“And are there any written records of these requests?” Colcord asked.
“Well, no.… We talked about it in person. But it’s not like I was keeping all the money; I was transferring it back out to Paradox.”
“The Brooksfield Ranch,” Cash said, “was struggling recently, isn’t that right?”
“We have our ups and downs, like any business.”
Cash pulled a few more papers from the stack in front of her and slid them across, tapping a forefinger on some lines. “Looks like you had some heavy medical expenses too—your daughter—Lolly, I believe?—has Turner syndrome. Looks like you went into the red here, isn’t that right?”
“The insurance… wouldn’t pay,” Margie said. “She had to have heart surgery, and they wouldn’t pay.”
“I don’t see what this has to do with anything,” Caldas said.
“They’re just questions.” Colcord nodded at Cash to continue.
“Looks like you were late on some payments but then used part of the transfer from Willy Grooms’s account to pay off those bills, right? See this sum here?”
“Well, yes. Willy paid me for my services. I transferred what he instructed over to Paradox, retaining the remuneration we both agreed upon for my services.”
“Do you have invoices for those services?”
“No, like I said. We handled all these transactions verbally, in person. Willy didn’t want anything put down in writing. But I have a list of payments.”
“But no records. You agree that as a certified financial planner, it’s pretty important to keep records, right?” Cash raised her eyebrows.
“Don’t answer that,” Caldas said.
“When you do the math, looks like you retained the sum of $220,000 with those last transfers. Is that what you agreed on with Willy?”
“The insurance company wouldn’t pay.”
“But did Willyagreeon that sum?”
“I… borrowed the money. I was going to pay it back.”
“You borrowed the money. Without Willy’s knowledge?”
Margie said nothing. Paul stared at her, confused.Borrowed the money?That wasn’t what she’d told him. They had gone through an awful time with the insurance company and in the end never got reimbursed. They said the surgery was “elective.”
“I was going to pay it back…,” she said.
“So you borrowed the money from Willy, without his knowledge.”
Margie didn’t speak.
“We also found this.” Cash slid over the document Romanski had found in the cabin.
Paul craned his neck to see what it was. Margie took it up and began to read it. Her hand began to tremble.
Cash continued, “Margie, I know this is tearing you up because you’re a good person. I know you wouldn’t normally do something like this. I think you were just pushed to the brink. The ranch was struggling. You weren’t just broke, you were almost bankrupt. You had medical bills. You and your kids didn’t deserve that; nobody does. Willy didn’t need the money, right? He didn’t have bills to pay. That’s why you took almost a quarter million dollars. And then there’sthat.”
“Hang on a second—” Caldas snatched the paper from Margie and began to read it. “You can’tambushmy client with new evidence during questioning.”
“We sent it to your email this morning,” Colcord said mildly.
Cash ignored her, continuing, “You couldn’t take it anymore. That’s why I’m giving you this chance. People are going to look at this andsay, ‘You know what? She made a mistake, but she owned up to it.’ ” She paused. “Or are you going to be the person who comes in here and doesn’t tell the whole truth—and people are going to say, ‘Well, she’s not as good a person as we thought she was’?”
Margie shrank back, looking panicked. “I—”
