Conduct in Question

Chapter 40

“Come into the kitchen when you’re ready, Harry. I’ll make us a late supper.”

In the washroom, he took a cloth to clean the worst of the black streaks from his cheek, then scrubbed his hands.

In the kitchen, he perched himself on the stool at the counter.

“Talk to me, Harry. I’m going to make the dessert first.”

He watched as she took strawberries and peaches from the refrigerator. She reached across him and took a banana and an apple from the basket on the counter.

Suddenly he found himself talking. He heard the weariness and frustration in his own voice. First, he told her of his discovery that Tony was the Florist. He told her about Donnie, Tony, and the fire. Then he spoke of Tony and Chin and the money-laundering scheme. He suspected that it pervaded the whole firm.

In frustration, he slapped the countertop. “I turned a blind eye to the fraud and got sucked in.” He swung around and faced Natasha. She set the fruit bowl down to listen.

“I should have known right from the start that Chin was laundering money through my trust account.”

“But how could you have known, Harry?”

“There were signs, all right. Why would Chin come to me? I don’t do land-assembly work. The land titles were the tip-off. Nobody conveys properties back and forth at ever-increasing prices unless they’re creating some kind of scheme. You spotted it yourself. But I took on the work, thinking this was my shot at the big time.” Harry was silent, overcome with disgust. “I’m just as greedy as they are.”

Natasha regarded him evenly. “So,” she said quietly, shrugging, “you’re human, not infallible. That’s not surprising. Besides, turning a blind eye to possible evidence of fraud is scarcely the same as planning and executing one, no?”

Harry looked up at her in surprise. He laughed. “You’d make a great defence lawyer, Natasha. I’ll probably need one.”

Smiling, she continued her work. He watched her, gaining pleasure in her soft, deft motions and her closeness. Sadly, he realized how long it had been since he and Laura had shared intimate moments of conversation. Now he was hungry to fill the emptiness within.

“Then you agree, Harry?” She held out a bunch of deep purple grapes to him. He took one.

“I suppose.” He shrugged.

“To me, there is a world of difference. But even so, now that you know, what are you going to do?” Natasha asked.

“When I blow the whistle, I’ll open myself to a lot of questions from the police and the Law Society.”

“I know, Harry. You put yourself at risk by exposing them. But what choice have you?”

“None,” he said.

Natasha reached for the peaches and was within inches of him as she continued, “I knew you would say that.”

“Why?”

“Because you are that kind of man.”

He gazed at her and nodded. “If McKeown dies, it will be harder to prove the fraud. Did you know him very well, Natasha?”

For the briefest of moments, she looked away. Turning back to him, she said quietly, “Fortunately, I met him only once. A frightening and dangerous man, without any soul.”

Harry was about to ask more, but he stopped. The thought of all the female victims in McKeown’s trail silenced him. Awkwardly, he reached for her hand. She smiled sadly and then withdrew her hand to continue her work.