We met during the renovation of an old hotel in New York.
He handled finance and development relationships.
I managed construction and restoration.
Together, we'd expanded Whitmore Development into a profitable company with projects across Connecticut and neighboring states.
Graham had attended Claire's funeral.
He'd helped me manage urgent work during the months after her death.
And when I married Vanessa, he'd stood beside me during the ceremony.
Now I was staring at a photograph of him meeting secretly with the woman who later became my wife.
The image alone didn't prove wrongdoing.
They had both worked with the Harbor House Initiative.
There could have been legitimate reasons for a meeting.
But the date troubled me.
November 9.
Eight days before Claire died.
I showed the photograph to Daniel.
He examined it.
Then looked toward me.
โDid you know they were working together?โ
I shook my head.
โNot on anything Claire would have wanted kept from me.โ
He nodded slowly.
For several seconds, he remained quiet.
Then asked, โWho had authority over the invoices Claire was investigating?โ
I thought about the foundation's structure.
Its finance committee.
The external accountant.
The property-development vendors.
Then I remembered something.
Graham had recommended several consultants for the South Haven housing project.
He'd introduced them to Claire months earlier.
At the time, it seemed helpful.
Now I wasn't sure.
I opened the other photographs.
One showed a page from a financial spreadsheet.
Several transfers were circled in red.
Another showed an invoice bearing the name Alder Point Advisory.
I recognized the company.
Or thought I did.
Alder Point had supposedly provided development consulting and environmental compliance services.
I remembered hearing Graham mention the firm during a business meeting.
But I had never worked directly with its employees.
Daniel studied the documents.
Then looked toward me.
โWe should not assume the invoices are fraudulent simply because Claire questioned them.โ
I nodded.
โOf course.โ
He continued.
โBut the pattern is serious enough to justify an independent forensic review.โ
I agreed immediately.
By that afternoon, we'd arranged for an outside accounting firm to examine the relevant records through lawful access and oversight procedures.
My own company's finance department would also be reviewed independently.
That decision frightened me.
Not because I believed I had stolen money.
Because I no longer knew what my business partner might have done using our company's name.