Chương 6
If someone else maintained it, who?
And why had it been hidden near records Marcus appeared to be preparing to destroy?
Luca sat again.
“You’re going to hate this.”
“What?”
“We need Denise.”
“At four twenty in the morning?”
“Yes.”
“You’re evolving.”
“I’m tired.”
Evelyn approved the call after Luca explained the new issue.
She also ordered him to record the fact that Allison had disclosed the prior falsification before Denise was contacted.
“That admission hurts Romero,” Evelyn said. “Which means you document the hell out of when we learned it.”
Allison heard through speakerphone.
“Thank you for your faith.”
“I don’t have faith,” Evelyn said. “I have timestamps.”
Then she called Denise.
Denise answered on the seventh ring.
Her first words were, “Someone better be dead.”
Allison winced.
Evelyn introduced herself.
Denise became fully awake.
“What happened?”
“We need to ask about a hardware authentication key assigned to Allison Romero.”
Silence.
Luca looked at Allison.
Denise said, “The old one?”
“Yes.”
“That was supposed to be disabled.”
“It was reactivated.”
“What?”
“When?”
“About eleven days after replacement.”
Another silence.
Then Denise swore.
“Who did it?”
“Your administrator account.”
“That’s impossible.”
Evelyn said, “Ms. Harper, we’re not asking for conclusions. We need you to think carefully.”
“I didn’t reactivate anything.”
“Who had access to your credentials?”
“No one.”
“Shared passwords?”
“No.”
“Unlocked workstation?”
“Sometimes. I mean—God. We had badges. I didn’t lock every time I went for coffee.”
“Who worked near you?”
Denise began listing staff.
Then she stopped.
“Oh.”
Allison whispered, “What?”
Denise heard.
“Allison?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Marcus asked me to print board packets from my computer one night.”
No one spoke.
“When?” Evelyn asked.
“Last winter. Maybe February.”
“Why your computer?”
“His printer queue wasn’t working. Or he said it wasn’t.”
“How long was he at your workstation?”
“I don’t know. Ten minutes? I went to find a binder.”
“Did you return to an unlocked session?”
“Yes.”
Luca wrote down the time as Denise spoke.
“Could he have accessed authentication administration?”
Denise’s voice tightened.
“If he knew where to go.”
“Would he?”
“He used to be finance committee chair.”
Allison closed her eyes.
Denise continued.
“But that doesn’t prove anything. I’m not saying he did it.”
“Good,” Evelyn said. “Don’t.”
Luca almost liked her.
Then Denise said something stranger.
“Is this about Margaret’s book?”
Allison’s eyes opened.
“What book?”
Denise went quiet again.
Evelyn said, “Ms. Harper?”
“Oh, hell.”
“What book?”
“There was an old reconciliation ledger. Blue leather.”
Allison and Luca looked at the evidence bag.
Denise spoke quickly now.
“Margaret Keene kept it.”
“Who is Margaret Keene?” Luca asked.
“Our former controller. Before me. Before Allison became director.”
Allison whispered, “Margaret retired five years ago.”
“Why did she keep a handwritten ledger?” Evelyn asked.
“Because she didn’t trust the accounting software.”
“That’s not sufficient.”
“She was seventy-two and thought cloud storage meant weather.”
Despite everything, Allison laughed.
Denise did too, briefly.
Then the humor died.
“She used the blue book for exceptions,” Denise said. “Anything she thought someone might ask about later. Overrides, odd approvals, after-hours payments, board instructions. She hated getting blamed for decisions she didn’t make.”
Luca looked at the ledger again.
“Who took over the practice after she retired?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did the ledger remain at the gallery?”
“I thought Margaret took it.”
“Why?”
“She told me once that if this place ever burned down, she wanted that book to burn in her fireplace, not ours.”
“Was she joking?”
“With Margaret, impossible to tell.”
Luca looked at the line Allison had written.
“Would Margaret have known about a backdated invoice last year?”
“No. She’d already retired.”
“Then someone continued using the ledger.”
Denise inhaled slowly.
“Marcus knew about it.”
Allison looked up.
“How?”
“He and Margaret fought over it constantly. Marcus said handwritten records were amateurish. Margaret said that was why bankers had invented pens before computers.”
Luca almost smiled.
“When was Margaret last at the gallery?” he asked.
“Six months ago. Donor dinner.”
“Did she have access to records storage?”
“Probably. Everyone adored her.”
Luca wrote down another name.
The ledger was no longer simply an accusation.
It had a history.
That made it potentially more valuable and more dangerous.
By 5:10 a.m., the rain had stopped.
The city beyond the blinds turned from black to dark blue.
Luca had not noticed the transition until Allison opened one slat and the gallery windows across the courtyard reflected morning.
The public rooms looked absurdly peaceful.
White walls.
Polished hardwood.
A twenty-foot abstract painting the color of rust and bone.
One of the custodians pushed a mop bucket past the glass.
“Wednesday,” Allison said.
Luca checked the time.
“You still have a few hours.”
“To become innocent?”
“To become accurate.”
“That should go on your tombstone.”
“I don’t plan to have one.”
“What are you going to do, depreciate forever?”
He looked at her.
“That was terrible.”
“I’ve been awake all night.”
“I’ll allow it.”
At 5:24, Evelyn arrived carrying a rugged laptop and wearing a conservative dark suit that looked untouched by sleep.
She entered through the staff corridor after Hector verified her identity twice.
The first thing she did was photograph the sealed blue ledger.
The second was ask Allison to leave Luca’s office.
Allison stiffened.
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to ask Mr. Mercer whether you influenced his work.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then this will be easy.”
Allison looked at Luca.
He gave her nothing.
She hated him for that, visibly.
Good.
She left.
Evelyn waited until the door closed.
“Did she influence your work?”
“She lied to me about a prior financial falsification.”
“Did she attempt to conceal evidence tonight?”
“Not after bringing the ledger.”
“Did she ask you to change findings?”
“No.”
“Did she tell you what you should conclude?”
“Repeatedly.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Do you believe she stole the funds?”
“I believe the evidence against her may have been manufactured using retired credentials.”
“That was not my question.”
May you like
Luca met her eyes.
“No. At this point, I don’t think she stole the funds.”
