Yet a Stranger (The First Quarto #2) - Gregory Ashe Page 0,46
really know how to do this?”
“Um, yeah. Fer is super good with it, of course, and he pretty much handles all the money now. But I don’t think Chuy even knows how many pennies are in a dollar, and my mom is the same way. For a while, when Fer wasn’t living at home, I had to, you know, figure some of this stuff out. And I do a lot of goals, projections, interaction numbers, that kind of thing with my social media accounts.”
“I’ve tried, Auggie. I’ve really tried.”
“Hey, I get it. Like I said, Chuy and my mom can’t do it either.”
“This is unbelievable.”
“It’s not as bad as when I had to see your bruised nipples.”
Theo put his face in his hands.
“Just in case, you know, that comparison helps.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Well, it’s the thought that counts.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Maybe I could help you with some of this stuff sometime.”
“Yes. Perfect. That will perfectly wrap up how much my life has fallen apart. Oh shit, Auggie, I didn’t mean it that way. This is so fucking embarrassing. Let’s pretend we didn’t talk about this.”
“Ok,” Auggie said slowly. “But it’s just one thing. Everybody needs help with something. I won’t bring it up again, though. Just—the offer is on the table.” He smoothed out the pages again, the paper crinkling, and said, “Let me scan through Wayne’s stuff and see if it looks similar.”
“Great. I’m going to go put my head in the garbage disposal. Come get me when you’re done.”
Instead, somehow Theo ended up with Auggie’s legs across his lap while Auggie stretched out and flipped through the paperwork. He had a tiny furrow between his eyebrows, and his mouth—that oh-so-expressive mouth—kept shifting. He’d bite his lip. Then his mouth would thin out. Then he’d chew the corner of his mouth. Then he’d bite his lip again. Why, Theo wanted to know, would anybody read Cosmo or buy paperbacks or watch porn when they could look at Auggie Lopez’s mouth all day?
“So, it looks like Wayne was telling the truth. Kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“Well, they were taking in between ten and twelve thousand dollars a month.”
“Wait, what?”
“Each.”
“Holy shit. Do you think anybody wants private Shakespeare lessons?”
“Sure, definitely, all those kids that smell like glue and wear black. Anyway, Cal and Wayne also had a lot of expenses. The facility they rented wasn’t cheap, and it looks like they pay installments on a lot of their equipment. I guess it wasn’t technically a loan, so Wayne wasn’t lying, but he definitely made it sound like they were clearing a lot of income every month. From what I see, they were definitely splitting the money fifty-fifty. It went into Wayne’s account first, and then he wrote checks to Cal, so there’s no way Cal could have manipulated those numbers. Last year, after expenses and taxes, they both made about fifty thousand dollars.”
“That’s actually pretty good for a single guy without any debts,” Theo said. “So why are they sharing a mid-range apartment?”
“I bet if you asked Wayne, he’d tell you they were saving money, something they could use for part of the purchase of their own facility.”
“What do you think?”
“I think Cal had habits that meant he always needed more cash.”
“Even making fifty thousand dollars?”
“Well, look. He took out regular cash withdrawals. A thousand here. Five hundred here. And it’s cash, so once it’s out of the account, who knows where it goes?”
“Drugs,” Theo said.
“Definitely drugs. Or sex. Or booze. Or parties. Or clubs.”
“What about Wayne?”
“I mean, he’s socking money away in a savings account. It’s not exactly a genius financial move, but he’s not hurting for money.” Then Auggie frowned.
“What?”
“Well, if Wayne did have a motive, it would revolve around their business. Cal was blowing through his cash. Maybe he’d gotten to the point where he needed more than he was making legitimately. He might have been stealing stuff from their training facility. He might have been doing private lessons off the books. There are a lot of ways Cal might have been threatening the business he and Wayne had built, and Wayne might have decided the only way to save things was to get rid of Cal.”
“Shit. I guess we should talk to him again, see if we can pressure him into talking about the business side of things.”
“Eventually.”
Theo narrowed his eyes.
“There’s no point in letting him know what we’re thinking. Not yet. Let’s wait and see.”
“God, you’re devious.”
Auggie rolled his eyes. “Oh, and I checked Instagram and Facebook. Wayne’s private accounts are