Deadly Intuition(24)

“Funny like they’re secretly doing it, or funny like they’re secretly stealing money together?” Finn asked.

Sophie laughed despite herself. “I don’t get a gay vibe off of them, although now that thought is going to give me nightmares.”

“Then what did you mean?” Grady probed.

Sophie opened her mouth, unsure of how to give voice to her suspicions. “There’s something there that feels off. Morgan is the sheriff. He’s in charge. Yet there are times when it seems like Madison is the one wielding the power behind the scenes.”

“Give me some examples,” James said.

“Okay, well, about three months ago the two of them came to the office to meet with the editorial board,” Sophie said.

“What’s an editorial board?” Grady asked.

“It’s a bunch of editors and the publisher,” Mandy answered for Sophie. “They decide what position the newspaper takes on editorials, endorsements, things like that.”

James glanced at his girlfriend. “How do you know that?”

Mandy stuck her tongue out at him. “Because, during election cycles, all of the judges make appointments with the editorial board in the hope that the newspaper will endorse them.”

James wrinkled his nose. “Beauty and brains? You never cease to amaze me.”

Finn groaned. “So Morgan and Madison came into the office looking for an endorsement? It’s not an election year.”

“They came in wanting the newspaper to back them on a special millage they were proposing,” Sophie said.

“I haven’t heard anything about that,” Mandy said. “I would think that would be the talk of the courthouse – at least with the sheriff’s deputies there every day transporting prisoners.”

“I don’t know if they’re still doing it,” Sophie said. “What was interesting about their visit, though, was that Madison did all the talking. When Morgan even tried to give his opinion, Madison cut him off. It was just weird.”

“Okay,” James said. “What else?”

“It’s just little things really,” Sophie said. “Madison is always giving Morgan tips before a press conference, directing him on which questions to take and which ones to ignore. It’s just a weird relationship.”

“Maybe Morgan needs the help,” Finn suggested. “Maybe he’s not really capable of doing the job and they’re hiding that fact.”

“I have considered that,” Sophie admitted. “I’m just not sure.”

“Well, let’s finish eating and get to work,” James said. “This list isn’t going to run itself.”





Eleven


Sophie paired up with Grady to work, everyone agreeing to sort through her documents before running any specific searches. Grady’s presence was comforting – and conflicting at the same time. He felt warm and safe – and yet he also made her stomach coil with unexpressed attraction.

Being around him was dangerous for her emotional wellbeing. She couldn’t force herself away from him. She barely knew him, she reminded herself. She’d spent a grand total of ten hours with the man. It was like he was emitting some form of gravitational pull, and it was pulling her directly into his orbit every chance she got.

“I think I found something,” Finn announced.

Four heads shifted in his direction.

“This document seems to show a transfer of six-hundred-thousand dollars from the county,” Finn said. “There is no document acknowledging the transfer, though. All the other monetary transfers have both documents.”

Sophie moved over to him, taking the sheet of paper so she could look at it more closely. “Yeah, this came in a packet from the county about four weeks ago.”

“Was it one of your FOI requests?” James asked.

“No, it was just in the general packet.”

The Hardy brothers exchanged confused looks. They were slightly out of their depth here. Mandy filled in the blanks for them. “Any time something is put on the agenda there has to be some sort of notification,” she explained. “It could be as simple as a written request from one of the commissioners. When it comes to financial stuff, the subcommittees usually supply the paperwork. All that paperwork is then copied and put into a packet – and anyone, including the general public, has access to that packet.”

“Who supplied that document?” James asked.

Sophie shrugged. “No one signed it. There’s no committee affiliation. It’s just a random sheet of paper.”

“It has numbers on top,” Finn pointed out.

“Yeah, I don’t know what those are,” Sophie said.