She sighed again, figuring she was getting good at it now. “I’m fine. I talked to my mom, and I just need some time to think.”
“Okay. I just wanted to check on you, give you another shoulder to cry on and…everything. If you needed it.”
Those were the words she had spoken to him, and she realized how it must have sounded. As if their whole night together could be summed up as everything. It had certainly meant more to her than that one word, but she didn’t have the energy to get into it with him.
“Thanks, Jack, I appreciate it.”
“Hey, what are friends for?” he asked lightly.
Not for getting naked and having sweaty, giggly, therapeutic sex, which was what she really wanted to do with Jack.
“Yeah.” Jamie closed her eyes and fought the wave of longing that threatened to tsunami her. “Bye, Jack.”
She needed to hang up before she could do or say something she would regret when she wasn’t feeling so vulnerable.
“Bye, Jamie Lynn. Call me if you need anything.”
When she clicked the off button on her phone, Jamie sat still in her chair.
And let the tears finally come.
In five minutes on the interior of the Beechwood Social Services agency, Jack had figured out who the day trader was.
Jamie, who had a tired smile on Tuesday morning, hadn’t looked all that surprised to see him. Not thrilled, exactly, but neither did she toss him out on his ear. Instead, she had showed him around the office. In the third cubicle to the left, he found his man.
“This is Austin,” Jamie said, pointing to a teenage boy working at a computer. “He’s a computer whiz, so he does a lot of our data entry.”
Austin, who looked like he was in the middle of a personal experiment to see how long he could go without brushing his hair or washing his clothes, gave them a brief glance. It wasn’t poverty Jack saw in Austin’s slouchy, grubby look. It was some kind of fashion statement, from the hair that went down in black-tipped spikes over his eyes to the metal studs sticking out just about everywhere there was skin.
All that piercing and tattooing and purchasing of clothes meant to look well worn could get pricey. And before Austin minimized his screen, Jack saw exactly what he was doing.
Shopping stocks.
Jack could recognize that from across the room.
Jamie didn’t seem to notice anything unusual. She put her hand on Austin’s shoulder, getting his attention. “What’s new, Austin?”
Jack expected a sullen grunt, but instead Austin turned, looked up at her, and gave her a real smile. “Not much, Jamie. Just doing boring shit. I mean stuff.”
“Jamie says you know a lot about computers,” Jack said, hands in his pockets. He had worn jeans today because he wanted to talk to Jamie’s boss about the situation, but he didn’t want to come across as official or intimidating. Now he was grateful he didn’t look like a Suit, because he needed to talk to Austin without Jamie around.
“Yeah, so?” Austin gave him a suspicious look.
“I was a broker for a Wall Street firm for ten years, and now I run a charitable trust foundation. I could use an intern for the rest of the summer.”
Austin looked interested for just a split second, then his features settled into blasé nonchalance. “Yeah, well, I’ve been convicted for hacking and financial fraud. No place decent will hire me to do anything but clean their fucking toilets. And I don’t want to clean your john.”
Jack couldn’t believe that Jamie and her boss let a convicted financial felon have access to all their computer files, data, and funding. He felt his eyes bugging out in horror. What anyone with half a brain could do with that kind of knowledge was astounding.
While the urge to shove past Austin and throw his arms across the PC was overwhelming, he controlled himself. “As a juvenile or an adult?” he asked, curious if this kid had actually done time.
Austin looked him over, hard. “Juvenile,” he finally answered. “I’m fourteen now. Thirteen at the time of the crime.” This was accompanied by a smirk, like he wasn’t the least bit remorseful for what he’d done.
Most people who committed financial crimes were sorry they got caught, not that they’d done it. It was hard to find remorse when actions were perpetuated by greed. Jack’s world was full of good old-fashioned greed, the desire to get more for less, to ride the wave of this stock or that market, to be on the inside of the next big thing.
“Is working here part of your parole?” Jack had thought Beechwood served primarily adults and families, not juvenile offenders, but he didn’t really know.
“Yeah.”
“How about we go grab a drink on me in the lunchroom I saw and we can talk about a job that won’t conflict with your work here. Nothing volunteer. Real money.”
“Go ahead, Austin,” Jamie said, looking just as suspicious as Austin.
It occurred to Jack maybe she thought he was trying to buy her affection again.
“You can take a ten-minute break.”
Austin looked like he’d just as soon join the ballet, but he stood up, pushing his MP3 earpiece off and letting it dangle around his neck.
There was a lunchroom with vending machines Jack had noticed two doors down the hall, and he led Austin there now. He bought two soft drinks and handed Austin one.
Austin didn’t take it. He narrowed his eyes and said, “Are you one of those rich guys who’s looking for a boy toy? ’Cuz I don’t do that shit.”
Jack nearly broke his jaw on the floor it dropped so low. Then he laughed, part embarrassment, part amusement. Yeah, he really did suck at this whole spy/intrigue thing. “No. Definitely not.” He gestured with his hand toward the door. “My interests lie more with redheaded women, you know what I’m saying?”
Austin nodded in understanding, accepting the soft drink. “I got ya. You’re looking to score points with Jamie, huh? Take the loser kid she feels sorry for and clean him up.” He pointed his finger at Jack. “Pretty slick, man.”
Jack took a seat at the plastic picnic table next to the vending machines. “Maybe that’s part of the plan, yeah. But it has also come to my attention that someone has been using Beechwood’s funds—nearly a hundred grand through ten different transactions—to trade, making money for themselves. Would you happen to know anything about that?”
Austin shook his head slowly. “No idea.”
“It’s smart, done well. Pretty hidden, if you’re not looking for it, and you’re not experienced. And it’s one of those things that you figure, hey, you’re not hurting anyone, right? You don’t steal the money. You don’t keep it, you just borrow it. Make yourself a little quick cash, put it back, and no one gets hurt. But what if one time you mess up? You don’t make money, but lose it? What happens then?”