Page 54

Birdie rises beside me. “Your inconvenient suspect is calling.”

I answer before it can go to voicemail. “Did your accountants find anything?”

“Hello to you too, Cassie.” Andrei’s voice comes through low and clear, with a trace of fatigue beneath the formality.

“It’s after one, and my brother has been missing for five days. We can exchange pleasantries when he’s home.” I walk toward the Subaru while Birdie follows. “What did you find?”

“Linda Park called the vineyard this morning,” Andrei says. “She found four loan files Connor had been reviewing and sent Reid copies of the digital documents. Each business used a contract with Dragorin Vineyards as proof of revenue. The agreements have signatures that are supposed to be Reid’s or mine.”

I stop beside the driver’s door. “Linda sent you confidential bank files?”

“She knows what it could cost her. Connor has been missing since Tuesday, and she wanted copies outside the bank’s system.” His voice hardens. “The signatures are forged. Reid never signed the agreements, and I was in France on the dates attached to two of mine. The document metadata shows they were created within three days of one another, although the printed dates cover eight months.”

Birdie watches my face, waiting for enough information to read the call without hearing his side.

“How much did the bank lend them?” I ask.

“Just under three million dollars across the four companies. Vintner Hospitality Logistics received one of the loans.”

Connor has found a fraud large enough to ruin careers and send people to prison.

“Were all four loans approved by Rick?”

“His name appears on three. Another officer approved the fourth, but Rick reviewed the account afterward.” Andrei pauses, and faint voices sound in the background. “My team needs Connor’s complete planner, not only the photographs you selected.”

I pull the phone away from my ear for a moment, then bring it back. “You’re not taking the original. Your investigator entered Connor’s apartment, and I found one of your employees destroying documents.”

“I asked you to bring it, not surrender it.” Impatience strengthens his accent. “Your distrust is sensible, but it’s also becoming inconvenient.”

I lean against the driver’s door. “That sounds like a problem wealth should have prepared you to handle.”

Birdie presses her lips together, failing to hide her smile, while Andrei reminds me to bring the planner and keep it with me as he and Reid review it.

“I’m bringing Birdie, and we’ll photograph any records you show us.” I meet her eyes, and she nods.

“I assumed she would come.” Andrei’s voice returns to its usual calm. “Privacy laws will limit part of your request, Cassandra.”

Using my full name brings his mouth back near mine, and I resent how easily one word can do that. “Cassie.”

“Cassie,” he corrects, his voice softening. “Where are you?”

I look at the stone building behind us. “Oak Grove. We visited my father.”

Andrei’s silence loses its negotiating edge. “How is Thomas?”

The fact that he knows Dad’s name should bother me, but the concern in his voice makes it difficult to hold on to my irritation.

“He knew me today,” I answer. “Most of the time.”

“I’m sorry.” He offers no empty reassurance, which makes the words harder to dismiss.

I bite my lower lip. “Dad remembered Connor saying there were numbers that didn’t belong. He also said Connor hid the important part where I always look first.”

“What does that mean?” Andrei asks, his voice sharpening with interest.

I glance at Birdie before answering. “I think he meant the first page of a book, but I don’t know which one. I’ll have to search the store and Connor’s shelves when we get back.”

“Wait outside until I can send someone to meet you,” Andrei says. “If your brother hid evidence there, someone else may already be looking for it.”