Chapter 31

"So now you know," Jess said as Hez settled into his chair.

She glared at him and folded her arms. "We already talked about that."

"This will take some explaining." Little stress lines appeared around her eyes and mouth. "The basic problem is that TGU's books are a mess. I knew there were problems when I took the CFO job, but the accounting system was much worse than I expected." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Actually, there was no system. The CFO's office had one software program and the student aid office had another, and of course they weren't compatible. The president's office kept its own records. So did the law school and the business school. The history department actually kept its records in old-fashioned ledger books—when they kept records at all. I'm not even going to tell you what the English department did."

"That was the second surprise. I found a lot of stuff that wasn't on the books. For example, Ellison Abernathy's official salary was supplemented by money coming in from a private foundation in Birmingham. Funds would appear in an obscure account controlled by the CFO's office, then be withdrawn in cash and handed to Abernathy."

"That sounds fishy, to use a technical legal term."

Now Hez got it. "And that could appear to be embezzlement and blackmail payments if taken out of context."

"That's fake. Maybe the burglar planted it on an earlier visit."

"Maybe. He forced a side door last time. Did you notice any damage to your doors or windows?"

"No," she admitted. "Maybe it was planted remotely."

He jotted down a note to check with his computer expert, Bruno. "And why would the burglar have come back?"

"Probably because there's a lot of cash in the house, thanks to TGU's irregular finances."

"It sounds like whoever framed you knows a lot about this stuff."

"Well, they know about the payments to Abernathy and Cardin. Most of the department heads and administration veterans know at least something about the off-the-book payment streams—but I'm not sure who knows what."

"Nothing I can think of." She held her hands palms up. "You know all my secrets now."

He doubted that was true, but maybe he knew enough to get her acquitted.

***

She didn't want to do this. Savannah gritted her teeth and punched in the old nanny's number Jess had given her. The call to Sarita Barnes began to ring through, and Savannah settled on the swing on her front porch. Marley lay beside her, and he growled when Boo Radley roared over at the pond. A breeze touched her face with the scents of moss and pine.

Her phone sounded, and she answered it. "Good morning, Sarita. Thanks for returning my call so quickly."

"Good morning, Ms.Webster. Simon is back in the States?"

"He is. Jess would love you to take charge of him again."

"Ms.Webster, are you there?"

"Sorry, yes, I'm here. I was trying to decide what to do."

"Okay, see what you can find, and I'll tell my sister. I appreciate your help." After a few more pleasantries, she ended the call. Marley rose and stretched before nosing her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his soft fur. Even the best dog in the world wasn't going to make her feel better about this.

"I've missed you. Hey, Dad, you still have your condo, don't you?"

"Of course. It's my sanctuary."

"I have an emergency and really need your help. Could I borrow it for a few weeks?"

His brown eyes narrowed, and he frowned. "Aren't you up for tenure here? You're not quitting, are you?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's not something I can talk about. It would only be for a couple of weeks."

He studied her face. "What's going on?"

The door stood ajar when she went to the front door, and she frowned. Had Simon been listening at some point? She hoped he hadn't caught the gist of the conversation with Sarita. She called for her nephew and he didn't answer. His room was empty, and she picked up the iPad on his bed. The screen lit, and she saw a newspaper article about Jess's arrest. "Oh no," she said under her breath. She'd put off his questions, so he'd gone looking for answers.