When The Devil Whistles Page 12

  The DAG handed it to Roh. “Do you recognize this document, Mr. Roh?”

  Roh studied it for several seconds. “This appears to be one of our invoices.”

  “An invoice to the state of California, correct?”

  “Yes, the Department of Water Resources.”

  “Is the invoice accurate?”

  “I assume so.”

  Max arched his eyebrows. “Do you really? Well, if you wanted to check on whether it was accurate, what would you do?”

  Roh smiled and swept his ruby tongue over his upper lip. “I would ask someone from accounting.”

  “Okay, assume they’re all out at lunch. Every one of them. And you need to know right now. What would you do?”

  “I can’t imagine that happening. But if it did, I suppose I would look at the other, ah, materials in the customer file.”

  “Materials like this?” Max tossed three pages of billing detail record across the table.

  Roh glanced at them and held them up against the invoice. “Yes.”

  “And this?” Max handed him the smoking-gun Excel spreadsheet.

  “Yes.” He picked up the billing detail and began comparing it to the spreadsheet. “I—these numbers don’t, ah, they don’t appear to match.”

  Alvarez leaned over and whispered to his client. Max folded his arms and watched with a satisfied look on his face.

  Connor couldn’t hear what Alvarez and Roh were saying, but they didn’t look happy. Roh kept studying the documents, as if he could somehow make the fraud go away if he looked at the numbers hard enough. Alvarez knew better and sat back, his face flushed and grim.

  Losing sucks, doesn’t it, Carlos? Connor felt a little sorry for his opponent, but not much. Carlos Alvarez was smart and very competitive, but he played by the rules and was a decent guy outside the courtroom. Connor appreciated that. There were other lawyers he’d rather see take sucker punches from Max Volusca.

  But Alvarez had it coming. He was a good lawyer, but he didn’t stick to representing good people. The wicked lay snares for their own feet, and if Alvarez wanted to walk with the wicked, he’d get caught with them too.

  Roh finally looked up with a light of dawning comprehension in his face. “This is why you are investigating us?”

  “I ask the questions here,” Max replied. “And I’m asking why the numbers on that spreadsheet don’t match the numbers on the bill your company sent.”

  “I cannot imagine how this could have happened.”

  Max snorted. “I can.”

  Alvarez’s face reddened under his immaculate silver hair, but Roh hardly seemed to notice the DAG’s sarcasm. “No, I mean I don’t understand the technicalities. The computer procedures. The invoices are generated directly from the spreadsheet. Someone would have to go in and manually alter the invoices after they were generated.”

  “So you’re saying this couldn’t have happened by accident?” Roh turned toward Alvarez again.

  “Answer the question first!” Max boomed.

  “Can I talk with my attorney?”

  “Not while there’s a question pending.”

  Alvarez looked as though he had just swallowed something sour. “I’m afraid that’s how the rules work, Franklin.”

  Roh dropped his eyes to the documents and slowly shook his head. “I cannot think of… of an accidental scenario.”

  Bingo! After that little admission, Connor had trouble imagining what Deep Seven’s defense would be. This case was going to settle faster than he had anticipated.

  Max smiled. “Okay, now you can talk to your lawyer.”

  Alvarez and Roh left the conference room, and Connor turned to Max. “Nice work. So, when are you guys going to intervene?”

  Max glanced out the conference room window. “Yeah, we need to talk about that.”

  “What do you—” The door opened and Connor broke off in mid-sentence.

  Alvarez and Roh resumed their seats. Alvarez nodded. “Go ahead, Max.”

  “Okay. I’ve only got one question left.” The DAG shoved a small stack of paper across the table. “Can you think of an accidental scenario for these invoices and spreadsheets?”

  Roh looked at the documents for several minutes. Then he sighed and shrugged. “As I am sitting here today, I cannot think of such a scenario.”

  Max checked the last item off of his outline. “All right. That’s all I’ve got. Thanks for coming in today.”

  They all stood and the lawyers began to pack up their notebooks, pens, and other paraphernalia. Unlike last time, Alvarez made no effort to take any of the documents Max had shown to his client.

  Roh cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Volusca. Now that the interview is over, may I ask a question?”

  Max shrugged. “Sure. Go ahead.”

  “When can we have our computer equipment back? It is inconvenient to use our backup servers.”

  The restrained eagerness in Roh’s voice made Connor look up. The man’s face wore an unmoving and carefully casual smile. But his knuckles were white as he dug his fingers deep into the chair in front of him.

  “Tough to say,” Max replied. “We should be done with the investigation soon. Maybe a couple of weeks.”

  Roh nodded sharply and his smile looked more genuine. “Ah, very good. Thank you.”

  Once Roh and Alvarez were gone, Connor turned to Max. “That went about as well as could be expected. Weird, but well.”

