Chapter 13 - THE DOCUMENT THAT COULD END IT ALL
Serena's information led investigators to a storage unit rented under the name of a company connected to Peter Caldwell.
The contents were secured through the appropriate legal process.
Inside were boxes of invoices, old procurement reports, and electronic storage devices containing copies of financial records.
One folder was labeled "Harrington — Final Reconciliation."
It contained an internal spreadsheet linking vendor payments to the people who had approved or benefited from them.
The spreadsheet was not accepted as conclusive proof on its own.
Investigators compared it against bank records, invoices, emails, and the hospital's accounting system.
The results were significant.
Several transfers had been directed through companies that appeared to have no meaningful operations.
Some invoices described equipment that had never been delivered.
Other payments were linked to consulting agreements that lacked evidence of actual services.
The records also showed that Grant had received money through one of those arrangements.
He had not disclosed the payments to me.
He had not reported the apparent irregularities when he first became aware of them.
His cooperation was important, but it did not erase his responsibility.
Peter's messages suggested that he had coordinated much of the activity and used other people to create distance between himself and the money.
The evidence also connected Richard Sloan to several questionable approvals.
Investigators continued examining whether those approvals reflected deliberate misconduct, negligence, or another explanation.
The hospital announced that it would recover funds wherever legally possible and strengthen its procurement controls.
The board also established a protected reporting channel for employees who had concerns about financial irregularities.
For the first time, the institution was addressing the weaknesses that had allowed the scheme to continue.
Then the investigators discovered a separate file on one of the storage devices.
It was a draft letter addressed to the hospital's chief executive.
The letter claimed that I had personally approved every disputed transfer and had instructed staff to destroy records.
Attached were several pages bearing a convincing imitation of my signature.
But the document's creation date was impossible.
It had been created after my credentials were restricted.
And the electronic record showed that the person who generated it had used Peter's private office computer.
The case against the people who had tried to frame me was becoming stronger.
Then Miriam called with the final piece of news.
"Peter's attorney has contacted the investigators," she said.
"Is he cooperating?"
"He's asking for a deal."
I sat down slowly.
"What does he want in exchange for his testimony?"
May you like
Miriam paused.
"Immunity from prosecution."
