Chapter 1
Something wasn’t right.
Hailey Nieland frowned at the spreadsheet on her left computer monitor. She compared it to the statement on the screen to her right.
The final numbers came out to the same total on both, but the transactions on the second document didn’t quite match the first.
She blew out a frustrated breath and took a sip from her bottled water. This was the third set she’d found anomalies in. The differences here were subtle though, cleaner by far than the most recent files the firm had delivered—the ones Frank had never gotten the chance to review.
If she’d known how much trouble these accounts would be, she wouldn’t have campaigned so hard to have them added to her client list. But when her coworker Frank Pierce succumbed to a heart attack after an early-morning client consultation last week, her boss had been scrambling to divvy up his clients among their remaining CPAs.
In truth, Hailey would prefer a slightly lighter load so she could spend more time with her daughter, but as a new widow and first-time single mom, she needed the extra income.
And Eukaria Investments was a major catch.
As Pendleton Accounting’s biggest client, the investment firm came with a significant increase in salary for its primary CPA.
But it had been hard diving back into the workforce. While she’d kept her CPA certification up to date, she’d hoped to remain a stay-at-home mom at least until Jenna entered elementary school. All that had changed with her husband’s unexpected death last year.
At the thought of Wesley, her hand clenched, making the plastic water bottle crackle. Would there ever come a time when she’d be able to remember him without feeling the double slap of grief and anger?
She set the bottle on her desk, resisting the urge to take her frustration out on it. If she were at home and not in her office cubicle, surrounded by coworkers, the thing would be mangled already. Instead, she took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly.
With effort, she refocused on the problem at hand.
The sooner she got this done, the sooner she could head to her parents’ to pick up Jenna.
Her almost-two-year-old had adjusted to their new routine, and Hailey’s mom loved the opportunity to spend more time with her granddaughter, but Hailey hated how much she was missing of her little girl’s early years.
“Staying late again?”
Hailey started at the caustic voice behind her. She’d been too focused to notice Stefania approach. Her eyes drifted to the corner of the computer screen. Five twenty. It wasn’t that late.
“Just finishing up a few things.”
Stefania leaned her hip against the edge of Hailey’s desk. “Gleason’s gone. You can drop the industrious act.”
Hailey’s cheeks burned, but she kept her eyes on her work. “I’ve got a full load right now.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
“Eukaria Investments should have been mine.”
Though she couldn’t see Stefania’s face, the bite in her tone was unmistakable. Stefania had been livid that Eukaria had been added to Hailey’s client list. The entire office had witnessed the explosion when she heard the news.
“That was Gleason’s call.”
“And he shouldn’t have made that decision while I was on vacation. If I’d been here to put my bid in, you know it would have gone to me.”
Hailey wasn’t convinced of that, but there was no sense arguing. The decision had been made.
She turned to face her coworker. “Is there something I can help you with? I’d really like to finish what I’m doing so I can get home to my daughter.”
The woman rose to her full height. “Of course.” She took a step away, then called over her shoulder, “I forget you don’t have a husband to help with things.” Disdain dripped from every word, leaving no doubt of the intent behind them.
Hailey managed to bite back her retort, unwilling to let on how much the barb had stung. Cheeks aflame, she spun her chair back to face the desk and stared determinedly at the screens until the office door swished shut, muting the sound of Stefania’s heels.
She forced herself to breathe slowly as she waited to make sure her coworker wasn’t coming back. The clock on her monitor tracked one minute. Two. When it hit three, she lowered her still-burning face into her hands. She couldn’t cry. Wouldn’t give Stefania that victory.
But pointed references to Wesley’s betrayal and criminal activity hurt.
And while Stefania was the only one in the office who freely tossed those verbal grenades, cloaked as they were in language their boss would view as harmless, Hailey knew Stefania wasn’t the only one who disliked, or at least distrusted, her because of her husband’s actions.
Actions she’d had no knowledge of until it was too late.
Pushing away thoughts of Wesley again, she attempted to make sense of the spreadsheet, but her focus was blown.
The numbers weren’t adding up, and her frustration grew by the minute.
Finally, she closed the document and logged off the computer.
All she was doing was wasting time. Maybe things would make more sense in the morning.
She stood and slipped her purse over her shoulder before heading to the break room to grab her lunch bag. On her way back, she gave the office a quick scan. The place was empty. Apparently, no one else had felt the need to stay late today. That meant she was responsible for turning out the lights.
