CHAPTER 6

“Joe, this is bad.”

Assistant Jacinta Templeton tapped her fingers on the file resting on the boardroom table. “Palin has a long list of accusations, but nothing has ever stuck. So many allegations—rumors of fraud, rumors of corruption, and so many claims of criminal behavior.”

“He used to have a lot of contacts.”

Hennessy sat at the head of the table, one long leg crossed over the other. “He used to know all the right people to keep him out of prison, but they’ve mostly moved on. When he had connections, he could do whatever he wanted. But now, he’s discovering how the law works for most people.”

The Joe Hennessy Law Office boardroom was cool, thanks to an overworked air conditioner. A large painting of Folly Beach hung on the wall at the left of the room, and a whiteboard filled with scribbles was to the right. The table was cluttered with files, neatly organized by Jacinta: case notes in one pile, discovery files in another, and background information on Palin next to notes from the original lawyer.

“Sounds like his past has caught up to him,”

Barry Lockett, Hennessy’s investigator, added. Lockett’s intimidating presence—tattooed arms, scarred knuckles, and a strong jawline—often alarmed people, but his cheeky smile and Australian accent put them at ease. Dressed in his usual black t-shirt and jeans, he leaned forward. “What are your thoughts, Joe?”

“That he did it.”

“Defense?”

“That someone else did it.”

“I love it when you dumb all that legal jargon down for me,”

Lockett laughed. “Do you have any candidates?”

“The first place to look is one of his staff members. All ten quit on the same day, just weeks before the charges were laid. Palin said when he came in one Monday morning, there was a resignation letter on each desk. Five staff members went to a rival accounting firm, three to a financial services company, and two retired, even though they were only in their early fifties. They had to have been involved or, at the very least, tipped off about the arrest. The timing’s too coincidental.”

“Sounds like they knew about it,”

Lockett commented. “Any idea which of the staff members would be involved?”

“The two people who retired will be our starting point. The senior accountant was John Tilly, and the office manager was Debra Fisher. Fisher has a background in HR, but Tilly’s the main candidate. He had access to all the reports Palin did. While the accounts were in Palin’s name, Tilly was a signatory. Barry, can you look into their lives and see if there are any connections between Fisher and Tilly?”

“On it,”

Barry said, making several notes on his cell phone. “You’re saying that he transferred the money to the accounts and then set up Palin?”

“We could argue that Tilly had access to the bank accounts and was planning to take the money. We can claim he was the person who was embezzling money from the Foundation. He was waiting for the right time to transfer it but didn’t touch the accounts once Palin was charged.”

“I like it,”

Lockett agreed. “What’s he like?”

“I’m not sure yet, but Palin also mentioned that Tilly had a grudge against him. Tilly could’ve been building a retirement fund before he was found out. We need to discover everything about him and anything that could point to fraudulent behavior.”

“I’ll see what I can dig up,”

Jacinta said. “Do you think he’s one of the redacted witnesses?”

“A lot of the witness statements are redacted, and we won’t see the full statements until a week before the trial. Of the parts that aren’t redacted, we can see that three of the witnesses have made statements about working for Palin, and it would make sense that the two most senior people in the office would make those statements. The redacted witness statements refer to how Palin often fudged the accounting for several businesses. They claim Palin created fake invoices, altered the timesheets, and overcharged his clients. When the staff members investigated the money trail, they found he was ripping people off. He made the paper trail long and complicated, but it always returned to the business.”

“But that’s not what he’s charged with?”

“No, but their statements create a clear pattern of behavior.”

Hennessy shook his head. “Palin has been charged with diverting money from the Wolfgang Berger Foundation. The foundation makes two payments per year to the MUSC Shawn Jenkin’s Children’s Hospital. Every year for five years, one payment went to the hospital, and the other payment was diverted into one of Palin’s bank accounts.”

“And the money came into an account that Tilly was a signatory on,”

Jacinta added.

“If either Fisher or Tilly knew about the withdrawals, they must be accomplices, right?”

Lockett questioned.

“I imagine the prosecution struck a deal with them for their testimonies. Testify against Palin, and they will walk away without a charge. We won’t talk to Tilly yet. We don’t want to spook him. Once we have a clearer picture of the whole scenario, we’ll set up a meeting and see how it plays out.”

Hennessy looked over a file in front of him, flicking through several pages. “The previous lawyer didn’t even dispute the redacted witness names. I’ve looked at the file, and he hasn’t even requested their names from the prosecution.”

“What can you do about it?”

“We’ll go to court and apply to the judge for further information on the redacted witnesses. I don’t imagine the judge will allow it, but we’re sending a message to the prosecution that this will be a fight. They’ll start working on a better deal as soon as they receive the notice that we’re applying for further information.”

“There’s something I don’t understand,”

Jacinta said. “Why keep the money in the account for five years? If this was a deliberate transfer, why not take the money out of the account and use it?”

“The prosecution claims that Palin was putting the money aside for retirement. The money was transferred to a high-interest account and earned around one hundred and fifty thousand in interest over the five years.”

“Seems strange to leave it in the account. It’d increase the chances of getting caught.”

“The prosecution’s theory is that Palin was going to use the funds to buy an apartment in Costa Rica and live a happy retirement. They claim he left the money in the account because he didn’t think anyone else would discover the transfer.”

“And could he claim it was an accounting error if anyone discovered it?”

“Possibly, but the prosecution is convinced that his intention was to use the money. They must have another piece of evidence we haven’t seen yet.”

Hennessy stood and walked to the whiteboard, staring at Palin’s name written in the middle of it. Around the board were numerous names and companies that were connected to Palin Accounting. Hennessy tapped on one name at the side of the board. “What do we know about the Foundation that Palin allegedly stole from?”

“The Wolfgang Berger Foundation. Run by Michelle Stevenson, the daughter of Wolfgang Berger.”

Jacinta said as she flicked a page over in the file in front of her. “After Mr. Wolfgang Berger’s death, he left every cent of his estate to establish the Foundation. Mr. Berger was a wealthy man when he died and left none of his estate to his only surviving family member, Michelle. However, the will did state that she was to be in control of the Foundation and paid an income of one-hundred-and-fifty thousand per year, which was to be increased in line with inflation.”

“Did she dispute the will?”

Jacinta read a few more lines. “She did. The will states several times that the money is only left to the Foundation if Michelle serves and is paid as CEO. While five people are serving on the board for the Foundation, they know that if they fire her, there will be legal challenges about the estate. While the Foundation may still exist, its primary source of funding, the estate, will be withdrawn. So, while the charity board is independent of Mrs. Stevenson, they know withdrawing support for her as CEO would mean withdrawing the main source of income for the Foundation.”

“Effectively meaning that she’s untouchable in the position of CEO.”

“Maybe she wanted all the money for herself,”

Lockett stated. “John Tilly may not be the only option for the third-party culpability.”

“It could be an option,”

Hennessy said. “We need to speak with Michelle Stevenson.”