Elizabeth held back a groan. She didn’t want to deal with this now, not with April on her mind, but she couldn’t put it off forever. “Send her in.”
A second later the door opened. As Linda Tremont crossed the carpeted expanse between the door and her mahogany desk, Elizabeth noticed that the woman seemed to have aged ten years since the first time they’d met. Behind the glasses she wore there were puffy circles of worry under her eyes, and her mouth was a thin line of tension. Even her posture was stiff and anxious.
She perched nervously on the edge of one of the pair of wingback chairs in front of the desk. “Have you finished the report yet? I need to know,” she said without preamble. “I heard from another investor this week who’s very worried. Word’s getting out that Tony’s being investigated—”
“Mrs. Tremont—”
“Call me Linda,” she broke in, her voice rising slightly. “I prefer anyone who gives me bad news to at least use my first name.”
Linda looked as if she might shatter, and Elizabeth gazed at her with compassion. She liked her and could certainly understand her worry.
“I haven’t finished my report yet,” Elizabeth said gently. “I’ve done some preliminary work, but I can’t give you any details, and I’m sure you understand why.”
“But you contacted me! Why can’t you tell me more?”
“I had to talk to you in order to obtain your records, and you’ve been very cooperative, which I appreciate. But I can’t get into the facts of the case with you, Linda, I’m sorry. That’s just not how I work.”
“Don’t give me the specifics, then,” she urged. “But please…I need to know for my clients’ sake as much as for my own. Is…is Tony in trouble?”
Elizabeth sipped from a glass of water on her desk, trying to buy time and figure out how to say what Linda needed to hear without giving away too much. She had to be very careful. She chose her words with precision. “Are you familiar with the term churning?”
“Of course I am. That’s when brokers have their clients buy and sell stock just to generate more commissions for themselves.” Her eyes grew large. “Are you saying Tony’s been churning accounts?”
Elizabeth kept quiet. S.E.C. investigations were not secret affairs; they couldn’t be because of their complex nature and the longevity of the task, but Elizabeth had her own set of rules. She’d already said more than she usually did.
Taking Elizabeth’s silence for the answer it was, Linda Tremont removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. “How much?” She didn’t look up.
“I’m not at liberty to say.”
Linda Tremont’s voice went up. “Thousands? Millions? Can’t you give me some idea?”
Elizabeth glanced down at her desk, then up again. “If churning were involved, and I’m not saying it is, then I’d point to the latter figure as more accurate than the former.”
Linda gasped. “My God! I…I can’t believe this!”
Again Elizabeth stayed silent. She liked to be more certain when it came to figures, which her superiors at the S.E.C. appreciated. She’d given them some details about the investigation, but not enough for them to start legal action. Yet. She wanted to be absolutely confident that was necessary, and while she had a strong suspicion it was, for her own peace of mind, she needed just a little more.
The older woman slumped back into the chair, almost shrinking before Elizabeth’s eyes. “I was afraid it wasn’t good, but millions….”
“I’m not finished yet, Linda. Don’t jump to any conclusions before the report is final.”
Linda looked up, her expression so bleak Elizabeth almost couldn’t bear to finish what she was going to say. “When I’m done, the total will be more accurate.”
She suddenly wished she’d skipped that extra cup of coffee. Her stomach felt as if it wanted to rebel.
“What’s he going to do?” Linda Tremont looked even more defenseless and uncertain without her glasses. “He’s my baby brother….”
Elizabeth had met Tony Masterson twice while gathering information. In his early thirties, he had the polished sophisticated look of a man you could trust. She could see how blue-haired ladies would have been happy to hand over their money to him. He’d assured Elizabeth that nothing was wrong, and if any irregularities were found, his underlings would know more about it than he would.
Linda had told Elizabeth a little about him, nervously, during one of their meetings. Almost apologetically she’d explained that he’d played tournament bridge all through college, and when he’d graduated with a business degree, he’d used the contacts of his bridge players and fraternity brothers to lead them and their elderly relatives straight into his family’s financial-planning company, Masterson Investments. Where he’d promptly begun to take advantage of them, Elizabeth had since realized.
“I need to set up another meeting with Tony to go over some points. Is he around?”
Linda’s lips tightened. “He’s in Europe this week, but he’ll be back on Friday. He’s speaking at a conference.” She paused. “Have you contacted the S.E.C.?”
“I haven’t given them a final report since I’m not done yet. Once I finish and send them everything, they’ll start an official investigation and assign one of their own attorneys to go over everything.”
Elizabeth didn’t generally offer advice, but the empathy she felt for Linda Tremont made her want to help. Putting her elbows on the desk, Elizabeth leaned closer. “If I were you, I’d get a good lawyer, Linda. Leo Stevens is excellent. He’s with Baker and Tornago.” The woman on the other side of the desk was so pale she looked as if she might faint. “Would you like me to call him for you?” Elizabeth asked softly. “I’d be happy to introduce you—”
“No!” Linda shook her head, almost violently, then seemed to realize what she was doing and stopped. “I…I’ll call him, myself. I…I appreciate the offer, but I have to take care of this on my own. I’m sure you understand.”
“Of course.”
“When will you finish the report?”
“Within the next two weeks. I’ve been working on it mostly at home. I can concentrate better there.”
Linda rose painfully and walked to the door. Then she turned and asked, “Is there any way you could, well, finish it sooner? The longer it goes on, the worse it will be. For everyone.”
Elizabeth hesitated. With April’s disappearance, she couldn’t get her regular work done, much less hurry things up.
“I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t so important.”
“It’s not that,” Elizabeth answered finally. “I…I have some family problems of my own right now that I’m trying to deal with, that’s all.”
“I’m sorry. Nothing too serious, I hope.” Linda stood by the door expectantly, obviously waiting for more.
“My sister’s missing,” Elizabeth said bluntly. “We met for our birthday dinner Sunday, then the next morning she was gone. Along with my car. I haven’t seen her since.”
A disconcerting silence fell between the two women before Linda spoke awkwardly. “I’m so sorry. You don’t have any idea where she might be?”
“Not really. I’ve called the police and reported it. That’s all I can do.”
The expression on Linda’s face shifted. It held something Elizabeth couldn’t read, but whatever it was it