THIRTY-SIX

  

The sun had set fully by the time Allison arrived back at The Beach Hut. She’d stopped at a nearby gas station to purchase a bottle of iced tea and a Snickers bar. Armed with her well-balanced dinner, she locked the door of her room and settled in at her laptop. First order of business was a call to Jason. She knew he wouldn’t answer, but she wanted him to know she was thinking of him. To her surprise, he picked up.

“Where are you?” he asked.

She hesitated. “In Maine.”

“Scott.” His voice was flat. Not accusatory, but…flat.

“I’m not here for Scott, Jason. I want the photos to stop. I want my life back.” She paused, hoping he’d respond. When he didn’t, she said, “Besides, I’m convinced three boys will go to jail for something they didn’t do. That doesn’t seem right, not if I can help it.”

Allison waited through the silence. She could tell he wasn’t happy, but at least he had answered the phone.

“Always saving the world,” he said. With a sigh, he continued. “We need to talk.”

Her heart skipped a few beats. “Do you want to call off the engagement, Jason?”

“Allison, why would you even ask that?”

Caught off guard by his tone, Allison realized she was holding the phone in a death grip. “Because you haven’t spoken to me in three days. Because of the photograph. Because I’m always off trying to save the world, to use your words.”

“Yeah, well…I’m sorry, Al. I needed space and time to think. It wasn’t easy seeing that picture. I had some soul-searching to do. But I believe you when you said you have no feelings for him.”

Allison said, “I love you.”

Jason made a sound, something between a snort and a laugh. “That’s it? ‘I love you’? Well, I must love you, too, Al. Otherwise, I would have found some nice, normal woman who prefers yoga and needlepoint to saving the world, one crime at a time.”

Allison smiled. “You’d be bored.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “Boredom sounds pretty damn good right now.”

  

Two attempts at reaching Vaughn ended in voicemail. She left a message for him to call immediately and booted up her laptop. First order of business was the email Delvar had sent her. A quick scan of the two-hundred-plus names rang no bells. She stared at that list, realizing that she was missing from the list, as was Delvar’s mother, Vaughn and Jason. If they were missing, maybe others were, too.

She called Delvar and explained her concern.

“Just the board and their guests,” he said. “And Mama. Everyone else was a paid invitee.”

“The board of Designs for the Future?”

“Allison, sweetheart, what other board would I be on?”

Allison laughed. “Can you send me those names, too?”

“Sure.”

Staring at her laptop screen, Allison asked, “Does the name Scott Fairweather ring a bell, Delvar?”

“No, never heard of him.” He paused. “What are you up to, Allison? Why do you want these lists all of a sudden?”

“Would you believe me if I said I’m just curious?”

“No.”

Allison’s phone buzzed. Vaughn.

“Well, hopefully I explain everything eventually. For now, though, I have to go.”

Allison hung up with Delvar and answered Vaughn’s call. “About time.”

“Yeah, well, my GPS seemed to think going through Manhattan was the most efficient way to get there. I couldn’t talk when you called. Too busy honking, like everyone else in this city.”

Allison smiled. “Everything okay with Jamie? Angela finally show up?”

“She did. She looked exhausted, but she was thrilled to see Jamie.” He hesitated. Before she could respond, he continued. “But that’s not what we need to talk about. First thing: Jamie cross-referenced Delvar’s list against everyone at Transitions and he came up with a blank. Society types, local academics, a bunch of philanthropists, some fashion folks from New York—no one of consequence—but no hits. In other news, though, things seem a little weird.”

Allison settled against the bed.

“Tell me.”

“I can’t explain it as well as Jamie—he’s the one who pieced it together—but hear me out. Remember the spin-off of Transitions from Diamond Brands?”

“Of course.”

“Transitions had a lot of cash poured into that spin-off in order to make it successful and to reinvent the brand.”

“Right, the LEED-certified buildings, the local contracts, the socially conscious agenda.”

“Exactly. Let’s start with the contracts. Jamie thinks they’re bullshit.”

“They’re not making product in the U.S.?”

“The contracts they have entered into in the United States, the ones that are allowing them to say their products are made in the USA, don’t seem legitimate.”

Allison pulled her legs up under her on the bed.

“Wow, that’s a damning allegation. How does Jamie know that?”

“Now you know why I didn’t want to talk about this as I was driving through Brooklyn. It’s complex. I stopped by one of the manufacturers that Transitions has contracted to make clothes here in the United States. Despite more than a year of hefty payments from Transitions, they’re still not operating.”

