repeatedly warned her that questioning their financial reports could be treated as misconduct.
Then she said something the investigator had not expected.
"The missing bookkeeper tried to report the same problem."
He leaned forward. "The bookkeeper who stopped appearing at work last year?"
She nodded. "They told everyone she'd resigned. But before she disappeared, she gave me an envelope."
"What was inside?"
"A list of account numbers and property addresses."
The investigator asked whether the administrator still possessed it.
She looked frightened again.
"I put it somewhere safe."
"Would you be willing to identify it for us?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes. But you have to understand something."
He waited.
"The payments weren't just going to construction companies."
Her voice trembled.
"Some were going to people who could make complaints disappear."
The information reached the federal agent shortly before six that evening.
By then, she had completed a medical examination documenting soreness and bruising around the arm and shoulder the blonde officer had grabbed. The injury was not severe, but it was important to record what had happened rather than dismiss the physical contact simply because she had avoided a more serious fall.
She returned to the investigative office wearing a plain charcoal jacket over her champagne-colored dress. The gown remained perfectly beautiful, but she was no longer thinking about its appearance.
Her focus was on the evidence.
The black case had been transferred through the authorized custody procedure. Its exterior seals and documented condition were consistent with the records prepared before the agent arrived at Asheford headquarters.