Cut and Run (Lucy Kincaid #16) - Allison Brennan Page 0,60

they couldn’t pay fees they should never have been charged. These were things you and I might not notice—but someone on a fixed income, they get slammed and then threatened with levies and fines and it adds up. I wish I could prosecute those bastards all over again.”

“I take it you won.”

“Damn straight. But it took over a year of my life. I was practically living in Austin. And we had the photo of Albright and her family crossing the border. We sent out BOLOs, sent the file down to our legal attaché in Mexico, but there’s not much we can do until they’re spotted, and then we have to play jurisdictional footsies to get them back. Not for a minute did I think they were dead. What do you think happened?”

“We believe they never left the States,” Lucy said.

Laura frowned. “I didn’t make that up. We had the photo. It should be here.”

“It was their vehicle, but they weren’t driving—that’s our theory. Based on our interviews and the timeline, it simply isn’t plausible that they left and returned a week later. Possible, but unlikely. Their vehicle was found dismantled in Mexico, so they’d have to find other transportation—they couldn’t fly because their passports were flagged. So Nate and I think they were killed the day they disappeared. Buried, and someone tried to make us think they left the country.”

“That’s awful,” Laura said. “Give me graft and corruption any day over mass murder.”

“What we’re looking at now are Albright’s clients. We have a list of them here, and your notes. No one, other than Kiefer, had lost any money.”

“Correct. We interviewed everyone she worked for based on her files and calendar. We compared that information to her most recent tax returns, which were honestly the most flawless set of tax returns I’ve ever seen. The individuals involved all had independent auditors review their accounts. I followed up a year later—called everyone, reviewed the file, confirmed that they were still considered at large. No one was missing funds.” She sorted through a stack of files, looking for something specific, then pulled it out. “On the Kiefer funds, she committed fraud—by forging Kiefer’s signature to transfer the money to a separate holding account which she controlled, and then she transferred those funds to a shell corp that was closed down a day later. The money rolled through multiple shells for a week before it disappeared.”

“Money doesn’t just disappear,” Nate said.

“On paper it does. We have the last withdrawal—on Friday, September 28. But we don’t know where the money went. It was transferred to a numbered account overseas, which has since been closed.”

“What day did she actually embezzle the money?” Lucy asked.

“Friday, September 21.”

“The day they went missing,” Lucy said. “The day she was told of the independent audit. Why would she take the money then if she knew there would be an audit? Why not wait a week?”

“I can’t answer that, I can only tell you the facts. We interviewed the bank manager. The transfer was made online, but that morning she went into the bank to change the authorization signatures and codes. This wasn’t unusual, because many companies make changes as people come and go and the bank manager knew Denise because she was a longtime customer.”

“But she didn’t actually withdraw the money then.”

“No, and the bank wouldn’t have just let her walk with three million. Every transfer was done electronically.”

“And nothing was flagged?”

“They’re flagged, and the IRS will look at anything that is abnormal, but many businesses move millions of dollars every day. So it’s not going to be noticed right away and depending on the account history may not have caused any red flags if there were typically large transfers.”

“What was her demeanor like?” Lucy asked. “Did the manager say she appeared distressed?”

“I don’t think so. I would have put something like that down in my notes.” She frowned, as if thinking. “All I remember off the top of my head is that he didn’t think anything was unusual because Denise was a regular customer.”

“What are you thinking?” Nate asked Lucy.

“We agree that they didn’t leave the country and were killed on the twenty-first, correct?”

Nate nodded.

“She was party to the embezzlement, but she didn’t actually embezzle the money.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” Laura said.

Lucy pulled out one of Laura’s spreadsheets. “These are the days and times of each transaction you tracked. Friday, the twenty-first, at four forty-five p.m. the funds were taken from the Kiefer account and transferred