Page 74 of Tempest

“Let’s have Ken bring the thieving accountant, William Underfall, in,” Ivy said to Grace. “He’s our last one, and then we can call it a day.”

Grace looked at her notes and nodded in agreement. “I have never been involved with this many firings. The school district hardly ever lets anyone go. It has to be extreme circumstances. Like teachers have to run naked at recess with their hair on fire. Even then, if they had tenure, they might get only a warning.”

Phoebe let out a growl of frustration as she stared at her computer. “I know there has to be a connection, and I can’t find it. It was easier to break into NASA than discovering if William is connected to Davis.”

“Did you hack into NASA?” Grace asked.

Phoebe’s eyes flew up, and she grimaced. “No! Of course not. That would be totally illegal and not something that I would ever consider doing, not even if someone double-dog dared me.”

“I’m glad she’s on our side,” Ivy commented. She leaned over, checked on Rocko, and petted his head. “We’re almost done here. I’ll take you out front after this and you can run around.” He pushed his head into her hand, and she bent over and kissed him. “I’m going to have to see about getting a dog like you.”

Ken popped his head in. “Ready for William?”

“Yes, please,” Grace called out.

“I’ll bring him down and then I’ll secure the building. I’ll start on the executive floor and work my way down.”

“Sounds good,” Ivy called out. The door closed, and Ivy opened her purse and pulled out her phone. She sent a quick text to Ryan to let him know that they were almost finished. “I think we should go out for dinner tonight. I hate to cook after work.”

“That’s a great idea,” Grace added, as she flipped William’s file folder open.

Ivy pushed her phone back in her purse, and her fingers brushed the handle of her gun. With all of the craziness that had been happening, she felt fortunate that no one had been shot. They’d be lucky to clean this mess up without any more injuries.

A large man walked into the room. He was probably close to six feet, and he was built like a bull. A bull who ate too many Twinkies. He had an unfortunate comb-over, and his eyes were obscured behind thick glasses. William Underfall lived up to the picture that Ivy had in her mind. He’d been a decent employee until he fell in love with Petals and chose larceny as a new career path.

Ivy stood and pointed to a chair. “Have a seat, William.” He collapsed into it and folded his hands in front of him. His demeanor didn’t suggest he was nervous, so he must have had no idea why he was here. Interesting.

Grace slid the folder in front of Ivy, and she took out the top page. “William, we’ve called you in here today because we’ve discovered that you have been working with Davis in a scheme that’s been adjusting the production numbers. Embezzling five million dollars from the company means that we are relieving you of your duties today.”

Ivy watched him sit back and let out a breath, and she thought that his lack of concern was strange. No remorse, no anger…nothing.

Until he exploded from the chair and stepped away from the table. Rocko sat up immediately and growled. Phoebe stopped working on her computer, and Grace slid her phone into her lap. Apparently, the quiet accountant wasn’t going to leave peacefully.

Ivy stilled her shaking hands and folded them over the folder in front of her. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Maybe she could stall him until Grace could get ahold of Ken.

“It wasn’t my idea,” he shouted.

Ivy watched his face grow red. “Whose idea was it?”

“It was my stupid step-uncle’s.” He started pacing in front of them and fisting his hands.

“That’s the connection,” Phoebe yelled. “No wonder I couldn’t put it together. I didn’t look into the step angle.” Sitting back, she lifted her hair off her neck. “I thought I was losing my touch, which of course is ridiculous. I don’t enjoy not being able to figure things out immediately.” She looked over at Grace and Ivy and then William the raging bull and zipped her mouth shut.

“Glad we have that cleared up,” Ivy said. Tilting her head toward the accountant, she said, “We may have a bigger issue.”

William turned and took a step toward the table. Rocko stood up and growled again. “Call the dog off,” he yelled.

“Can’t,” Ivy said. “Once he decides we need protecting, there’s no calling him off. So I suggest you calm down and take a seat.” She had no idea if that was true, but she thought it was worth a shot. Sliding her eyes away from the angry man, she glanced at Grace as she furiously texted. Ideally, they would get some backup in here soon. The building was still half-full, so it wasn’t like William was going to get away with anything.

“Why did you go along with his scheme?” Ivy asked. “I think Petals would’ve wanted you regardless of how much money you had.”

He leaned over the table and spit out his response. “Do you really think a woman like Petals would be interested in a guy like me if I didn’t have a ton of money?” A hysterical laugh escaped his mouth as he threw his head back.

Ivy glanced at Phoebe and saw that she was typing something on her laptop. If she could hack into NASA, then she’d better be able to get them some help. “It’s done, William. Your personal items will be sent to you. It’s up to the DA to pursue charges. The evidence of the crime was submitted this morning. Go home and call a lawyer.”

It seemed to happen in slow motion—at least, that’s how it felt. Ivy watched him take a step away, reach around to his back, pull a gun out, and point it at them. Damn, did everyone in Texas come to work armed? Standing slowly, she kept her eyes on William the crazy accountant. Keep your eyes on me, you crazy lunatic. Resting one hand on the edge of the table, she slid the other toward her open purse. “William, do you really want to add attempted murder to your problems? I don’t think Petals is going to be able to overlook something like that.” As she spoke, she saw Rocko’s head clear the table, and he bared his teeth. Ivy didn’t want him hurt, so she placed her hand on his head. “William, put the gun down. You’re in a ton of trouble, and waving a gun around is only going to add to it.”

“Shut up!” he yelled. “You don’t know anything about her.”

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