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duck to water.

You were the most charming hostess I've ever seen and it means a lot to me, and to my future."
    She laughed and punched him in the ribs. "You know flattery will get you anywhere with me."
    "It might be flattery, but it's also true. Will you do it? For me?" He stroked her face and turned her toward him. "Please?" He kissed her and his hand found her breast.
    Pam sighed. Vin was getting deeper and deeper into his image, and appearances were becoming more and more important. Pam often thought that even the vacations they took were planned as much for the cachet they gave him at the office as for the pleasure they would give the two of them.
What the hell
? She kissed him back and slid her fingers through his hair.
What the hell? If this is what he wants, why not
?
    Over the next few months, to further enhance his reputation at the office he began to buy hand-tailored suits, monogrammed shirts, and Italian leather shoes. He became a technojunky, getting a PDA before any of his cohorts and one of the fanciest cellular phones made. He was on his way up. Way up. That had been more than two years ago, she thought. And now?
    Pam pulled herself back to the present. "Where did the money go, Mark? I really thought we had lots."
    "Frankly, Pam, I haven't a clue. I know he lost a few good clients, but I thought he still had some. I must admit that I was a little surprised at the state of his finances."
    "It all went into the business? He took almost half a million out of the house last year. Everything's gone?" Pam slumped in her chair. "I'm in shock."
    Mark reached across the desk and took Pam's hand. She sensed there was something going on beneath his calm exterior. "I can imagine." He lowered his voice and seemed almost conspiratorial. "Pam, I don't know whether I should say anything to you, and I don't mean to imply anything illegal or immoral, but maybe there are accounts I don't know about. Secret ones."
    "You mean that Vin might have been moving money to the Cayman Islands or something?"
    He looked uncomfortable. "I don't know what I mean. I'm pretty sure Vin was an honest man." She watched him make a decision. He gazed directly into her eyes. "I've known you and Vin for many years, and it's just that there's not as much money as I thought there should be, either, and I can't imagine where it might have gone. I suspect that he's been either hoarding cash or spending it on something besides the business. I hadn't wanted to bother you, but frankly I'm stumped and you deserve to know what was going on."
    "Something beside the business? Like what? Other women? Gambling?"
    Mark sat up straight and looked miserable. "Let's not jump to any conclusions. Please." He clasped his hands on the desk. "Let's do this. You take some time and then go through the papers in his desk at home. See whether you can find anything—records, bank statements, credit card bills, anything like that, anything that might give a hint of where some of this money might have gone. I'll give you a complete list of everything I know about and you can compare what you find with that. Maybe there are bank accounts I don't know about. Let's hope so, anyway."
    "Why don't you come out to the house and look for yourself?"
    "I'd rather you did it. If there turn out to be tax implications I'd rather find out all at once." He didn't say, or not at all.
    "What if we find something illegal? Should we go to the police or the IRS?"
    "Let's consider that if, and it's a very big if, the time comes. Take your time and call me when you've had a chance to look over his things. Don't hurry. Take a few weeks if you want to."

----
Chapter 4

     
    It was almost three months before Pam finally got up the courage to look through Vin's office for any of the information Mark had alluded to. Oren Stevens had called frequently, keeping her abreast of the developments at the agency, and several times he'd asked her to come into the city to sign papers. However, it was all just