Love at Thanksgiving - Part 1 Page 3
leaving in a hurry if they thought we were lax in our rules or worse yet, we had a thief working here,” Stephanie replied.
“That’s right,” Laticia said, “we must protect our reputation at all costs, since the reputation brings in the big customers.”
“What about the reputation of an employee like Stephanie, or Holly, for that matter? This could ruin their careers, and don’t they have the right to clear their names, even if it’s in the media?” Jack questioned Laticia.
“Not in the media. They’ve signed an employee agreement that an internal investigation must remain internal,” Laticia explained. “Everything we do here must be confidential. That’s a promise in writing to the customer.” Laticia was a no-nonsense woman who always followed the rules. Stephanie trusted her, and knew Laticia was on her side.
“I know you had nothing to do with the wire, Laticia,” Stephanie said, “and I hope you believe the same about me. Just because my computer was used does not mean I used it.”
“I never suspected you did anything wrong, Steph,” Laticia assured her. “In fact, I know you would never steal anything. Try not to worry. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” She stood up and indicated the door. “Jack, I’ll take you to meet with our IT people now, and if you have any additional questions after that, feel free to come back up to talk to me. Stephanie, please go with Scott to wait downstairs in the lobby. I’ll call you tomorrow or once I know anything new.” She gave Stephanie a quick hug.
“Why don’t we just meet at the restaurant in an hour?” Jack asked Stephanie, “We can have a working dinner, okay?” His hand was on her back again, this time guiding her to the elevators.
Stephanie had ordered drinks and an appetizer by the time Jack joined her. He seemed almost excited and squeezed in next to her, leaving the opposite bench empty. Before she could react, he put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her on the lips.
“Good news!” he exclaimed. “It’s clear someone manipulated your computer. Whoever it was used an algorithm on a memory stick and guessed your personal password. They have clear evidence of this, even though the person thought he wiped his actions afterward. Not as smart as he thought he was!” Jack was animated as he ate nachos and spoke rapidly around the food in his mouth. “Also, someone deleted the video files from the two closest cameras on your floor, the one outside your office and the one by the elevators, for a period of two hours very early in the morning the day before Thanksgiving. This is also evidence you did not authorize or approve or send the funds transfer. You don’t have access to those video files, only top management does.”
“Wait! Slow down. You’re saying one of the managers sent the wire?” Stephanie wanted to know everything he’d learned.
“Either that or an outsider hacked into your computer.”
“An outsider must have had inside help to get into the building and use my computer. As you know, you have to have a keycard or be let in by the guard downstairs.”
“It’s a certainty that the deed was done from inside the building, from your office, not remotely and not by hacking. Just the video files could have been deleted remotely, since they are not physically in the building.” Jack gulped down his drink and grinned at Stephanie. “It’s looking good for you, though, and that means my reward for helping you will be extra good! I’m already thinking of the possibilities.”
“Please go sit across from me on that bench so that I can talk to you like a professional,” Stephanie tried to steady herself. Jack had draped his arm around her shoulders and was sitting too close to her. He grasped her chin and turned her face toward him, letting his thumb trace her bottom lip.
“Hmm, have you ordered real food for us? I’m starving,” Jack was looking at her mouth and Stephanie knew he’d kiss her again. She did not wish to be one of his rescued maidens, but she did want her name to be cleared. The fact that he was going to clear it seemed inevitable.
“Jack, please go sit over there,” Stephanie pointed at the other bench, “and our future relationship is a separate matter from this investigation. Let’s try to remember that.”
“Alright, alright, but where is the gratitude?” Jack mused as he moved to sit across from her, and flagged a passing waiter at the same time. He ordered salmon with red potatoes and vegetables for them both, making sure Stephanie was fine with this choice.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m very pleased with this new information,” Stephanie felt more at ease with Jack across from her, “and I’m happy Laticia believes I’m innocent. Even so, we need to get to the bottom of this whole fiasco, so let’s settle down and get to work.”
“I’m always this excited when I’m working an interesting case. Believe me, I want to get to the bottom of this, too.”
“Okay, let’s recap. What do we know?”
“One, someone used your computer to wire $500,000 to one of your employer’s London customers on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Two, the paperwork shows your initials as the person inputting the transfer request, and Holly’s signature as the person approving the transfer.” Jack had two of his fingers up, moving on to point number three. “The paperwork consists of one form, and it was found by mid morning by an internal audit triggered by the amount of the wire. Three, the London customer was bogus. A new account was opened in the London office the day before. Four, the funds transferred out of that account within half an hour to an offshore account held by some other financial institution. This transfer was processed from the other end. Your employer’s London computer approved it automatically, because all the right boxes were checked. There was no person involved in the second transfer. It was all electronic.”
“All of this sounds more and more like someone on the inside who knew what boxes needed checking, even in London.”
“It does, doesn’t it? Maybe we should compile a possible list of suspects from your memory over the last seven years with this institution.”
“Maybe, but let’s first concentrate on clearing me. There are a few other points that we can bring to their attention. Whatever evidence the person left behind on my computer is great, but can we see the paperwork involved? This person must have forged my initials and Holly’s signature. Did you say one piece of paper? Was it a funds transfer request form?”
“Yes, I saw a copy of the form and it said FUNDS TRANSFER at the top. Your initials were right next to the amount on the right side of the form, and Holly’s signature was at the bottom, below text that read APPROVED BY and the date.” Jack was making notes on a small pad he’d pulled from his briefcase.
“That’s where I always initial, and so does everyone else. Whenever I process a funds transfer to a new customer, though, I do something that isn’t technically in our procedures manual. It’s more of an additional check, just for me. If it’s a transfer to a client who has not had a transfer in that particular currency before, I double check the receiving account number. I always write the account number by hand below the printed number on the wire transfer request form. If I had processed this wire to this new London customer, you would see handwritten numbers below the printed account number.”
“I checked the form carefully and made notes,” Jack said. “There was nothing else handwritten but your initials. I’m sure of it. They didn’t let me photograph or copy the form, though, so I can’t prove it.”
“That doesn’t matter. We can ask them to spot check some of the thousands of such wires I’ve processed over the years, and they can see this is something I do every time.”
“I’ll call Laticia and ask her to get someone from compliance to check. That way it won’t look like Laticia is making up anything to help you.” The food arrived and Jack dug in. “Can you think of anything else?”
Surprisingly, Stephanie found herself hungry, too. She had not had any appetite since the suspension, but now it seemed like there was hope. “The only other thing that comes to mind is Holly
’s approval of the transfer,” she replied. “Did the person use Holly’s computer and guess her password, too?”
“Yes, they signed in on her computer, but Holly had her password on a sticky note under the keyboard. No algorithm needed. Also, the camera outside her office hasn’t been working for a few weeks, so no video files. This could be why Holly was chosen as the approval step in the process”
“Oh, no,” Stephanie felt bad for her friend. “Holly won’t be offered the chance to come back, even if she wanted to, with a security fail like having your password on a sticky note. I am surprised. She knew better than that!”
“I got the feeling they don’t really believe either one of you had anything to do with this. They’re hiring an expert to confirm Holly’s signature was forged. Let’s see what they say after Laticia asks for a review of your past transfers for new customers. We can request another meeting in about a week, but I think we should wait. What do you think?”
Whenever Jack looked at her intently, Stephanie’s heart did a little flip. Why couldn’t she just concentrate on business with him? “I agree with your assessment, Mr. Hughes,” she said primly. “You are the professional, after all.”
Jack raised his eyebrows, and then smiled. “You’re funny. Eat