Lunch bag in hand, she flipped the switch by the door, leaving only the dim overnight lights on, and stepped out into the hallway.
She let the door close, then gave it a gentle tug to make sure it had latched properly behind her.
The one-way locks engaged at 5:00 p.m., shutting out everyone without an access badge, but the door had been known to stop before the latch engaged, leaving the office accessible overnight.
Satisfied she wouldn’t be the one in hot water for a preventable security breach, she turned and headed for the elevator. The hallway was deserted, her own footsteps the only sound marring the quiet. The darkened insurance office across the hall seemed empty as well. The whole place felt eerie.
Which was ridiculous. She’d been in the 1798 Building after closing plenty of times and never had a problem. She shook off the odd feeling and punched the down button for the elevator.
As the elevator car took its sweet time rising to the third floor, her mind wandered to the spreadsheets she’d left behind.
She found it hard to believe Frank had overlooked so many mistakes.
The impression she’d had of the man indicated he was almost ridiculously meticulous.
But he hadn’t been the same after his wife left him.
Perhaps the stress had affected his work as well as his health.
She supposed that could be the case. If he’d been distracted and only given the files a cursory glance, as she had when first familiarizing herself with their accounts, he might have missed the discrepancies in the cleaner sets.
After all, the number of transactions matched, as did the totals.
The most recent files were a CPA’s nightmare, however.
But Frank hadn’t gotten a chance to start on those before his heart attack.
After yesterday’s mind-boggling afternoon trying to decipher the disaster, Hailey had turned to the already reconciled statements in Frank’s files.
She’d hoped the older documents would shine some light on where she needed to start.
But they’d been nearly pristine, with only a few noted adjustments on Frank’s part.
That’s when she’d decided to look more closely—and that had led to today’s discoveries.
The elevator finally dinged, and she entered as soon as the doors were open.
She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes for the short ride to the first floor.
Stefania’s words replayed in her mind, and she fisted her hands.
It wasn’t fair that she and Jenna had to suffer the repercussions of Wesley’s choices.
Her little girl was too young to understand the full implications or be bullied over it, but she’d missed her daddy for a long time, and now she’d have to grow up without him.
And there was nothing Hailey could do about it.
The elevator slowed, and she straightened, putting on her game face.
If by chance Stefania was still around, Hailey wasn’t about to appear the least bit vulnerable.
After an interminable moment, the car came to a shuddering stop.
Another long moment later, the doors opened.
Hailey strode into the lobby, casting a quick glance around.
She needn’t have worried about being seen.
The lobby was empty, and the darkened business fronts indicated everyone else had closed up shop and gone home on schedule.
If she didn’t know better, she’d think she was the sole occupant of the building.
But the property owner paid for on-site security—a must with the kind of businesses set up here.
At minimum, there was one security guard on duty at all times.
She cleared the double doors at the main entrance, again waiting for the confirmatory click, then hurried toward the side lot primarily used by employees.
As she rounded the building, two lone vehicles confirmed her suspicions about being essentially alone.
Bypassing what she assumed was the security guard’s car, she headed for the back corner space where she’d left her Explorer.
Once she got inside, she’d call her mom.
Let her know she was on the way. If Mom invited them to stay for supper like she usually did, she might take her up on the offer.
After today, she didn’t want to even think about cooking.
And Thursdays were usually spaghetti night at her parents’ house.
Jenna would be thrilled. While Hailey didn’t relish the inevitable task of trying to get sauce out of her daughter’s clothes, it would be worth it.
Her lips lifted at the thought of Jenna’s impish grin shining through a smear of spaghetti sauce, and she picked up her pace. But a few feet from the vehicle, she pulled up short, her smile fading. The Explorer tilted heavily to the left—and she hadn’t parked on a hill.
She groaned. The rear driver’s side tire was completely flat. She hadn’t noticed any issues this morning. Must have run over a nail or something.
Huffing out a breath, she dug out her key fob and popped the hatch. Thanks to her dad’s insistence that she drive prepared, she carried a mini air compressor with her. She’d be able to air up the tire for long enough to get to her parents’ so her dad could take a closer look at it.
She exchanged her lunch bag for the compressor and circled to the driver’s side to plug it into the cigarette lighter. Again, she stopped in her tracks.
Not one but both of her driver’s side tires had been slashed, and a white-lettered message was scrawled across the windows.
GO AWAY