Page 85 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men
She’ll strip me of everything. After what Penny and the guys unearthed about her handling of our family’s business, she’ll run it all into the ground, I’m sure of it. Tears fill my eyes as I try to find a sliver of light in the midst of this madness.
But all I see is darkness.
27
AUGUST
“It’s not looking good,” Detective Wayne says.
I managed to get myself and Penny into an interview room with this guy and my brother early the following morning. He probably tried to get a statement out of Dominic without his counsel present, but my brother isn’t a fool. We were prepared for this.
“For whom?” I ask with a wry smile.
Dominic keeps his arms crossed and his back against the chair as his gaze bounces between us, much like watching a tennis game. I’m furious we didn’t think about the press being there when we prepared for this particular contingency. We knew there could be a raid—there’s always the possibility of one during these illegal poker games. But the journalists were unexpected.
This puts a huge wrench in Phoebe’s wheels. We need to get my brother out before we can get to Phoebe, however. The sooner we’re done here, the better.
“Dominic wasn’t there to play poker,” Penny says, boldly taking over the conversation. “He was there to watch someone else.”
Detective Wayne gives her a curious look. “Oh, that’s the story you’re going with?”
“It’s the truth,” Penny replies.
“Ok, in that case, explain the fake IDs and the money he put into the house for those chips, for starters,” Wayne says, glancing at Dominic with a cold smile.
“All part of the operation. We were surveilling someone,” Penny says.
“Who?”
“Helen Baldwin,” I say, Penny nodding in confirmation. “We have solid reason to believe she’s been embezzling Baldwin Enterprise funds and misappropriating them for a variety of illegal avenues, including these poker tournaments. She’s quite the degenerate gambler.”
Detective Wayne stills for the longest second, going over his arrest notes. I hear the long exhale as he tries to wrap his head around this new and unexpected development.
“You’re serious,” he mutters.
“Very. We also have evidence,” Penny says.
“And the names of a few other big whales who slipped out the back door before you and your federal buddies got the chance to arrest them,” I add. “Dominic and Phoebe used actual players’ names to get into that event. I’m guessing you’d be very grateful to gain access to the full guest list and cross-reference it with your intake forms from today.”
That gets his full attention. Good.
Penny drives the whole thing home with impeccable grace and sparkling determination. Of course, she’s doing it to protect her best friend, which makes me respect her even more.
“We’ve managed to uncover a conspiracy within the Baldwin Enterprise executive board, specifically between Helen and Crystal Baldwin, along with a few other associates from the accounting offices of the company,” she says. “We’re talking about a series of serious charges that will draw the interest and ire of the SEC and the IRS, among other entities.”
“What charges are you suggesting?” Wayne asks.
Penny takes out a binder filled with photocopies of the most relevant documents we prepared for this conversation—an in-depth summary of Helen’s crimes so far. As soon as Wayne flips through it, his expression changes from doubt to genuine astonishment. I can see him coming over to our side in the span of a minute.
“Embezzlement and fraud would be the first to come to mind,” Penny says. “Bribery. Collusion. Pretty sure she’s in breach of several executive clauses that would strip her of her position as CEO of the company.”
“Holy shit,” Wayne gasps as he turns another page. “Do the Feds know about this?”
“That’s why we were there,” Dominic speaks up for the first time. “Helen Baldwin used a Baldwin Enterprise checkbook to buy more poker chips just before your people raided the Jade Dragon. Has anyone gone through the money yet?”
Wayne shakes his head. “No. It’s ongoing. It was mostly cash, but there were some bearer bonds and checks involved, as well. One of the FBI forensic accounting agents is going over it.”
“You’ll find Helen’s signature on one of them. Proof she was there,” Penny says. “And you should go through the CCTV footage, as well. She’ll pop up on screen, for sure.”
