“No.”
It was the first answer Hale gave too quickly.
I pulled the final folder from inside my coat.
This one was thin.
Hale saw the label.
His face went gray.
CH CONSULTING LLC.
“Your Honor,” I said, “Mr. Hale receives referral payments through this company.”
Hale stood.
“This is outrageous.”
“CH,” I continued, “stands for Curtis Hale.”
“That company has legitimate business functions.”
“Yes. Including receiving $146,000 from Silver Pines during the past thirty months.”
Silence.
The judge stared at Hale.
“Is that true?”
Hale looked around the courtroom.
For the first time, he seemed to understand there was nowhere left to perform.
“Those were consulting payments.”
“For what services?”
“I would need to review records.”
“I already reviewed them,” I said.
He glared at me.
I almost felt twenty years younger.
“Forensic accountants are irritating that way.”
Judge Mercer called another recess.
But this one was different.
He instructed the clerk to contact the county prosecutor.
Hale protested.
The judge ignored him.
Daniel sat with his head in his hands.
Vanessa remained perfectly still.
I thought the worst revelation had passed.
I was wrong.
Five minutes before the prosecutor arrived, Daniel approached me.
The deputy stopped him several feet away.
