Chapter 46

  

“Ava,” Penelope said. She stood at Festa’s bar, holding onto one of the stools for support. Jeremy stared at her after he called back to the office to summon Ava to the floor.

“Penelope, are you okay?” Ava asked as she approached. “What’s happened to you?”

“You know what happened,” Penelope said. “You were there.”

Ava’s face paled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do,” Penelope said, then coughed. Arlena had helped her into her jeans and sweatshirt before she headed over to the restaurant. The front door opened and Arlena came through, followed by the sheriff.

“I found the financial records for Herring – Steele,” Penelope said.

Ava smiled tightly. “I know, I have tracking on the computer. I can see what everyone’s been up to. Pretty nosy of you.”

Penelope let go of the stool and approached Ava. “You’ve been stealing, promising people a return on investment when you know there never will be one. You’ve funded all of these renovations, at the business and at the Foster house, with the money.”

“It’s not illegal to ask for funds from investors,” Ava said defiantly.

“It is when you present it like you’re doing something to benefit the community, but instead you’re just funding your own business.”

Arlena placed a folder on the bar, the one Penelope had seen in Sybil’s room a few days earlier. Penelope pulled a sheet from the back.

“Here’s your mission statement,” Penelope began.

“Jeremy, go in the back,” Ava ordered. He stood frozen in place until she asked him again.

“Herring – Steele, a charity set up in partnership with Jordan’s businesses to prevent suicides among young people in the community,” she read from the sheet. “Indiana has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, and our goal is to fund outreach programs in the schools to help.” Penelope dropped the paper back on the bar. “Herring is the last name of Jordan and Jennifer’s friend back in school who took her own life, and Steele is the name of a student that died a few years ago at the high school.”

“And we are doing those things,” Ava said. “Making a difference in the community.”

“Except you’re not,” Sheriff Bryson weighed in. “There aren’t any programs in place.”

“We’re still in the planning stages,” Ava said.

“You have to register charitable activities with the state. There are no records or Herring – Steele,” the sheriff said.

“Which will be taken care of eventually. We’ll be in compliance.” Ava’s voice wavered as she pleaded with them.

Penelope looked around her. “Your records show all of the donations taken so far have gone right back into the business, or into your own pockets, none allocated to any charity of any kind. What happened, Jordan found out what you were up to, cooking the books?”

Ava glared at them. “Yes, he found out by accident from Denis, even though Denis was told Jordan wasn’t involved in the charity piece. He never concerned himself with the finances or how the business was run, even his budget at home. I explained to him eventually we’d fund the suicide-prevention programs, but we had to build the business up first in order to do that.”

“He refused to let you continue duping people, so you killed him?”

“Jordan didn’t understand. This is how business is done,” Ava whined.

“Not legally,” Penelope responded. “You told people different things with one goal in mind, to take their money, with either a promise of a return on investment or to raise money for charity. But it was really just to line your own pockets.”

  

Sheriff Bryson led Ava out of Festa in handcuffs with Penelope and Arlena right behind. Penelope’s head was pounding, a side effect from the drugs she’d been slipped, according to the medic. She thought it was also an excess of adrenaline from the confrontation with Ava.

“I can’t believe she would do this to Jordan,” Arlena said, her arms crossed. They watched Sheriff Bryson help Ava up into the backseat of his jeep.

“Megan too,” Penelope said. “His work wife and his home wife killed him together.”