The Forensicist Cont…

Emma dropped the folder on Agent Taggart’s desk, causing all eyes in the room to once again acknowledge her presence.

“What do you got?” Agent Taggart placed his coffee away from the files on his desk.

“It’s only preliminary findings,” Emma warned, “I told you before, I don’t do this kind of accounting.  You’ll have to have it verified for it to hold up in court.”

Agent Taggart pushed everything else aside and pulled up a chair for Emma.  Everyone else had gone back to their daily routines.

“Let’s hear it,” Agent Taggart took another sip of coffee.

“When dealing with large amounts of cash, the criminal has to find a way to funnel the cash, otherwise it would raise a lot of questions and their illegal business would be compromised,” Emma spread folders and papers across every inch of space causing Agent Taggart to once again pick up his coffee cup.

“It’s all gibberish to me,” Agent Taggart fingered through some of the pages.

“You want the short or the long version?” Emma asked.

“Definitely the short!” Agent Taggart did not hesitate in his response.

“Long story short, it seems as though your criminal is smuggling illegal weapons,” Emma explained.

“How do you know?” Agent Taggart asked.

“Buried within this tower of papers is evidence suggesting that your criminal is only using a portion of his property, plant, and equipment to run the operations of his supposed factory.  The rest have the sole purpose of improving and upgrading his illegal business.  Your criminal is purchasing the firearms at a lower quality and lower cost and then upgrading them in order to sell them for a large profit.  They were very clever in disguising their operations.”

“How did these other auditors not catch this?” Agent Taggart questioned.

“These auditors only tested the existence of the equipment not the functions of it,” Emma explained, “Their main concern was the financial statements and making sure the property, plant, and equipment was not overstated.  Not to mention the fact that what is used for their illegal operations is very similar to that of there legit operations.  Unless you had a thorough background of this particular property, plant and equipment, it would never be questioned.”

“And I suppose you have this thorough background,” the Agent smiled for the second time since Emma had met him.

“Me…or my very intelligent engineering friend,” Emma teased back, “take your pick.”

“Alright, let’s go catch some bad guys” Agent Taggart pushed himself away from his desk leaving Emma in the pile of papers.

The Forensicist Cont…

The day had finally come to an end.  Emma clocked out her time and redirected her belongings to the parking lot.  It was twenty floors and a trip across the lot before Emma reached her vehicle.  The new hires did not get the privilege of front row parking.  The weight of a computer bag, backpack, purse, and binder filled with that week’s training information did not help any.  Emma had learned quickly that her job could take her to anywhere at any time.  It was just easier this way instead of making a pit stop to her office every time she had a new assignment, despite the overwhelming pounds.  It had been a long journey, but the end was finally in sight.

“You know stalking is illegal in all fifty states,” Emma pushed Agent Taggart away from the driver side door and dropped the weight hanging from her body onto the cement, “Even for federal agents.”

“I brought you a gift…” he called to Emma whose body was now sticking half in the vehicle, “more of a peace offering.”

“You couldn’t bring it to my office?” Emma removed the remainder of her body.

“It’s twenty flights of stairs,” the Agent informed Emma.

“Yes, I’ve realized,” Emma looked down at the thin envelope that had been placed in her hands, “This is the information I asked for…along with a permanent parking pass in the front row…and a key?”

“I figured if you are going to be helping us, it would be more convenient for me if you were much more accessible,” Agent Taggart pointed to the key in her hand, “You’ll find it goes to the small office at the end of my hall.”

“You just don’t give up do you?” Emma was astonished at his arrogance.

“It’s not in my nature to give up,” Agent Taggart leaned away from Emma’s car as she placed the last of her belongings inside.  She paused for a moment contemplating her options.

“I’ll do what I can,” Emma slid into her car and the two of them went their separate ways.

Going Concern Methodology.  That is what flashed across Emma’s screen.  She was the only one left in the office.  After a long overdue lunch, her friend had finally given up on being productive and went home.  Emma, on the other hand, had procrastinated her training requirements a little too long and was forced to remain in the office.  So, now she sat at her desk, pretending to follow along to the accounting department’s updated version of going concern requirements.

Emma had engulfed herself into her own world once again.  Headphones had made it impossible to hear anything other than the presentation on the computer screen in front of her.  A tap on the should sent Emma forward in her chair, grasping the table for support.  She immediately pulled the headphones from her ears only to find Agent Taggart at her side.

“Sorry,” it was the only time Emma had ever seen him smile.  The large grin lit up his eyes almost making Emma forget she loathed him.

“You almost gave me a heart attack,”  Emma laughed pulling her body back into the chair.  Agent Taggart’s grin disappeared almost as fast as it had come.

“I heard what you did to help my department with that money issue,” Agent Taggart slid a file across her desk, “I’ve recommended that you lead the financial investigation for my team.”

“Say what?” Emma was caught off guard by the request.

“I did a little calculating of my own.  You down played your credentials when you applied to this position.  Top of your class at the <bus school>.  Held the highest score on all four sections of the CPA exam, set the new record on two of them.  With you’re <credentials> you practically had every big four public accounting firm knocking on your door with offers…not to mention the private sector.  That list just goes on and on,” Agent Taggart laid a detailed printout in front of Emma.

“Sounds like I’m quite the catch,” Emma joked disregarding Agent Taggart’s evidence.

“Have your analysis of the financial data to me by Monday,” Agent Taggart began to leave.

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Emma slid the evidence folder to teh edge of her desk.

“Why not?” Agent Taggart demanded.

“Three reasons,” Emma swung her chair to face the Agent head on.  He was not used to people disobeying his orders.

“One,” Emma continued, “I don’t work for you.  Two, even if I did overlook the earlier outburst from the hallway, I don’t do that kind of accounting.  And three, I don’t work for you.”

“Fine,” Agent Taggart caved way to easy.  He grabbed his file from the edge of the desk and reluctantly left the room.  This was going to be a long day.