SHE MADE SURE SHE CAME to work early on Monday, determined to work on her investigation before her formal responsibilities grabbed her attention for the day.
First, she needed to compare notes with Linda and see if she had learned anything since Friday.
“Come in,” Linda said after Heather knocked on her office door.
Heather walked in and quietly shut the door behind her. “Linda, do you have a few minutes to go over the investigation? I found out some new information over the weekend.”
“I heard some of the details about the electricians from Dover’s legal team. I have some other information for you, too.” Linda motioned for her to sit down. “I was just about to text you to request a meeting to discuss it. Why don’t you start?”
“Okay.” Heather took her seat across from Linda’s desk and quickly filled her in on what the electricians had revealed over the weekend.
“Well, the information I got is connected to that,” she said. “One of Dover’s accountants got in touch with me. He found a payment to the electrical company. It looked like a payment directly from Dover, Inc.”
“That doesn’t sound too unusual,” Heather said.
“At first glance it looked normal, but according to the accountant the payment was made for work done on Simon’s building.”
The hairs on her neck stood up at Linda’s words. “But Simon paid them personally. I know that because I was his assistant at the time and I got a copy of the invoice. He paid them for their work.”
“He did,” Linda said with a nod. “But someone at Dover used one of our executive accounts to pay them for the exact same job.”
“They got paid double?” Heather’s eyes widened. “What is that? Hush money?”
“The accountant thinks the second payment was made to make sure that the electricians did exactly what they were instructed to do.” Linda shook her head, as if in disbelief at the magnitude of what they were dealing with. “They were paid a second payment to make sure they sent the photos and that the system was down so it could be hacked.”
“But over the weekend, they never said anything to us about a second payment,” Heather said.
“Of course, they didn’t. They’re already in hot water. A second payment just looks like they were bribed to commit a crime.”
“Do you think they were bribed?” Heather asked.
“No. I think the electricians were in over their heads and probably got conned,” Linda replied. “They’re too afraid to reveal how badly they screwed up because that opens them up to lawsuits and worse.”
“They seemed afraid that the police were going to get involved,” Heather said.
Linda sighed heavily. “No wonder they kept the second payment to themselves.”
“This is really bad, isn’t it?” Heather bit her lip as she took in everything she had learned. Simon probably knew the person who had done this. He might not know who the hacker was, but he likely dealt with that person on a regular basis. Maybe even trusted them.
Unease settled into her stomach. After the meeting with the electricians, he had been so focused on her. He had even apologized to her again. Then they had fooled around in his living room like a couple of high school kids. He hadn’t given any hint that the revelation had unnerved him. It was so like him to exude confidence while hiding his concerns and anxieties.
Heather didn’t know how he did it. How did he manage to run a billion-dollar corporation every single day while projecting such a calm demeanor all the time? She had always admired him, but right now she admired him more than she ever had. The weight of all his responsibilities must have been absolutely crushing.
No wonder he had been so quick to accuse her. His accusations had stung, but he had been double-crossed before. She might not be betraying him, but someone at Dover definitely was. Simon’s faith in her and belief in her innocence wasn’t something she planned on taking for granted.
“It’s especially bad because, whoever the hacker is, they probably have a powerful position in the company.” Linda frowned. “I’m not going to lie to you, Heather, but even I’m a suspect.”