“Then what’s the point? All I’d get is dirty diapers.”
As hard as she tried, she couldn’t contain a smile. She rested her head on the shoulder he offered and moaned. “I can’t win against you.”
He ran his hand along the side of her face and down her neck, twisting his finger through her hair to force her to look up. “It’s not a contest, baby. I can’t have you fighting me all the time. We have enough problems ahead.”
Lilly was a very independent woman. She didn’t like being told what to do, but in this case she seemed to accept his rules. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth from the beginning?”
“Because I didn’t know if you were involved or not.”
“Involved in what?”
“Don’t you have any idea what Santana was really exporting?”
She shook her head. “I never actually saw the cargo. He gave me the information, and I typed up the documents. Only sometimes my paperwork was so far off the mark that I was beginning to question my own abilities.”
“What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t take a genius fill out international shipping documents. But half the time he made me change the paperwork. Either I’d chosen the wrong shipper, or he claimed my calculations were off.”
“But we can’t prove that he changed anything. You signed all the paperwork.”
“I may be a farm girl but I’m no idiot. Every time he made me change it, I saved my original and made a copy of the changes he authorized. At first, I figured he was being overcharged for freight, and I wanted to get him proof. But after a few months I realized that something was wrong. So I asked him about it and when I didn’t like the answer I got, I took the file from my desk and left.”
That kind of proof could be the break they needed for a conviction. Santana must have known she had the originals or she wouldn’t be a threat to him. “Where is the file now?”
Lilly twisted her fingers together nervously. “What good are they? Those are shipments that have already left.”
“To see if there’s a pattern.”
Frowning, she mumbled sadly, “There’s no pattern. I read through them a dozen times trying to figure it out. Different days, different cargo, different ships, different destinations.”
“But how many different customs officials?”
“What?”
“How does he always get them through customs? We’ve never been able to catch him. Every time he’s been searched, he’s come up clean. Someone has to be informing him.”
“What are you talking about? Drugs?”
“No, drugs are a bigger problem on the import end, not export.”
“Guns?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
He couldn’t tell her, or her testimony would be worthless. Any good lawyer could make a case for collusion. Especially since Lilly’s signature appeared on everything. He had to keep her guessing. She knew export laws. Eventually, she would figure it out.
She leaned back against the rail and closed her eyes. “Chemicals that can be used to manufacture weapons. He sends them under the guise of medicines.”
He smiled, impressed with how quickly she caught on. “That’s the one.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t he give me correct information to begin with? Why make me go through two sets of paperwork?”
“To set you up for a fall if he got caught. He wanted to make it look like you were the one changing the paper work after he gave orders. I’m sure he was never expecting someone like you to walk out with the file of originals.” That came out tactlessly, he realized, when her eyes filled with tears.
“What you mean, is that he hired me because I’m so stupid.”
“I meant naïve, Lilly. Too trusting. You said it yourself. You saved the originals because you wanted to show him he was being overcharged for freight, not because you thought he was doing anything illegal. I’ll bet you even told him about the file when you questioned him.”
She lowered her eyes slowly. “I am stupid.”
“No,
As hard as she tried, she couldn’t contain a smile. She rested her head on the shoulder he offered and moaned. “I can’t win against you.”
He ran his hand along the side of her face and down her neck, twisting his finger through her hair to force her to look up. “It’s not a contest, baby. I can’t have you fighting me all the time. We have enough problems ahead.”
Lilly was a very independent woman. She didn’t like being told what to do, but in this case she seemed to accept his rules. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth from the beginning?”
“Because I didn’t know if you were involved or not.”
“Involved in what?”
“Don’t you have any idea what Santana was really exporting?”
She shook her head. “I never actually saw the cargo. He gave me the information, and I typed up the documents. Only sometimes my paperwork was so far off the mark that I was beginning to question my own abilities.”
“What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t take a genius fill out international shipping documents. But half the time he made me change the paperwork. Either I’d chosen the wrong shipper, or he claimed my calculations were off.”
“But we can’t prove that he changed anything. You signed all the paperwork.”
“I may be a farm girl but I’m no idiot. Every time he made me change it, I saved my original and made a copy of the changes he authorized. At first, I figured he was being overcharged for freight, and I wanted to get him proof. But after a few months I realized that something was wrong. So I asked him about it and when I didn’t like the answer I got, I took the file from my desk and left.”
That kind of proof could be the break they needed for a conviction. Santana must have known she had the originals or she wouldn’t be a threat to him. “Where is the file now?”
Lilly twisted her fingers together nervously. “What good are they? Those are shipments that have already left.”
“To see if there’s a pattern.”
Frowning, she mumbled sadly, “There’s no pattern. I read through them a dozen times trying to figure it out. Different days, different cargo, different ships, different destinations.”
“But how many different customs officials?”
“What?”
“How does he always get them through customs? We’ve never been able to catch him. Every time he’s been searched, he’s come up clean. Someone has to be informing him.”
“What are you talking about? Drugs?”
“No, drugs are a bigger problem on the import end, not export.”
“Guns?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
He couldn’t tell her, or her testimony would be worthless. Any good lawyer could make a case for collusion. Especially since Lilly’s signature appeared on everything. He had to keep her guessing. She knew export laws. Eventually, she would figure it out.
She leaned back against the rail and closed her eyes. “Chemicals that can be used to manufacture weapons. He sends them under the guise of medicines.”
He smiled, impressed with how quickly she caught on. “That’s the one.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. Why didn’t he give me correct information to begin with? Why make me go through two sets of paperwork?”
“To set you up for a fall if he got caught. He wanted to make it look like you were the one changing the paper work after he gave orders. I’m sure he was never expecting someone like you to walk out with the file of originals.” That came out tactlessly, he realized, when her eyes filled with tears.
“What you mean, is that he hired me because I’m so stupid.”
“I meant naïve, Lilly. Too trusting. You said it yourself. You saved the originals because you wanted to show him he was being overcharged for freight, not because you thought he was doing anything illegal. I’ll bet you even told him about the file when you questioned him.”
She lowered her eyes slowly. “I am stupid.”
“No,
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