Mo’s tiny house didn’t leave much room for guests. Just the way he liked it.
“It’s indecent to show up—unannounced, I might add—before eight a.m. on any day of the week. It’s obscene on a Monday.”
“Says who?” Cal asked.
“Says everybody.”
Cal grunted but didn’t say anything else.
Mo ignored him and continued to type the report he’d been working on since four. When he finished his thoughts, he hit save and swiveled to face his cousin. “Why are you here?”
“I got an email from Bronwyn this morning.”
A pall of tension settled into the small space. Mo fought to keep his voice flat. “Okay.”
“Seems she’s in need of assistance.”
“And that has what to do with me?”
“Everything.”
“Explain.”
Cal pulled his phone from his pocket and handed it to Mo. “Read it for yourself.”
Mo took the phone. The email had been sent from an account that probably would have been caught in a spam filter, except he could tell that Cal had received messages from it before. “What email is this?”
“She uses it when she wants to be sure no one is reading over her shoulder.”
Metaphorically or literally? Probably both.
She’d sent the email at 3:15 a.m.
Cal had opened it around five.
Mo looked up. “Why were you awake so early?”
“Landry woke up. The baby is making it hard for her to sleep.”
“I hear they do even more of that after they’re born. I bet I’ll be able to hear her crying from here.” Mo’s tiny house was only a few hundred yards from the home Cal and Landry shared.
“Quit stalling and read the email.”
He took a deep breath although he wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t like sitting on his rear end and reading an email was physically taxing.
But for some reason, he had to take another deep breath before he focused on the screen.
Cal,
Things aren’t good, and I need help. The kind of help that, oh, say, a super trustworthy forensic accountant could provide. If he should be available ... and willing.
Could you determine the availability and willingness of someone like that?
I’m sorry to put you in the middle again, and I’m sorry to ask for his help, but I genuinely don’t know where else to go. If he could give me just a little bit of time and tell me if I’m seeing things, or if it’s a real issue, then I’d be happy to hire someone he recommends to finish the job.
I’m planning to swing by your office around 9:00 a.m.
Beep
