Chapter 6 - KANE PAYMENTS
“Don't open it.”
Vincent's voice was sharp.
Naomi froze.
Mom looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because if that drive contains what the title suggests, this is no longer just payroll fraud.”
“What does it suggest?”
Vincent didn't answer.
Mom stepped closer.
“You wanted the truth five minutes ago.”
“I still do.”
“Then open it.”
Naomi looked between them.
Vincent nodded.
She clicked.
Dozens of spreadsheets appeared.
Dates.
Companies.
Accounts.
Payments.
Mom frowned.
“What's Kane Logistics?”
“My company.”
“You own a logistics company?”
“I own several things.”
“Legally?”
One guard coughed.
Vincent looked at him.
Mom almost smiled.
Naomi opened a spreadsheet.
Her expression tightened.
“These aren't payments to Kane Logistics.”
Vincent leaned over.
“No.”
“What are they?”
“Payments made using our company name.”
Mom understood.
“David was laundering money through you?”
“Not through me.”
Vincent's voice hardened.
“Through fake accounts designed to look like mine.”
Naomi scrolled.
Twenty thousand.
Forty thousand.
Seventy-five thousand.
Hundreds of thousands.
Vincent's face grew darker with every line.
“Someone has been using my companies as cover.”
Mom whispered,
“How much?”
Naomi checked the total.
“Two point eight million.”
Nobody spoke.
I raised my hand.
Mom looked at me.
“You don't have to raise your hand, baby.”
“Is that more than five thousand?”
Vincent exhaled.
“Yes.”
“A lot more?”
“Yes.”
“Then David is really bad.”
Vincent looked at me.
“That is becoming increasingly clear.”
Naomi opened another folder.
Photographs.
Invoices.
Bank statements.
Then she stopped.
“Vincent.”
“What?”
She turned the laptop.
There was a scanned contract.
At the bottom was Vincent Kane's signature.
Except he hadn't signed it.
He stared.
“Forgery.”
Mom folded her arms.
“Welcome to the club.”
Vincent actually smiled.
Then Naomi opened the final attachment.
A photo.
David Sterling.
Claire.
And a third man shaking David's hand.
Vincent's smile vanished.
“Who is he?” Mom asked.
Vincent didn't answer.
Naomi did.
“Anthony Vale.”
Mom looked confused.
Vincent was not.
“He runs half the illegal sports betting in the city.”
Mom looked at me.
“Rory, cover your ears.”
I did.
Then moved my fingers slightly so I could still hear.
Vincent paced.
“Vale has been trying to move into my territory for years.”
Mom said, “Territory?”
“Businesses.”
“That's not what you mean.”
“No.”
Naomi pointed at the picture.
“If David has been forging Kane documents while moving Vale's money, this could make it look like Vincent is involved.”
“Meaning?”
“Federal charges.”
Mom looked at Vincent.
“So David didn't just steal from me.”
“No.”
“He was building a shield.”
Vincent nodded.
“And if the scheme collapsed, my name would take the hit.”
Naomi's phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Then her face changed.
“When?”
Vincent saw it.
“What?”
Naomi ended the call.
“David Sterling is gone.”
Mom blinked.
“Gone where?”
“He left the hospital.”
“There were police.”
“Someone created a medical emergency on the second floor. Alarm went off. Cameras cut for ninety seconds.”
Vincent swore.
Mom looked toward me.
“Language.”
Vincent stared at her.
“Seriously?”
“She repeats everything.”
“I do,” I said.
His phone rang.
Marco.
Vincent answered.
“What?”
His expression changed.
“Say it again.”
Everyone watched him.
He lowered the phone.
“David didn't leave alone.”
Mom's face tightened.
“Claire?”
Vincent shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
He looked directly at Mom.
“The revenue agent who first showed us your forged payroll record.”
Mom stared.
“The agent?”
Naomi's face hardened.
“He wasn't investigating David.”
Vincent finished the thought.
May you like
“He was helping him.”
Then the lights inside the station went out.
