Miranda Vaughn Mystery 01.00 - Chasing the Dollar by Ellie Ashe Page B

office's general account."
    He gave me another piece of clothing—a navy blue T-shirt. Great, now I had a shirt and socks. And nothing else but a soggy towel.
    " You're saying Bill set you up?"
    I could hear the disbelief in his voice.
    "Yes."
    " How do you know this?"
    " You owe me another piece of clothing. You asked if I was saying Bill set me up, and I answered," I said.
    He rolled his eyes, reached into the bag and pulled out a pair of pink lace underwear, dangling the delicate fabric from his finger. I grabbed it and added it to my meager pile.
    "I found the evidence in the discovery from my case. If your coworkers had followed the money, they would have seen that the money was siphoned off from the Sahara Fund trust account to the ones set up in my name—by other people," I said, stressing that last part. "But then it was transferred to accounts under other Patterson Tinker offices, mostly Macau's energy group."
    Jake looked thoughtful as he pulled out a pair of khaki pants and handed them to me.
    "So, are you saying that the fraud scheme included more than just Tinker, Norquist, and you?"
    " I was not involved," I said, my voice rising.
    " What exactly were you going to tell Bill?"
    I put the pants on the counter and tried to gather my thoughts. If I told him my actual plan, he 'd probably arrest me. But he still had something in the bag, and I hoped it was a bra. And maybe a comb.
    " I wanted to show him the trail of the money transfers and see what he knew about it."
    He narrowed his eyes and stared at me, and suddenly, the damp towel and the door I was standing behind didn 't seem like much protection. Then he shook his head.
    " That one is a lie," he said.
    " Why do you say that?" I really wanted to ask how he knew I was lying. Did I have a tell? Or was he really that good at reading people?
    " Because you believe Bill set you up. You're not here to ask questions." He tilted his head and gave me a long stare. "And because I know Bill. He's a good poker player. He'd never give you the answers you want."
    " Can I please have another piece of clothing?"
    " Tell me your plan."
    Damn it .
    " I was going to convince Bill to transfer the thirty-seven million stolen from the Sahara Fund investors to an account so the victims could get their money back," I said.
    Deliberately, he opened the bag and looked in, then slowly drew out a bra that matched the panties he 'd already handed me. The man had pretty good taste in lingerie.
    I took it and slammed the door again. I ripped off tags and dressed quickly, marveling at how everything fit fairly well. The khaki capris were good quality, as was the T-shirt. I turned sideways and looked in the mirror. He was a little optimistic on the bra, but it would do. I dug into the side pocket of the messenger bag and found the flash drive from Bill's desk and tucked it into my pants pocket. I hadn't been able to look at it yet, but I knew it was important. Bill Macias wouldn't have hidden it there if it were inconsequential.
    Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and started to walk out but ran smack into Jake 's chest.
    " You're still here?"
    " If you would have answered another question, you could have had the rest," he said, handing me the shopping bag. I peeked in and saw a smaller bag from a drug store. Inside were a toothbrush, a comb, and shampoo and conditioner. I looked up and felt a wave of emotion that threatened tears.
    " Thank you," I said, setting the items on the counter. I didn't know why such a small gesture was making me teary. It was just more thoughtful than I was expecting. Especially after he held my clothes hostage. I decided to blame jet lag and exhaustion, since I'd just walked all over half of Macau.
    " It's just toothpaste and stuff," he said, seeming uncomfortable with the fact that he'd just disarmed me with some drugstore toiletries.
    I started trying to comb my hair, which was even more tangled after the temporary dye and thorough washing with cheap hotel