Page 73 of Girl, Sought

‘Huh.’ Luca said. ‘Well, that's...not what I expected.’

Ella snapped back to the present. ‘What's up? Find something?’

‘More like a whole lot of nothing.’ He jabbed a finger at the screen. ‘These tax records are clean. Profits, margins, operating costs. It all looks… normal.’

Ella leaned in and scanned the columns of numbers. He was right. For a small appraisal firm, CVG pulled in decent numbers. A few hundred grand in fees each year, with operating expenses hovering around 60% of gross. Respectable, but hardly the work of white-collar criminals.

‘Looks like Vanessa runs a tight ship,’ she murmured.

‘Tight as a duck's ass.’ Luca scrolled further, then paused. ‘Hello, what's this?’

He tapped the screen. A small notation, easily missed among the reams of digital paperwork.

But there it was, in innocuous black and white:

Return flagged - discrepancy noted by filing CPA, Lawrence Winters.

‘Lawrence Winters.’ Luca rolled the name around his mouth like he was savoring a fine wine. ‘Lawrence Winters. Why do I know that name?’

‘Sounds familiar, actually. Who is he?’

‘The accountant who filed the CVG’s tax return.’

‘CVG have their own accountant?’

'No, they don't. Warrant only mentioned three employees, only one of which was male. Vanessa must have just hired one.'

‘Lawrence Winters.’ The name crawled across Ella's tongue like something rotten. Her hands shook as she leafed through her paperwork pile. She'd seen that name somewhere already, buried in the avalanche of tax returns and fraudulent donations. Her fingers found what they wanted buried beneath Sally McDermid's medical curiosities.

‘Got you, you son of a bitch.’ Her finger stabbed down on Sally McDermid's return. ‘Lawrence Winters filed her taxes. Same guy.’

That spark in Luca's eyes - the one that meant his brain was connecting dots faster than his mouth could keep up. ‘Shit me. Hold that thought.’

He dove into his own stacks of paper, pulled out each client file one by one and discarded them. He tossed papers left and right until he finally snagged the one he wanted.

‘Ell, look. Eleanor Calloway’s file.’ He flipped to the back page. ‘Look who signed off on the final value of her doll collection.’

She leaned in closer and clocked the scrawl on the dotted line:L. Winters.

Ella's heart picked up tempo as Luca reached for the next file. The puzzle pieces were clicking together with the particular violence of bones snapping into place. ‘What about the others?’

Luca scrambled for the next file and then slapped it on the desk. Again, on the back page, the same signature:L. Winters.

‘Please tell me...’ Ella started, but Luca was already pulling out Joseph Carpenter's file with the grim satisfaction of a coroner finding cause of death.

'The holy trinity is complete.' He tapped Carpenter's tax return, where Lawrence Winters' signature sprawled on the final page like a death warrant. 'Our friendly neighborhood number-cruncher had his fingers in all three pies.'

The truth crystallized in Ella's mind with startling clarity. This man – this accountant – was the only thread in this whole mess that weaved through Vanessa’s companyandall three victims.

‘He must be Vanessa’s accountant. He files her company’s tax returnsandprocesses any payments between CVG and their clients.’

‘And he’s been playing both sides. Helping these collectors file their tax returnsandhelping out Vanessa.’

Luca said, ‘Which means he has access to this paperwork. Vanessa would just send him everything to make sure it’s all above board. God, I send my accountant some seriously confidential stuff.’

‘Perfect cover.’ Ella breathed. ‘Who remembers their accountant's face? Who questions the guy who makes the numbers dance? He's practically invisible.’

‘Check him.’

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