“The business is a front?”

“I don’t know about that, but something is odd. It’s an existing factory, so on the outside it looks legit, but when I stopped by, there was nothing really happening. That was Jamie’s hunch from looking at the securities filings and researching the companies Transitions had entered into contracts with—that nothing is happening. At least not yet.”

Allison thought about that.

“Who signs those contracts?” she asked.

“The head of purchasing.”

“Eleanor.” Allison’s mind churned. “But to get away with it for so long—”

“There would have to be others involved. Exactly.” Vaughn paused. “There’s more, Allison. As you requested, Jamie looked at the spin-off itself: who was affected, who got fired, etc.”

“And?”

“And Amelie Diamond was right. Her father neither forgave nor forgot.”

“Those involved were let go?”

“To the contrary. None of them was fired. Ted Diamond made a big show about standing behind his people. At least to the public.”

Allison was getting frustrated.

“Then how were they penalized, Vaughn?”

“I’m getting to that. From what Jamie could tell by the two companies’ securities filings, one person was demoted but remained at Diamond. Craig Cummings. He has since left. Two others, the CFO and the COO, were spun-off with the company.”

“So they kept their jobs?”

“Yes. But—”

“They took a salary cut?”

“Not exactly. Again, Jamie spent a lot of time sifting through securities filings. You would be amazed at the information available online, if investors are patient and savvy enough to look. What Jamie found is a trail of renegotiated agreements. Certain agreements with company officers have to be filed with the SEC. For the COO and the CFO, much more lucrative arrangements were cancelled and replaced with much less valuable terms.”

Allison thought about that. She had some experience with executive contracts just based on her work with officers and directors from various companies. “In essence, Ted Diamond let them keep their jobs, but in return, they had to agree to new terms. Essentially, pay cuts.”

“Not pay cuts, exactly. Their salaries didn’t move much. But had they retired from Diamond Brands or been let go due to a change in control of the company, they would have been very rich. Now, under Transitions? Not so much.”

“They were punished.”

“Yes,” Vaughn said quietly. “Looks that way.”

“Reason for revenge?” Allison asked.

“Maybe.”

She stood, pacing the length of the small motel room.

“But neither Scott nor Eleanor worked for Diamond.”

“True, and that’s where this becomes a little of a so-what proposition. What Jamie found is interesting, but nothing ties it to Scott.”

“Other than Eleanor.”

“Yes,” Vaughn said. “Other than Eleanor.”

“Who wasn’t even part of Diamond Brands?”

“Right.”

“So what does Jamie think?”

“He thinks something smells when it comes to Transitions. The company is losing money, and he believes many of the U.S. contracts it’s entered into are bogus.”

“Someone is committing fraud.”

“And based on her history and the unexplained money in her bank account, that someone would seem to be Eleanor.”

Allison climbed off the bed and walked to the window. She looked out over the motel parking area. The lot was poorly lit and, other than Allison’s car and two others, empty. The encroaching forest coupled with the darkness lent to a feeling of isolation. Allison closed the drapes, giving in to a sudden chill that tingled its way down her spine.

“What if there is a conspiracy going on, Vaughn?” He started to say something and she said, “Hear me out. What if the men who were demoted to Transitions—because that’s what it sounds like, a demotion—are colluding to defraud the company? What if Scott found out about it and was blackmailing them? It would have been in their best interest to make sure he couldn’t tell.”

“So they set him up? Made it look like he was living dangerously and took a hit.”

“Right.”

“But what about Eleanor?”

Allison sat back down, pulling her computer back on her lap. “My first thought is that she’s in on the blackmail scheme, too, which is why she’s on the run. But her connection to Duane doesn’t support that.”

“A coincidence?”

“Could be, yes, but do you really think there are any coincidences here?”

“So you think she set Scott up?”

“What if she and Scott had cooked up the scheme? She got greedy and wanted it all? She could have had him killed and run, taking the money with her.”

Vaughn made a “hmmm” sound. “How do you explain Eleanor’s dead sister?”

“The Philly police think it’s unrelated.”

“No coincidences, remember, Allison? You said it yourself.”

“I did.” Allison moved the computer mouse to get her screen running again. “And then there’s the matter of the photographs. How do they fit in?” Allison yawned, exhaustion taking over. “Hopefully Eleanor will have some answers.”

