“How did nobody notice?”
Patricia looked ashamed.
“The payments were spread across different subsidiaries.”
I shook my head.
Malcolm hadn’t suddenly decided to steal.
He’d been taking money for years.
And when Henry began questioning him, something had changed.
I remembered Henry’s final months.
He became unusually anxious.
He started locking his office.
He stopped allowing Malcolm to handle certain accounts.
At the time, I thought he was struggling with his illness.
Now I wondered whether he was trying to protect the company.
Or me.
***
Detective Grant called that afternoon.
“We’ve located part of the missing six million.”
My heart quickened.
“How much?”
“Approximately four million eight hundred thousand dollars remains in an account that’s now subject to restrictions while the investigation proceeds.”
I closed my eyes.
It wasn’t all the money.
But it was something.
“And the rest?”
“We’re tracing additional transfers.”
Then she hesitated.
“Mrs. Sutter, there’s another development.”
