Scam

have been something. You’re on the phone with the cops and you’re like, Hey, there’s a body here.”
    “Uh-huh,” I said. “Do you know why he hired me?”
    “Not for sure. Why don’t you fill me in.”
    “He was concerned about the stockholders meeting. In particular, the election of the new chairman of the board. He and the other vice-presidents were vying for it, and he thought someone was trying to ace him out.”
    “Like, how?”
    “By making him appear foolish. And thereby costing him votes.”
    She frowned. “I’m not sure I follow you.”
    I wasn’t either. Whether it was the way she looked, the way she dressed, the way she talked, the way she lived, or all of the above, Amy Greenberg struck me as terribly young, and I had no idea how much of what I was saying was getting through.
    “Well,” I said, “why don’t I start at the beginning.”
    Amy poured another glass of Gatorade. “Well,” she said. “Like, okay.”
    I told her the whole thing. Just as I’d done for Alice. Just as I’d done for Richard. Just as I’d done for MacAullif. Just as I’d done for the cops. It occurred to me, a few more times, I might get pretty good at it.
    Amy Greenberg sat there drinking Gatorade and listened without interrupting until I was done. Then she frowned and said, “I don’t understand.”
    Actually, she had gotten more than I thought.
    “I mean,” she said, “you’re saying like, this guy set the whole thing up himself? To use at the stockholders meeting?”
    “That’s how it appeared.”
    “You don’t think that anymore?”
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “Yeah, but you’re like, That’s how it appeared. Why appeared?”
    “Because he’s dead. It makes no sense once he’s dead.”
    “Yeah, but, like, what if that’s why he’s dead?”
    I frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “I dunno.” She shrugged. “I mean, I don’t really know anything. But, like, what you say. If he was trying to ace the other guys out, and they find out about it, and they’re like, Hey, set me up, buddy, and they kill him.”
    “That’s a thought. Only …”
    “Only what?”
    “It seems a little extreme.”
    “Hey, the guy’s dead. Someone killed him.”
    “All right. Say that were true. Who do you think it would be?”
    “Hey, how should I know? I don’t know these guys. I don’t know the business. I’m a stockholder, sure, and Grandpa was chairman of the board. But that’s it. I never, like, worked there.”
    “But you’ve been to the office?”
    “I used to see Gramps.”
    “How about since he died?”
    “I went like once. Looked in his office for, you know, personal things. The accountant showed me around. He’s all, Sorry about your grandfather, and I’m like, Hey, you gotta go, you gotta go.”
    “Uh-huh. Is that the only time you were ever up there?”
    “Since he died. Yeah.”
    “Okay, look,” I said. “You’re not active in the business, but you do have a considerable amount of stock.”
    “Right. From Gramps.”
    “Are you going to the stockholders meeting?”
    “I guess I have to.”
    “Why?”
    “To vote.” She smiled. “You wouldn’t believe how I’m a very popular girl. All the guys are calling me up, wanting to talk.”
    “You mean members of the board?”
    “Right.”
    “Even Cranston Pritchert?”
    “Him too.”
    “Did you talk to them?”
    “Are you kidding? They’re like, Let me tell you how to vote, and I’m like, Down, boy, I’ll vote how I please. I may not know business, but I know what I like.”
    “Uh-huh,” I said. “So the point is, you’re going to the meeting because you have a financial interest at stake.”
    “Sure.”
    “Well, that’s why I’m here. Cranston Pritchert hired me to make an investigation. He was killed before I could complete it. Which is too bad, because I had some very promising leads. Now, this is your company. At least, one in which you have a large investment because you hold a good deal of stock. It would be to your advantage to make sure that no one within your company was doing anything which might undermine its best interests.”
    She looked at me a long moment, exhaled, ran her hand over her forehead, and said, “Whew. You mind trying that again? Like, what are you trying to say?”
    “I’m suggesting I complete my investigation. I’m wondering if you’d like to hire me to do so.”
    She frowned. “I’m not sure I understand.”
    Damn.
    She understood just fine. She just didn’t want