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Morgan guffaws. “So now you’re going to tell me she stole the earring, too?”

“No! I think she bought it from the pawnshop, and I know it wasn’t cheap. I always thought that jewelry she wears was costume jewelry, but if not… then how is she paying for it all? Rosa can’t be paying her that much.”

Morgan shrugs. “Social security? A pension? She retired, like, twenty years ago. She must have done pretty well for herself.”

My brow crinkles. Morgan is right. Shauna could have retired wealthy. Maybe working at the center isn’t about the money at all, just something to keep her busy, to feel like she’s doing something worthwhile.

I swallow, knowing that I could have this all wrong. I could be grasping for anything to help clear my name, and obviously, I have no real evidence that Shauna has done anything. I can’t go accusing her without proof.

I know how that feels, and I refuse to do it to someone else.

“What’s her last name?” asks Jude.

I turn to him. I’d forgotten he and Ari were there, but they’re both staring at me and Morgan like we’re onCSI, Fortuna Beach edition.

I have no idea what Shauna’s last name is, but Morgan says, “Crandon, I think.”

Jude types something into his phone.

Morgan crosses her arms, looking from him to me, to Ari.

“Yes!” Jude yelps, startling us. His grin is stretched wide, but as he looks up, he quickly schools it into a disturbed frown. “I mean, actually, this is kind of awful. But—Pru, this should be enough to at least have her looked into.”

He hands me his phone. He’s found a news article from a Los Angeles newspaper. There’s a picture of Shauna at the top, wearing a slick business suit. She’s quite a bit younger, with her hair just beginning to gray.

The headline:ORANGE COUNTY NONPROFIT DROPS CHARGES AGAINST BOOKKEEPER ACCUSED OF EMBEZZLING MORE THAN$200,000.

“No way,” says Morgan, grabbing the phone from my hand.

“Hey!” I try to grab it back, but she turns her back on me and starts scrolling through the article. I huff and read over her shoulder.

According to the article, Shauna worked at another nonprofit, one that helped provide services to the homeless, for six years before she was suspected of embezzling money in order to make personal purchases, and even to pay her bills. She was fired, but the charges were ultimately dropped.

“Why would they drop the charges?” asks Ari, crowding in beside us.

“It doesn’t say.” Morgan hands the phone back to me, looking dazed. “Legal battles are expensive and time-consuming. Maybe they just didn’t want to be bothered with it.”

“Or maybe they didn’t have enough evidence?” I suggest.

Morgan shakes her head. “You’d think, once they knew about it, evidence would be pretty easy to find. She was probably using money from the business account to buy things online and write… checks… for…” Her eyes go distant. Her jaw falls. “No.The gala donations!”

I pass the phone back to Jude, who is preening like he’s just solved the biggest mystery of the year.

“What gala donations?” I ask.

“We set the ticket cost for the gala really low, but when people buy their tickets, they can also make an extra donation, completely optional.”

“And?”

“And no one donated extra money. It’s been a complete bust. Tons of ticket sales—we might even sell out the event by tonight—but extra donations? Not happening. It’s been driving Quint crazy. You should hear himrant about what a terrible idea it was to keep the price low, how much money we’ve missed out on doing it this way.”

“I bet peoplearedonating extra!” Ari says, suddenly excited. “But the money is going toher.”

Morgan nods. “She’s the one who set up the online sales. I bet she’s having all the bonus donations routed straight to her own account, bypassing the center entirely.”

I slap a hand over my mouth, disgusted. “Who would do something like that?”

Morgan gestures at Jude’s phone. “Her, evidently. She’s done it before.” Then a shadow comes over Morgan’s face as she looks at me. Not with scorn, but… guilt? She curses lowly to herself, shaking her head. “I guess I owe you an apology.”