Read Miranda Vaughn Mystery 01.00 - Chasing the Dollar for Free Online Page B

could probably pay the fine with the money shaken from the many sofas in that huge mausoleum of a house. Tim, though not as wealthy as Ralph, lived in a ritzy neighborhood and collected art and baseball memorabilia. Both of them drove obscenely expensive cars and purchased similar models for their wives.
    Most of it bought with stolen funds.
    My head spun at the thought that I could have easily been right there with them, getting sentenced to that much time or even more since I wouldn't have gotten credit for pleading guilty and cooperating as a government witness. I tried to picture the impeccably dressed Ralph Tinker wearing orange jail garb, but it was hard to wrap my head around. He was in his 60s, and Tim was in his late 40s, and both had families and children. Ralph had a new grandson. I knew their families and felt sorry for them, for what they were going to lose when their loved ones went to prison.
    But when I thought about Ralph and Tim testifying under oath that I was part of their scheme and had willingly helped them cheat clients out of their life savings, my heart chilled. I did not feel bad for the two men who would serve the sentences handed down this morning. Not at all.
    Tim, especially, disgusted me. He had been an excellent boss and mentor, and I had been thrilled when I'd been promoted to work as his assistant. When I thought back to the four years I worked for him, I wondered how I could have missed the signs that he was a complete sociopath. I never had a clue that he was defrauding our clients, siphoning off their hard-earned money into his own pocket.
    " What else did you want to tell me?" I asked Rob.
    He leaned forward and paused, clasping his hands together. He raised his eyes to mine, and my heart stalled.
    "You remember when we talked about the investors bringing a civil suit against Patterson Tinker?"
    I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. Rob had explained that many of the investors had hired a lawyer to represent them in a civil suit, which would name Ralph, Tim and me personally, in addition to the investment house.
    "Their lawyer called me this week. They're going forward with the suit."
    " But I was cleared," I said. "They won't sue me, right?"
    Rob bit his lip and my stomach dropped. "Well, see, you were cleared in the criminal case, but this will be a civil suit. The burden is less—only a preponderance of the evidence, instead of beyond a reasonable doubt."
    I gave a bitter laugh. "Well, good luck getting anything from me. You know that saying about getting blood from a turnip? I have nothing. I make just over minimum wage."
    Rob shook his head. "But you do have some interest in property."
    I tilted my head, confused. "No, I sold the Tahoe cabin. And I never owned my condo. That was just a lease."
    " Your aunt put your name on the bakery building and her house," he said gently. "It was years ago, a way to prevent you from having to pay inheritance taxes if anything happened to Marie."
    I gasped. "No. They couldn't go after the bakery. Or Aunt Marie's home."
    He nodded. "They could, if it gets that far," he said. "That's a long way off. Civil suits take a very long time to get through the courts, so please don't worry yourself too much right now."
    Fat chance of that. My throat felt like it was closing around a softball-sized lump. I blinked back tears at the thought of Aunt Marie losing the Sugar Plum Bakery. She built that business herself and made it a thriving success. It hadn 't been easy, either. Marie's business had only been open a year when her sister dumped me, a nearly feral 3-year-old, at her doorstep and took off to follow yet another poor excuse for a man. But we'd managed. I played in the office, screened off from the kitchen with a baby-gate while she rolled out dough and filled pastries. When I grew older, I helped decorate cupcakes and cookies, and swept the floors. The employees at Sugar Plum Bakery stayed a long time, treated well by Aunt Marie who believed that