Page 39 of To Catch a Latte Thick as Thieves

“Well what?” she asked.

“Don’t you have anything to say?”

“Not really.” She shrugged. “Thank you for telling me.”

Fisher frowned. He was going to have to be more blunt.

“Although,” she spoke, halting his chance. “I should have known you’d have a law-and-order type of career. It suits your rigidity.”

“Rigid? I am not rigid,” he protested.

“Yes, you are,” she argued.

“I like order, but I’m not rigid.”

“Uh-huh,” she grunted.

“Look, we’re getting off track here.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The fact is, I’m not just here because I need a place to live. I’m here to stake out The Coffee Break.”

“What? Stake out?” Her eyebrows snapped up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that someone has been laundering money through your shop and I was placed here to try and figure out who is doing it.”

“Laundering money? My shop?” She looked at him, looked away and then back. She burst out laughing. “Oh, you almost had me. I can’t believe I nearly fell for it.”

Her laugh was light and airy, and for the first time since he’d heard it, Fisher wasn’t moved to laugh in return.

“Annie...” he said.

“You would have had me if it weren’t so ridiculous,” she chuckled.

“Annie, it’s true.”

Her sparkling blue eyes met this and the smile seeped out of them as if someone dimmed a light. Her face paled, leaving her freckles looking dark against her skin. “That’s not...how could...oh my God!”

Fisher reached out to steady her on her chair. She looked as if he’d yanked the floor right out from under her.

“Annie, are you all right?”

“No! I’m not. Not by a long shot,” she said, her voice clipped with anger. “Explain this to me. All of it. From the beginning. What makes you think someone is laundering money through my shop? Who and how?”

“I don’t know who, but I have a pretty good idea how,” he said.

“Tell me,” she demanded.

“Do you remember being audited a few months ago?” he asked.

“Are you kidding? It was worse than an enema.” She snorted. “I’ve only been in business for three years. I’m just getting a handle on things. What a nightmare.”

“Yes, well, the tax auditors found major discrepancies in your records.”

“But they said I was fine,” she protested.

“They lied,” he said. “The truth is your shop was discovered to have signs of serious laundering. The tax auditors informed the Bureau, and we began to investigate.”

“So you’re here to investigate me?”

“Yes.”

---