Page 29 of Justice Denied

He guided her into the cafeteria. “The best way we can keep your mom safe is to find out who’s behind the embezzlement.”

Jetta wished she had confidence they would uncover the culprit after all these years, but as she’d painfully learned with Kyle, people were very good at hiding their true colors. And when faced with exposure, they could react in very unexpected ways. With the attempt on her mother’s life, Jetta had no doubt whoever was behind the events was playing for keeps.

And would stop at nothing to keep their secrets hidden.

ChapterEleven

Seth focused the lens on the smiling group of fourth graders surrounding Mayor Susan Birmingham as she read “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” from a rocking chair and snapped several photos in quick succession. He checked the compositions on his camera to ensure at least one would be usable. “Thanks, everyone.”

He said goodbye to front office staffer who’d accompanied him to the classroom before slipping out of the school. With any luck, he’d have the captions written and the photos sent to his editor within the hour, freeing him up to follow up with Leslie Updike, his FinCEN contact. She hadn’t responded to his text yet, and he was too impatient to wait for her to do so. A phone call might produce better results.

Less than sixty minutes later, he punched connect on his cell and prayed Leslie would pick up his call.

“Leslie Updike.”

“Leslie? It’s Seth Whitman.” He paused, then added, “fromTheNorthern Virginia Herald. We met…”

“At the director’s talk at Fairfax High School a while back. Hold on a sec.”

In the background, he heard muffled speech, then a few seconds of quiet before Leslie returned to the phone. “Sorry about that. Just finished a meeting. What can I do for you?”

Before he could mention his text and Jay Ainsley, Leslie continued, “Oh, sorry, you texted me and I totally blew you off.”

“It’s okay.” Seth was used to be women blowing him off. “I know you’re busy.”

“Not too busy for an afternoon coffee if you’re buying.”

The teasing lilt to her voice caught him off guard. She wasn’t flirting with him, was she? If she was, how was he to respond to that? Indecision froze his tongue.

Leslie chuckled. “It’s only a mocha, and I have a boyfriend. Besides, it will be easier to talk about the case you mentioned in the text outside of the office.”

“Right, sorry. Where and when?”

They settled on Basecamp Coffee Roasters in thirty minutes. After getting her beverage order, Seth checked in with his boss to let him know he’d be out of the office the rest of the day. He arrived at the coffeeshop before Leslie and ordered an iced green tea concoction for himself and a mocha for Leslie. Leslie arrived as he carried the beverages to a corner table.

“Ah, good. I can use a pick-me-up.” She settled into the chair opposite him and grabbed her drink. “The ambrosia of the gods.”

“If you say so.” Seth had never understood the frothy coffee drinks packed with sugar and syrups, but mostly kept that opinion to himself. “Thanks for meeting with me.”

“I must admit to being intrigued by your text. What old case are you interested in?”

He glanced around the half-filled shop, then leaned forward. “Jay Ainsley.”

Her brow furrowed as if she was trying to recall the name. “Not ringing any bells.”

“Fifteen years ago, he was accused of embezzling close to ten million from Topher Robotics but had a fatal heart attack when the cops came to arrest him.”

She snapped her fingers. “Now I remember. I had joined FinCEN only a few months before that. It was big news. Only a couple of million dollars was recovered from an offshore account, right?”

“Less than a million in an account with Jay Ainsley’s name on it and another million or so in an account under New Horizons LLC.” His research had uncovered a person didn’t actually have to visit the Cayman Islands to open a bank account but simply provide the relevant documents, meaning anyone could have set up the account as Jay Ainsley. “Was your office involved in the investigation?”

“Like I said, I was new so didn’t have any direct knowledge of the case, but my former boss, Frank Warner, would know details. He’s now retired.” She sipped her drink. “I can introduce you if you’d like.”

“That would be great.” Seth tamped down his disappointment at not getting answers immediately, but at least they had another lead.

“I’ll text him right now.” Leslie did so. “Why are you interested in this old case?”

“Well, I, um…” He should have come up with a reason before meeting with Leslie, but couldn’t think of a plausible one. Instead, he blurted out the truth. “His daughter asked for my help in clearing his name.”

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