“If she’s there.”

“If she’s there.” Allison thought of something Vaughn said earlier. “The men who were transferred from Diamond Brands to Transitions, who were they?”

Vaughn became suddenly very quiet. “You won’t like this. The Chief Operating Officer was a man named Brian—Bic—Friedman.”

That name sounded familiar. “I met him. He was with Brad…oh, no…”

“And Brad Halloway was the CFO.”

Allison closed her eyes. Of course he was. That was his current role at Transitions. “Then we have our story wrong,” she said. “There’s no way Brad would be involved in something like this. He’s one of the most honor-bound men I know.”

“As was Diamond.”

“What are you getting at?”

“What if Halloway and Friedman truly believed they had done nothing wrong? Spent years helping to grow Diamond? The shit goes down overseas and suddenly their golden geese are cooked and their golden eggs are made of concrete. For a man like Halloway, a man who feels justice should always prevail, bringing down Transitions could feel like the right thing to do. He could convince himself he’s acting for good.”

“I don’t know.” I don’t want to even contemplate that, is what I mean, Allison thought. For a period, Brad had been like a father to her. The thought that he could be behind corporate fraud…unthinkable. Allison recalled her last visit at the Halloway home. His wife’s worsening condition, Brad’s unrelenting cough.

“He’s sick,” Allison said, knowing in that instant it was true. “Brad’s sick and he’s worried about making sure Antonia can be cared for after his death.”

“Perhaps. But how does running the company into the ground assure that his ill wife will be taken care of?”

“The change in control agreements. They’re only triggered if there is a change in control of the company. Maybe he’s trying to force a buy-out. The company does poorly, and someone comes and takes over. Happens all the time.”

“But his agreement isn’t that lucrative.” Vaughn was quiet for a moment. “But there may be another piece to this. A piece I had dismissed until now.”

Allison, a feeling of dread creeping up her spine, said, “What’s that?”

“The third guy, Cummings. His new career? He left and started a venture capitalist firm.”

Allison processed this new bit of information. “He comes in and buys the company. Suddenly things go rosy and everyone shares in the fruits. Brad and Bic get their severance and maybe even a behind-the-scenes cut in the new ownership structure.”

“And they have the last say over Diamond.”

“Scott learns all of this and he and Eleanor blackmail the company.”

“She gets greedy and has Scott killed,” Vaughn says.

Allison still wasn’t so sure about that last part, but she didn’t argue. “I bet if Jamie looks at that company Transitions hired to be the U.S. clothing supplier, buried below somewhere he’ll find another shady connection. This time to Cummings.”

“Mills Manufacturing. I’ll have him look.”

“This is starting to add up, Vaughn. We’ll talk to Eleanor tomorrow, but even if she’s not there…I think we’re on to something.”

Allison remembered her promise to Mia—that she would stop after Eleanor Davies. But that was before now, before this new information. If Eleanor wasn’t there, she would turn all of this over to Berry. The detective might dismiss it, but she would have done her job.

She just wished she understood the photos. If their hypothesis was right, who was sending the pictures? And why? Was Scott reaching out beyond the grave, another element of his blackmail scheme gone awry? Had her name been in his calendar so that he could hit her up for money, only he was murdered before he had a chance to talk with her? If that was the case, maybe Eleanor had sent the photos, and she sent them anyway. But then why no demand for money? The information Jamie had found was critical, but things still didn’t quite come together.

“Where are you now?” Allison asked.

“Stopped to get gas and coffee. I’m somewhere in New Hampshire, near Portsmouth.”

“So you won’t be here for a few more hours?”

“I guess,” Vaughn said, sounding tired.

“You’re checked in and paid for. I’m going to hit the sack.” She gave him her room number. “Let’s plan to get up early—say six?—and head over to Doris’s place.”

“Six? Fine, fine,” Vaughn said jokingly. “I thought my first trip to Maine would be a vacation. Guess I was wrong.”

“Yeah, things don’t turn out as we think they should, do they?” Allison asked, thinking of Brad Halloway. “Keeps things interesting, I guess.”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“Be careful, Vaughn,” Allison said before they hung up. “And thank you.”

Vaughn laughed. “End of year is fast approaching. I see a bonus in my future. And all I want to do after this is get that Sexy Senior group started. Never thought I’d be so happy to work with Midge Majors.” His voice became serious. “You be careful, too, Allison. And wait for me. I’ll see you in the a.m.”