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Kristofs.”
    “Manda is your young woman’s name?”
    “Yes.” Joel got out of bed and paced while he talked. “Three years ago all of us trustees were convinced by some slick talkers to cut the Presidential Scholars program down to just tuition support. The promised follow-through with the students never happened. When I asked Lydia about it this noon, she went so pale I thought she was having a heart attack.”
    “Lydia being the provost?”
    “Who I would have sworn was above reproach.”
    “Perhaps she is, but she inadvertently received some information and is being bullied into silence.”
    “I hadn’t thought of that.”
    “Did you get out of her what she knows?”
    “No, I dropped it for now. I don’t want to be responsible for a stroke or a heart attack.”
    “What do you think is going on?”
    “I think embezzlement is going on.”
    “I agree, that’s what it sounds like.”
    “And I can’t believe we were all conned.”
    “So your ego is banged up?”
    “True.”
    “What have you done so far, besides querying Lydia who you thought would have no clue?”
    “When I met with the president, I mentioned the Presidential Scholars, and he dismissed it as unimportant. In fairness, he had just been informed about Lydia’s confrontation with Kristof. We agreed the president would quietly launch an investigation relative to Kristof and the students he has used and abused.”
    “And Miss Manda’s name will be in the spotlight.”
    “Thanks for pointing that out,” Joel said dryly. He leaned his forehead against the cold glass of the French doors to his porch and looked out at the lake.
    “Can’t be helped,” Justin said brusquely. “Does she have assets of an academic or business nature that will get her through?”
    “She’s exceptionally bright, hard working, and honest. Yes, she’ll weather the storm with AA’s help.”
    “So where are we? Working our way up from provost to president to trustees. What have you told the board?”
    “At the president’s request, I did not tell them about Kristof, but I did tell them about the mishandling of the Presidential Scholars.”
    “And?”
    “They are as angry as I am about being duped. They have authorized a quiet but thorough investigation.”
    “Good. Who will conduct the board’s investigation?”
    “The board secretary with—it is assumed—the full cooperation of the college treasurer. We’ll involve two people from the ethics committee who are above reproach. The board agrees we will ask for a full accounting by the end of the academic year. June thirtieth.”
    “Less than four months. Did I hear an ‘or else’ in that statement?”
    “That’s where I need your counsel.”
    “How are you inclined to complete the ‘or else’?”
    “I expect a full accounting with swift and appropriate consequences to those involved, or I will resign from the board and withdraw all financial support from the Tompkins estate. I will further request that the college either close its doors or change its name.”
    Justin was quiet, and Joel took the opportunity to get his breathing under control. A full moon played peek-a-boo behind the clouds, and the sight made him smile. It was a full minute before Justin answered, “I support that. I fully support that.”
    “Thank you. Tell me your thinking.”
    “I think your mother’s ancestors who founded the college were scoundrels, and so are the people who’ve been running the place ever since then. It is both honorable and inconvenient that you are not a scoundrel. Realistically, I think it’s unlikely you will get a full accounting or swift and appropriate consequences for the wrongdoers. Even by the end of the calendar year. Are you prepared to follow through?”
    “I don’t know yet. I need to think it through before I make any statement along those lines. The economy is bad enough without putting the whole college out of work.”
    “Yes, I agree. And you do realize these investigations may