Page 18 of Lost Without You
“Ms. Desoumas, nice to meet you.”
Dalton reached out and Rachel shook his hand, his grip tight but efficient. His stony expression didn’t waver. This was not a man to mess with.
He must be an excellent poker player…
Dalton turned and walked around to sit across from them.
“So, you’re here with questions about the accounting firm Harrison, June and Rodwell, aka HJR. I can only speak about the 1998 investigation.”
“The IRS audit,” Ethan murmured.
Dalton nodded. “Correct. The IRS contacted us with documentation that suggested one of the firm’s employees, Derek Salitzo, was helping select clients create a fake paper trail to inflate revenue, concealing losses. The case was brought to trial, but six months later he was acquitted. That’s public record so you can contact the D.A. here in New York if you want further details about the trial.”
Ethan nodded. “Okay. What kind of clients were under scrutiny?”
“Real estate construction companies. As I said, the defendant was acquitted. At the time of the alleged fraud, in the eighties, all the accounting firm records and documents were being transferred from paper files to electronic. The defendant claimed that the documentation wasn’t falsified but rather there were mistakes made in the new, electronic versions, hence the discrepancies. It was a plausible explanation. Enough so that the judge acquitted him.”
“And who were the clients?”
“One was G.H. Sons Ltd., the other Killarney Property Management. Large scale construction based in New York.”
“Was anyone else from HJR called to testify?” Ethan murmured.
“The major partners did, as well as the supervisor.”
“Lawrence June?” he asked and glanced at Rachel.
Goosebumps broke out on Rachel’s skin.
“Yes.”
Rachel tapped Ethan’s arm. “Off the record, Dalton, do you think it was a matter of internal administrative errors or was this guy helping his clients cook the books?”
One of Dalton’s eyebrows raised, and it was the first tell that Rachel had noticed since meeting him.
“Looking over the file, I think they used the document transition as an excuse. Both clients declared bankruptcy within a year of the trial.”
“Another off the record question—if it was a matter of fraud, do you think the higher ups at Harrison were involved?” she asked.
“They’re a large firm. It’s possible that it was fraud by this one individual, and it went under the radar. We examined his bank account records, but there were no major deposits that would signal a bribe had been paid.”
Ethan shifted in his seat and leaned forward. “Rachel’s father, Walter Hoffman, worked for HJR as an auditor in the same group as this individual. Walter went missing in 1989, he left one night and never returned home. He wasn’t reported missing because he left a note, and it suggested he left of his own volition, that his family was better off. But he didn’t withdraw any money prior to, or shortly after, leaving. And I am not of the opinion he left entirely without provocation.”
“And why is that?” Dalton asked as he mirrored Ethan’s gesture and placed his elbows on the table.
“In strictest confidence, we recently found a disk hidden in Walter’s possessions.”
“A disk?”
“A floppy disk. You’ve probably never seen one before,” Ethan quipped.
“I’m a computer nerd and a history buff so I can assure you I have. I even have an Atari console—original condition. But go on,” Dalton smirked.
“I have someone analyzing the disk as we speak. The data on it suggests it’s a ledger.”
Dalton’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second and then shuttered again. “Really? You will let me know what you find on the disk? Unofficially, of course.”
Ethan smiled and leaned back. “Of course.”