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“Just listen.”
He did, and that glimmer of hope grew. Silverman came into view, speaking to someone Gerard couldn’t see. Her, most likely. His gut churned. Except, he only heard male voices? That acid in his stomach rose to his throat. Silverman wasn’t talking to Rowan? He shook his head, focusing on the video.
“Out in the hall,” Silverman said and moved off camera. The man didn’t seem to realize the cameras recorded 24/7 including sounds, so the audio came through clearly.
“Listen. He’s telling someone, some man, to make changes to the fund just discussed at the board meeting. Changes that spiked a downturn.” Emersyn was positively bouncing.
“Shhh. Let me hear.” He couldn’t place the other voice, but he knew it. He’d figure it out eventually. At the end of the video, the man with Silverman walked into the conference room. Gerard sank back in his chair, more surprised than he thought possible.
“Michael Wentworth?”
“Yes!” Emersyn bounded back to the other side of his desk and plunked down in a chair. “Those security cameras you put in last year really paid off. Keep watching.”
Wentworth seemed to have forgotten about the cameras they’d sent a company-wide email about after installation. He opened his laptop with the camera behind him and the video caught it all. He adjusted the funds exactly as Silverman asked, logged off, then logged into what must be his personal bank account. A deposit of fifty thousand dollars showed.
They had him. Wentworth was in cahoots with Silverman. Gerard put his head in his hands. How had he not seen this? Silverman he could believe. But Wentworth?
“It’s not your fault, brother. The spreadsheet shows this has been going on for two years.”
“It could have been going on longer.”
“No, it coincides with Dad’s retirement. Row— This research goes back three years, and there’s nothing earlier.”
He looked at the other files, all corroborating the data on the Excel spreadsheet. It looked like Rowan’s data, except carried through to a conclusion. Had she talked to Rowan? If she hadn’t, how could she have pulled all this together so quickly? Shaking his head, he pushed concern over Emersyn and Rowan’s relationship to the back of his mind. First things first.
“This is great, Emersyn. Very thorough and proof that cannot be ignored. I don’t know how you pulled this together in only a couple days. Were you working during your vacation? You had to be to gather all of this in such a short time.”
Emersyn stared out the window for a moment, her smile both poignant and full of contentment. “I didn’t think about work once while I was away. Sorry. Not sorry.”
That was a first for his sister. She’d always played hard, but worked hard too. To have disappeared during this turmoil was unusual. Was she losing her focus? “Do you still want to be here, Em?”
“Definitely. Just because I can shut work out and enjoy life once in a while doesn’t mean I’ve lost my edge.”
“Good. I still don’t understand how you put this together.”
“That, my dear brother, is something I can’t answer. Your pig-headed brain will have to figure it out. And I strongly suggest that you do exactly that.”
Emersyn was pissed at him? Gerard shook his head. He’d have to sort this out later. For now, he had work to do. Finally.
“I have to call the FBI and the SEC. Time to make this official.”
His sister shook her head, staring at him like he’d missed something really important. “Let me know how I can help.”
“You’ve helped already. Thank you for this, Emersyn. You’ve saved Barrett Investment Group singlehandedly. They’ll want to interview you, know your thought processes, and how you figured this out.”
Emersyn shifted in her seat. She looked uncomfortable.
“What?”
“Nothing,” she said, sat forward chewing her lip, then reached out to put her hand over her brother’s. “This proves Rowan didn’t do this.”
His head shake was more adamant than his heart wanted. “Doesn’t prove anything. She could have come in for the killing moment, which feels imminent, or it did until you brought this in. I owe you. Barrett owes you.”
“Then think about what I’m saying, brother. I know she wasn’t involved. In my brain. In my heart.”
“It will take a lot more than your instinct to disprove her culpability. She lied to us.”
“She didn’t tell us about her family. That’s all. She wanted to make it on her own, to prove herself.”
