Ride With Me (Paige and Jace) novel Chapter 235

CHAPTER 135-2

I left the office and drove to one of the towing yards. The manager, Rick, met me near the office.

“Morning, Jace.” He said.

“Morning.” I said as he looked concerned

“Something wrong?” He asked.

“I’m checking the books.” I said and his eyebrows lifted.

“Why?” He said.

“We found some irregularities.” I said and he immediately looked uncomfortable.

“I haven’t stolen anything.” He said.

“I didn’t say you had.” I said.

“I just mean…” He started saying.

“I know.” I said as I held up a hand.

“Have you noticed any unusual invoices?” I asked and Rick thought for a moment.

“There have been a few.” Rick said.

“How few?” I asked.

“Maybe five or six.” He said.

“What kind?” I asked.

“Parts, fuel, repairs.” He said.

“Did anything seem wrong?” I asked.

“Not at the time.” He said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because the amounts weren’t big.” He said and I nodded.

“That’s the point.” I said and he frowned.

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

“Someone may be skimming money.” I said and Rick’s face changed.

“From the business?” He asked.

“Possibly.” I said.

“How?” He asked.

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We don’t know yet.” I said as he folded his arms.

So what do you want me to do?” He asked.

“Keep doing your job.” I said and he looked confused.

“That’s it?” He asked.

“That’s it.” I said.

I wanted whoever was responsible to believe nothing had changed.

If someone inside the business knew we were investigating, they’d stop. Or worse, they’d cover their

tracks.

I checked another business that afternoon, and the manager gave me similar answers.

Small discrepancies. Duplicate charges. Invoices that had been paid twice. Nothing dramatic. Nothing that screamed theft.

That was what bothered me most. Someone had built a system around being invisible.

By the time I returned to the clubhouse, Ethan was still working and Derek was standing beside him.

“What did you find?” Derek asked.

“Same pattern.” I said and he nodded.

“Anything connecting it to Victor?” He asked.

“Not yet.” I said as Derek crossed his arms.

“Do you think it’s him?” Derek asked.

“I don’t know.” I said.

“That’s a first.” He said and I looked at him.

“What?” I asked.

“You usually have a theory.” He said.

“I’ve got several.” I said.

“Which one do you trust?” He asked.

“None of them yet.” I said and Ethan looked up.

“That’s probably wise.” He said as I sat down beside him.

“Show me everything.” I said and he opened the records again.

We spent the next two hours going through transaction after transaction. The deeper we went, the stranger it became.

The missing money wasn’t concentrated in one place. It moved through different accounts, different

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eompanies, and different dates and sometimes it was a hundred dollars.

Sometimes it was three hundred. Sometimes it was less than fifty. But when Ethan totaled it, the amount became significant and stared at the figure.

“That’s how much?” I asked:

“That we can identify.” Ethan said.

“You’re kidding.” I said.

“No.” He said as I leaned back.

“Whoever is doing this has been patient.” I said.

“They’ve had to be.” He said as I looked at the spreadsheet.

“Can you identify where the money ends up?” I asked.

“Some of it.” He said.

“Show me.” I said and Ethan opened another file.

Several payments went to ordinary-looking companies. Cleaning services. Equipment suppliers. Parts distributors. Security contractors.

“These are legitimate.” I said.

“Some are.” He said.

“Some?” I asked and he clicked on one.

“The company dissolved two years ago.” He said and I looked at another.

“Same.” I said.

Another.

“Same. Someone is using dead companies.” I said.

“Or companies that only exist on paper.” Ethan said as I stared at the screen.

“Can you trace the bank accounts?” I asked.

“That’s harder.” He said.

“Do it anyway.” I said.

“I will.” He said and the office door opened and Owen walked in carrying a folder.

“I think I found something.” Owen said and everyone looked at him.

“What?” I asked as he placed the folder on the desk.

“I went through the transaction dates Ethan gave me, and I compared them against the old business records.” Owen said as Ethan frowned.

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“What did you find?” Ethan asked as Owen opened the folder.

These.” Owen said.

He spread several pages across the desk and I looked down.

At first, I saw nothing unusual. Then Owen pointed to three transactions.

“These payments were made to different companies, but they were all processed within minutes of each other.” Owen said as I leaned closer.

“When?” I asked.

“Same day.” He said.

“How much?” I asked and Owen gave me the figures.

“What connects them?” I asked.

“That’s the interesting part.” He said as he pointed to the next column.

“Same account number was used as the receiving account.” He added as Ethan sat forward.

“That’s impossible.” Ethan said.

“That’s what I thought.” Owen said as he handed him another page.

“But there’s more.” Owen said as I looked at him.

“What?” I asked and Owen pointed to the dates.

“These transactions happened just before money was withdrawn from one of the club’s reserve accounts.” Owen said and my expression hardened.

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