He removed a USB drive.
"I couldn't prove it."
"What's on this?"
"Everything I found before they forced me out."
Michael took the drive.
"Who forced you out?"
Thomas looked at him.
"Your predecessor."
Michael frowned.
"The previous Director of Strategic Operations?"
Thomas nodded.
"She discovered the scheme and tried to expose it."
"What happened?"
"She disappeared from the company within a month."
Michael stared at the USB drive.
"Why didn't the CEO stop it?"
Thomas didn't answer.
That silence was answer enough.
Michael returned to headquarters and connected the drive to a secure investigation computer.
The files contained financial records dating back six years.
Then Michael found a spreadsheet.
One column contained company payments.
Another showed where the money went.
At the bottom was a total.
$11,842,600.
More than eleven million dollars.
Michael sat back.
This wasn't an accounting error.
It was organized fraud.
And the final page contained names.
Victoria Hayes.
Richard Hayes.
Three department heads.
Two outside contractors.
And one final name.
CEO — Robert Langford.
Michael stared at the screen.
For the first time, the CEO's friendly expression from the executive meeting seemed different.
Maybe he wasn't the person who hired Michael to expose corruption.
Maybe he had hired Michael to discover exactly how much Michael already knew.
Then his office door opened.
The CEO stood there.
"You've been busy."
Michael slowly closed the laptop.
"Very."
Robert Langford smiled.
"I think it's time we had a conversation."
CHAPTER 5 — THE EXECUTIVE'S QUESTION
Robert Langford entered Michael's office alone.
He closed the door.
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then the CEO sat down.
"Do you know why I chose you?"
Michael looked at him.
"Because you needed someone to investigate the company."
"Partly."
"What's the other reason?"
Langford smiled.
"Because you don't look like an executive."
Michael said nothing.
"You walked into this building wearing inexpensive clothes. You carried a basic bag. You didn't announce your qualifications."
"I didn't think I needed to."
"Exactly."
Langford leaned forward.
"I needed someone nobody would take seriously."
Michael's eyes narrowed.
"So you knew."
"I knew there were problems."
"Did you know about the $11 million?"
Langford's expression changed.
"No."
Michael watched him carefully.
"That's not what the records suggest."
Langford stood.
"You need to understand something. I didn't create this."
"Then who did?"
"People who believed they could manipulate the company without me knowing."
Michael opened the laptop.
"Victoria's husband received payments."
Langford nodded.
"Yes."
"Department heads approved fake contracts."
"Yes."
"Your signature appears on some of them."
"I signed hundreds of documents."
Michael stared at him.
"Then perhaps you should have read them."
The CEO didn't respond.
Michael continued.
"The real question is why you hired me."
Langford walked toward the window.
"Because I knew someone was preparing to destroy the company."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Victoria?"
"No."
"Richard?"