Chapter 5 - THE AUDITOR WHO VANISHED
Nathaniel Price had always carried peppermint candies.
He kept them in the top drawer of his desk.
Whenever Delia stayed late balancing payroll, he would leave one beside her keyboard.
For the accountant who never goes home, he'd joke.
Then, one November morning, he disappeared.
Harlan said he'd accepted a position overseas.
Delia had believed him.
Until now.
She searched the archived personnel records.
Nathaniel's resignation letter was there.
But something about it bothered her.
The formatting was wrong.
Nathaniel always used a specific date style.
Day, month, year.
The resignation letter used month, day, year.
A small detail.
Easy to overlook.
But Delia had processed his reports for years.
She called Martin.
“Did Nathaniel ever mention leaving?”
Martin frowned.
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“He said he was worried about something.”
Delia's stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Some invoices.”
She looked toward the office door.
“Did he tell you which ones?”
Martin shook his head.
“He said if anything happened, someone should check the old freight ledgers.”
Delia felt cold.
That evening, she met Casimir at a small restaurant near the harbor.
He arrived alone.
Or at least appeared to.
“Nathaniel didn't resign,” she said immediately.
Casimir sat opposite her.
“I know.”
“Is he dead?”
“We don't know.”
Delia swallowed.
“Then why isn't anyone looking for him?”
“People are.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
Nathaniel stood beside a warehouse entrance.
The image was grainy.
A date appeared in the corner.
November 18.
Three days after his supposed resignation.
Delia leaned forward.
“Where was this taken?”
“An old storage facility outside the city.”
“Who owns it?”
Casimir hesitated.
Then answered.
“Your father's company.”
Delia stared at the photograph.
Casimir continued.
“I need you to understand something.”
She looked up.
“Your father may be involved in something much larger than falsified invoices.”
Delia's voice shook.
“What?”
Casimir's expression hardened.
“Someone has been using legitimate freight shipments to conceal stolen goods and move money through shell companies.”
She stared.
“And Nathaniel Price may have discovered it.”
For the first time, Delia understood why Casimir Varo had crossed the ballroom for her.
May you like
He hadn't come to rescue an overlooked daughter.
He had come because she knew where the numbers were buried.
