Page 93 of Serve ’N’ Protect

“Tell me about the bonus,” Chang prodded.

Cassidy wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “When I asked for those missing documents a second time, he offered me a twenty percent bonus on top of my original fee. I just thought he was in a hurry. Now I realize that he never intended to give me those documents, and when he offered me a fat bonus, he was counting on me seeing enough dollar signs to waive the requirement for the backup documents.”

“I take it you refused,” Chang said more than asked.

She nodded. “I politely told him no. I remember he didn’t respond right away, as if he was surprised. But then he seemed okay with it and assured me he’d find what I needed and send it over.” She narrowed her eyes. “You know, shortly after I asked him for the documents the first time, there was a night when I wondered if someone had been in my house while I was out. The kitchen door latch wasn’t completely shut, and something on the counter wasn’t the way I’d left it.”

Markus pushed from the wall and walked to the sofa, standing directly behind her. “You didn’t tell me that.” If she had, he never would have let her stay in that house alone, and she never would have been attacked by the burglar.

She shrugged. “It was late at night and at the time I didn’t think anything of it.”

“So you think that was the first time someone broke in,” Trooper Collins suggested.

“Yes,” she agreed. “And the second time was when the burglar did steal my laptop. Right after that, I noticed the password Teedle had given me to access the first set of documents he sent me via email wouldn’t work anymore, and he never sent me a new password. The bottom line is, all the trouble began when I started asking for those missing documents. Now, I think I know why he didn’t want to give them to me.”

“He’s hiding his assets,” Markus supplied.

“Exactly.” When she looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes were lit with enthusiasm. “I always knew the numbers didn’t add up, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that numbers don’t lie. For the last two years, Teedle Tech’s annual income took a nosedive, but most—not all—the company’s balance sheets indicated those were good years. Teedle also sold a lot of expensive assets last year, and all for significantly less than what they should have been worth, given their age.”

“What assets?” Chang asked.

“A Porsche, a cabin cruiser, and a condo in Kauai, for starters. There were also significant withdrawals from joint bank accounts and gambling losses with no paper trail.”

Trooper Collins cleared her throat. “Word on the street is that Walt Teedle’s been going through a nasty divorce for the last two years. He was married when he started the company.”

“Which means,” Chang added, “anything he made through Teedle Tech is subject to being divvied up by a divorce judge.”

“I’m not a divorce expert or a forensic accountant,” Cassidy said, “but this seems like classic signs of dissipation. It’s a fraudulent divorce scheme to hide, deplete, or divert marital assets.”

“Between his personal net worth and his business,” Chang said, “Teedle is probably worth millions.”

“Maybe more,” Collins added. “Three years ago, he landed a billion-dollar contract connected with the commissioning of a new bomber squadron at the naval air station.”

“Wouldn’t he already have a personal or company accountant?” Chang asked. “No offense, but why did he hire you?”

“I can’t answer that, but here’s what I think.” When Ghost lay down again and rested his head in her lap, she began petting his head. “A year ago, I had to quit my job with an accounting firm. Two months ago, I started placing weekly ads in the local paper, offering my accounting services. I think Walt Teedle thought he was hiring a dumb CPA, one who should be so grateful for the big bucks he was offering that they wouldn’t ask any questions and would just rubber stamp his audit with whatever numbers he gave them.”

“And when that didn’t work,” Markus said, “and he couldn’t steal all the evidence he’d given her, he tried to silence her. Permanently.” An icy, deadly chill shot up his spine, along with the unwavering need to hunt Walt Teedle down and crush the man.

“What I don’t understand,” Cassidy said, looking from Chang to Collins then including Markus, “is why Teedle didn’t just end the job with me. I would have given him back his files, no questions asked.”

Markus rested his hands on the back of the sofa behind her. Air blowing in from the broken window brought with it the delicate scent of her shampoo, and he breathed it into his lungs. “Maybe he couldn’t take the chance that someone outside his inner circle knew he’d committed fraud and tried to bribe a CPA into keeping quiet about all the millions in assets he was hiding.” The more he thought about it, the more crimes Teedle had committed. “Any judge would have hammered him. Criminal charges could be filed, and not just for hiding assets. By emailing you doctored-up documents, he committed wire fraud. With a criminal record, he’d be disbarred and lose all his government contracts. Including that billion-dollar one.”

Chang swore. “I never even thought of that. That’s the federal world, and that’s a whole lot of incentive.”

A phone rang, and Chang pulled his cell from a clip on his belt. “Excuse me.” He headed into the kitchen to take the call.

Cassidy was far from being out of danger. Her take on Teedle’s motive made sense, but it didn’t pound the nail in the guy’s coffin. Even with John Smith in custody, the way things stood, it was only a theory.

“You know,” she said, turning to look at him again, “after I called Teedle about the burglary, he actually had the audacity to tell me how sorry he was. He even asked me if I was okay. He sounded so sincere.” She shook her head. “Bastard.”

A wind had kicked up outside, streaming more cold air into the room through the broken window. Cassidy started to shiver, and Markus grabbed a blanket from one of the chairs. As he draped it around her, she shot him a quick look of thanks but tensed when he momentarily rested his hands on her shoulders. Her entire body went as stiff as a tactical baton, a sure sign that he had a lot of begging and pleading in his future before she’d even consider forgiving him.

Trooper Collins sidestepped the pile of glass on the floor and took the chair opposite Cassidy. “I should warn you that while this all seems like a lot of evidence against Walt Teedle, it’s mostly your word against his.”

“Unless John Smith talks.” If he didn’t, Markus would be happy to convince him it would be in his best interest to do so.

Chang came back in from the kitchen. “That was my partner who just called. Smith isn’t talking.”