spread out in front of him, and a computer with Tallie’s general ledger on the screen, and everything seemed to be in order, to the extent that it was on the spreadsheet Jim had already seen. There was twenty-five thousand taken out in cash every month, but other than that, it was all accounted for.
And that afternoon they looked at the ledgers of the firm itself, and Victor’s own spreadsheet. By five o’clock Jim said they were through for now, would let him know if they had further questions and thanked Victor for his cooperation. Victor was mopping his brow with a white handkerchief when they left, and he looked exhausted. For a moment, he had thought they were going to arrest him and accuse him of stealing Tallie’s cash. Jim wished it could have been that simple, but there was no question in his mind, Victor Carson wasn’t it. Far from it. And he felt genuinely sorry for him.
“That poor old guy is going broke for some bimbo,” Jack Sprague said, after talking to the forensic accountant. “She spent two hundred thousand on plastic surgery last year alone, not to mention four hundred thousand on clothes. She must be something.”
“Probably not,” Jim said, grinning. “But he thinks she is. That’s the problem. It’s sad when women sucker in guys like that. What do you think of his books?”
“They look clean to me and the forensic guys,” Jack confirmed.
“They did to me too. I think we’re wasting our time if we go after him. He’s not cooking his books. He’s too busy trying to keep his head above water to keep his beauty queen happy.”
“She must be a real bitch,” Jack commented as they got back to their car in the garage underneath Victor’s building.
“She’s trying to hit him up for five million dollars,” Jim told him.
“He doesn’t have it,” Jack said emphatically.
“I know. He told me. Twenty-five thousand a month wouldn’t keep her happy for ten minutes. He knows it too, and it wouldn’t be worth the risk to him. He needs millions.”
“She spends more than twenty-five thousand on shoes,” Jack said, shaking his head as Jim started the car. They paid for the parking and drove away.
“Next,” Jim said with a smile. It had been an interesting day, but had gotten them nowhere, and they were going to have to go back to Victor Carson’s office to see his books another day. But he hadn’t really expected Victor Carson to be their embezzler. It would have been too simple and too sweet. And it never worked that way.
Their next meeting was with Hunter Lloyd the following week. Jim wanted to interview him. Hunt hadn’t been able to see them till then, he was too busy. His secretary said he was meeting with investors. Hunt looked concerned when Jim and Jack walked in. He thought they looked the way FBI men did in movies. They were perfect for the part, and just what he would have expected. He said so to them, and Jim laughed.
“Maybe we should audition for a movie,” Jim said with a broad smile, but he was taking the measure of the man as he observed Hunt. He already didn’t like him from what he knew about him. “Looking for new investors?” he asked Hunt casually, and he nodded.
“Yes, we’ve just had a problem with a deal that fell apart for our next picture,” Hunt said, looking distressed.
“And why is that?” Jim asked innocently. There were days when he loved being FBI and could ask any question he wanted, no matter how uncomfortable it made the subject. He could see Hunt didn’t like the question.
“Some of the elements fell out of bed on our next movie. We lost our director.”
“And who was that?”
“Tallie Jones,” Hunt said through pursed lips and then relaxed. “Maybe you knew that already?” Jim shook his head.
“You’re making a film with her right now, aren’t you?” Jim asked with interest.
“Yes, I am. But there have been some changes in our circumstances,” he said, and Jim raised an eyebrow. He was all ears and curious about how Hunt would explain it. “We were living together. I just moved out. You know how women are about those things. They get vengeful.” He tried to brush it off, and Jim nodded as though he understood completely. Jack had said nothing so far. He was watching the exchange and Hunt’s expression. He didn’t know the history as well as Jim did, but he knew enough to let Jim take the lead. Interrogation had always been Jim’s strong suit.
“How long were you together?” Jim asked him, pretending not to know. He was convincing.
“Four years.”
“That’s a long time. Sorry it didn’t work out.”
“So am I,” Hunt said, looking uncomfortable. “It’s complicated. We’re both busy, travel a lot. Sometimes it’s hard to keep things on track and heading in the right direction.” Jim nodded sympathetically and wanted to add “especially if you cheat and sleep with her best friend,” but didn’t.
“Understandable,” Jim said vaguely. “During the time you lived with her, did you ever get the feeling that anyone was taking advantage of her and stealing from her?”
“Not really,” Hunt said with a thoughtful look.
“Is she careless with money? Lose track of what she spends?”
“No, she’s not careless. But she’s busy, and she trusts other people to handle those things for her, and maybe she shouldn’t.”
“Like whom?”
“Her accountant, her assistant. Tallie gets so busy with her work that she forgets everything else. She likes having other people handle the details in her life, and she assumes they’re honest and will do it correctly.” Jim suspected that was an accurate description.
“Do you think her accountant is honest?” Jim asked then.
“Of course. He does my financial work too. I think he’s completely trustworthy. A little too conservative but good.”
“And her assistant?”
There was a long pause before Hunt answered. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “She and Tallie work very closely. They seem to have their own systems. I never interfered or asked much about what they did.”
“After four years?” Jim looked surprised.
“We weren’t married, and I didn’t think her finances were any of my business. She never asked for my advice.”
“Did you get the feeling, though, that her assistant was honest? Does she strike you as an honorable person?” It was a trick question, and Hunt couldn’t answer it, because he hadn’t been honest or honorable either, and he wondered if Jim knew it.
“I think Tallie thought so. They’ve worked together for seventeen years, and Tallie trusted her implicitly for that entire time.”
“And now?”
“There was some question about cash when I left. I think her assistant said something about my taking it. I never did. I don’t need Tallie’s money and never used it, for anything. And I do all my business by credit card. I assume that’s why you’re here, about the missing cash.”
“In part. And whatever else turns up along the way.” Jim smiled expansively at him. “Anything else about the assistant that you noticed or concerned you?” Hunt thought about it for a long minute, and Jim wondered what he was thinking.
“I think she wants to be Tallie. I always thought that,” Hunt said quietly. “That happens a lot in our business, with celebrities or stars. The people who work for them are starstruck, and then slowly they get sucked into wanting to be them. You hear about it all the time. They get a sense of entitlement by association, and confused about who they are and what their role is. Some of them are far grander than the stars themselves. Like in Tallie’s case, she’s a very modest person and very unpretentious and down to earth. Brigitte is a lot more glamorous than she is. I’ve always thought that she’s confused. She’s a classic Hollywood wannabe. She drives around in a fancy car, wears expensive clothes and a lot of jewelry. Tallie looks like she dresses at Goodwill, and will drive anything on wheels no matter how battered. Brigitte is a lot more conscious of her own image. And that’s expensive to maintain, although I’m sure Tallie pays her well and she gets a lot of perks with her job.”
“Like what?” Jim looked interested by what he was saying.
“Free clothes, free jewelry, free trips, a good deal on fancy cars.”
“And did you see a lot of those free gifts come in while you lived with Ms. Jones?”
