shampoo. Jake stood in the doorway of the bathroom.
"You'd never convince Bill to willingly send thirty-seven million on your command. You know that, right?"
I smoothed some conditioner through my hair and ignored his question.
"I mean, the man doesn't even pay his alimony on time," Jake said, watching me fight the snarls in my hair with the cheap comb.
" Well, this isn't his money. It's the right thing to do."
" Let me see if I understand this. Your big plan was to fly to Macau, blackmail a former coworker by promising not to tell the authorities about his involvement in the scheme, and get the money back to the victims?"
This time, I didn 't answer. When he said it, it sounded ridiculous. In my head, it had seemed like a semi-solid plan with at least fifty-fifty odds of success. He looked incredulous.
" That is a terrible plan. I mean, I've heard you're smart, graduated at the top of your class, worked your way up to a responsible position. You know this would never work, don't you?"
" Why won't it work? My plan clears my name and makes the victims whole again. I'm not trying to save the world, just the life savings of a few hundred people."
" It won't work because it's illegal. You're going to blackmail someone," he said.
" No, I am going to convince someone to return something he stole. It's not blackmail—it's doing the right thing."
" How were you going to get the money to the victims?"
" I'm not sure yet. Maybe through their lawyers," I said, finally freeing the plastic comb and moving to another section of knots. "As you pointed out, they are about to sue me."
He crossed his arms and leaned on the doorframe.
"You could talk to the U.S. Attorney's office. They'd be interested in getting the victims reimbursed."
" They think I stole it in the first place," I said.
" You didn't?"
I shot him a furious glare and finished combing out my hair.
"Can you show me what you found about Bill's involvement in the money transfers?"
On one hand, I could do that, very easily. I had tracked the money to Bill 's doorstep, and beyond. And the beyond part was the problem. I could show him why his brother-in-law was involved with a thirty-seven million dollar fraud scheme. But Bill was involved in so much more, and that was my only leverage.
" I can show you the transfers," I said, reaching for my bag. I'd just have to be careful and hope Jake didn't ask too many questions.
We moved from the damp bathroom, and I set my messenger bag on the desk by the window. Jake pulled the curtains shut on the dark sky outside. He sat on the foot of the bed again and watched as I pulled out my laptop and the paperwork I 'd compiled.
I tossed him a packet of about twenty pages, stapled along the side into a makeshift booklet. It was a report I 'd compiled, similar to the ones I'd put together in my days working in finance. But this one was different in that it was the story of the Sahara Fund fraud, told in charts and graphs. And names. I named everyone.
He started to read, then looked up at me. "You wrote this?"
I nodded, and he flipped through the pages quickly, taking it in. Then he stood and went to the other end of the bed and sat with his back against the headboard, his legs stretched out on the bed, and started reading at the beginning. When he finished, he lifted his gaze to mine, his eyes serious.
"What is Bill up to?"
Biting my lip, I paused, unsure of what to tell him.
"Look, I'm no fan of the guy. He left my sister with two kids under the age of five. But he's Henry and Lily's dad. He was a lousy husband, but he was a good father. He wouldn't willingly abandon his children. And now he's missing. He hasn't been in touch with my sister in three weeks. His office—hell, his entire department—is MIA. There's something going on. If you know something, please tell me."
Oh, great, guilt with a side of absentee father—my kryptonite.
"I don't know anything about Bill or where he might be," I said. "How long have you
"You'd never convince Bill to willingly send thirty-seven million on your command. You know that, right?"
I smoothed some conditioner through my hair and ignored his question.
"I mean, the man doesn't even pay his alimony on time," Jake said, watching me fight the snarls in my hair with the cheap comb.
" Well, this isn't his money. It's the right thing to do."
" Let me see if I understand this. Your big plan was to fly to Macau, blackmail a former coworker by promising not to tell the authorities about his involvement in the scheme, and get the money back to the victims?"
This time, I didn 't answer. When he said it, it sounded ridiculous. In my head, it had seemed like a semi-solid plan with at least fifty-fifty odds of success. He looked incredulous.
" That is a terrible plan. I mean, I've heard you're smart, graduated at the top of your class, worked your way up to a responsible position. You know this would never work, don't you?"
" Why won't it work? My plan clears my name and makes the victims whole again. I'm not trying to save the world, just the life savings of a few hundred people."
" It won't work because it's illegal. You're going to blackmail someone," he said.
" No, I am going to convince someone to return something he stole. It's not blackmail—it's doing the right thing."
" How were you going to get the money to the victims?"
" I'm not sure yet. Maybe through their lawyers," I said, finally freeing the plastic comb and moving to another section of knots. "As you pointed out, they are about to sue me."
He crossed his arms and leaned on the doorframe.
"You could talk to the U.S. Attorney's office. They'd be interested in getting the victims reimbursed."
" They think I stole it in the first place," I said.
" You didn't?"
I shot him a furious glare and finished combing out my hair.
"Can you show me what you found about Bill's involvement in the money transfers?"
On one hand, I could do that, very easily. I had tracked the money to Bill 's doorstep, and beyond. And the beyond part was the problem. I could show him why his brother-in-law was involved with a thirty-seven million dollar fraud scheme. But Bill was involved in so much more, and that was my only leverage.
" I can show you the transfers," I said, reaching for my bag. I'd just have to be careful and hope Jake didn't ask too many questions.
We moved from the damp bathroom, and I set my messenger bag on the desk by the window. Jake pulled the curtains shut on the dark sky outside. He sat on the foot of the bed again and watched as I pulled out my laptop and the paperwork I 'd compiled.
I tossed him a packet of about twenty pages, stapled along the side into a makeshift booklet. It was a report I 'd compiled, similar to the ones I'd put together in my days working in finance. But this one was different in that it was the story of the Sahara Fund fraud, told in charts and graphs. And names. I named everyone.
He started to read, then looked up at me. "You wrote this?"
I nodded, and he flipped through the pages quickly, taking it in. Then he stood and went to the other end of the bed and sat with his back against the headboard, his legs stretched out on the bed, and started reading at the beginning. When he finished, he lifted his gaze to mine, his eyes serious.
"What is Bill up to?"
Biting my lip, I paused, unsure of what to tell him.
"Look, I'm no fan of the guy. He left my sister with two kids under the age of five. But he's Henry and Lily's dad. He was a lousy husband, but he was a good father. He wouldn't willingly abandon his children. And now he's missing. He hasn't been in touch with my sister in three weeks. His office—hell, his entire department—is MIA. There's something going on. If you know something, please tell me."
Oh, great, guilt with a side of absentee father—my kryptonite.
"I don't know anything about Bill or where he might be," I said. "How long have you
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