Mom frowned. “But he went through something similar to what your dad’s going through right now.”
“Yes,” I said, “and he cheated his way back to success. He’ll be hard to extract empathy from.”
She frowned. “You’re going to visit them?”
“After I’ve finished profiling.”
“I should go with you.”
“I imagined you phoned everyone?”
“Yes.”
“They’re closing ranks.”
“But there isn’t enough time to visit everyone,” she said. “You only have a day.”
I nodded. “That’s why we need to be precise.”
“Like a laser beam,” said Shay.
“Look at this, Cameron.” Mia had a file opened in front of her.
I headed on over.
“What is that?” asked Mom.
“It’s the list of signatures,” said Mia. “Where each board member—”
“Stabbed us in the back,” said Mom.
Mia pointed. “This is interesting. Look at Mr. Malt’s signature. It’s a little shaky and looks nothing like the one here from two years ago. Do you think someone else signed it?”
I dragged the list over and compared it to where Douglas Malt had previously signed his name for a memo.
“Perhaps he has arthritis now?” said Mia. “That would account for it.”
“Your dad did mention Douglas hadn’t attended the last few meetings,” said Mom. “He conducts all business dealings from home. His wife was his secretary back in the day.”
“Can his signature be voided?” asked Shay.
“That would win a vote back,” said Henry.
I opened Douglas Malt’s file. “He lives in Greenwich.” I headed back over to the wall and scribbled an asterisk beside his name. “Let’s pay him a visit first.”
“What is that?” Mom looked horrified.
She’d caught sight of the medical conditions I’d written beneath each name, tucked away beneath the list of family members, including grandchildren.
“Brendon Smith had a heart attack a year ago,” I said. “We’re making a note of medical records too. I need a complete profile.”
“How did you find that out?”
“We might have a hacker in our midst,” I said.
“That’s not legal,” she said.
“We’re using what we find for the good of Cole Tea.”