  “Uh, yeah.” He paused and took a deep breath. “Listen, I appreciate all the cases you and Allie bring in. You’ve brought us a lot of winners over the years, but this isn’t one of them. I’m going to recommend against intervention.”

  Connor sat in stunned silence. He’d figured out that something was bothering Max, but he would never have guessed this. “Max, I don’t get it. Why? You saw how he reacted to those invoices.”

  “Yeah, but those are the only ones we found. That’s what— twenty thousand? Not worth fighting over.”

  “That’s it? You’ve looked at all the invoices and those three are the only bad ones?”

  Max nodded. “We sent a team of auditors through every one of those databases.” He pointed at the invoices on the table. “Those are the only fraudulent ones.”

  Connor shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. This isn’t a twenty-thousand-dollar case. No one hires Carlos Alvarez to solve a twenty-thousand-dollar problem. And did you see Roh? Your investigation scares the snot out of him. He’s hiding something big.”

  Max pressed his lips together and tapped his pen against his notebook for several seconds before responding. “Yeah, I did notice that.”

  “And what about those witnesses I talked to? It was like I was talking to ex-mafia types and asking them about the mob.”

  Max arched his bushy eyebrows. “Maybe they were masons or Nazis.”

  “That was one guy, and his grandson did disappear. And he was right about that server four.”

  “All true.”

  “So you’ve got to keep digging.”

  Max reddened slightly. “No, I don’t. Not unless this company is stealing from the great state of California.”

  “So you’re going to drop it? Seriously?”

  “Yes, I am. In case you forgot, I work in the False Claims Unit.” Max’s face darkened further as he spoke and his voice rose. “We prosecute false claims cases. Big cases. Cases that are worth spending the taxpayers’ money on. This isn’t one of those cases, Connor. If you want to go after these guys on your own, be my guest. And if you think there’s something criminal going on, call the cops.”

  “But don’t call you.”

  “Not unless you find a lot more stolen state money.”

  Connor bit back an angry retort. “Come on, Max. This is the Department of Justice, not the Department of Finance, right?”

  “Yeah, but it’s also not the Department of Running Down Connor Norman’s Hunches That Something Funky Is Going On.”

  Connor held his tongue bet
ween his teeth and counted to ten. “Thanks for your time, Max.”

  30

  THE PHONE RANG AGAIN. “HANSEN, ERIK” ANNOUNCED A ROBOTIC VOICE from Allie’s phone.

  She rolled her eyes and walked into her bedroom. When was that loser going to get the hint? The phone stopped ringing and the voicemail kicked in. “Allie, just pick up the phone, all right? I know you’re there.”

  She went into her closet and started sorting shoes into “keep” and “give to charity” bags. She tried hard to ignore the voice coming from her answering machine.

  “Aarrgh! Just tell me what I did wrong, all right? Seriously, just pick up the phone and tell me.”

  Keep last summer’s flip-flops? No, they were scuffed. Into the charity bag.

  “I love you.” His voice was soft and warm, full of the promise of candlelight and champagne.

  She dropped the shoes and put her head in her hands. She soooo much wanted to pick up the phone.

  “I need you.”

  She turned and glared at the phone. “Yeah, you need me to give you a ride and pay your hotel bill so you can sell meth to kids!” She said it loudly to drown out the voice inside her that said I need you too.

  “Fine. Have a good life.” Click.

  She turned back to the pile of shoes and tried to ignore the ache in her throat. Her eyes blurred and she rubbed them harshly.

  Man, the apartment felt empty. Come to think of it, her whole life felt empty. She suddenly felt a strong urge to call her mom just to not be alone for a while.

  Focus. She had to focus. She had to get through all her clothing today. Otherwise she would fall behind schedule and wouldn’t be done in time. The gold stilettos were keepers and went in the box labeled “Shoes #3.” So did the underused cross-trainers. The black flats could go—she had two pairs just alike.

  Three hours later, the closet was more or less empty. A few forlorn outfits hung among discarded hangers and empty dry-cleaning bags, but everything else was either in boxes destined for the mover or garbage bags destined for the Goodwill store. And Allie had gotten a workout despite not having put on her cross-trainers.

  She admired her work and stretched. Time for a break.

  The phone base on the black granite kitchen counter was empty and the mobile handset was nowhere to be seen. Okay, where did the phone fairy hide it this time?

  She pressed the “Find” button and a muffled beeping came from the balcony. She walked out and dug the handset out of a stadium blanket on one of the Adirondack chairs. Two bars on the battery icon. That should be enough.

  She pressed her mom’s speed dial, and a few seconds later Mom answered. “Hi, Allie. I was just about to call you. Sam was paying bills and told me there was five hundred thousand more in our account than there should have been. Did you put it there?”

  “I did.” She settled into the chair and pulled the blanket over her as she spoke. “We settled a big case not too long ago and I thought you could use the money more than me.”

