“I don’t understand it either,” Kayla said.
The light turned green, and I stepped on the gas. “Then again, he was probably arrogant enough to think he could get away with it.”
I continued driving for five more minutes and then pulled into an industrial center. Once I located the right office building, I parked and we got out of the car. We entered through the lobby, and using the directory, found the law firm. A few minutes later, the secretary showed us to Mr. Bishop’s office, and we sat in chairs on the other side of his desk. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and gray-striped tie, and a black suit jacket was draped over the back of his chair. The man appeared to be in his late forties with thinning hair and a salt and pepper goatee.
“How can I help you?” he asked. “You said you had concerns about the investments my former financial planner recommended.” He folded his hands and smiled. “You realize I haven’t used him in years, right?”
“Yes, we’re aware,” I said. “But before we go into more, I’d like to know why you got rid of his services.”
He ran his fingers over his goatee and appeared to consider the question. “He was a nice guy—don’t get me wrong—but something felt off to me, and I couldn’t figure out how he was making that much money. The investments he described seemed average at best, but they were highly successful. Most people wouldn’t have complained, but in my mind, either he had magic fingers or he was involved in shady dealings.”
“Do you have any proof of wrongdoing?” I asked.
“No. It was just a gut instinct.” He rubbed his chin and tilted his head to the side. “I was tempted by his offer to invest in his Airbnbs but—”
“Wait,” Kayla said, holding up a hand. “What Airbnbs?”
“Oh, apparently he has a bunch of them. Said it was easy money.”
“Robert owns houses that he uses as Airbnbs?” Kayla jerked her head back in shock. “Sorry for being repetitive, but I’m still trying to process that.”
Greg nodded patiently. “He showed me pictures of the houses and said tourists coming to L.A. booked time throughout the year. He offered to give me a percentage of the profits if I made a substantial payment upfront.”
Kayla and I gave each other knowing looks. I cleared my throat. “Why did you decide not to take him up on his offer?”
“It seemed too good to be true, so I decided to use someone else. To be honest, I’d much rather invest in stocks and mutual funds.”
I pressed my lips together, hating what I had to explain. “You may not be aware of this, but Robert mishandled your money.”
Greg frowned. “How are you privy to that information?”
In the next twenty minutes, I walked him through what Lillian had shown us and explained how his money had been used. He was understandably angry and asked for copies of the files. We didn’t bring the evidence with us since the files technically belonged to Robert and we weren’t sure what the legal ramifications would be. We told him that we planned to go to the police and would let him know when we did. He could follow up with them.
When we walked back to the car, Kayla’s hands were shaking, and she looked like someone had just slid a fingernail down her spine. “I’m so freaked out right now. If Robert has Airbnbs…”
“What are you thinking?”
“That list of addresses I found on the ground after I was attacked. The police told me they were all Airbnbs.”
My eyes widened. “That’s too coincidental. It has to mean something.”
Chapter 17
Kayla
“These are serious accusations,” Detective Marlow said, grimly.
Troy and I had set up an appointment to give him the copies of Greg Bishop’s file and the bookkeeping. We had also relayed our concerns that the list of addresses found after my attack might be Robert’s Airbnbs, and if that was the case, something more sinister was going on. Most likely it was just a coincidence.
That was my hope.
I didn’t want to believe Robert was behind either of my attacks, but I owed it to myself and Daniel to hand over this information to Detective Marlow. It was out of my hands now and he would look into it.
The detective turned his attention back to the file and bookkeeping. “Why isn’t your ex-coworker, Lillian here as well? She’s the one who discovered the issue and made copies.”
I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. Lillian wanted to stay out of it, but I wasn’t sure that was possible. “She hates conflict, and Troy and I said we’d talk to you in her place. I think she’s concerned about legal issues in regard to taking files out of the office that didn’t belong to her.”
He nodded slowly. “Got it. I’ll still need her number so I can speak with her more.” He let out a sigh. “For the time being, we’ll take a police report and I’ll launch an investigation, but it will take a while to look through everything. This won’t be a quick process. You should also report this to the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
“Okay, we can do that.”
“If you need another witness, contact Greg Bishop,” Troy said. “We met with him and he’s aware of what happened. I’m sure he’ll have a lot to say about it.” Troy gestured to the file. “His phone number is in there.”
Detective Marlow nodded and folded his hands on his desk. “By the way, Tom Coleman contacted me last week and informed me that he lied about Victor Moore’s alibi. I plan
