THE WRONG SIGNATURE part -5

THE WRONG SIGNATURE

PART 5 — THE RED FOLDER

Emma listened to the voicemail three times in the driver's seat.

Her father's voice was brisk and irritated.

"Emma, call me when you can. I've found a problem in the supplier accounts, and Victor is avoiding me. If the numbers are what I think they are, the company needs an architect less than it needs someone who can recognize a wall before we hit it. Call me."

At the time, Emma had been preparing a presentation. She had heard the familiar invitation to join Reed Materials and saved the message for later.

Later never came.

She let Clara hear it.

"Did he tell you about a problem with Victor?" Emma asked.

Clara shook her head.

"He was bringing work home every night. He said a supplier audit was taking longer than expected."

"Where are his files?"

"Some are in his study. The company laptop is with Victor. He said he needed it to keep operations running."

Emma started the car.

They drove to the family house together.

Thomas's study smelled faintly of cedar and coffee. His reading glasses rested on an open construction journal. A yellow legal pad lay beside the keyboard, its top page filled with delivery numbers and initials.

Emma searched the desk drawers while Clara opened the filing cabinet.

They found ordinary contracts, vehicle records, tax correspondence, and insurance policies. Nothing directly accused Victor.

Then Clara noticed that one drawer was shallower than the others.

Thomas had installed a false back.

Behind it was a red folder marked NORTHLINE.

Northline Industrial was one of Reed Materials' largest suppliers. The folder contained duplicate invoices for shipments that appeared identical except for their payment instructions. One version directed funds to Northline's real bank account. The other directed a larger amount to a company called NL Consulting.

Over eighteen months, Reed Materials had paid NL Consulting $430,000.

At the bottom of the folder was a handwritten note from Thomas:

Victor approved every duplicate. Ask bank for beneficial owner. Do not confront until copies secured.

Emma photographed every page.

Clara sat in Thomas's chair.

"He knew."

"He suspected."

"And now the money in his personal account is sent away using a signature copied after his death."

Emma looked at the red folder.

"We need to know who owns NL Consulting."

The doorbell rang.

Victor Lang stood outside holding a covered dish and wearing the solemn expression he had used at the hospital.

"I thought neither of you would have eaten," he said.

Emma did not invite him in.

"Why do you have Dad's company laptop?"

Victor shifted the dish to his other hand.

"Operations cannot stop because Thomas is gone. Payroll is due tomorrow."

"Give it to me."

"It belongs to the company."

"So do I. Dad's shares pass to his estate, and I'm an executor under his will."

That information had reached her from the family attorney an hour earlier. Victor had not expected her to know it yet.

His eyes moved past her toward the study.

"You should not make business decisions while you're grieving."

"Did Dad confront you about Northline?"

Victor's face remained composed, but his fingers tightened around the dish.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Then you won't mind giving the laptop to the forensic accountant."

"There is no forensic accountant."

"There will be tomorrow."

Clara stepped into the hallway behind Emma.

Victor looked at the brown folder still under her arm.

"Did the bank resolve the medical authorization?"

Neither woman had told him about the missing money.

Emma saw Clara understand at the same moment.

"Why would the bank need to resolve it?" Clara asked.

Victor recovered quickly.

"You mentioned yesterday that you were unsure whether it remained valid."

"I said that at the hospital," Clara replied. "Before Thomas died."

Victor held out the dish.

"This is not the time for an interrogation."

Emma did not take it.

"You're right. The police can do that."

He left with the food still in his hands.

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