As the woman spoke on the phone, her cheeks flared a bright red. When she hung up, she said, “Mr. Finch will be down to see you in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” Amanda told her.
“Uh-huh.” She didn’t say another word and put her attention to a folder on her desk.
Call it a hunch, but Amanda felt Mr. Finch was to blame for this woman’s attitude. That seemed confirmed when Harris Finch stormed into the reception area. The woman didn’t look up, even though there was no way she hadn’t heard his soles slapping the floor.
“You’re the detectives here to see me,” Finch said, leveling this as if it were an accusation.
“Detectives Steele and Stenson. We’d like to speak with you someplace private,” Amanda told him.
Two people entered the firm and looked at the three of them as they walked past to the desk.
“If you insist, but we need to make this quick. I have a huge client waiting on me upstairs. You’ve interrupted an important meeting.” He led them to a small meeting room off the lobby.
Amanda waited until the door was shut to say, “Yes, well, you’re going to need to send them away.”
“Pardon me? What do you mean? And why would I ever do that?”
She gestured to a chair. “I suggest you take a seat, Mr. Finch.” She took her own advice, and Trent sat down too.
“I don’t have time for this.”
Trent’s jaw became rigid. “Detective Steele wasn’t asking.”
“Fine. But, as I said, make this quick.” Finch dropped onto a chair.
“We never had a chance to speak with you when we were here yesterday,” she began.
“No, I was in court. Do you need me to prove that?” He tossed out the question with a sardonic smirk.
“We might.” This was said more to shake him. After all, he didn’t need to account for his whereabouts yesterday.
Finch’s face shadowed, and his eyes narrowed. “Do I need a lawyer?”
Lawyers could slow down the process, but they served a purpose. She had the choice to stoke the flames of the existing tension or pull back. The latter was the wisest course. She replied in a calm, level voice, “That is up to you.”
“Just tell me what’s going on.”
“We spoke to some of your colleagues yesterday about the upcoming purchase of the company,” Amanda began.
“I heard. Is that why you dragged me out of a client meeting? To get my opinion on the sale?”
“Not exactly, but if you could answer that question,” she said.
“It doesn’t much affect me. I’ve been interested in retiring for a while now.”
“Then you didn’t stand to lose from the sale?” Trent asked.
“Nope. Per the bylaws, I need to be bought out.”
Wouldn’t that be the cherry on top? Making off with a fraudulent haulanda payout? “Then it didn’t concern you the company’s books were being made available to the purchasing entity?”
“Why should it?”
“We had a detective in Financial Crimes look at the firm’s financials. I’m sure you’re familiar with the adageFollow the money? Well, they discovered several vendors and clients were opened within the last seven years that were numbered shell companies.”
“I’m not sure what this has to do with me.”
