“Of course.” Raven nodded.
Sean continued, “Yesterday, I didn’t get a chance to ask you why you hired Mr. Ramsey. His office is in Redding, not to mention he’s retired.”
“Joe was a good friend of my parents.” Raven shifted and crossed her legs. Cade noticed instantly that she was trying to reclaim some form of control by being professional. “He used to live in Cannon Falls, before the fire.” Raven’s eyes changed slightly. “Then he moved his office to Redding and, a few years back, retired. When I returned, I noticed a few discrepancies on the books and called him to help out.”
His uncle had been writing in his notebook and glanced up. “Discrepancies?” Sean’s eyes moved to his quickly, then returned to Raven’s.
“Joe and his assistant, Ruth, informed me yesterday that over the past ten years, more than three million dollars has gone missing out of the general fund.” She paused and took a sip of her water.
Sean whistled. “Wow, that’s a lot of change.”
“Yes. Ruth was going to get me the details later so I could call you and file an official report,” Raven added.
“Any idea who would have taken the money?” Sean asked.
“Yes,” Raven answered, her chin rising slightly. “My uncle. I officially fired him the other day and requested he move off of the resort property after a…” She stopped suddenly and looked over at him.
“I walked in on Colin strong-arming Raven the other morning in her office,” Cade supplied.
Sean’s eyebrows rose. “Physically?”
Raven nodded and released a slow breath. “Yes. I wouldn’t have had the courage to kick him to the curb if…” Her eyes moved to Cade’s, and he nodded with encouragement. “If Cade hadn’t interjected. As it was, I requested he move out immediately and insured that he no longer has access to any of the resort’s accounts.”
“What day and time was this?” Sean asked.
Raven answered him after looking down at the cracked screen on her phone.
“And he moved out?” Sean asked.
“Yes. My aunt and cousins are still on the premises.” She frowned. “Well, Cal has since moved out.”
“Do you know if he’s been back?” Sean asked.
“Here?” She frowned. “No. I’m sure Cemal would know if he had. I’ve been tucked in my office most of the time.”
Sean wrote more notes. “Have you met with Morgan Roche?”
“She showed up the other morning with my uncle. I turned her away,” Raven answered.
“Time and date?” Sean asked. Again, Raven looked at her phone before answering.
“You seem very organized,” Sean commented, motioning towards her phone.
“Business school one-oh-one. I’ve even marked down our meeting.” She turned the phone and showed his uncle the screen.
Sure enough, there in a calendar app she had the meeting marked with date and time.
“I fully intend to turn the resort around. I can’t do that if I don’t follow the basic rules of business.” Raven set her phone down.
He noticed her reaching down and stroking Blue’s head, which was resting on her lap. His dog had a knack for comforting the unsteady.
Sean glanced around. “The construction crew? What time do they normally leave?”
Raven narrowed her eyes. “Normally?” She shrugged. “If you can get David Green and his men to work normal hours, let me know. I have no issues with their work ethics and have given them free rein just as long as the work gets done. They’ve done a wonderful job so far. I determined within the first few days not to babysit them. If you want to know what time the crew left yesterday, you’ll have to ask them.”
Sean wrote down more notes. “Cemal…” Sean started flipping through his notes.
“Rahim,” Raven supplied.
“Yes.” He nodded and looked back up. “She works the front desk alone?”
“She does for now. When we officially reopen, I’ll hire a few more employees to help her out.”
“Her hours?” Sean asked.
“Currently, seven days a week, six in the morning to six in the evening,” Raven answered.
“Is that allowed?” Sean tilted his head.
Raven shook her head. “Normally, no. But since it’s slow here and I’m allowing her to take her online classes while she sits behind the desk”—Raven leaned closer— “she’s agreed to only clock eight hours a day officially. Considering my uncle had her working those hours and refused to let her study, I’d say it’s a step up.”
Sean smiled and leaned back slightly. “I’ve heard good things about you since your return.”
Raven glanced down at Blue, and Cade could see that she felt more relaxed than when his uncle had first arrived.
Just then their food was delivered by the kitchen staff.
“Thank you, Tim.” Raven smiled up at the extremely good-looking man, who was roughly her age.
“Thank you.” The man winked back at Raven before turning and leaving. Cade couldn’t stop the wave of jealousy that washed over him as he watched the man walk away.
“Is there something wrong with your food?” Raven asked him, gaining his attention again.
“No.” He turned back to the table and glanced down at his meal. “It’s fine.”
Raven turned back to his uncle and asked, “Do you have any other questions for me?”
“Currently, no. I’ll let the two of you eat in peace.” Sean stood up.
“Sherriff,” Raven said quickly, getting his uncle’s attention, “when possible, I’d like more details about Joe’s death.”
Sean nodded. “I’ll get you what I can. For now, if I have any more questions, I’ll be in contact.”
“Thank you,” Raven replied as his uncle walked away.
He saw her look at the plastic and then back to her food. When Blue whined, she glanced down at him.
“If you let him, he’ll eat the entire meal himself,” Cade joked, trying to get her mind off her dark mood.
Raven smiled and petted Blue. “He’s probably hungrier than I am.”
“You have to eat.” He motioned to her food with his fork. “Tell me all about the other improvements you’re going to do around here.”
For the next hour, he listened to Raven talk about her plans for the resort. For the first five minutes, she picked at her food, but after she lost herself in the conversation, she finished everything on her plate, with the exception of a dry piece of toast she’d given to Blue.
“Gosh, I can’t believe it’s this late,” she said when her phone chimed. “You must have to get to work yourself.”
He smiled. “It’s Saturday. I have weekends off. I thought I’d stick around here today. That is if you want me to.”
“You’ll be bored in five minutes,” she warned.
He shrugged. “Blue and I can always take a walk.” His dog’s ears perked up and he had to add, “Later.” Blue sat back down with a little whine.
The smile on Raven’s face told him that she was feeling a little better.