Chapter 7 #3
“Is it OK if I sit in his chair and go through his desk?”
Ewan nodded. He was going through the bookshelves. “And the warrant gives us free rein to look at any client files he brought into the residence.”
“I’m curious about why the business is being investigated. Is the Scottish version like the SEC or IRS in the United States?”
“I’m not sure I could say, but they do not get involved unless they are certain a crime has been committed. I have a call out for when they get back into the office on Monday.”
There were a few client files neatly placed in a rack on the corner of the desk. I pulled out my notebook and wrote down the names on the files. I glanced through them, but numbers had never been my thing.
I mean, I could do math, I had to do a great deal of it as a doctor, but accounting was a different universe in that regard.
When I tried to open the desk drawers, they were locked.
“Can I borrow the key ring?” I asked.
Ewan crossed the room and then pulled the evidence bag from his pocket. He handed it to me.
“Thanks. Do you think it’s odd that he had client financial records out on his desk, but then locked the drawers?”
“That is odd,” he said. “Did you see anything that might need to be flagged?”
I shook my head. “Just rows of numbers with no context. You’ll need someone who is good at that sort of thing to look them over.”
“Aye.” He went back to searching through the shelves. I tried a couple of the smaller keys and finally found the one that worked.
There were some office supplies in the top drawers. It was odd that he locked those. Did he have a housekeeper? And was he worried that they might take something? The bottom ones held files. A couple I recognized as duplicates from the office.
While I didn’t know what that meant, it seemed unusual that he would have duplicates made when the others were a block away.
I pulled the files out of the bottom right drawer to put in evidence boxes. Anything out of the ordinary could be an important clue.
There was a pop-up lever at the bottom of the drawer. I tried to get it up with my nails, but it didn’t work. Then I pushed down on the lever, and the lid popped up.
“A secret hiding space,” I whispered.
“What’s that?” Ewan asked. I slid the lid out and picked up a laptop that had been hidden.
“Why would he hide his laptop like this?” I pointed to the false bottom and then the computer. “And why would he have two? There was one at the office, as well. I remember that Henry boxed it. That’s weird right? Unless there is something on here he didn’t want others to see.”
I shivered. “I hope it is nothing disgusting,” I said.
I opened the lid, and the machine turned on, but it was password protected. I told Ewan.
“One of my guys is good with all things computer related. He can figure it out.”
“I want to try something.” I typed in, trainspotting, and the screen popped open.
“How did you know the password?” He’d come around to the other side of the desk where I sat.
“I guessed. People pick their hobbies and pets. I read that in one of the FBI handbooks I’ve been studying on electronic theft. I made Abigail go in and change all of our passwords.”
“You should do that every few months. Though, if you’re like me remembering them can be difficult.”
I nodded. “Abigail found an app to help with that. And we have extra authentications for the patient files and anything financial. I get a coded text.”
“Smart. Let’s take a look and see what the accountant was up to.”
I opened several of the files. I’d been half expecting dirty pictures. But all that was there were train pics and what looked like client files. I recognized two of the names. They were the same as the ones on the desk.
“We need to ask the secretary about these,” I said as I opened the computer file to see if it was the same as the paper one. “Or a forensic accountant.”
“What is it?”
“I know nothing about accounting, but I understand enough to see that the numbers in the paper file and the ones on the computer do not match up,” I said. I waved the manilla folder.
“Maybe, everything hadn’t been logged.” Ewan offered.
“Could be, except that it’s nearly ten thousand dollars difference between the two on one of these accounts.” I pointed to the differences.
“I’m not a forensic accountant, but that seems like a large sum to be so different in one quarter. And look, it shows as a loss here. But a gain on the computer.”
I glanced up at Ewan. “Are you thinking what I am?” I asked.
“That our accountant might also be a thief?”
“You’re going to need a forensic accountant to figure all of this out. But yes, that is the way it appears. I bet that’s why Revenue Scotland are investigating the firm.”
“I know a great accountant in Edinburgh,” he said. “I’ll call her.”
Her? Why did I assume it was a man? And why did I even care?
Maybe, it was the excitement in his voice when he mentioned her.
Again, why would you care?
Because I liked Ewan. There. I said it. Maybe, not out loud but I admitted it to myself.
There was a knock on the door. Before Ewan could respond, it opened.
“Hey Boss, I brought help and some more evidence boxes,” Henry said.
Before Ewan could answer, my phone rang. It was Abigail.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I have something you need to see,” she said.
“Oh?”
“Easier to show you, than explain over the phone.”
“All right. I’ll be right there.”
I couldn’t imagine what it might be. It was an assumption, and I didn’t have the proof yet, but I had a feeling the accountant had made someone very angry. As we’d said a few times, money was a big motivator. If someone had stolen my money, I would have wanted to get it back.
OK, I was a doctor, and I’d taken a do no harm oath. But I would be very angry if someone had embezzled from me.
While I couldn’t be certain exactly what was going on with our crafty accountant, he’d definitely been up to no good.
I wonder what Abigail has for me?