I passed him my tablet, and for three minutes neither officer said a word. On the screen, Lorraine unzipped my bag, tucked a handgun into the lining, and made her call.

When it ended, Ortega let out a slow breath. “She really planned to send you through security with that?”
“Apparently.”
“Why?”

I glanced at the closed bedroom door down the hall…

PART 3: THE ACCOUNT THAT DID NOT EXIST

“Because I found a hole in our accounts big enough to swallow the company,” I told Ortega. “And because the board is meeting tomorrow to discuss it.”

He asked why I was still living with Preston if I suspected him of stealing from the business.

It was a reasonable question. The answer was less flattering than I wished.

“I wanted proof before I confronted him. And some part of me was still hoping the explanation would be innocent.”

The other officer, Detective Celia Moreno, photographed the hallway and asked who else had access to our bedroom.

I explained that Lorraine had lived in the east wing for five months, supposedly while her townhouse was renovated.

Preston controlled the security system. Two housekeepers came on weekdays, never after six.

Ortega turned back to me.

“You mentioned this is connected to an ongoing financial inquiry.”

I showed him a report prepared for my attorney, Elaine Foster.

It contained vendor payments, bank references, board minutes and a chart of withdrawals from three hotel subsidiaries.

Nearly $2.4 million had passed through a company called Shoreline Advisory Partners.