Page 54 of Defiled Innocence

Mr. Pederse with his typical stoic expression peeks around the half-open door.

“Come in, I’ll be just a second.” I wave him over to the chair in front of my desk and quickly pull up Ramon’s schedule. “Okay, Peter, Ramon has an opening this afternoon. Just send him over and we’ll get him set up with a caseworker then send him to Ramon.”

“Great. I don’t have transport at the moment, so it’s probably going to be about an hour unless he wants to take the bus.”

“That’s fine. When he gets here, we’ll figure it all out.” Snatching up a pen, I scribble the client’s name on a post-it note and a cell phone number we can reach him at.

After shooting off a message to Ramon that I’ve blocked off time for the new client this afternoon, and another message to one of our newest caseworkers, Jessica, that he’s on his way over, I blow out a loud breath and turn my attention to Mr. Pederse.

“Sorry about that.” I smile. “Can I get you something to drink? Sarah just ran to get coffee; I can text her if you’d like one?”

He shakes his head. “No, thank you, I’m fine.”

He rests his briefcase on his knee and unzips the bag, digging through the files.

“So.” I fold my hands onto of the mess of papers on my desk. “You made it sound like there was a problem? I know I sent over last month’s financial ledger, and you’ve had access to the bookkeeping software.”

He peeks over his wire-rimmed glasses at me with a firm stare. “Yes. What I’m here to discuss isn’t about that.”

My stomach sinks.

“Oh? Did the money from the endowment not transfer? I know, with Lucas having passed…” I have to pause a moment and swallow down the swell of emotion that clogs my throat. Dammit. There isn’t time for that right now. “With him gone, there might be a hiccup with his estate.”

“No.” He finally finds the files he’s looking for and yanks them out from between the numerous other folders he has stuffed in the bag.

“No, it didn’t transfer?”

“No, that’s not what I need to discuss with you. The transfer isn’t due until next quarter.” His briefcase lands on the floor at his feet with a thud and he leans back in his chair, holding the folder to his chest.

“All right then. What’s the problem?” I lace my fingers together, squeezing tightly.

He’s going to tell me we didn’t pay enough in taxes last year, or the property taxes are going up this year.

“Every quarter I do a financial audit of the accounts.”

“Right. I have the report you sent over here somewhere.” I start looking around the papers. It could be anywhere at this point. “We haven’t had our quarterly trustee meeting yet.”

“What I found isn’t in the report.” His fingers tighten on the folder.

“Why wouldn’t it be in the report?”

Sarah pushes through the door, carrying two cups of coffee in her hands.

“Sorry to interrupt.” She smiles at Mr. Pederse and hands my cup to me over the desk.

“You’re my favorite employee today.” With a grin, I take the large paper cup out of her hands.

“Of course I am.” She laughs, but stifles the sound when she notices the stiff in the chair staring up at her. “Sorry. I’ll let you two get back to it.”

“Thank you.” He frowns.

Once she’s behind him, she rolls her eyes and heads for the door.

“Sarah, can you close it, please?” I call to her just as she steps out into the hall. “Now, what did you find and not disclose in the report?”

I take a quick sip of the caramel deliciousness before setting the cup to the side. At this rate, I’m going to need something stronger than coffee to get through this meeting.

“It didn’t go in the report because I felt a personal meeting would be best to discuss the matter.” He pulls a sheet of paper out of the folder and hands it to me.

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