Federal prosecutors entered by afternoon.
Sterling Crown stopped calling the matter a civil dispute.
At 5:40, the maintenance worker was identified.
Not an employee.
Temporary contractor badge.
Name false.
Photograph matched a security consultant connected to a company owned by Crown Performance Partners.
Imani sat in a conference room when Margaret Lee brought coffee.
“You’ve been here eleven hours.”
“Thank you.”
Margaret sat.
“Can I ask something?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think this bank is criminal?”
Imani looked toward her.
“No.”
Margaret seemed surprised.
“You found fake mandates.”
“Executives.”
“Missing ledger.”
“Stolen trusts.”
“Yes.”
“So?”
“Banks aren’t people.”
“People inside banks make decisions.”
“Systems reward or stop them.”
Margaret looked toward the windows.
“I’ve worked here twenty-two years.”
Imani waited.
“I keep wondering what I missed.”
“Probably things.”
“That’s comforting.”
“You asked.”
Margaret smiled weakly.
Imani continued:
“You also probably stopped things you don’t remember.”
“How would I know?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“That’s the problem with honest work.”
“It rarely creates dramatic evidence of disasters that didn’t happen.”
Margaret looked at her.
“You always talk like this?”
“Only when tired.”
They drank coffee.
Then Margaret said:
“There’s a rumor.”
“About?”
“Graham met with board members last night.”
Imani looked toward her.
“Which?”
“Two.”
“Names?”
Margaret hesitated.
Imani waited.
“Samuel Keene.”
“General counsel.”
“And Eleanor Whittaker.”
The CEO’s sister.
Board vice chair.
Interesting.
“What did they discuss?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then it’s not useful yet.”
Margaret laughed.
“You’re impossible.”
Imani looked toward her.
“Useful rumors become evidence after somebody does the unpleasant part.”
“What unpleasant part?”
“Asking people who don’t want to answer.”
By the next morning, Sterling Crown’s board had split.
Some wanted Charles Whittaker placed on leave.
Others argued that doing so would imply guilt and destabilize the bank.
General counsel Samuel Keene resigned at 7:15.
By 7:40 he had hired criminal defense counsel.
By 8:10 prosecutors had issued preservation demands for his personal devices.
At 9:03, Graham Vale failed to appear for a scheduled interview.
At 9:20, his attorney said he was “unavailable.”
At 9:41, bank security reported Graham’s company car missing.
At 10:05, news helicopters began appearing over the downtown branch.
Someone had leaked.
By noon, customers were lining outside.
Not a run yet.
Fear.
Sterling Crown issued a statement:
The bank is cooperating with authorities regarding a limited internal matter affecting a small number of legacy accounts. Customer deposits and ordinary operations remain secure.
Imani read it.
“Limited.”
She almost laughed.
Daniel stood beside her.
“You hate statements.”
“I hate adjectives pretending to be evidence.”
He smiled.
Then:
“They found Graham’s car.”
“Where?”
“O’Hare.”
“Flight?”
“No record.”
“Passport?”
“Not used.”