Chapter 9 - The Files in the Office
I didn't go into the organizer's office.
I called Sloan and told her exactly what I had overheard.
She reminded me that being right about a person's character didn't excuse unlawful entry or recording where someone expected privacy.
I stayed in the hallway until Martin emerged.
He saw me and stopped.
“You just can't leave it alone, can you?”
“Mrs. Ortega asked a fair question.”
“You're ruining good work because you don't like me.”
“If it's good work, the records will show it.”
His eyes flickered toward the door behind him.
He was thinking about something inside.
Ellis appeared, his smile polished and empty.
“Major Bennett,” he said.
“I believe there's been a misunderstanding.”
“I hope so,” I replied.
“Then transparency should clear it up.”
He offered to email financial summaries after the event.
I wrote down his business contact information and said I'd welcome independent documentation.
The promises sounded easy.
Keeping them would be harder.
On the way home Mom was silent.
I finally asked what she was thinking.
“That I introduced Martin to people who trusted me,” she said.
“He met my church friends, my neighbors, the ladies from the library.”
“You didn't know.”
“I stopped asking questions because every question became a fight.”
I couldn't tell her that didn't matter.
It mattered to her.
She had to find a way to forgive herself without pretending nothing had happened.
That night Mrs.
Ortega called Ward.
She had retained the original fundraiser brochure and an email showing who had supplied the altered photograph.
The email came from Heritage Service Consulting.
Ward asked whether she'd be willing to speak to an investigator rather than participate in a public argument.
She agreed.
The next morning Sloan helped Mom assemble a timeline of payments, authorizations, and calls.
The packet was unglamorous.
Receipts, dates, signed forms, names.
It was also stronger than every dramatic accusation Martin had made.
Then the doorbell rang.
Two people stood on the porch.
One introduced himself as a county investigator.
The other asked whether Martin Hale was home.
May you like
They had come to ask about reports involving the fundraising organization.
And someone had already told them that my mother was its treasurer.