  “Thank you, dear. That’s very sweet and very generous. But I can’t accept it. It’s just too much. Besides, we’re fine. I’m going to send it back to you.”

  She was going to have to tell Mom sometime. Might as well do it now. “You can’t. I closed my bank account and I’m about to move.”

  “Oh.” She could hear the surprise and worry in her mother’s voice. “Where are you going?”

  Connor had assured her that her phone was safe, but that had been weeks ago. “I can’t say, but I’ll let you know when I’m there.”

  Long seconds ticked by. “Are you in trouble?”

  Allie bit her lip and squirmed in her seat. “Not really. It’s just that… I can’t really talk about it now, but don’t worry. Seriously, don’t. Everything’s fine. Oh, and don’t worry about the money either. I won’t be able to send anymore for a while, so I wanted to send a big chunk now. Besides, I’d just blow it on a snowboarding trip in the Himalayas or something.” She laughed, but it came out all jittery.

  “Now I really am worried. What’s happened? Why can’t you tell me where you’re going?”

  “Really, Mom. I’m fine. Completely fine.” A lie, but one Mom needed to hear. “Seriously. I’ll give you a call in less than a week, okay? If you don’t hear from me by then, you can worry, all right?”

  Mom sighed. “I just wish you could tell me what’s going on.”

  “So do I.” Time to find something else to talk about. “Hey, did I mention that I broke up with Erik?”

  “Oh, my. How are you feeling?”

  Allie pulled the blanket tighter around herself. “I’m good.

  It’s been a long time coming. Glad I finally did it.”

  “I’m glad too, sweetheart.” To Allie’s relief, her mother’s voice had lost the I’m-worried-about-my-little-girl tone. “He wasn’t the kind that makes a good husband.”

  Allie sat up, hot indignation burning through her chilly loneliness. “Mom, please! I never even considered marrying him! The guy’s a rock star wannabe with a drug problem. I liked him and we had fun together, but that’s it.”

  “Well, you two were together for a long time. And you’re at the age where you can’t afford to waste time with someone you wouldn’t marry.”

  Maybe changing the subject of conversation to Erik hadn’t been such a good idea after all. “Not everyone gets married by thirty these days, for your information. And why are you so sure I want to get married at all? It didn’t work out so hot for Sam. She had the big wedding, started popping out kids, and now she’s manless again and back at home living with you.”

  Allie immediately regretted bringing up Sam’s divorce. Sam wasn’t the one calling her an old bag who dated losers and would never get married. But it was out there now and Allie wasn’t going to back down. She steeled herself for her mother’s counterattack.

  It still hit her like a gut punch. “I just don’t want you to be alone and lonely. That’s all. I love you and I want you to be happy.”

  The ache was back in Allie’s throat, almost strangling her. “I know, Mom,” she forced out, her voice thick. “I love you too. And I’m sorry I said that about Sam. Don’t tell her, okay?”

  “I won’t.” She paused and Allie could hear a child’s voice in the background. “I’ll be right there. Sorry, Allie. Sam and the girls just made dinner and Andrea just told me that they’re ready to eat.”

  “Okay. I should get going anyway. Give them all hugs from me.”

  “I will. And call me as soon as you reach wherever it is you’re going. One week, remember?”

  “I remember. Bye, Mom.”

  “Bye.”

  Allie clicked off the phone and turned to go back inside. All alone and lonely.

  She suddenly couldn’t bear the thought of spending another minute by herself. But who could she call? She’d met most of her friends through Erik, so they were all out. Trudi? And have to talk about her happy marriage and precious little twins? Not exactly what she had in mind. Okay, who else?

  She scrolled through the contact list on her cell phone and stopped on Connor Norman. Now there was an interesting idea.

  Kind of sad that her lawyer was the one person she could think of to call when she was feeling like this.

  But still. She always had a good time when they were together. And she’d always wondered, just a little, what would have happened if she’d met Connor before Erik. Besides, she’d be gone in less than three days, so there wasn’t much to lose if this turned out to be a bad idea.

  As the idea became more real, she started to get nervous. She laughed at herself, and the sound of her own voice startled her.

  That settled it. If just thinking about Connor made her feel better, seeing him certainly would. She dialed his number before she could change her mind, then bit her lip as the phone rang.

  31

  CONNOR’S CELL PHONE VIBRATED IN HIS SHORTS POCKET AS HE WIPED down the nose of the White Knight. Even in the hangar, the dust from
the Livermore hills managed to reach the plane and dull its gleaming stainless steel finish.

  He pulled the phone out and his eyebrows went up when he saw who was calling. “Hi, Allie. What’s up?”

  “Hey, Connor. I was wondering what you’re doing tonight.”

  “Right now I’m out at the Livermore Airport working on my plane.” He wiped his hands on a rag, switching the phone from hand to hand as he spoke. “Did you want to talk about Max’s decision? I can’t right now, but give me half an hour and I’ll be ready.”