“If you don’t want to talk to us here, you can talk to us in Monterey,” Sergeant Dan O’Malley said. He and Detective Sanchez were attempting to interview Bryn Moore, the Satori bookkeeper.
“Bruce James is in his office,” said Laura Sanchez. “Do you want me to get him to talk to you?”
“I was hired by Malcolm Eastwick,” Moore said. “I reported more to him than to Bruce James.”
“Malcolm Eastwick is deceased,” O’Malley said.
Moore blanched. Sighed. “So, it’s true?”
“We’re here because his body was found on the beach.”
“Who signs your paycheck?” Sanchez asked.
“Bruce James.”
“Mr. James authorized you to talk to us, so talk.”
“I don’t want to get anyone in trouble,” Moore said.
“I hear that,” Sanchez said. “But we’ll be the judge of whether something you say gets anyone in trouble. Did you see Eastwick on Saturday?”
“No. But I knew he would be here for the board meeting, and I expected that he would talk to me about my report.”
“What’s in your report?” O’Malley asked.
“The usual accounting information: Satori revenue and operating expenses; actual versus budgeted expenses.”
“Sounds boring,” O’Malley said.
“It is,” Moore said. “It should be.”
“But there is a problem, isn’t there?” Sanchez asked.
“Yes.”
“What is it?”
“it’s technical,” Moore said. “You may not understand it.”
“Try us,” Sanchez said. “We’re smarter than we look.”
Moore sighed. He extended his arms, linked his hands together and cracked his knuckles. “Satori Institute is a non-profit, a 501(c)3. It typically runs at a loss; that is, the revenue from workshops does not cover the operating expenses. We make up the deficit from contributions and ‘special’ income.”
“What’s special income?” Sanchez asked.
“In this case it’s income derived from licensing the Satori brand. Malcolm had a good idea, years ago when the institute began. He copyrighted ‘Satori,’ and no one can use it for any purpose without paying a fee. In the same sense that you can’t sell ‘Disney’ peanut butter without compensating the Disney company.”
“I get it,” Sanchez said. “What’s the problem with the licensing income?”
“Mr. Eastwick was administering it and there has been no income reported so far this year.”
“Why not?”
“Mr. Eastwick said there were ‘irregularities in the payment stream.’”
“What’s that mean?” Sanchez asked.
“It means that we are short about $1 million.”
“Does the board know this?” O’Malley asked.
“Bruce James does. You’ll have to ask him about the board.”
“We’ve just finished interviewing Bryn Moore,” O’Malley said when he and Sanchez entered the office of Bruce James. He relayed what Bryn Moore had told them about the million-dollar shortfall.
“Yes. I just heard about this.” James put his hands over his face.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.” His voice quivered. James removed his hands from his face.
“Who else might know about this problem?” Sanchez asked.
“I don’t know.” James sighed. “No one else on staff but possibly some board members, if Malcolm told them.”
“You don’t know if Malcolm told anyone?” Sanchez asked.
“No. I suspect not. Malcolm was very tight lipped about financial matters.”
“The Satori Board meeting is on Wednesday?”
“Yes. The board members show up tomorrow and we have a board dinner tomorrow night.”
“We’ll need to interview the board members when they arrive,” O’Malley said.
“You’re going to tell them about the problem?” James asked.
“Malcolm Eastwick is dead and $1 million is missing,” Sanchez said. “Someone needs to inform your board as soon as possible.”