Read Online Harvesting Ashwood Minnesota 2037 by Cynthia Kraack - Free Book Online
Authors: Cynthia Kraack
Tags: United States, Fiction, Suspense, Fantasy, Thrillers, Genetic engineering, Terrorism, Dystopia, Children, Minnesota, Great Depression, economic collapse, Birthmothers, Birthparents
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resources. Pears and raspberries were luxury crops we sent to market for top money. Here, all was quiet with summer weeding and spraying completed and all the hard work now left for the sun and rain. Lao veered toward the apple stands.
“I will be quick,” Lao said as we stood amid low Honeycrisp variety branches. “Andre and his staff began finding small discrepancies in Jeremiah’s food accounts last quarter. We performed an internal audit and tracked issues back to the beginning of the year. Very sophisticated entry technique.”
Andre interrupted. “He’s been embezzling from Ashwood and directing funds toward an account in Bermuda. Significant funds.”
“Why would Jeremiah do that?” I asked. “He’s been the best kitchen manager we’ve had since Terrell left. Jason has only good things to say about his partner as a teaching assistant. I don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t matter why a man steals,” Andre responded. “We need to report him to the authorities today and have him arrested.”
Bees moved through the orchard. Far ahead on the transport path I could see wavy heat rising from the crushed stone surface. “This might be one of the worst days I’ve had for a long time.” They would not think me whiny for stating the truth. “But it does matter to me why Jeremiah would risk so much. He’ll spend years in jail. A lot of years.”
“He has stolen at least twice his annual wage in just nine months.” Lao pulled down a branch and picked a red and gold apple. “And his partner may be the person responsible for corrupting our data files. By the time we return to the residence, we’ll know if that’s true.” He offered the apple to me.
I shook my head. “And why didn’t I know this was going on?”
“The numbers were small until recently.” Distant shades of Cameroon came forward in Andre’s voice. “We thought our newest analyst might be misclassifying expenses. This last quarter Jeremiah and his partner became bolder, although erratic.”
“It was my decision to let the investigator take time,” Lao said. “Insurance will cover most of the loss, so I didn’t want to make this a big deal until we were ready to take action. We were going to tell you everything. A meeting called Outside Security Utilization is on your calendar.” He rubbed the apple against his pants. “Something must have tipped Jeremiah that we were on to him and he transferred funds this morning.”
Hartford, Ltd., spanned many enterprises beyond Ashwood and Giant Pines, a sister estate, so its managers operated with great autonomy. I felt uncomfortable about how that independence looked today. I had no excuses beyond complacency for letting people like Penfeller and Jeremiah mess with Ashwood. “So you called the Bureau? He is our last key government employee.”
“We had no choice.” Andre’s voice blended with the rustling of the leaves as a hot breeze moved through the trees. “I have a meeting with him in a few minutes to go over numbers. Lao called the authorities, who are on their way.” He tipped his head with respect in my direction. “You can block our action, Ms. Anne, but the cook position is too critical to the estate to not have a person we can trust.”
“I have had an investigator working on the system security breach.” Lao tucked the apple in a pants pocket. “This is very serious. I am nervous about Jeremiah even touching a data pad while we are out here.”
“But we’re at the most critical time of the year for filling Ashwood’s food reserves. This morning he told me we had about three months of supplies in place.” My hat felt like a band constricting my brain. “I’ll have to ask Sarah to supervise a temporary replacement from the Bureau.”
The men remained silent, giving me time to accept our dilemma. “Okay. Tell me what you need me to do.”
“Just knock on my door at four-fifteen and come in to sign the paperwork,” Andre said.
“Fine, I’ll be there.
“I will be quick,” Lao said as we stood amid low Honeycrisp variety branches. “Andre and his staff began finding small discrepancies in Jeremiah’s food accounts last quarter. We performed an internal audit and tracked issues back to the beginning of the year. Very sophisticated entry technique.”
Andre interrupted. “He’s been embezzling from Ashwood and directing funds toward an account in Bermuda. Significant funds.”
“Why would Jeremiah do that?” I asked. “He’s been the best kitchen manager we’ve had since Terrell left. Jason has only good things to say about his partner as a teaching assistant. I don’t understand.”
“It doesn’t matter why a man steals,” Andre responded. “We need to report him to the authorities today and have him arrested.”
Bees moved through the orchard. Far ahead on the transport path I could see wavy heat rising from the crushed stone surface. “This might be one of the worst days I’ve had for a long time.” They would not think me whiny for stating the truth. “But it does matter to me why Jeremiah would risk so much. He’ll spend years in jail. A lot of years.”
“He has stolen at least twice his annual wage in just nine months.” Lao pulled down a branch and picked a red and gold apple. “And his partner may be the person responsible for corrupting our data files. By the time we return to the residence, we’ll know if that’s true.” He offered the apple to me.
I shook my head. “And why didn’t I know this was going on?”
“The numbers were small until recently.” Distant shades of Cameroon came forward in Andre’s voice. “We thought our newest analyst might be misclassifying expenses. This last quarter Jeremiah and his partner became bolder, although erratic.”
“It was my decision to let the investigator take time,” Lao said. “Insurance will cover most of the loss, so I didn’t want to make this a big deal until we were ready to take action. We were going to tell you everything. A meeting called Outside Security Utilization is on your calendar.” He rubbed the apple against his pants. “Something must have tipped Jeremiah that we were on to him and he transferred funds this morning.”
Hartford, Ltd., spanned many enterprises beyond Ashwood and Giant Pines, a sister estate, so its managers operated with great autonomy. I felt uncomfortable about how that independence looked today. I had no excuses beyond complacency for letting people like Penfeller and Jeremiah mess with Ashwood. “So you called the Bureau? He is our last key government employee.”
“We had no choice.” Andre’s voice blended with the rustling of the leaves as a hot breeze moved through the trees. “I have a meeting with him in a few minutes to go over numbers. Lao called the authorities, who are on their way.” He tipped his head with respect in my direction. “You can block our action, Ms. Anne, but the cook position is too critical to the estate to not have a person we can trust.”
“I have had an investigator working on the system security breach.” Lao tucked the apple in a pants pocket. “This is very serious. I am nervous about Jeremiah even touching a data pad while we are out here.”
“But we’re at the most critical time of the year for filling Ashwood’s food reserves. This morning he told me we had about three months of supplies in place.” My hat felt like a band constricting my brain. “I’ll have to ask Sarah to supervise a temporary replacement from the Bureau.”
The men remained silent, giving me time to accept our dilemma. “Okay. Tell me what you need me to do.”
“Just knock on my door at four-fifteen and come in to sign the paperwork,” Andre said.
“Fine, I’ll be there.
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