An independent review found that several expenses charged against the Copper Pot related to goods supplied elsewhere.
The company had also deducted meal payments from workers without remitting corresponding amounts to the kitchen.
The combined effect made Loretta's operation appear deeply indebted while money and supplies were being diverted through accounts she didn't control.
When the figures were corrected, the alleged nine-hundred-dollar debt began disappearing.
Then the review uncovered an unexpected result.
After accounting for the verified meals, legitimate deliveries, and payments already collected, the company appeared to owe Loretta money.
A considerable amount.
She stared at the preliminary calculation.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she looked toward Elias.
"How can that be?"
He smiled gently.
"Because you were doing the work."
Her eyes filled.
She looked down at the ledger.
For eighteen months, she'd been told she was incapable of managing a kitchen.
Now the records suggested the kitchen had earned money all along.
Somebody else had simply controlled where it went.
The investigation into the mine collapse also advanced.
Arthur Finch provided copies of his warnings about the northern gallery.
The rescue workers described the conditions they found.
And several miners gave statements about repairs that had been postponed despite repeated concerns.
The mine's investors eventually sent an independent representative to Red Dog.
He was a serious man named Charles Whitcomb, accustomed to reviewing mining operations and financial records. He didn't arrive promising to punish everyone or solve every problem in a day.
He asked questions.
Then requested documents.
Pritchard initially resisted.
He claimed the company had been overwhelmed by weather and emergency repairs.
Bram blamed individual miners for failing to report unsafe conditions properly.
But Arthur's written warnings contradicted parts of those explanations.
The supplier invoices raised additional questions.
And the payroll deductions had already attracted attention from workers who could provide their own statements.
Charles spent several days examining the records.
Then he met privately with Loretta.
She sat at the kitchen table with her ledgers open.
Elias remained nearby but allowed her to explain the business.
Charles listened.
When she finished, he asked several detailed questions about how vouchers were collected, how meals were counted, and how supplies were recorded.
Loretta answered each one.
She didn't pretend to know what happened inside the payroll office.
She explained only what she'd observed and what her records supported.
When she couldn't answer a question, she said so.
Charles seemed to appreciate that.