Page 54 of Sasha’s Secret

Sasha’s nod signaled reluctant agreement. “I don’t suppose it really matters anyway. We need to concentrate on what’s happening right now. Can you deal with the cops while I stop Linzi having a meltdown?”

Rocco didn’t want to leave his woman to deal with Linzi alone, but with the law on the way, he had little choice. They’d probably have a few preliminary questions for him at the very least, with more to come later as the investigation progressed.

What interested him more was what he’d just learned from Sasha. If her instincts had told her Alilah and Leah weren’t on the up and up, it lent credibility to her suspicions around Frank Schofield, which in turn, supported his own thoughts about the man, in spite of the fact that what Nick had uncovered about him had only confirmed what they already had on record.

And then there was Brian—how far had that apple fallen from the tree? He might be wrong, but Rocco had a feeling the answer was “not far enough”.

For now, though, he had to park all thoughts of pursuing inquiries in that direction. Two alleged thieves were about to be arrested, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

* * *

The police left a good couple of hours after they arrived. They took with them their sobbing, handcuffed suspects, laptops sealed in official bags, the contents of two desks, and a mass of paper-based potential evidence. All Rocco had to do now was update Nick and send an email to Frank to keep him posted out of professional courtesy, and then he could take care of Sasha.

Rocco’s conversation with his boss was short and to the point. Since he’d identified the fraudulent transactions, Nick would be the main point of contact for the investigation, for which Rocco was extremely grateful. No doubt forensic accountants would get involved, and at least Nick spoke the same language. Nick had ended the call with a cryptic message, warning Rocco to look out for a call from a phone number Nick was going to text to him. When Rocco had asked who it belonged to, all Nick had said was that it was a friend who could help if Rocco needed reliable assistance for the awards, and he should at least have an initial conversation with the man.

Sasha wasn’t in her office when he came back from watching the police depart. She’d most likely returned to be with Linzi after her brief conversation with the detective in charge, so Rocco bypassed a visit to her apartment and headed straight to Linzi’s wing of the mansion.

Her latest boyfriend, Ram, was in the sitting room. Engrossed in playing a game on his cell phone, he never even registered Rocco’s arrival. Nor did he look up when Sasha emerged from one of the other rooms.

“How is she?” Rocco asked as he accompanied Sasha back the way she’d come.

“I’ll let you see for yourself. I tried to explain it to her, but she brushed it off. Apparently it’s my job to worry about ‘crap like that’, so she doesn’t have to. I’ll concede she has a point, but if someone were stealing thousands of dollars from me, I think I’d want to know about it.”

Rocco would too, but he remained silent as Sasha led the way to what turned out to be Linzi’s bedroom—without doubt, the most grand of all the bedrooms in all the properties on the estate, if a person happened to be impressed by glitz and glamor. Rocco much preferred the other two bedrooms he’d seen, but even then, he had a favorite—it was whichever one had Sasha in it.

When he saw Linzi dancing along to whatever she was listening to through her state-of-the-art wireless headphones, Rocco had to concur with Sasha’s evaluation. With her eyes closed, Linzi appeared not to have a care in the world. One of her gyrations left her facing Rocco and Sasha, at which point she happened to open her eyes and notice Rocco was there.

“Oh. Hi. What are you doing here?”

The fact that she immediately closed her eyes and carried on pirouetting around the room without waiting for his answer spoke volumes about how much she cared about the answer. Having delivered the news, Rocco glanced at Sasha. She responded with a resigned shrug and a tilt of her head in the direction of the door, clearly sharing his opinion that they weren’t going to make much more progress by talking to her employer. They passed Linzi’s boyfriend—still gaming on his cell phone—and reconvened in the hall.

“I see what you mean.” Rocco considered the options. “Given that she has nothing to do with keeping financial records, do you think we can avoid a situation where she has to testify?”

“It depends. Alilah and Leah may be offered a deal, so the case never goes to trial. It’s too early to say right now.”

He’d thought as much. “I know we’ve already discussed this, but are you sure there’s no chance of them being behind the threats as well?”

“I suppose it’s always possible, but neither of them’s into technology in any way that I know of, so I doubt they have the technical expertise to hide their tracks the way we’ve assumed has happened so far.”

Even before he’d asked the question, Rocco had had a feeling that would be the answer, because life was seldom that easy. However, it did leave Sasha with two significant vacancies to fill.

“I’ll get some temporary help in,” Sasha said as they made their way back to her office. “There’s an agency we’ve used before—their people are reliable and good at what they do. And honest.”

“That’s a start. What will you do for the long-term?”

“Look into recruiting permanent replacements—there’s not a lot else I can do.”

“I know you’ll have a handle on that, but if there is anything I can do to help, don’t hesitate.”

Much though he ached to fix things for her, Rocco knew Sasha wouldn’t appreciate the intrusion—she was strong, independent, and in control. And more than capable of resolving the issue without interference from him.

“Thanks, but I think it’ll be okay. Apart from anything else, this might drag on.”

Until after you leave. Rocco heard the words even though she hadn’t given voice to them.

“You know something?” Sasha continued. “It’s almost the end of the day. I have a couple things to finish up, and then I’m going to take a swim. Care to join me?”

“For the skinny-dip we missed?” he suggested, half-joking.