Page 1 of Silent Menace
Prologue
It’s so hot in here.
Frank Pierce considered releasing the top button of his dress shirt, but one look across the conference room table made him think better of it. Though his own tailored pinstripe was carefully pressed, it felt like a thrift-store rescue compared to his client’s navy bespoke suit.
At one time, he’d wondered how it would feel to nonchalantly drop thousands for a single suit of clothes. Such things held little appeal to him now. His finances, including what he’d squirreled away in an offshore emergency account, had been comfortably padded in recent years, but he’d lost everything important when Nikki filed for divorce and moved cross-country with their two sons. A pang shot through his chest. So much of what he’d done had been so they wouldn’t have to struggle like he did growing up.
“You seem on edge. Is something going on I should know about?”
Frank pulled his focus back to his client. Not for the first time, he wished he’d never gotten involved with Eukaria Investments. Never agreed to tamper with the records. Once he started down that path, there had been no turning back.
He wanted out. But while his list of things to live for had dwindled to almost nothing, he had zero desire to die in excruciating pain at the command of a man who viewed noncompliance as betrayal.
Sweat trickled from his temple, but he pasted on a smile. “No. Everything is going smoothly. Eukaria Investments’ accounts are spic-and-span.”
He’d covered their tracks well. The original documents, which he always received as hard copies, were safely hidden away. The “official” documents—the ones he’d spent countless hours cleaning up before entering into the accounting software, then reconciling and returning to his client—were the ones that would be referenced if someone else decided to look into things. To the casual observer, the documents would appear to be in order. He’d buried the most damaging evidence so deep, it shouldn’t ever be a problem—even in the case of a more thorough audit. But there was always a risk with this sort of thing, as they both knew. He could only do so much.
The man assessed him with icy blue eyes. Frank fought to maintain a placid expression despite the pressure building in his chest. The fingers on his left hand started to go numb, and he resisted the urge to flex them. This was no time to show weakness or anxiety.
Finally, the man nodded and leaned back. “Good. I knew we could count on you.” He flipped open a binder, and they spent the next fifteen minutes discussing business.
When his client rose to leave, Frank did as well. His breath hitched as pain shot through his chest, but the other man didn’t seem to notice. Pressing his hand to his heart, he forced a deep, shaky breath before rounding the table to see his client to the door.
Somehow he managed to say his good-byes without calling attention to his discomfort, but as he recrossed the room to gatherthe spreadsheets and other documents, he stumbled. Pain seized him again, and this time a moan escaped his lips.
Another stabbing pain sent him to his knees. Something was very wrong. His head began to swim, and darkness encroached on his vision. As he lost consciousness, his last thought was that he wished he could see Nikki and the boys one more time.
1
Something wasn’tright.
Hailey Nieland frowned at the spreadsheet on her left computer monitor. She compared it to the statement on the screen to her right.
The final numbers came out to the same total on both, but the transactions on the second document didn’t quite match the first.
She blew out a frustrated breath and took a sip from her bottled water. This was the third set she’d found anomalies in. The differences here were subtle though, cleaner by far than the most recent files the firm had delivered—the ones Frank had never gotten the chance to review.
If she’d known how much trouble these accounts would be, she wouldn’t have campaigned so hard to have them added to her client list. But when her coworker Frank Pierce succumbed to a heart attack after an early-morning client consultation last week, her boss had been scrambling to divvy up his clients among their remaining CPAs.
In truth, Hailey would prefer a slightly lighter load so she could spend more time with her daughter, but as a new widow and first-time single mom, she needed the extra income. And Eukaria Investments was a major catch. As Pendleton Accounting’s biggestclient, the investment firm came with a significant increase in salary for its primary CPA.
But it had been hard diving back into the workforce. While she’d kept her CPA certification up to date, she’d hoped to remain a stay-at-home mom at least until Jenna entered elementary school. All that had changed with her husband’s unexpected death last year.
At the thought of Wesley, her hand clenched, making the plastic water bottle crackle. Would there ever come a time when she’d be able to remember him without feeling the double slap of grief and anger?
She set the bottle on her desk, resisting the urge to take her frustration out on it. If she were at home and not in her office cubicle, surrounded by coworkers, the thing would be mangled already. Instead, she took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly.
With effort, she refocused on the problem at hand. The sooner she got this done, the sooner she could head to her parents’ to pick up Jenna. Her almost-two-year-old had adjusted to their new routine, and Hailey’s mom loved the opportunity to spend more time with her granddaughter, but Hailey hated how much she was missing of her little girl’s early years.
“Staying late again?”
Hailey started at the caustic voice behind her. She’d been too focused to notice Stefania approach. Her eyes drifted to the corner of the computer screen. Five twenty. It wasn’t that late.
“Just finishing up a few things.”
Stefania leaned her hip against the edge of Hailey’s desk. “Gleason’s gone. You can drop the industrious act.”
Hailey’s cheeks burned, but she kept her eyes on her work. “I’ve got a full load right now.” As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
