company.Without proving that he remodeled his home then charged it to the real-estate business, I’ll never clear my name.”
“Is there anything else you can do?”
“If we can find Anne Edwards it would make our lives easier.”
“Who’s Anne?”
“She was an accountant in the real estate company McGibbons co-owned.She knew what he was doing.”
“And she can verify your story?”
“Every word.”Theo collected some of the papers and shuffled them into a tidy pile.“But if we don’t find her soon, it will be too late.My lawyer needs all relevant information in his office by the end of next week.If Tony can’t find her, I’ll visit some of her colleagues that I met in New York City.Someone must know where she’s gone.”
If Barbara was looking down the barrel of a defamation case, she’d be furiously searching the country for Anne, too.“You’re awfully calm considering the amount of stress you must be under.”
