Chapter 4 - THE ACCOUNTANT
Before retirement, Ernest had spent forty-one years in forensic accounting.
He did not merely prepare tax returns.
He traced hidden money.
Untangled embezzlement schemes.
Found false vendors buried inside legitimate companies.
He had testified in federal court seven times.
Louis knew his father had worked with numbers.
He never understood how dangerous Ernest could be when numbers began lying.
For the first year after Margaret died, Ernest ignored his finances.
Grief made even simple paperwork feel heavy.
Louis offered to help.
Ernest gave him limited access to one household account.
Then Carla began organizing receipts.
She volunteered to pay bills.
She told Ernest he deserved rest.
At first, nothing seemed wrong.
Then the electric bill rose.
The grocery account doubled.
A streaming charge appeared for a service Ernest had never used.
A hotel deposit showed up during a week Louis claimed he had been attending a local conference.
Ernest said nothing.
He started printing statements.
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He stored them upstairs in a metal filing cabinet behind Margaret’s winter blankets.
Every month, the pattern grew.
